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The Dylanologists: Adventures in the Land of Bob
A joyous and poignant exploration of the meaning of fandom, the healing power of art, and the importance of embracing what moves you, “The Dylanologists is juicy…artfully told…and an often moving chronicle of the ecstasies and depravities of obsession” (New York Daily News).Bob Dylan is the most influential songwriter of our time, and, after a half century, he continues to be a touchstone, a fascination, and an enigma. From the very beginning, he attracted an intensely fanatical cult following, and in The Dylanologists, Pulitzer Prize–winning journalist David Kinney ventures deep into this eccentric subculture to answer a What can Dylan’s grip on his most enthusiastic listeners tell us about his towering place in American culture? Kinney introduces us to a vibrant diggers searching for unheard tapes and lost manuscripts, researchers obsessing over the facts of Dylan’s life and career, writers working to decode the unyieldingly mysterious songs, fans who meticulously record and dissect every concert. It’s an affectionate mania, but as far as Dylan is concerned, a mania nonetheless. Over the years, the intensely private and fiercely combative musician has been frightened, annoyed, and perplexed by fans who try to peel back his layers. He has made one thing—perhaps the only thing—crystal He does not wish to be known. Told with tremendous insight, intelligence, and warmth, “entertaining and well-written…The Dylanologists is as much a book about obsession—about the ways our fascinations manifest themselves, about how we cope with what we love but don’t quite understand—as it is a book about a musician and his nutty fans” (The Wall Street Journal).
258 pages, Kindle Edition
First published May 13, 2014
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May 24, 2014
A peculiar, fast-moving and queasily unpleasant gamut of emotions passed through me as I raced through this book about Dylan fans.
Gamut ? That’s a word like petard. You only use it in one context. A gamut of emotions. You don’t say “a gamut of vegetables was displayed on the market stall”… “I encountered a gamut of children in the schoolroom”…. Well, we should liberate this word from its phrasal confinement. But calling the grotesques foregathered in this book “fans” is like calling Eilert Pilarm a poor Elvis impersonator
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zHoxK6...
(“worn though the party in a counter yale”)
or Wagner’s Ring Cycle long. This is the scary end of Dylan obsessiveness. Gangs of these people, for instance, follow Dylan’s never-ending tour like they’re commandos yomping through Helmand province. For these hardest of cores sleep is for wimps. If you must you sleep in the queue which you’ve joined for the next day’s gig having just come out of today’s gig (or if you’re rich you can pay a homeless person to stand there for you, all night and the following day); or you leg it to the car to drive to the next impossible Midwestern town (could be Tuscaloosa, Carbondale, DeKalb, or …. Normal. Ha, Normal?). Do these people have jobs? It’s hard to tell. “My boss thinks I’m still at the office,” she says, rushing through her computer coding tasks on her laptop. In the queue.
Everybody knows AJ Weberman was the world’s first Dylanologist, he who invented garbology, founded the Dylan Liberation Front and coined its hilarious motto “Free Bob Dylan From Himself!” AJ & his posse was rifling D’s rubbish bins one day in 1971 when Sara came screeching out of the house and they had a little contretemps. Later, on Elizabeth Street, AJ was walking along when D cycled by and spotted him. Let AJ take up the tale:
A couple of days later, I’m on Elizabeth Street and someone jumps me, starts punching me. I turn around and it’s like—Dylan. I’m thinking, ‘Can you believe this? I’m getting the crap beat out of me by Bob Dylan!’ I said, ‘Hey, man, how you doin’?’ But he keeps knocking my head against the sidewalk. He’s little, but he’s strong. He works out. I wouldn’t fight back, you know, because I knew I was wrong. He gets up, rips off my ‘Free Bob Dylan’ button and walks away. Never says a word. The Bowery bums were coming over, asking, ‘How much he get?’ Like I got rolled. . .
AJ thought Dylan was singing in code, you know, like where “rain” = “heroin, and “dog” = “heroin”, and so forth. So the pattern was set. And it’s not hard to see where it comes from. Dylan has always sung songs of condemnation, from Masters of War
And I hope that you die
And your death’ll come soon
to Positively 4th Street
Yes, I wish that for just one time
You could stand inside my shoes
You’d know what a drag it is
To see you
to Idiot Wind
Idiot wind, blowing every time you move your teeth
You’re an idiot, babe
It’s a wonder that you still know how to breathe
To the gospel stuff
Adulterers in churches and pornography in the schools
You got gangsters in power and lawbreakers making rules
When you gonna wake up
And consequently people get the idea he’s like one of those old testament prophets, cursing the Israelites and their kine for their vile backsliding.
It’s an abusive relationship. Dylan hates and fears these crazies and they continue to make his life as uncomfortable as they can – only because they love him so much, you see. It gives them the right to complain when he’s rubbish, when he slurs words on stage, when he releases stupid albums (Down in the Groove, Saved), when he doesn’t release the right stuff, so they have to do it for him… Oh those naughty bootleggers and their falsely-pregnant girlfriends (one way to smuggle taping equipment in). Phone calls and hotel rooms and of course recording studios, nowhere is immune, Dylan is always recorded and the recordings are always bootlegged. When Dylan decided finally to officially release the most famous 1966 Manchester “Judas!” concert, the bootleggers sniffed and released a 10 cd edition of 1966 concerts. It’s no wonder Dylan can come across as a little distrustful and resentful at times.
A fog of sadness slides through this book. Yes, some of it is funny. Some nutter once told Dylan his lyrics were like the Bible because you could find everything you needed to know in there somewhere. Dylan paused a while and said “Well, that goes without saying.” One Dylan fanzine was called “Homer the Slut. Any fan would instantly spot where that came from. But really, these fans are after something Dylan was never in the business of providing, and they won’t take no for an answer.
And Dylan himself, he’s also obsessed. He can’t stop dragging round the world playing one terrible monotone gig after another, pissing off another 2500 audience members, night after night. You can’t tell me that’s not an unhealthy obsession.
The last third of the book is the most interesting. The subject is the Late Dylan period (from Time Out of Mind onwards) and the matter of plagiarism. No – hush my mouth – I mean creative reworking. You know this already, where Dylan quotes lines from Confessions of a Yakuza, Henry Timrod the Civil War poet, Tennessee Williams, The Great Gatsby, John Donne… the list goes on. His book Chronicles Vol One is a weird patchwork quilt made up from an issue of a 1962 Time magazine, a Mezz Mezrow autobiography, a New Orleans guidebook…. There are blogs about all of this. It calls into question the whole question of what art is – what part originality plays, what is legitimate borrowing, what about TS Eliot, and so forth. I’d love to talk it all over with you one day.
You know I appreciate obsession, I have a number of minor obsessions myself. (One, for instance, was to make the Goodreads all time top ten reviewer list. But I had to recognise that’s never gonna happen – the tsunami of YA reviewers dashed my hopes, and my steady diet of theology, true crime and minor novels is just not sexy enough for the public. Dashed? That’s another of those gamut words.) So also, I’ve been fairly obsessed with for instance John Fahey, the Incredible String Band, Brian Wilson, Eric Rohmer, Raymond Chandler, James Joyce, the Carter Family, and Bob Dylan too, if you must know. I think I managed to have so many concurrent obsessions that no single one of them was able to take over. My current one is American independent cinema. I love those no-budget movies like Humpday and Drinking Buddies and Shotgun Stories. I bet Bob would too. So…. Er… what was the question again? Oh yeah - The Dylanologists by David Kinney is a pretty good book, if you’re interested in Dylan fans and you’re prepared to accept how melancholy life can be, and how art is really no help at all. Okay, a little bit of help. Tiny bit.
Gamut ? That’s a word like petard. You only use it in one context. A gamut of emotions. You don’t say “a gamut of vegetables was displayed on the market stall”… “I encountered a gamut of children in the schoolroom”…. Well, we should liberate this word from its phrasal confinement. But calling the grotesques foregathered in this book “fans” is like calling Eilert Pilarm a poor Elvis impersonator
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zHoxK6...
(“worn though the party in a counter yale”)
or Wagner’s Ring Cycle long. This is the scary end of Dylan obsessiveness. Gangs of these people, for instance, follow Dylan’s never-ending tour like they’re commandos yomping through Helmand province. For these hardest of cores sleep is for wimps. If you must you sleep in the queue which you’ve joined for the next day’s gig having just come out of today’s gig (or if you’re rich you can pay a homeless person to stand there for you, all night and the following day); or you leg it to the car to drive to the next impossible Midwestern town (could be Tuscaloosa, Carbondale, DeKalb, or …. Normal. Ha, Normal?). Do these people have jobs? It’s hard to tell. “My boss thinks I’m still at the office,” she says, rushing through her computer coding tasks on her laptop. In the queue.
Everybody knows AJ Weberman was the world’s first Dylanologist, he who invented garbology, founded the Dylan Liberation Front and coined its hilarious motto “Free Bob Dylan From Himself!” AJ & his posse was rifling D’s rubbish bins one day in 1971 when Sara came screeching out of the house and they had a little contretemps. Later, on Elizabeth Street, AJ was walking along when D cycled by and spotted him. Let AJ take up the tale:
A couple of days later, I’m on Elizabeth Street and someone jumps me, starts punching me. I turn around and it’s like—Dylan. I’m thinking, ‘Can you believe this? I’m getting the crap beat out of me by Bob Dylan!’ I said, ‘Hey, man, how you doin’?’ But he keeps knocking my head against the sidewalk. He’s little, but he’s strong. He works out. I wouldn’t fight back, you know, because I knew I was wrong. He gets up, rips off my ‘Free Bob Dylan’ button and walks away. Never says a word. The Bowery bums were coming over, asking, ‘How much he get?’ Like I got rolled. . .
AJ thought Dylan was singing in code, you know, like where “rain” = “heroin, and “dog” = “heroin”, and so forth. So the pattern was set. And it’s not hard to see where it comes from. Dylan has always sung songs of condemnation, from Masters of War
And I hope that you die
And your death’ll come soon
to Positively 4th Street
Yes, I wish that for just one time
You could stand inside my shoes
You’d know what a drag it is
To see you
to Idiot Wind
Idiot wind, blowing every time you move your teeth
You’re an idiot, babe
It’s a wonder that you still know how to breathe
To the gospel stuff
Adulterers in churches and pornography in the schools
You got gangsters in power and lawbreakers making rules
When you gonna wake up
And consequently people get the idea he’s like one of those old testament prophets, cursing the Israelites and their kine for their vile backsliding.
It’s an abusive relationship. Dylan hates and fears these crazies and they continue to make his life as uncomfortable as they can – only because they love him so much, you see. It gives them the right to complain when he’s rubbish, when he slurs words on stage, when he releases stupid albums (Down in the Groove, Saved), when he doesn’t release the right stuff, so they have to do it for him… Oh those naughty bootleggers and their falsely-pregnant girlfriends (one way to smuggle taping equipment in). Phone calls and hotel rooms and of course recording studios, nowhere is immune, Dylan is always recorded and the recordings are always bootlegged. When Dylan decided finally to officially release the most famous 1966 Manchester “Judas!” concert, the bootleggers sniffed and released a 10 cd edition of 1966 concerts. It’s no wonder Dylan can come across as a little distrustful and resentful at times.
A fog of sadness slides through this book. Yes, some of it is funny. Some nutter once told Dylan his lyrics were like the Bible because you could find everything you needed to know in there somewhere. Dylan paused a while and said “Well, that goes without saying.” One Dylan fanzine was called “Homer the Slut. Any fan would instantly spot where that came from. But really, these fans are after something Dylan was never in the business of providing, and they won’t take no for an answer.
And Dylan himself, he’s also obsessed. He can’t stop dragging round the world playing one terrible monotone gig after another, pissing off another 2500 audience members, night after night. You can’t tell me that’s not an unhealthy obsession.
The last third of the book is the most interesting. The subject is the Late Dylan period (from Time Out of Mind onwards) and the matter of plagiarism. No – hush my mouth – I mean creative reworking. You know this already, where Dylan quotes lines from Confessions of a Yakuza, Henry Timrod the Civil War poet, Tennessee Williams, The Great Gatsby, John Donne… the list goes on. His book Chronicles Vol One is a weird patchwork quilt made up from an issue of a 1962 Time magazine, a Mezz Mezrow autobiography, a New Orleans guidebook…. There are blogs about all of this. It calls into question the whole question of what art is – what part originality plays, what is legitimate borrowing, what about TS Eliot, and so forth. I’d love to talk it all over with you one day.
You know I appreciate obsession, I have a number of minor obsessions myself. (One, for instance, was to make the Goodreads all time top ten reviewer list. But I had to recognise that’s never gonna happen – the tsunami of YA reviewers dashed my hopes, and my steady diet of theology, true crime and minor novels is just not sexy enough for the public. Dashed? That’s another of those gamut words.) So also, I’ve been fairly obsessed with for instance John Fahey, the Incredible String Band, Brian Wilson, Eric Rohmer, Raymond Chandler, James Joyce, the Carter Family, and Bob Dylan too, if you must know. I think I managed to have so many concurrent obsessions that no single one of them was able to take over. My current one is American independent cinema. I love those no-budget movies like Humpday and Drinking Buddies and Shotgun Stories. I bet Bob would too. So…. Er… what was the question again? Oh yeah - The Dylanologists by David Kinney is a pretty good book, if you’re interested in Dylan fans and you’re prepared to accept how melancholy life can be, and how art is really no help at all. Okay, a little bit of help. Tiny bit.
July 9, 2014
The Dylanologists: Adventures in the Land of Bob" authored by award winning music writer David Kinney was an unexpected intriguing read. The topic of exuberant scholars, professors, fans/followers totally obsessed with Bob Dylan that dedicate their lives to listening and analyzing his music, collecting bootleg tapes, scraps of paper- anything Dylan, stalking him- going to all his concerts, living their lives to meet him or have him notice/speak to them is almost a bit much to comprehend.
Kinney writes historically of Dylan: from the shrine of his hometown in Hibbing, MN where fans congregate, early music career and concerts beginning in the 1960's to current times. It was interesting to learn that the historic 1969 Woodstock Festival was planned around a hopeful appearance of Dylan who lived in Woodstock at the time. Dylan's inspiration of Woody Guthrie's music was also noted.
Dylan has always remained elusive to fans, insisting that he wasn't who people thought he was, did not have anything important to say specifically to them beyond what was recorded in his music. He routinely changed his life situations, beliefs, ideas projected to fans, many theorized to "head trip", mess with fans, and avoid being known. Dylan, a private person, was overwhelmed by his millions of strange, obsessed, and needy fans who wanted so much from him. The behind the scenes look at Dylan's fan base is both fascinating and disturbing.
Many thanks to Simon and Schuster for this engaging read from the Goodread's Giveaways:) See my formal review on Amazon.
Kinney writes historically of Dylan: from the shrine of his hometown in Hibbing, MN where fans congregate, early music career and concerts beginning in the 1960's to current times. It was interesting to learn that the historic 1969 Woodstock Festival was planned around a hopeful appearance of Dylan who lived in Woodstock at the time. Dylan's inspiration of Woody Guthrie's music was also noted.
Dylan has always remained elusive to fans, insisting that he wasn't who people thought he was, did not have anything important to say specifically to them beyond what was recorded in his music. He routinely changed his life situations, beliefs, ideas projected to fans, many theorized to "head trip", mess with fans, and avoid being known. Dylan, a private person, was overwhelmed by his millions of strange, obsessed, and needy fans who wanted so much from him. The behind the scenes look at Dylan's fan base is both fascinating and disturbing.
Many thanks to Simon and Schuster for this engaging read from the Goodread's Giveaways:) See my formal review on Amazon.
December 2, 2018
A look at some of Dylan's most obsessed fans, this reads like a wild metafiction someone like Borges, Calvino or Bolano might have invented. The important and interesting things here aren't really tied to Dylan and this book is recommended to anyone trying to understand the hold pop culture icons have on us, whether or not you even like Dylan.
January 12, 2024
loved this. brought to mind the woman who claimed to have been to 450 bob dylan concerts that i gave an extra ticket to outside of the chicago show.
lots of extreme obsessives and freaks profiled in this book, but i can’t be too critical. i mean i get it. i’m like 2 steps removed (and about 40 years too young) from being one of the people who collects thousands of tapes of bootlegged shows. it really raises the question: what is it about dylan that draws people in so strongly?
it’s an unanswerable question, really. but dylan has, a way of universalizing emotion that feels like he is speaking directly to you and looking right through you. “bob dylan” is a projection of ourselves through the lens of robert zimmerman.
putting the harmonica and raspy voice and strange poetic lyrics aside, there is an echoing message of this book, its subjects, and the man himself: “what does bob dylan mean to you?”
lots of extreme obsessives and freaks profiled in this book, but i can’t be too critical. i mean i get it. i’m like 2 steps removed (and about 40 years too young) from being one of the people who collects thousands of tapes of bootlegged shows. it really raises the question: what is it about dylan that draws people in so strongly?
it’s an unanswerable question, really. but dylan has, a way of universalizing emotion that feels like he is speaking directly to you and looking right through you. “bob dylan” is a projection of ourselves through the lens of robert zimmerman.
putting the harmonica and raspy voice and strange poetic lyrics aside, there is an echoing message of this book, its subjects, and the man himself: “what does bob dylan mean to you?”
September 22, 2014
Do not mistake this book as either a Dylan biography or a critical assessment of his work. While these elements are occasional components of the text, Kinney's contribution to Dylan lore is more unique and potentially more rewarding. By examining a variety of hard-core, obsessive Dylan fans, Kinney opens a potential Pandora's box of crazy. What elevates his project is his straightforward, objective portrayal of the fans and their habits and even their justifications. For the most part, Kinney's subjects come across as neither rational, nor completely irrational, but situated between their devotion to Dylan and the expression of that devotion.
One need not be a fan of Dylan's work to enjoy aspects of this book. Though Kinney doesn't make the connections himself, it is a relatively easy task to think of obsessive fans of other performers or genres who are equally out-of-touch with reality. But this is not a sociological study, and Kinney's style is accessible and engaging.
By far the most useful contribution Kinney makes here is his chapter on Dylan's alleged plagiarism. Kinney avails himself of the obsessive breadcrumb following tendencies of Dylan's fans to explore the artist's composition style, and to rationalize why an internationally known songwriter would cop lines from Jack London and obscure 19th-century poets (among others). It's a fascinating chapter, and a coherent presentation of differing viewpoints.
Most Dylan fans will recognize aspects of their own behaviors in this book, and those interested in fan culture will encounter profiles of a variety of fanatics. Kinney also chronicles Dylan's occasional responses to these fans, both from the stage and in personal encounters. Dylan, as a subject, remains mercurial here, so one may not necessarily return to Dylan's recordings with a new ear after reading this book, but one may certainly reconsider the influence of a performer with so many devoted followers. Just as some of Dylan's songs do for the initiated, this book offers a different perspective, making Kinney's book a refreshingly unique offering. One is left to question whose behavior is more difficult to understand: the artist's or the fans'.
One need not be a fan of Dylan's work to enjoy aspects of this book. Though Kinney doesn't make the connections himself, it is a relatively easy task to think of obsessive fans of other performers or genres who are equally out-of-touch with reality. But this is not a sociological study, and Kinney's style is accessible and engaging.
By far the most useful contribution Kinney makes here is his chapter on Dylan's alleged plagiarism. Kinney avails himself of the obsessive breadcrumb following tendencies of Dylan's fans to explore the artist's composition style, and to rationalize why an internationally known songwriter would cop lines from Jack London and obscure 19th-century poets (among others). It's a fascinating chapter, and a coherent presentation of differing viewpoints.
Most Dylan fans will recognize aspects of their own behaviors in this book, and those interested in fan culture will encounter profiles of a variety of fanatics. Kinney also chronicles Dylan's occasional responses to these fans, both from the stage and in personal encounters. Dylan, as a subject, remains mercurial here, so one may not necessarily return to Dylan's recordings with a new ear after reading this book, but one may certainly reconsider the influence of a performer with so many devoted followers. Just as some of Dylan's songs do for the initiated, this book offers a different perspective, making Kinney's book a refreshingly unique offering. One is left to question whose behavior is more difficult to understand: the artist's or the fans'.
May 18, 2014
One of the best Dylan related titles ever written. Interspersed with accounts of the Bob devotees is a concise Dylan chronology recounting key events in his career that serves to tie everything together. Recommended for all Dylan fans, though dedicated fans of any artist will recognize the types of people profiled here.
April 19, 2019
My review for this book was first published in 2014 by The New York Journal of Books. I reproduce it here:
“Stick with me, baby / stick with me, anyhow
Things should start to get interesting right about now.”
—"Mississippi”
During this year’s otherwise unmemorable Super Bowl, viewers hanging on for the commercials were unwittingly treated to something extraordinary: a gravelly voice belonging to the improbable figure of Bob Dylan shilling for Chrysler. “Let Asia assemble your phone,” he warbled. “We will build your car.”
Were this ad narrated by anyone else, it would be just another piece of slick salesmanship reliably playing on our nationalist pride. But this was Bob Dylan, countercultural spokesman par excellence, asking with no trace of irony, “Is there anything more American than America?” Surely this must be some kind of next-level humor? A postmodern meta-commentary? A practical joke?
That one even goes through these mental gymnastics to justify what was more likely a straightforward example of a celebrity getting paid is yet one more reminder of what Dylan fandom entails. It is a phenomenon that requires participants to place every action Bob Dylan takes into an elaborate context of deeper meaning and myth-making.
There have been plenty of rock bands with their share of obsessive fans, but none of them—not the Beatles or Stones, not Springsteen or Hendrix, not even the Grateful Dead—can hold a candle to Bob Dylan’s legion of disciples, who have been hunting down and interpreting their chosen one’s every recorded utterance for more than 50 years.
For most of us, it is enough simply to admire the songs, a substantial amount of which remains essential to any music lover’s library. We can listen to “It’s Alright Ma” or “Tangled Up in Blue,” awestruck by the singer’s obvious genius without having to adopt them (or him) as a personal life philosophy.
It is the other people, the full-fledged converts who get their due in The Dylanologists, David Kinney’s affectionately engaging valentine to the true believers and a cautionary tale for everyone else.
A nascent Dylanologist himself, Kinney writes with a certain authority about these “pilgrims” who wander happily “down the rabbit hole” in search of . . . well, what exactly? Unreleased recordings? The meaning of life? What “Visions of Johanna” is about?
To be sure, most of the diehards are benign enough, such as the couple in Dylan’s hometown of Hibbing, Minn., who have opened up a Dylan-themed restaurant where you can order the “simple twist of” sirloin. Or the folks (yes, they’re out there) whose lives were genuinely saved by the largely forgotten music of Dylan’s born-again phase of the late 1970s.
You even have to admire the hardcores who, immediately following a Dylan show, park themselves on the street to be first in line for the next night’s show (a practice that rankles Dylan so much that he occasionally orders his staff to bring casual fans up to the front, so he can finally see some new faces staring back at him).
What separates Dylan fanatics from others is the depth of the obsession, as in the case of Bill Pagel, a collector who graduated over time from acquiring flyers and set lists to Dylan’s high school yearbooks. Then, after he moved to Hibbing, he scored a real find: Dylan’s infant high chair. And as Kinney astutely observes, “once you own Bob Dylan’s high chair, it becomes easy to rationalize any other purchase,” it makes its own strange sense that when Dylan’s birth-home in Duluth went up for auction, Bill was right there to place a bid.
The most fascinating part of the book covers the fierce debate raging in Dylan circles about the singer’s late-career forays into plagiarism. Ardent Dylanologists, aided by the instant treasure map that is the Internet, discovered that much of what Dylan has written over the last 15 years has been appropriated from existing texts, jumbled up, and spit back out into Dylan-ese, forming a “modernist collage.”
On one side of the spectrum is Dylan fan and poet Roy Kelly, who views his hero’s cut-and-paste technique as nothing less than a personal betrayal. “What did we praise him for then?” the apostate fan asks now.
But on the other are folks like novelist Jonathan Lethem and super-fan Scott Warmuth, whose new life’s purpose quickly became excavating every line of Dylan’s acclaimed memoir Chronicles for its rich and varied references, ranging from Elizabethan poetry to New Orleans travel guides, declaring it “the Da Vinci Code of rock ’n’ roll.”
As easy it would be to mock these people for devoting their entire lives to a rock singer, Mr. Kinney portrays them with great sympathy, and the reader may well feel a begrudging respect for their dedication. In their eyes, they are “custodians,” ensuring and preserving the legacy of possibly our country’s greatest cultural export.
Indeed, the saddest figure in The Dylanologists turns out to be Dylan himself.
He began as something of a proto-Dylanologist, following Woody Guthrie around with similar zeal in the early ’60s, adopting his folk hero’s Oklahoman twang, even sitting in Guthrie’s hospital room singing him songs. But Dylan soon figured out that such idol worship was a dead end, at which point he began the next of his many transformations (Kinney identifies 14 distinct phases of Dylan’s career).
But since then, he has paid in full the cost of the relentless scrutiny and identity-shifting: a 72-year-old multimillionaire who has not been off the road for 25 straight years, Dylan has had phone conversations secretly recorded and bootlegged, has had his trash rooted through for unidentified Holy Grails, and has come home to find post-coital fans sleeping in his bed.
Such behavior invites questions about what these fans—if that’s even the word for them—are searching for, what they would do if they found it, and raises deeper questions into the nature of fandom itself: Why do we so willingly give ourselves over to other people who project the right image? What does it mean for the recipient of this idolatry? And what happens when the idol inevitably disappoints?
These are difficult questions, perhaps unanswerable, and as thoroughly reported as his book is, Kinney does not really address them. It’s not clear that he can. The author seems to acknowledge this, quoting playwright Sam Shepard on tour with Dylan in 1975: “Fans are more dangerous than a man with a weapon because they’re after something invisible. Some imagined ‘something.’ At least with a gun you know what you’re facing.”
“Stick with me, baby / stick with me, anyhow
Things should start to get interesting right about now.”
—"Mississippi”
During this year’s otherwise unmemorable Super Bowl, viewers hanging on for the commercials were unwittingly treated to something extraordinary: a gravelly voice belonging to the improbable figure of Bob Dylan shilling for Chrysler. “Let Asia assemble your phone,” he warbled. “We will build your car.”
Were this ad narrated by anyone else, it would be just another piece of slick salesmanship reliably playing on our nationalist pride. But this was Bob Dylan, countercultural spokesman par excellence, asking with no trace of irony, “Is there anything more American than America?” Surely this must be some kind of next-level humor? A postmodern meta-commentary? A practical joke?
That one even goes through these mental gymnastics to justify what was more likely a straightforward example of a celebrity getting paid is yet one more reminder of what Dylan fandom entails. It is a phenomenon that requires participants to place every action Bob Dylan takes into an elaborate context of deeper meaning and myth-making.
There have been plenty of rock bands with their share of obsessive fans, but none of them—not the Beatles or Stones, not Springsteen or Hendrix, not even the Grateful Dead—can hold a candle to Bob Dylan’s legion of disciples, who have been hunting down and interpreting their chosen one’s every recorded utterance for more than 50 years.
For most of us, it is enough simply to admire the songs, a substantial amount of which remains essential to any music lover’s library. We can listen to “It’s Alright Ma” or “Tangled Up in Blue,” awestruck by the singer’s obvious genius without having to adopt them (or him) as a personal life philosophy.
It is the other people, the full-fledged converts who get their due in The Dylanologists, David Kinney’s affectionately engaging valentine to the true believers and a cautionary tale for everyone else.
A nascent Dylanologist himself, Kinney writes with a certain authority about these “pilgrims” who wander happily “down the rabbit hole” in search of . . . well, what exactly? Unreleased recordings? The meaning of life? What “Visions of Johanna” is about?
To be sure, most of the diehards are benign enough, such as the couple in Dylan’s hometown of Hibbing, Minn., who have opened up a Dylan-themed restaurant where you can order the “simple twist of” sirloin. Or the folks (yes, they’re out there) whose lives were genuinely saved by the largely forgotten music of Dylan’s born-again phase of the late 1970s.
You even have to admire the hardcores who, immediately following a Dylan show, park themselves on the street to be first in line for the next night’s show (a practice that rankles Dylan so much that he occasionally orders his staff to bring casual fans up to the front, so he can finally see some new faces staring back at him).
What separates Dylan fanatics from others is the depth of the obsession, as in the case of Bill Pagel, a collector who graduated over time from acquiring flyers and set lists to Dylan’s high school yearbooks. Then, after he moved to Hibbing, he scored a real find: Dylan’s infant high chair. And as Kinney astutely observes, “once you own Bob Dylan’s high chair, it becomes easy to rationalize any other purchase,” it makes its own strange sense that when Dylan’s birth-home in Duluth went up for auction, Bill was right there to place a bid.
The most fascinating part of the book covers the fierce debate raging in Dylan circles about the singer’s late-career forays into plagiarism. Ardent Dylanologists, aided by the instant treasure map that is the Internet, discovered that much of what Dylan has written over the last 15 years has been appropriated from existing texts, jumbled up, and spit back out into Dylan-ese, forming a “modernist collage.”
On one side of the spectrum is Dylan fan and poet Roy Kelly, who views his hero’s cut-and-paste technique as nothing less than a personal betrayal. “What did we praise him for then?” the apostate fan asks now.
But on the other are folks like novelist Jonathan Lethem and super-fan Scott Warmuth, whose new life’s purpose quickly became excavating every line of Dylan’s acclaimed memoir Chronicles for its rich and varied references, ranging from Elizabethan poetry to New Orleans travel guides, declaring it “the Da Vinci Code of rock ’n’ roll.”
As easy it would be to mock these people for devoting their entire lives to a rock singer, Mr. Kinney portrays them with great sympathy, and the reader may well feel a begrudging respect for their dedication. In their eyes, they are “custodians,” ensuring and preserving the legacy of possibly our country’s greatest cultural export.
Indeed, the saddest figure in The Dylanologists turns out to be Dylan himself.
He began as something of a proto-Dylanologist, following Woody Guthrie around with similar zeal in the early ’60s, adopting his folk hero’s Oklahoman twang, even sitting in Guthrie’s hospital room singing him songs. But Dylan soon figured out that such idol worship was a dead end, at which point he began the next of his many transformations (Kinney identifies 14 distinct phases of Dylan’s career).
But since then, he has paid in full the cost of the relentless scrutiny and identity-shifting: a 72-year-old multimillionaire who has not been off the road for 25 straight years, Dylan has had phone conversations secretly recorded and bootlegged, has had his trash rooted through for unidentified Holy Grails, and has come home to find post-coital fans sleeping in his bed.
Such behavior invites questions about what these fans—if that’s even the word for them—are searching for, what they would do if they found it, and raises deeper questions into the nature of fandom itself: Why do we so willingly give ourselves over to other people who project the right image? What does it mean for the recipient of this idolatry? And what happens when the idol inevitably disappoints?
These are difficult questions, perhaps unanswerable, and as thoroughly reported as his book is, Kinney does not really address them. It’s not clear that he can. The author seems to acknowledge this, quoting playwright Sam Shepard on tour with Dylan in 1975: “Fans are more dangerous than a man with a weapon because they’re after something invisible. Some imagined ‘something.’ At least with a gun you know what you’re facing.”
August 25, 2018
A book about wildly obsessive Dylan geeks for Dylan geeks. A little fun, a tad bit frightening to see the lengths some fanatics go. It certainly makes one feel at ease with their own fandom level -- "well, I didn't become a self-anointed garbologist, so I'm good."
December 5, 2014
On a page near the end of his book, the author reminds us that, "In the summer of 2012, the Dylan myth-making operation sprang to life again. A new record was coming out, Tempest." Funny, you would think, from the disenchanted tone of this, that Kinney had not treated with narrative sympathy for two hundred pages those-who-live-to-pursue-the-myth. The journalist travels to meet them and unquestioningly record their lore, reports on their methods, follows their leads, responds to their nonce exegetical assignments, acts at all costs the dutiful exegete. He does not bother to ask those projected in the future of an illusion how they afford their bourgeoise spiritual life. He wants only to join the pilgrimage. David Kinney is no Sarah Vowell, you'll find no droll religious satire here. Reader, be prepared to suffer lots of windy cultural analysis: "Though Dylan could say [c. 1964] he was no spokesman, he could not unsing his songs. Now they belonged to the dissidents -- people under thirty, full of vigor, bursting with fresh ideas about how the world should and should not be." (46) What were the ideas? It strikes me that you either explain that Dylan did something to earn his cultural centrality, so evident by Woodstock, or you give up that ghost to pursue the ghost in the machine of his popularity. Kinney claims to do the latter, but must wear the garb of his journalistic profession, "myth-making operations" natch. What the book lacks, disastrously, is criticism, and indeed Kinney entirely avoids the crucial (because historically unavoidable) generic medium for his subject, rock criticism. The publisher, Simon & Schuster, has no misgivings casting out this anti-intellectual bait. Some little fishes will dive for warmer climes.
May 23, 2014
Well, it's not like this is the story of my life or anything. I see myself in most every page here.
It's a well-done and readable story of Dylan and focuses on some of his more, er, serious fans and their stories over the last 40 years. It tells some of Dylan's story -- very well, and not just the well-known parts -- and how many people reacted to that story. In the 70s and 80s, it's the story of bootleg recordings and concerts, and disconnected fans reaching out to one another, and then with the advent of the near-constant touring in the late 80s, the story of many who recorded the concerts and followed Dylan around from city to city. In the 2000s, it's the story of many fan's disenchantment with both the concerts and the songwriting, especially the revelations of how much work of others Dylan borrows in his songs and books. I fall in with the camp that became disenchanted with the music after "Love and Theft" and much less pleasure in the concerts. I have met and in a case or two became friendly with, several of the people mentioned in the book, and there are some cases where I was present at some events. In all, Kinney tells this story well, from the point of view, I think, of one who has been infected with the same virus as some of those he discusses in the book.
It's a well-done and readable story of Dylan and focuses on some of his more, er, serious fans and their stories over the last 40 years. It tells some of Dylan's story -- very well, and not just the well-known parts -- and how many people reacted to that story. In the 70s and 80s, it's the story of bootleg recordings and concerts, and disconnected fans reaching out to one another, and then with the advent of the near-constant touring in the late 80s, the story of many who recorded the concerts and followed Dylan around from city to city. In the 2000s, it's the story of many fan's disenchantment with both the concerts and the songwriting, especially the revelations of how much work of others Dylan borrows in his songs and books. I fall in with the camp that became disenchanted with the music after "Love and Theft" and much less pleasure in the concerts. I have met and in a case or two became friendly with, several of the people mentioned in the book, and there are some cases where I was present at some events. In all, Kinney tells this story well, from the point of view, I think, of one who has been infected with the same virus as some of those he discusses in the book.
Read
June 20, 2015Whether you're a Dylan fanatic or just someone who is interested enough in Bob to read an occasional book or article about him, check out this book. (out in paperback now). Kinney has tracked down well over a dozen people whose lives are defined by Bob Dylan: some follow him around the world attending nearly every concert; some collect and catalog recordings of every concert; some make pilgrimages to sites where he grew up; some search to find hidden meanings in his songs. Cleverly structured, the book touches each major point in the arc(s) of his long career, and finds a relevant Dylanologist to discuss at each one. Highly recommended, especially Chapter 6, which discusses the recent controversy about Dylan's use of phrases from other sources in his work -- is it plagiarism? isn't that what the folk music tradition is based upon? is he leaving clues? playing games with the people looking for them? I loved it.
May 10, 2020
The Dylanologists: Adventures in the Land of Bob by David Kinney is an awkwardly compiled studies (if such is the right word for his observations and own admiration) about the devoted people to Bob Dylan. It can be a break-away read in the pantheon of rock literature, or perhaps, be ranked before the middle in the books about Dylan's artistry, exploring this time around the other side of music—the ones who believe.
This book shows people from different walks of life who found meaning in Dylan's song, his phases and prose, his attitude and apathy. They relate their lives as they thought they were being understood by the singer, and, though realizing that it is a far pursuit, they insist on being near to Dylan and relate their lives to his—almost all the time. The Dylanologists can be the unofficial love letter of the fans to Dylan, or the author's own as a follower to the most unexpected and elusive poet laureate of all time.
This book shows people from different walks of life who found meaning in Dylan's song, his phases and prose, his attitude and apathy. They relate their lives as they thought they were being understood by the singer, and, though realizing that it is a far pursuit, they insist on being near to Dylan and relate their lives to his—almost all the time. The Dylanologists can be the unofficial love letter of the fans to Dylan, or the author's own as a follower to the most unexpected and elusive poet laureate of all time.
October 5, 2014
Might have made a good magazine article, but it got padded into a book, and it's something of a bore.
Rehashed Dylan biography - nothing new, and that's the padding. The rest has to do with time spent with various folks who have made an obsession of Dylan. Concert followers, restaurant owners, academics, and assorted nut cases. Interesting to a point, but the point comes pretty fast.
I read it because it's hard for me to pass up on a Dylan book, and it felt like a self-inflicted punishment.
The Land of Bob is between Bob's ears - we get a glimpse when he delivers his work. The Dylanologists: etc., doesn't take you much anywhere.
Rehashed Dylan biography - nothing new, and that's the padding. The rest has to do with time spent with various folks who have made an obsession of Dylan. Concert followers, restaurant owners, academics, and assorted nut cases. Interesting to a point, but the point comes pretty fast.
I read it because it's hard for me to pass up on a Dylan book, and it felt like a self-inflicted punishment.
The Land of Bob is between Bob's ears - we get a glimpse when he delivers his work. The Dylanologists: etc., doesn't take you much anywhere.
July 19, 2014
An evenhanded look at Dylan obsessives, from those who follow him on tour to those who have devoted their lives to unraveling his many mysteries.
My favorite line in the book, explaining an obsessed fan's desire to buy up as many Dylan artifacts as he could afford, including Bob's childhood home: "Once you own Bob Dylan's highchair, it becomes easy to rationalize any other purchase..."
I'll stick with owning the CDs, and letting Bob be Bob from a safe distance. He likes me better that way.
My favorite line in the book, explaining an obsessed fan's desire to buy up as many Dylan artifacts as he could afford, including Bob's childhood home: "Once you own Bob Dylan's highchair, it becomes easy to rationalize any other purchase..."
I'll stick with owning the CDs, and letting Bob be Bob from a safe distance. He likes me better that way.
Read
July 8, 2015A book about the craziness of Dylan's fans. Some collect his memorabilia, others his music, some look for lost tapes, follow him and his tour to every corner of the earth, illegally tape his concerts and perhaps most maddening of all parse the lyrics of his songs for hidden meaning. The obsession is by turns funny, freaky and pathetic (and makes you glad you never caught the bug). Most of these people are doing something they love so there is that. Best line of the book? "Once you own Bob Dylan's high chair it becomes easy to rationalize any other purchase."
August 4, 2016
In “The Dylanologists,” Dylan fan David Kinney considers the fandom of other Dylan fans, a mix that includes the guy who owns the musician’s childhood home, bootleg collectors, tour followers and those who feel a sort of religious reverence for him. Kinney mixes in bits of biography for context.
People’s passions are a curious thing, huh. This book is simply interesting, entertaining and it’s a good way to look at the artist through different, more extreme, eye holes.
People’s passions are a curious thing, huh. This book is simply interesting, entertaining and it’s a good way to look at the artist through different, more extreme, eye holes.
May 7, 2015
Excellent book and a very fast read. The author weaves Dylan's biography into the stories of fans in a way that made me want to keep reading.
January 3, 2021
Fandom is a dangerous thing; after all, the term "fan" is short for fanatic, and many people who are fans of things (be it pop culture or political figures) can go to extremes. You may think that someone purporting to be a "fan" of someone would mean them no harm, but the guy who murdered John Lennon was a self-described fan of Lennon and the Beatles. Perhaps no other figure in modern music has had as many obsessed fans as Bob Dylan, the enigmatic poet-troubadour of the Sixties to today. A man totally uncomfortable with adulation, Dylan has been the focus of a lot of it since he was twenty years old. No wonder he might seek to protect his privacy at all costs, or to pepper his "memoir" with borrowings from other sources in order to lead us, the fan and reader, off the scent.
"The Dylanologists: Adventures In the Land of Bob" is a fantastic, hilarious, and humbling look at the most devoted of Dylan's many fans, the ones who still make pilgrimages to his concerts even as Dylan, on the cusp of eighty, continues to tour (presumably on pause thanks to the pandemic, but no doubt itching to get back on the road in any way that he can). David Kinney, a Dylan fan himself, profiles the people whose lives have revolved around following Bob either on his "Never-Ending Tour" or writing endless fan articles for 'zines and blogs to decipher the meanings behind every line in every song he's ever recorded. Some fans even seek to expose Dylan as something other than what he's been presented as, and Dylan's "Christian phase" at the beginning of the Eighties helped to alienate many longtime fans while gaining him converts among the evangelical set. Bob Dylan, in many ways, can be exactly what you need him to be, because he as always held himself at arm's length from truly revealing who "the real Bob Dylan" is, indeed if there could ever be just one.
It's easy to read this, with its accounts of dumpster-diving to find sheets of paper that the man himself may have written on or perusing long-neglected notebooks to see how various drafts of classic songs came to be, and to snicker to yourself about the poor, deluded "fools" who obsess over Dylan to this degree. But...here's the thing. Substitute your own personal favorite artist for Dylan, and you can see how easily some people fall into such levels of worship (and its attendant disillusion and perhaps even hatred, albeit never of the murderous sort that Lennon's assassin sunk to). Me personally, I have often been drawn to artists or creators in different mediums whose works spoke to me and thus compelled me to seek out any trace of their presence (though in my defense, I usually limit myself to the artifacts they create, not their childhood homes or even high-chairs from infancy). It's harder to judge these people (many of whom are not in any way all that different from you or me) when you can see things that you care about as being the focus of what you might do in your spare time (or, if you're that into it, all of your time). So this book doesn't look down its nose at the collectors who gravitated towards Dylan, and neither should you. If you came to this book with that intention, go ahead and read it anyway. But you'll change your tune once you start seeing aspects of yourself in the various fans profiled here.
"The Dylanologists" is an important and fun look at how an artist can have a huge, mostly positive impact in anyone's life. I may not share the obsessive interest in Dylan (I went to a concert he did in 2007, with Elvis Costello doing a solo acoustic set before Bob's big rock band did their thing; I personally enjoyed EC's portion of the night much more), but I can understand where they're coming from, because I've been that person drawn to something that, up until I heard it or saw it or read it, I had no idea could be so important to me. If you've *never* had that feeling about anything, you won't like this book. But it's hard for me to imagine that anyone could go their lives without experiencing that feeling, at least once.
"The Dylanologists: Adventures In the Land of Bob" is a fantastic, hilarious, and humbling look at the most devoted of Dylan's many fans, the ones who still make pilgrimages to his concerts even as Dylan, on the cusp of eighty, continues to tour (presumably on pause thanks to the pandemic, but no doubt itching to get back on the road in any way that he can). David Kinney, a Dylan fan himself, profiles the people whose lives have revolved around following Bob either on his "Never-Ending Tour" or writing endless fan articles for 'zines and blogs to decipher the meanings behind every line in every song he's ever recorded. Some fans even seek to expose Dylan as something other than what he's been presented as, and Dylan's "Christian phase" at the beginning of the Eighties helped to alienate many longtime fans while gaining him converts among the evangelical set. Bob Dylan, in many ways, can be exactly what you need him to be, because he as always held himself at arm's length from truly revealing who "the real Bob Dylan" is, indeed if there could ever be just one.
It's easy to read this, with its accounts of dumpster-diving to find sheets of paper that the man himself may have written on or perusing long-neglected notebooks to see how various drafts of classic songs came to be, and to snicker to yourself about the poor, deluded "fools" who obsess over Dylan to this degree. But...here's the thing. Substitute your own personal favorite artist for Dylan, and you can see how easily some people fall into such levels of worship (and its attendant disillusion and perhaps even hatred, albeit never of the murderous sort that Lennon's assassin sunk to). Me personally, I have often been drawn to artists or creators in different mediums whose works spoke to me and thus compelled me to seek out any trace of their presence (though in my defense, I usually limit myself to the artifacts they create, not their childhood homes or even high-chairs from infancy). It's harder to judge these people (many of whom are not in any way all that different from you or me) when you can see things that you care about as being the focus of what you might do in your spare time (or, if you're that into it, all of your time). So this book doesn't look down its nose at the collectors who gravitated towards Dylan, and neither should you. If you came to this book with that intention, go ahead and read it anyway. But you'll change your tune once you start seeing aspects of yourself in the various fans profiled here.
"The Dylanologists" is an important and fun look at how an artist can have a huge, mostly positive impact in anyone's life. I may not share the obsessive interest in Dylan (I went to a concert he did in 2007, with Elvis Costello doing a solo acoustic set before Bob's big rock band did their thing; I personally enjoyed EC's portion of the night much more), but I can understand where they're coming from, because I've been that person drawn to something that, up until I heard it or saw it or read it, I had no idea could be so important to me. If you've *never* had that feeling about anything, you won't like this book. But it's hard for me to imagine that anyone could go their lives without experiencing that feeling, at least once.
December 24, 2018
Let's begin with this, Bob Dylan is just a man, a 77 yr old man out on his Never Ending Tour. He is not God or a minor God, he is not the Messiah. Bob Dylan does not have all the answers. He's just an old unretired singer-songwriter touring the world. He finds inspiration in the Bible in both the Old & New Testaments. He believes that his soul will live on in another world. He would most likely suggest to all of his fans to live their own lives and work things out on their own. He might even suggest that they consider a God in heaven. But I don't want to speak for Bobby Zimmerman, the man from America's North Country.
A couple of years ago Bob Dylan won the Nobel Prize for Literature. That's kind of a big deal and it shows that there are educated people all over the world who hold Mr Dylan's song writing abilities in high regard. He's been at it for about 60 yrs. I think to understand Dylan one must consider his roots in the North Country (Hibbing, Minnesota), the times (the early 60s), his ambition and his intelligence. Like Elvis, Bob Dylan was in the right place at the right time. Early on Dylan found inspiration in Woody Guthrie's music and from living in and soaking up the Greenwich Village folk/beat scene of the early 60s. In 1962 he wrote and recorded Blowing in the Wind and his musical career took off. Not long thereafter the legend of Bob Dylan took hold. Some of the "fanzines" or fanatics of Dylan developed into what is currently termed Dylanologists. These folks study everything to do with Bob Dylan and I mean everything. Many parse every lyric, make bootleg copies of his concerts, follow him on the road, fight for front row seats, collect all things Dylan, create websites, go thru his garbage and on & on. This book is a story offered up by the Dylanologists. The writer of the book, himself a Dylanologist, did an excellent job of research, writing and storytelling. I think any fan of Dylan (this includes myself) would find this book interesting. I think it would help any reader to have some understanding of Dylan and his music before reading the book.
Back in the mid 60s I saw Bob Dylan at an airport in Chicago. I was just a boy and my mother pointed him out to me. He was the first celebrity I had ever encountered. What I saw was a small man wearing sunglasses with wild hair and odd clothes. He did not look anything like a god to me, he looked like a strange man, not the type of man I encountered in small-town Indiana. However, I later grew to love some of his music and I became a "normal" fan. A decade ago my wife and I stopped in Hibbing, Minnesota and had lunch at Zimmy's restaurant and bar. I played a couple of songs from the juke box (one was Silvio). We drove by Dylan's childhood home and high school. It was all so normal and the locals were friendly. I can say that Dylan has played a part of my understanding of life and the world. Dylan might be pleased to know that I try my best to think for myself and live my own life. I have never needed a weatherman to know which way the wind blows.
A couple of years ago Bob Dylan won the Nobel Prize for Literature. That's kind of a big deal and it shows that there are educated people all over the world who hold Mr Dylan's song writing abilities in high regard. He's been at it for about 60 yrs. I think to understand Dylan one must consider his roots in the North Country (Hibbing, Minnesota), the times (the early 60s), his ambition and his intelligence. Like Elvis, Bob Dylan was in the right place at the right time. Early on Dylan found inspiration in Woody Guthrie's music and from living in and soaking up the Greenwich Village folk/beat scene of the early 60s. In 1962 he wrote and recorded Blowing in the Wind and his musical career took off. Not long thereafter the legend of Bob Dylan took hold. Some of the "fanzines" or fanatics of Dylan developed into what is currently termed Dylanologists. These folks study everything to do with Bob Dylan and I mean everything. Many parse every lyric, make bootleg copies of his concerts, follow him on the road, fight for front row seats, collect all things Dylan, create websites, go thru his garbage and on & on. This book is a story offered up by the Dylanologists. The writer of the book, himself a Dylanologist, did an excellent job of research, writing and storytelling. I think any fan of Dylan (this includes myself) would find this book interesting. I think it would help any reader to have some understanding of Dylan and his music before reading the book.
Back in the mid 60s I saw Bob Dylan at an airport in Chicago. I was just a boy and my mother pointed him out to me. He was the first celebrity I had ever encountered. What I saw was a small man wearing sunglasses with wild hair and odd clothes. He did not look anything like a god to me, he looked like a strange man, not the type of man I encountered in small-town Indiana. However, I later grew to love some of his music and I became a "normal" fan. A decade ago my wife and I stopped in Hibbing, Minnesota and had lunch at Zimmy's restaurant and bar. I played a couple of songs from the juke box (one was Silvio). We drove by Dylan's childhood home and high school. It was all so normal and the locals were friendly. I can say that Dylan has played a part of my understanding of life and the world. Dylan might be pleased to know that I try my best to think for myself and live my own life. I have never needed a weatherman to know which way the wind blows.
October 8, 2020
Dylanologists:Adventures in the Land of Bob by David Kinney is a mix of Bob Dylan biography and part overzealous fanbase. Kinney is a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist who has worked forThe New York Times, The Washington Post, and The Boston Globe. His previous book is The Big One: An Island, an Obsession, and the Furious Pursuit of a Great Fish -- a book about Martha’s Vineyard.
I would imagine that there are few people alive today who do not know who Bob Dylan is or who cannot name a few lines of one of his songs. As a child I remember listening to “Bob Dylan’s Dream” on 45, mainly because the opening line mentioned trains and I loved trains. I think the only other singer I remember from that very young age was David Bowie and that was because of his eerie reading of Peter and the Wolf. Bob Dylan seemed to follow me in my younger years. I remember the Saturday Night Live parody of “Blowing in the Wind” redone as “The answer, my friends, is Ronald Reagan” in a Dylan meets the Invasion of the Body Snatchers mashup. Although Bob Dylan did not fit into my friends Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, AC/DC listening preferences in high school, I did buy Slow Train Coming. I am a fan, but nothing crazy, an occasional listener. But I will admit Dylan did have an influence on me and American culture.
To say Bob Dylan has enthusiastic fans is a huge understatement. Dylanologist brings some of the biggest fans to the spotlight. Some are so avid they make the KISS Army seem tame. Dylan’s hometown of Hibbing, Minnesota is a “historic” site. The residents and the media are always alert for a Bob Dylan sighting. Zimmy’s Restaurant is a shrine to Dylan and an eatery for the fans who make the pilgrimage Hibbing. Fans seek out every Bob Dylan artifact from the house he grew up in, to bootleg tapes, and everything related or touch by the singer.
The biography covers Dylan, from his childhood through the present, and like other biographies show the changes in the singer’s persona. It is difficult to tell what Dylan’s motivation is to constantly change his image. From folk singer, to supporting social movements, to not supporting social movements, to outspoken Christian, to talking to his rabbi, to just wanting to perform music. Dylan worked to keep his fans off balanced and not knowing what to expect next from the singer.
Dylanologist is an interesting mix of Dylan biography and the extreme fans of Bob Dylan. The intermixing of the two subjects works well and will keep the reader interested. If you have already read Dylan biographies, there is plenty of new information concerning his fans and their reactions to the various incarnations of the singer. A great book for Dylan fans and for those wanting to know what fan obsession is all about.
I would imagine that there are few people alive today who do not know who Bob Dylan is or who cannot name a few lines of one of his songs. As a child I remember listening to “Bob Dylan’s Dream” on 45, mainly because the opening line mentioned trains and I loved trains. I think the only other singer I remember from that very young age was David Bowie and that was because of his eerie reading of Peter and the Wolf. Bob Dylan seemed to follow me in my younger years. I remember the Saturday Night Live parody of “Blowing in the Wind” redone as “The answer, my friends, is Ronald Reagan” in a Dylan meets the Invasion of the Body Snatchers mashup. Although Bob Dylan did not fit into my friends Led Zeppelin, Pink Floyd, AC/DC listening preferences in high school, I did buy Slow Train Coming. I am a fan, but nothing crazy, an occasional listener. But I will admit Dylan did have an influence on me and American culture.
To say Bob Dylan has enthusiastic fans is a huge understatement. Dylanologist brings some of the biggest fans to the spotlight. Some are so avid they make the KISS Army seem tame. Dylan’s hometown of Hibbing, Minnesota is a “historic” site. The residents and the media are always alert for a Bob Dylan sighting. Zimmy’s Restaurant is a shrine to Dylan and an eatery for the fans who make the pilgrimage Hibbing. Fans seek out every Bob Dylan artifact from the house he grew up in, to bootleg tapes, and everything related or touch by the singer.
The biography covers Dylan, from his childhood through the present, and like other biographies show the changes in the singer’s persona. It is difficult to tell what Dylan’s motivation is to constantly change his image. From folk singer, to supporting social movements, to not supporting social movements, to outspoken Christian, to talking to his rabbi, to just wanting to perform music. Dylan worked to keep his fans off balanced and not knowing what to expect next from the singer.
Dylanologist is an interesting mix of Dylan biography and the extreme fans of Bob Dylan. The intermixing of the two subjects works well and will keep the reader interested. If you have already read Dylan biographies, there is plenty of new information concerning his fans and their reactions to the various incarnations of the singer. A great book for Dylan fans and for those wanting to know what fan obsession is all about.
September 4, 2022
Like most Dylan fans, I will never forget my first exposure to his music. Most of us have had our "moment," and mine was simple, but unforgettable. I was in high school, I had just gone through my first "serious" breakup. I stumbled across a copy of Blood on the Tracks on my dad's shelf, decided to listen to it, and the rest is history. I got online, joined some forums, and downloaded as many studio and bootleg albums as I could. I've listened to Bob Dylan semi-obsessively ever since.
Now to my review of this book. I'll be honest, if you aren't a fan of Dylan or if you haven't had your own Dylan "moment," you will probably not enjoy this one. On the other hand, if you have ever thought to yourself, "Man, this guy really gets it or if meeting the man is one of your life goals, you ought to check this book out. As for me, I am anxiously awaiting May 13th so I can grab a copy of my own.
To me, this was a fascinating read. Not only is Dylan himself a completely interesting person, but his fans are just as interesting, as well. There were so many stories to get lost in here. And the thing is, for as obsessed and fanatical as some Dylan fans are, Kinney writes their accounts in a non-biased way, which I'm sure Dylan fans will appreciate. I've never read a biography of Dylan, so I can't say for certain how much new information is presented here, but I learned a lot. I was entirely enthralled while reading this on my lunch breaks at work.
Overall, this was an excellent book, and it's one that Dylan fans will want to add to their shelves. I think the biggest thing this book has going for it is its unique focus. There are countless books on the man himself, but here for the first time is an account of the fans themselves and of Dylan through their eyes. I know I will be revisiting this one upon its publication.
*I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This in no way affected my review.
Now to my review of this book. I'll be honest, if you aren't a fan of Dylan or if you haven't had your own Dylan "moment," you will probably not enjoy this one. On the other hand, if you have ever thought to yourself, "Man, this guy really gets it or if meeting the man is one of your life goals, you ought to check this book out. As for me, I am anxiously awaiting May 13th so I can grab a copy of my own.
To me, this was a fascinating read. Not only is Dylan himself a completely interesting person, but his fans are just as interesting, as well. There were so many stories to get lost in here. And the thing is, for as obsessed and fanatical as some Dylan fans are, Kinney writes their accounts in a non-biased way, which I'm sure Dylan fans will appreciate. I've never read a biography of Dylan, so I can't say for certain how much new information is presented here, but I learned a lot. I was entirely enthralled while reading this on my lunch breaks at work.
Overall, this was an excellent book, and it's one that Dylan fans will want to add to their shelves. I think the biggest thing this book has going for it is its unique focus. There are countless books on the man himself, but here for the first time is an account of the fans themselves and of Dylan through their eyes. I know I will be revisiting this one upon its publication.
*I received a free copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley. This in no way affected my review.
January 19, 2018
After attending 40 Dylan shows across the country from November 1999 to November 2017, I suppose there could’ve been a chapter written about me in this book, along with all the other crazy Bobheads.
For those who don’t get what all the fuss is about after all these years of music and controversy, Dylan either hits you deep or he doesn’t. What I’ve always loved is that I can play any of his 45 or so albums, countless bootlegs or live performances and always find something cool or moving about them...a lyric that finally makes sense to me at age 40, a brilliant harmonica solo, one of a dozen reinterpretations of his songs, or that creepy, old timey sound that hypnotizes you, strangles up your mind in the jingle jangle and puts you in a trance. That’s what his 1995 album Time Out Of Mind did to me. I played it every night for a year. Then I wanted to hear everything else he ever recorded just out of curiosity....and then 20 years blew by. I got lost in the discovery of his music and the uniqueness of his live shows and hopefully found myself along the way, but am still searching.
The study and appreciation of Bob Dylan is not about dissecting the layers of hidden meaning in his lyrics, although that can be fun. It’s about the journey through life with his songs as your soundtrack. It’s no more complicated than a guy who knows how to create a mood, sing from the heart and make you think. And the vast majority of his canon is just good music that spans genres and labels.
Since this book’s publishing, Dylan has won the Nobel Prize in Literature and released three new albums of jazz and standards from the American song book, adding yet another reinvention and new sound to his nearly 60-year career.
For those who don’t get what all the fuss is about after all these years of music and controversy, Dylan either hits you deep or he doesn’t. What I’ve always loved is that I can play any of his 45 or so albums, countless bootlegs or live performances and always find something cool or moving about them...a lyric that finally makes sense to me at age 40, a brilliant harmonica solo, one of a dozen reinterpretations of his songs, or that creepy, old timey sound that hypnotizes you, strangles up your mind in the jingle jangle and puts you in a trance. That’s what his 1995 album Time Out Of Mind did to me. I played it every night for a year. Then I wanted to hear everything else he ever recorded just out of curiosity....and then 20 years blew by. I got lost in the discovery of his music and the uniqueness of his live shows and hopefully found myself along the way, but am still searching.
The study and appreciation of Bob Dylan is not about dissecting the layers of hidden meaning in his lyrics, although that can be fun. It’s about the journey through life with his songs as your soundtrack. It’s no more complicated than a guy who knows how to create a mood, sing from the heart and make you think. And the vast majority of his canon is just good music that spans genres and labels.
Since this book’s publishing, Dylan has won the Nobel Prize in Literature and released three new albums of jazz and standards from the American song book, adding yet another reinvention and new sound to his nearly 60-year career.
June 1, 2021
In the midst of the great man's 80th birthday celebrations, I thought I’d read another book on him. I’ve a whole shelf devoted to Bob, and this one was a recent addition.
I’d consider myself a fan, having seen him in concert 25 times. But that’s nothing compared to some of the bobcats in here, where for some people it numbers into the hundreds. The book isn’t about Dylan, in the biographical sense, though there are snippets of his life – rather it’s the devotion he inspires, from the fans who never miss a gig and queue overnight to get front row, bootleggers who (make some pretty good stuff) obsessively record and trade his concerts, to those who buy and store items that have featured in his life, in a sort of Bob Museum.
It’s easy to scoff, to wonder how sad some peoples lives must be to be so obsessed. And there are lonely people in this book, but the author doesn’t ridicule them, rather he explores where this
fascination come from. Bob himself being so cryptic and elusive is part of the attraction, but it’s his music and lyrics that have touched people deeply to inspire this sort of devotion.
It’s not all Bob worship – I found the chapters on those who no longer enjoy his concerts, as well as the chapter on Bob’s ‘plagiarism’, really interesting. It's complicated being a Bob fan.
I did enjoy this, and it made me feel not so bad about my own little Bob habit. Now excuse me, as I’ve two other Bob books recently arrived to get stuck into and a recently bought ‘Love and Theft’ vinyl to enjoy.
I’d consider myself a fan, having seen him in concert 25 times. But that’s nothing compared to some of the bobcats in here, where for some people it numbers into the hundreds. The book isn’t about Dylan, in the biographical sense, though there are snippets of his life – rather it’s the devotion he inspires, from the fans who never miss a gig and queue overnight to get front row, bootleggers who (make some pretty good stuff) obsessively record and trade his concerts, to those who buy and store items that have featured in his life, in a sort of Bob Museum.
It’s easy to scoff, to wonder how sad some peoples lives must be to be so obsessed. And there are lonely people in this book, but the author doesn’t ridicule them, rather he explores where this
fascination come from. Bob himself being so cryptic and elusive is part of the attraction, but it’s his music and lyrics that have touched people deeply to inspire this sort of devotion.
It’s not all Bob worship – I found the chapters on those who no longer enjoy his concerts, as well as the chapter on Bob’s ‘plagiarism’, really interesting. It's complicated being a Bob fan.
I did enjoy this, and it made me feel not so bad about my own little Bob habit. Now excuse me, as I’ve two other Bob books recently arrived to get stuck into and a recently bought ‘Love and Theft’ vinyl to enjoy.
March 11, 2024
Not a book about the man but the fans, which could only be possible for someone who incites the kind of obsessive behavior in people that Dylan has. I got an advance copy of this back when it came out a decade ago, and just read it now in advance of going to see Dylan live. I can only be so interested in reading about people with unhealthy obsessions and idol worship, but it certainly says something about how fame of this kind is not something to be wished for.
November 11, 2017
A great way to learn both some intimate details about the life of Dylan and how utterly crazy his fans can be. The sympathetic (at times) look at his most devoted fans demonstrate the unique influence he had on American culture and music history. Makes you want to get in line at 3am just to be a part of something magical.
June 29, 2018
I am a fan of Bob Dylan as long as I can remember. Even with this biased view I can say that this books went into paths taken by fans of Dylan which looks weird even to me. But it's a lovely read, fluid as summer, and could be lapped up in a matter of hours. A true piece of fun for any Dylan aficionados.
January 13, 2018
3.5 stars Fairly easy read about Bob Dylan fan(atic)s. These stories relate to how fans come to know Dylans music and the lengths they will go to search for more Dylan clues and info past what has been released officially.
April 16, 2019
Pretty enjoyable if you’re a fan, but ultimately fails to deliver on its promise of exploring what drives Dylan’s obsessive fans to probe his life so intimately. Still, it’s a quick read that taught me a bit more about one of my favorite artists than I already knew, so I can’t complain.
August 11, 2017
Fascinating and scary all at once!
January 17, 2018
A very interesting read , great info for the detail person and a great insight into the world of the Dylanologists who aren't crazy just slightly obsessed.
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