what today's artists can learn from the recent Bob Dylan film...
A man is a success if he gets up in the morning, and gets to bed at night, and in between does exactly what he wants to.
Bob Dylan
I’ll be straight with you - I’ve never really enjoyed Bob Dylan. He’s always annoyed the fuck out of me.
The voice, the rat like features, the smug attitude…
He always felt like the most unsexy man in Rock n Roll, and as an Ozzy fan, that’s saying a lot.
However, I’ve always had respect for the great influence his songwriting and music have had on the world.
He’s one of the very few people to have existed in music that you can confidently say, “without him, I’m not sure where we’d be right now.”
(continued below, after I tell you how much $$ we raised last week for a family that lost their home in the fires / I was mentioned in Rolling Stone & am famous now so…)
A Complete Unknown
Bob Dylan arrived to New York City in 1961.
At this time, no one had a clue who Bob Dylan was.
By 1965, the response to his albums The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan and The Times They Are a-Changin' led the media to label him the “spokesman of a generation.”
…he hated that.
As A Complete Unknown went on to tell it’s fictional yet heavily inspired tale of Dylan’s experiences from 1961-1965, I began to fall in love with Bob Dylan the man, more than Bob Dylan the songwriter.
To be honest, Bob Dylan’s most alluring quality is how much he hates being Bob Dylan.
In a 1966 interview with Playboy, Dylan said that during the summer of the year before, he had decided he was going to quit music.
But, in an effort to persevere, on July 20, 1965 he released his single "Like a Rolling Stone," featuring a more integrated folk rock sound.
Five days after the release, on July 25, 1965, he performed his first concert with electric instruments at the Newport Folk Festival.
The same fans that praised him those years before, despised Dylan’s desire to evolve, and had no interest in his new sound.
The festival and label both agreed with the enraged fans, saying a 6 minute song was too long, and that no one wanted to hear Bob Dylan play electric instruments.
It seemed that everyone around Dylan at the time liked him just the way he was, wanting him to stay that way forever…which is certain death for an artist.
Bob Dylan went on after Johnny Cash that night in Newport, passing him as he walked out onto the the stage…
“Track some mud on the carpet BD,” said Cash.
Dylan took center stage, turned his back to the crowd, and said to the band “play it loud.”
“Like A Rolling Stone” went on to spend 12 weeks on the US Charts, reaching No. 2 on Billboard.
It is now known as one of the great pieces of American art.
Bob Dylan said, “I was just happy it was something I could dig.”
In 2014, the handwritten lyrics to Like A Rolling Stone sold for $2 million dollars.
Sometimes the short cut is the longest way there…
There’s a difference, between drifting and losing control.
If you’re drifting, you may be searching for what’s next, what you’re to become. You may try new things and explore different possibilities.
It’s okay to drift for a while.
But if you’ve lost control, you may now be looking to others to make your decisions for you.
Be conscious and aware of where you are between the two.
An artist I worked with early on in her career recently posted to her now 200,000+ followers Instagram…
“I’m sorry for posting about my engagement, I’m just so happy!”
(she’s getting married)
“I know you guys don’t want to see this stuff, my numbers always go down when I post about my personal life.”
I have respect for this artist, and what she’s accomplished.
But after a few of her more click bait style songs & videos went viral, where she touched on a sociological or political or just generally “triggering” part of our miserable existence, she chose to make this style of content her entire identity.
Song after song, in the same vein, with the same messages, fighting for some sort of “justice” for whichever group is currently seeking it.
The songs, the content, it all became solely focused on driving as much engagement to her accounts, in the most sensationalistic way possible.
The internet took over, and the artist became an entertainer.
Art vs Entertainment
In the music industry, naturally our artists are entertainers too.
They need to be, in order to succeed.
However, in this world it never goes both ways.
Think David Letterman vs David Bowie.
Bowie could’ve probably become a halfway decent talk show host if he wanted to be.
However, David Letterman will not be releasing a single any time soon.
When who you are is no longer your choice, you become a puppet.
An entertainer.
You live in fear, worrying what someone might say, or how they might react.
Once they own you, your art dies, and you live to please.
But the best art isn’t always pleasant…
and it’s not always accepted…
at first.
In the case of Bob Dylan, he didn’t care what you had to say about him, because he never sought your approval to begin with.
This is the difference between having 200,000 followers, and being remembered forever.
If you want to feel sorry for yourself and say the internet made you this way, then so be it.
But as an artist, you should be ready to die alone…completely unknown if need be.
The goal from the beginning was to offer the world an extension of your soul.
If you’ve done that, know that everything from there is out of your control.
Bob Dylan was out to serve himself, and no one else.
Call it self centered, arrogant, narcissistic all you want.
But if you don’t serve yourself, who will?
Long live rock n roll.
Lucas
Amen, father Flood