Bob Dylan and Preservation

November 3, 2007

Forget all the stuff about authenticity and selling out (greasy kids stuff). Dylan doesn't care about that particular frame for his work. The idea that somehow he is after money is also absurd. No one would tour like him year after year.. small venue after small venue.. if he just wanted money. Dylan has a legacy and something to say.

This commercial gives a vivid sense of the way Dylan works with old material. Here at Old Roads we are interested in the preservation of old forms and styles. We like old cars; we like old radio programs. Listening to Dylan you might think that we have found our perfect match. He is loving the idea of rolling down dusty deserted roads in a Cadillac and playing the part of an old time radio DJ. But there is an important point to note: he is not driving an old Cadillac; he is driving a new Cadillac SUV. He is not on a traditional radio broadcast; he is on satellite radio. In other words, Dylan is attracted to the trappings of old things.. their signs.. but is not committed to the preservation of the actual form of those things.

Understanding this makes sense of many of his creative choices. For example, last year's limited edition release of the CD Modern Times came as a little booklet that looked like a miniature version of the old 78 albums.

Note the way the binding for this 78 album comes in a bit on the left and has a satin-like texture to it that is different than the picture on the cover.

In this album you can glimpse the way the 78s are top loading and carried in brown sleeves. Once again note the distinctive way the binding comes in on the left.

The limited edition of Modern Times was packaged exactly like these 78s. That could be taken as just a cute wink at the past, except this use of the past is such a recurring pattern with Dylan. He has no use for producing actual 78s. He is not going to travel down the road of Pearl Jam and release is music in an actual classic format. He tips his hat to the past and carefully aligns himself with that past through its signs.. but has nothing of a preservationist ethic about him. This attitude is perfectly on display in his long version (2 minutes) of the Cadillac commercial.