Great piece, John. The photos are so important to it, as you rightly bring up. Dylan's always been a champion of woman musical artists, from Odetta to, say, a little more recently, Carolyn Wonderland. To regard his Modern Song list as shamefully short of woman is just the kind of politico reductionist pseudo-fairness bruhahah nobody needs. Am I ranting about the overflow of women writers in the realm of fiction, especially YA fiction? No. Did you see how I got that in by denying I wanted to get that in? Anyway, peculiarity is Dylan's forte, and like with everybody, the Modern Song book both baffled and delighted me. I expected a list of linear historical analysis of songs from Foster to early jazz vocalists to blues to rock and roll to the 60's folk and rock and on, featuring the big songs of different decades. Instead we get weirdness, Cher and no Beatles, no Byrds, for goodness sake. Here's my Substack take on it. I think it's a psychedelic book. https://williamrouthier.substack.com/p/the-philosophy-of-modern-song
I'll say what everyone has been afraid to say: THE PHILOSOPHY OF MODERN SONG is just not very good. I gave my copy away
It’s really really eccentric. That’s for sure. Hope Chronicles 2 is more better (as the kids say)
Great piece, John. The photos are so important to it, as you rightly bring up. Dylan's always been a champion of woman musical artists, from Odetta to, say, a little more recently, Carolyn Wonderland. To regard his Modern Song list as shamefully short of woman is just the kind of politico reductionist pseudo-fairness bruhahah nobody needs. Am I ranting about the overflow of women writers in the realm of fiction, especially YA fiction? No. Did you see how I got that in by denying I wanted to get that in? Anyway, peculiarity is Dylan's forte, and like with everybody, the Modern Song book both baffled and delighted me. I expected a list of linear historical analysis of songs from Foster to early jazz vocalists to blues to rock and roll to the 60's folk and rock and on, featuring the big songs of different decades. Instead we get weirdness, Cher and no Beatles, no Byrds, for goodness sake. Here's my Substack take on it. I think it's a psychedelic book. https://williamrouthier.substack.com/p/the-philosophy-of-modern-song