Mix Tape Friday: All Along the Mix Tape

I spent my week coasting on a Bob Dylan high — so we have to do Bob Dylan cover mix this week. I thought this would be easy since everyone covers Bob. Finding the songs was no problem. The problem was whittling down the list to (at first) a manageable thirty … which quickly moved up to forty … and, finally, nearly fifty songs. That’s a lot of songs for this weekly post. But I swear I cut a lot of songs so I wouldn’t crash MyDataBus again.

Just look at this varied list of artists: rock and country stars, punkers and alt-banders, jazz vocalists and R&B stars — even some of the best damn songwriters out there. As Warren Zevon says at the beginning of his live track, “Well, this is the reason why I’m here.” I could have gone the way of Olivia Newton John and Cher, but they were moved to the Nope folder to make room for Richard Hell and XTC.

Crank the knob and sing loudly today. These lyrics deserve a lot of volume.

Bingo Hand Job: You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere

George Harrison: If Not for You

Stevie Wonder: Blowin’ in the Wind

Paul Westerberg: Positively 4th Street

Nick Drake: Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright

Nanci Griffith: Boots of Spanish Leather

Cowboy Junkies: If You Gotta Go, Go Now

Elvis Costello + Bob Dylan: I Shall Be Released

John Lennon + Ringo Starr: Subterranean Homesick Blues

The Rolling Stones: Like a Rolling Stone

Mavis Staples: Gotta Serve Somebody

Them feat. Van Morrison: It’s All Over Now, Baby Blue

Isaac Hayes: Lay Lady Lay

Madeleine Peyroux: You’re Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go

Warren Zevon: Dark Eyes

Steve Earle: My Back Pages

Roger McGuinn: It’s Alright Ma (I’m Only Bleeding)

Robyn Hitchcock: Not Dark Yet

Buffalo Tom: She Belongs to Me

The Beatles: Rainy Day Woman No. 12 & 35

Neil Young: Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues *

Tin Machine: Maggie’s Farm

XTC: All Along the Watchtower **

Bryan Ferry: A Hard Rain’s A’Gonna Fall

White Stripes: One More Cup of Coffee

Bruce Springsteen: The Times They Are A’Changin’

Nina Simone: Just Like a Woman

Yo La Tengo: I Threw It All Away

P.J. Harvey: Highway 61 Revisited

Johnny Cash: It Ain’t Me, Babe

R.L. Burnside: Everything Is Broken

The O’Jays: Emotionally Yours (R&B version)

Janis Joplin: Dear Landlord

Jimi Hendrix: Drifter’s Escape

Guns N’ Roses: Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door

Red Hot Chili Peppers: Subterranean Homesick Blues

Pearl Jam: Masters of War

Richard Hell: Going Going Gone

Jason & The Scorchers: Absolutely Sweet Marie

Cat Power: Paths of Victory

Uncle Tupelo: Moonshiner

The Waterboys: Girl of the North Country

Townes Van Zandt: Man Gave Names to All the Animals

Thea Gilmore: I Dreamed I Saw St. Augustine

Nico: I’ll Keep It with Mine

Emmylou Harris: When I Paint My Masterpiece

Buddy + Julie Miller: Wallflower

The Byrds: Chimes of Freedom

* Thank you, Haahnster
** And thank you, Occasionally Beloved Engineer

I tried to mix it up with this Bobfest mix tape — different genres, unexpected covers, one appearance per song (except for “Subterranean Homesick Blues”; the two versions here are so different, I decided to break my own rule) and artist (except for a couple of band and solo appearances). No reggae, since I freakin’ hate reggae, but otherwise a good mix of genres.

There are so many great Bob Dylan covers out there. I’m interested in what are some of your favorites. He has such a massive, majestic catalog, you may not even realize he wrote that song you love so much by that band.

If you enjoyed this Bobfest, join me in counting the days until Oct. 30. The I’m Not There soundtrack has an amazing lineup of artists covering Dylan: Jeff Tweedy and Stephen Malkmus, Eddie Vedder and Sufjan Stevens, Cat Power and Iron & Wine, Sonic Youth and Yo La Tengo, Tom Verlaine and John Doe, The Hold Steady and The Black Keys, Glen Hansard and Markta Irglov — and many more. Several of the acts are backed by Million Dollar Bashers — Sonic Youth's Lee Ranaldo and drummer Steve Shelley, Tom Verlaine on guitar, Wilco guitarist Nels Cline, guitarist Smokey Hormel, keyboardist John Medeski, and Dylan bassist Tony Garnier. That lineup, my friends, is the definition of awesomenisity.

Bingo Hand Job, who opens this set, is R.E.M. with Billy Bragg and Robyn Hitchcock. Longtime friends, they did a couple of surprise shows at the Borderline, in London, in March 1991 — one of the best bootleg CDs I own. Fantastic, fun show.

Nina Simone is probably my favorite artist who interpreted Bob Dylan’s songs. It was tough, very tough, deciding which one to include her. Her versions of “The Times They Are A'Changin'” and “Some of Tom Thumb’s Blues” are a-freakin’-mazing — but her “Just Like a Woman” is a personal favorite. Do yourself a favor and grab Nina Simone’s greatest hits. Lawd, did she have a voice …

“Lay Lady Lay” always makes me giggle because hearing it never fails to conjure that “Saturday Night Live” skit with Fran Tarkenton trying to seduce Lorraine Newman, with Bob Dylan’s version playing and statistics on his incomplete passes. I think Isaac Hayes’ cover was influenced by that skit.

I included Robyn Hitchcock covering "Not Dark Yet" (one of my favorite Dylan tunes). Robyn sang it live — lovely and lovingly — when I saw him in Baltimore last November. This version isn't as good as the live version; anyone have a copy of Robyn singing it live?

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Thunder on the Arena

I can finally check another one off my list. I saw Bob Dylan — for the first time, if you can believe it — Saturday night at Gwinnett Arena.

I’ve always wanted to see Bob Dylan. How can you not love his music? There isn’t a songwriter better than him — hell, there are few twentieth (or twenty-first) century poets better than him when it comes to stringing together lovely words. I’ve never made it to the box office, though, because of his reputation for on-stage iffiness. The push this time came in the form of his opener: Elvis Costello. The second I heard the bill, I knew this was my time to finally see Dylan. I got floor seats for the niece and me, and started counting the days.

Due to technical difficulties ranging from someone meeting up from tickets to deadly highway accidents, we sadly (so, so sadly) missed Amos Lee. I was out in the parking lot, drinking a beer, when I could have been inside grooving. I’m sorry, Jewgirl.

The crowd was, understandably, interesting: aging hippies and hip yuppies, young kids and old fogies. I saw as much gray hair as green, bald heads and faux-hawked tops.

I’ve seen Elvis many times over the last thirty years, and he has yet to disappoint me. I was interested in seeing him as an opening act since he’s always been a headliner in my world.


It was a great set — just Elvis (his first solo outing in more than a decade) and unplugged (with the occasional plugged) guitars, working his dark suit with black dress shirt and tie (Mr. Costello always has style on stage, my dears). My favorite number was “Radio Sweetheart,” which faded into “Jackie Wilson Said.” Love it when Mr. Costello does that.

Elvis Costello’s Setlist

(The Angels Wanna Wear My) Red Shoes
Either Side of the Same Town
Veronica
Down Among the Wine and Spirits
The River in Reverse
Bedlam
Less Than Zero
Radio Sweetheart/Jackie Wilson Said
Alison/In Another Room
Peace, Love, and Understanding

One complaint: The lame-ass folks sitting on the floor with us didn’t stand or dance for one frickin’ song; the dorks behind us even yelled at us to sit down. How can you sit during “Red Shoes” or “Peace, Love, and Understanding”?

Okay, another complaint: Forty minutes just isn’t enough to stroke my Elvis jones, but it’s better than no Costello at all, I guess. And it has been more than a year since I’ve seen him perform, so I should just quit whining, shouldn’t I?

We had a nice little break between Costello and Dylan — enough time to flirt with the cute Savannah guys next to us, get a T-shirt, grab a beer. We hit the floor as soon as Dylan hit the stage, so we danced in the back for a couple of songs …until it was suggested that we find our seats.

Dylan was rocking the Texas hat and garb — and he wears it well. He doesn’t allow Jumbo-trons, so I didn’t get a close look, but I think even Tim Gunn would have approved.

The niece said it best: Dylan sounded a lot like Boomhauer on the first couple of songs, but his voice got stronger and clearer as the set went on … well, as much as his voice can. His band was great, adding a lot of Texas swing to some tunes (the best of these was “Summer Days”).

Dylan played electric guitar on the first three songs, then spent the rest of the show playing keyboard, with the occasional harp thrown in (to wild applause every time).

Bob Dylan’s Setlist

Leopard-Skin Pill-Box Hat
Don't Think Twice, It's All Right
Watching the River Flow
Just Like a Woman
Rollin' and Tumblin'
Spirit on the Water
Ballad of Hollis Brown
Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again
Honest with Me
Workingman's Blues #2
Highway 61 Revisited
Nettie Moore
Summer Days
Masters of War

Encore:
Thunder on the Mountain
All Along the Watchtower

Nobody stood or danced during Costello’s set … but they all stood and danced (as much as you can, anyway) during most of Dylan’s show.

A lifetime without live Dylan now fulfilled. He was great — the ubers around us rated the show an eight — and I’ll see him again. We didn’t get "Things Have Changed" or Jack White, but we got cute T-shirts and cuter Savannah boys.

Security was very strict about cameras, even cell phones — so you won’t get to enjoy some of my crappy concert photography with this post. One of the CSBs got some great shots when he went to the sixth row … but he has yet to send them.

So, to summarize: Costello, good. Dylan, good. Saturday night, great!

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I Fell in Love Today

I picked up the new Bob Dylan album, Modern Times, during this morning’s Starbucks run. And I can’t. Stop. Listening to it. If you like Dylan … great songwriting … folk music … Americana … rockabilly … get it today. It’s brilliant. Of course it is; it’s Bob Dylan.


And I’m not the only one tooting the Dylan horn:
Rolling Stone
Entertainment Weekly
Prefix
Blender
Pitchfork

What are you waiting for? Get out there and pick it up today. Let it be your soundtrack for the Labor Day weekend. You’ll thank me on Tuesday.

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