Bob Dylan dissects The Who in an excerpt from his new book
Next month, Bob Dylan will release The Philosophy of Modern Song, his first self-written book since Chronicles: Volume One was put out back in 2004. In a collection of essays, Dylan will dissect 60 popular songs from across the world of music, shedding light on how songwriters craft their work.
Dylan is a man with a unique insight into what makes a good song, so if he’s giving out compliments on songwriting, you should probably listen. Today, a few excerpts are available to preview the new book, including Dylan’s takes on two very different songs.
The first is Frank Sinatra’s ‘Strangers in the Night’, a song that Dylan probably sees a good bit of himself inside. “The song of the lone wolf, the outsider, the alien, the foreigner, and night owl who’s wheeling and dealing, putting everything up for sale and surrendering his self-interest,” Dylan writes. “On the move aimlessly through the dingy darkness — slicing up the pie of sentimental feelings, dividing it into pieces all the time, exchanging piercing penetrating looks with someone he hardly knows.”
On the opposite side of the musical spectrum, Dylan also takes a look at The Who’s monumental early single ‘My Generation’. “This is a song that does no favors for anyone, and casts doubt on everything,” Dylan writes. “In this song, people are trying to slap you around, slap you in the face, vilify you. They’re rude and they slam you down, take cheap shots. They don’t like you because you pull out all the stops and go for broke.”
“You put your heart and soul into everything and shoot the works, because you got energy and strength and purpose,” Dylan adds. “Because you’re so inspired they put the whammy on, they’re allergic to you, and they have hard feelings. Just your very presence repels them. They give you frosty looks and they’ve had enough of you, and there’s a million others just like you, multiplying every day.”
The Philosophy of Modern Song will also take on diverse songwriters like Nina Simone, Hank Williams, and Elvis Costello, among many others. You can buy The Philosophy of Modern Song upon its release in November of this year.
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