From Moo Deng to Nick Cave: Is Bob Dylan entering his ‘online’ phase
There’s something happening with social media. Something terrifying and monstrous that threatens the very fabric of our society. We can’t escape it because despite using these platforms every day of our lives, we have no control over them. They and their algorithms instead have complete control over us and are being used to show us… Bob Dylan?! It’s true, a generation of guitar slinging octogenarians have finally figured out how to use social media and are throwing away decades of mystique to show us just how normal they really are.
Of course, this is nothing new. 15 years ago, we all felt the pain of our parents joining Facebook. While this isn’t quite as lame (just), there is something truly surreal about the recent revelation that none other than the Dean of Dylanology himself is just as obsessed with memes as the rest of us. Last week, Lucky Wilbury’s YouTube account posted a clip of ‘Must Be Santa’, a cut from his 2009 Yuletide album ‘Christmas in the Heart’. The track, a vaguely agreeable piece of festive fluff that shows there’s truly nothing that polka can’t improve, isn’t really what attracted attention, though.
Instead, it was the big ol’ Moo Deng photo that accompanied it. It should come as no surprise, really, that there isn’t a soul in this world that can resist the mischievous pygmy hippo. The surprise comes from somewhere else. Namely, one of rock’s most mysterious figures, who conjured the ‘Bob Dylan’ persona from scratch and once said, “All the truth in the world adds up to one big lie”, is finally willing to show himself as just like the rest of us at the grand old age of 83.
He’s not alone, either. Robert Fripp and Toyah Wilcox made a pretty spectacular comeback with their bizarrely sexual covers channel on YouTube. David Lynch’s weather reports were a strange delight, much like the man himself. A man who Dylan himself praised effusively on Twitter a few days back, Nick Cave, has probably done this better than anyone else. Turning his website into the Red Hand Files, an AMA section where he answers questions submitted by fans in a typically lyrical, illuminating way.
So far, so lovingly cringe, but one must wonder why they’re doing this. This is a generation of musicians that couldn’t just have mystique; they could have their own space. The current pop scene is fit to burst with stars whose record labels are demanding ‘relatable content’ from their social media accounts more than actual hits. Florence Welch, FKA Twigs, and even the all-conquering Charli XCX have taken to TikTok over the past couple of years to complain about how many TikToks their labels have been bullying them for. Halsey even revealed that a song of theirs was being held hostage by their label “unless they can fake a viral moment on TikTok.”
One would hope this was a natural decision. It’s nothing new for those who reach a certain age to stop caring what people think and start having fun in the twilight of their years. There’s also a distinct possibility that it’s not them, especially the Dylan posts. ‘Subterranean Homesick Blues’ alone could probably pay for one hell of a marketing team. There is the truly terrifying option, though. That everyone in music, at every level, no matter what you’ve achieved, eventually must cave to the demands of some clueless man pointing at an algorithm.
It sounds like a small price to pay for being a worldwide pop star, but never forget, what happens to all of us happens to the music industry first.
Never Miss A Tale
The Far Out Bob Dylan Newsletter
All the latest stories about Bob Dylan from the independent voice of culture.
Straight to your inbox.