Kerry wrote: >I just came across a recording of a concert that Ani Difranco did in >Australia at the Port Fairy Folk Festival in 1998. She said some >interesting things about Joni between songs: ><snip> >You know it's funny, I spent last August with Mr. Bob Dylan. I was >touring/opening shows for him and ever since then...all the interviewers >keep asking me..'What was it like touring with God?' and 'What words of >wisdom did he bestow upon you?'...There's this kind of religion of hyperbole >that surrounds Bob and 'long live the church of Bob.' You know, I would >never attempt heresy in that area, especially not in my line of work, but >it's funny because Bob was never really a deity for me ...
Reminds me of the footage from Imagine, where the drug-crazed fan breaks into Lennon's house because he wants The Answer, and Lennon tries oh-so-patiently to explain that he's Just a Guy, y'know. Bob Dylan is Just a Guy, in that sense. He's no more God than you or I, he just happens to be another genius who has written songs that are, by themselves or with the insight we bring to them, a number of astonishing songs. He helped define a generation and his influence is everywhere. But he's not God. From what I've read, and heard from friends who've chatted with Dylan, he likes nothing better than to talk about the family, about homey things, and to get away from the "Bob Dylan" thing ... unless it's within the context of an interview, of course. Just my .02. Gil
