"This Dylan song can seem amorphous and mystical in the negative sense, especially as it became a kind of countercultural anthem and meaningless through overuse. But the lyrics are coherent and profound, especially the first verse:
They say everything can be replaced
They say every distance is not near
But I remember every face
Of every man who put me here.
"The modern world tells us that everything is fungible, nothing is of real value, everything can and should be replaced—our spouse, our culture, our religion, our history, our sexual nature, our race, everything. It is the view of atomistic liberal man, forever creating himself out of his preferences, not dependent on any larger world of which he is a part. The singer is saying, No, this isn’t true. Things have real and particular values and they cannot be cast off and replaced by other things. And, though we seem to be distant, we are connected. I am connected to all the men, the creators and builders and poets and philosophers, and my own relatives and friends, who have come before me or influenced me, who created the world in which I live." --Levon Helm, Dick Clark dead
Posted by gerardvanderleun at April 20, 2012 5:41 PM
Also, Dick Clark, the emperor of Rock ‘n’ Roll, is dead at 82. Notice the Times’ consistently condescending tone toward Clark throughout the obit, acknowledging his talent and success while always presenting it in a way to belittle him. I don’t carry any particular brief for Dick Clark, but it is to be observed that the Times, imitated by other liberal organs, has a highly developed technique of telling its readers, not through honest and clear speech, but through the subconceptual method of tone and word choice, of whom they should approve and especially of whom they should not approve. You might call it passive aggressive journalism—involving an aggression which the aggressor can deny.
"Passive-aggressive journalism," indeed. Dead solid perfect.
Posted by: Rob De Witt at April 20, 2012 6:42 PMWhatever.
Posted by: Frankf at April 20, 2012 8:19 PMLikewise with the recent death of painter Thomas Kincade. I was not particularly a fan; my only connection with him is that I once bought a box of Christmas cards bearing one of his paintings. He was a religious man, and believed that he was using his talent to bring beauty into the world.
But all the "cool" people looked down their noses at him, and at the people who bought and enjoyed his artwork. Of course, those same people thought that a crucifix dipped in a jar of urine was Serious Art.
Posted by: rickl at April 21, 2012 5:26 AMGreat video clip in one of the comments at the linked article. It's a continuation of the video Gerard linked the other day.
"Still got the shovel!" is officially my new favorite phrase.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mn60YWO218k
I agree. "Still got the shovel" is the phrase that pays.
Posted by: vanderleun at April 21, 2012 6:32 AM
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