3.5
The Philosophy of Modern Song
ByPublisher Description
The Philosophy of Modern Song is Bob Dylan’s first book of new writing since 2004’s Chronicles: Volume One—and since winning the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2016.
Dylan, who began working on the book in 2010, offers his extraordinary insight into the nature of popular music. He writes over sixty essays focusing on songs by other artists, spanning from Stephen Foster to Elvis Costello, and in between ranging from Hank Williams to Nina Simone. He analyzes what he calls the trap of easy rhymes, breaks down how the addition of a single syllable can diminish a song, and even explains how bluegrass relates to heavy metal. These essays are written in Dylan’s unique prose. They are mysterious and mercurial, poignant and profound, and often laugh-out-loud funny. And while they are ostensibly about music, they are really meditations and reflections on the human condition. Running throughout the book are nearly 150 carefully curated photos as well as a series of dream-like riffs that, taken together, resemble an epic poem and add to the work’s transcendence.
In 2020, with the release of his outstanding album Rough and Rowdy Ways, Dylan became the first artist to have an album hit the Billboard Top 40 in each decade since the 1960s. The Philosophy of Modern Song contains much of what he has learned about his craft in all those years, and like everything that Dylan does, it is a momentous artistic achievement.
Dylan, who began working on the book in 2010, offers his extraordinary insight into the nature of popular music. He writes over sixty essays focusing on songs by other artists, spanning from Stephen Foster to Elvis Costello, and in between ranging from Hank Williams to Nina Simone. He analyzes what he calls the trap of easy rhymes, breaks down how the addition of a single syllable can diminish a song, and even explains how bluegrass relates to heavy metal. These essays are written in Dylan’s unique prose. They are mysterious and mercurial, poignant and profound, and often laugh-out-loud funny. And while they are ostensibly about music, they are really meditations and reflections on the human condition. Running throughout the book are nearly 150 carefully curated photos as well as a series of dream-like riffs that, taken together, resemble an epic poem and add to the work’s transcendence.
In 2020, with the release of his outstanding album Rough and Rowdy Ways, Dylan became the first artist to have an album hit the Billboard Top 40 in each decade since the 1960s. The Philosophy of Modern Song contains much of what he has learned about his craft in all those years, and like everything that Dylan does, it is a momentous artistic achievement.
70 Reviews
3.5
Rachel Rubin
Created about 1 month agoShare
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“I had so much fun getting through this book! I did a combo - audio, partially read by Bob Dylan himself and partially read by various celebrities, hard cover book with related pictures and certain phrases highlighted, and a playlist someone made on a streaming service I use. I'd read/listen to the "essay" Dylan put together, and then would listen to the song and read the lyrics. I enjoyed that many of the songs I hadn't heard of before. And for some I knew, I got a whole different perspective.
He does this really cool thing for most of the 66 songs he chose... it's like he puts you in the song and is talking about what is going on, or what the person in the song might be thinking or feeling. In the audio, these are the parts he narrates himself. And he has such a way with words and expression, it's like brain candy. The other half are reflections on the artist or their life, comparison with other songs, callouts of the music vibe or uniqueness, and often in context of what was going on during that time period.”
Lehmann
Created about 1 month agoShare
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“Illuminating to see how the Bobber analyzes a song, and gave me many discoveries, but please, man, give us Chronicles II!”
aj martin
Created 3 months agoShare
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Whitney
Created 6 months agoShare
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Bookgirl76
Created 7 months agoShare
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About Bob Dylan
Bob Dylan has released thirty-nine studio albums, which collectively have sold over 125 million copies around the world. He won the Nobel Prize in Literature and has been awarded the French Legion of Honor, a Pulitzer Prize Special Citation, and the Presidential Medal of Freedom, the country’s highest civilian honor. His memoir, Chronicles: Volume One, spent a year on the New York Times bestseller list.
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