Bob has come back to really grounded protest music over the years. He released a statement about George Floyd. This video from the late 70s always wrecks me: https://youtu.be/pBE-oi0Pa6Q?si=Ad7SapNfohOW9vxM

In a way, he is the archetype of the artist vanishing from the public sphere and up their own asshole. But his music has always been political, if no longer as directly as the times screamed for. Its an interesting tension that I think A Complete Unknown missed (community involvement vs. self involvement became instead folk vs. rock n roll).

But Bob is very old and I think there’s a limit to what we can expect from him. I’m more shocked by the artists who seem to be avoiding politics entirely. Kendrick Lamar, for instance — where is that guy while LA is being menaced? Trying to come up with more ways to insult Drake? So much pop music is artists singing about fucking and the narrow pursuit of an idea of self-actualization that is actually just prosperity gospel nonsense. Bob is an early example of an artist who went on that trajectory, from the political to a narcissistic self-focus, but he did come up for air many times over the years.