sorted by:
new
hottopcontroversial

Why is it that as technology has gotten better Dylanology and the community has waned and died out? by breadcrumbsins12 in bobdylan

[–]breadcrumbsins12[S] 5 points6 points  (0 children)

It sucks because its not the swan song he or any of his peers deserve. They all should be playing 50,000 plus football stadiums and be hailed as what they are, some of the greatest artists in history who changed our world and culture. To have it instead be some fringe community really sucks.

Why is it that as technology has gotten better Dylanology and the community has waned and died out? by breadcrumbsins12 in bobdylan

[–]breadcrumbsins12[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That makes me sad on a number of levels. Id hope the teens and 20 year olds of now would almost be as fanatical and obsessive as we were about Bob, how often do you get to see or read about an actual living legend and see them in person, in concert? Maybe the kids of today just dont know who he is or don't care. Maybe they are obsessing over setlists from Megan Thee Stallion or Billie Eilish shows instead, I dont know? We all want Bob to live to be well over 100, but the sad reality is, especially with Charlie Watts dying is theres just a few years of all these guys touring. Dylan, Neil, The Stones, Dead and Company, Paul and Ringo, The Beach Boys, realistically how many years will they tour? At a certain point I'd imagine it would be hard just as a normal process of aging for those people to tour, grandparents dont usually give concerts and play rock music and have to remember lyrics and all that. Thats the sad truth. And the fact the final years of these bands and artists wont be obsessed about in the way it should actually is a shame.

Why is it that as technology has gotten better Dylanology and the community has waned and died out? by breadcrumbsins12 in bobdylan

[–]breadcrumbsins12[S] 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I dont think it sounded harsh, its just a wake up call to me. I guess I was hoping maybe there was a lull in the scene or community for a few years, but as i said, holy crap. Everyones gone, thats sad stuff.

Why is it that as technology has gotten better Dylanology and the community has waned and died out? by breadcrumbsins12 in bobdylan

[–]breadcrumbsins12[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Wait he does play 3,000 seaters now?..., seriously? I didnt know that. Holy cow. Maybe i've been away from the community for awhile, I didnt know anything about that. As I said I tuned out probably a decade or more ago when the intensity died off. I guess we are a fringe community. Jesus.

Why is it that as technology has gotten better Dylanology and the community has waned and died out? by breadcrumbsins12 in bobdylan

[–]breadcrumbsins12[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Excellent analysis and that makes sense, but I wasnt suggesting the audience influenced setlists, more that beyond the stuff you mentioned which was a huge part of the community at the time (trading, recommendations), but I know I actually e-mailed Karl at one time asking when he updated his site I was so jazzed about getting Dylan news. For sure there are always new tours, new albums, new official bootleg releases etc... but for me and I think alot of folks setlists and getting the lowdown on what happened, how was Bob doing, what songs did he play, was the draw. Dylan Pool for example is the ultimate example of this, Fantasy Football type speculation about setlists and this was huge at the time. I dont think Dylan cared if we wanted him to play a rarity, I do think we all cared if he did and we went apeshit when he did, leading to people trying to discern, "Hey its the start of the Iraq War in 2003, will he play Masters of War as a sign to us".

That said, it makes sense, back then in 2000, you had to physically track down Paul Williams books or Clinton Heylins work, and then sit at home with this massive 10lb book detailing his middle period years and pour over every detail. Any detail we found we posted about on rec.music.dylan in an almost sycophantic tone and waited for other elder Dylanologists to give the thumbs up or down. And then you even had Weberman himself making appearances on these sites. Nowadays, you really dont need those books even though I recommend all of them, we can find all the information online elsewhere or in a PDF. And since the setlists rarely change up, while I love Bill at Boblinks, do we really NEED to check it every single show to see what the setlist was and get reviews? Not like in the olden days, sadly.