Bob Dylan : NPR

To Capture Bob Dylan's Rolling Thunder Revue, Martin Scorsese Had To Get Weird

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Music Features

To Capture Bob Dylan's Rolling Thunder Revue, Martin Scorsese Had To Get Weird

June 10, 2019 • In trying to unpack one of the a stranger periods of Bob Dylan's strange life, Scorsese had to meet the bard on his home turf of half-truths and obfuscation.

Bob Dylan's 'Rolling Thunder Revue' Revived The Rock Concert Ritual

Bob Dylan's Rolling Thunder Revue featured an ad-hoc accidental masterpiece of a band, which played rousing, irreverent versions of songs from his catalog. Ken Regan/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Review

First Listen

Bob Dylan's 'Rolling Thunder Revue' Revived The Rock Concert Ritual

May 30, 2019 • Bob Dylan's Rolling Thunder Revue occupies a mythic place in the history of rock tours. Stream a 10-track sampler from the 14-disc box set.

Between Love And Hate: A Valentine's Day Playlist

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All Songs Considered

Between Love And Hate: A Valentine's Day Playlist

February 14, 2019 • This Valentine's Day, we wanted to know: Can the same song be both a great love song and a breakup song?

Izzy Young, Center To The Folk Music Revival, Dies At 90

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Obituaries

Izzy Young, Center To The Folk Music Revival, Dies At 90

February 8, 2019 • Bob Dylan has called Izzy Young's Folklore Center "the citadel of Americana folk music." It was at the center of the folk music revival in New York City in the 1950s and '60s. Young died Feb. 4 at 90.

Izzy Young, Center To The Folk Music Revival, Dies At 90

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In 2018, Prince's estate released a recording from the artist's fabled vault called Piano & A Microphone 1983. Allen Beaulieu/The Prince Estate hide caption

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Allen Beaulieu/The Prince Estate

Best Music Of 2018

The Best Reissues Of 2018

December 19, 2018 • This year, fueled by the vinyl resurgence and recent deaths of major stars, the field of archival music percolated with releases of music both well-known and relatively unknown.

Fallon Takes Bob Dylan To The Circus – Or Is It Vice-Versa?

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All Songs Considered

Fallon Takes Bob Dylan To The Circus – Or Is It Vice-Versa?

November 26, 2018 • A late-night talk-show host and an icon sit alone in a vast theater, sipping drinks and watching approvingly as Big Apple Circus acrobats do their thing.

New Music Friday For Nov. 2: 8 Albums You Need To Hear Now

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All Songs Considered

New Music Friday For Nov. 2: 8 Albums You Need To Hear Now

November 2, 2018 • This week's sprint through the best new albums, out on Nov. 2, includes the Flamenco-pop of Rosalía, profoundly moving reflections from Marianne Faithful, fuzz-pop from Stove and more.

New Music Friday For Nov. 2: 8 Albums You Need To Hear Now

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Bob Dylan Documents A Messy And Mysterious Opus

Bob Dylan with a mandolin during the Blood On the Tracks sessions. Ken Regan/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Review

First Listen

Bob Dylan Documents A Messy And Mysterious Opus

October 25, 2018 • When, if ever, can a song written by Bob Dylan be considered finished? A massive trove of outtakes documents every utterance from the New York sessions that led to Blood On the Tracks.

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World Cafe

This Is Muscle Shoals: The Playlist

XPN

October 1, 2018 • Listen to a selection of timeless classics recorded at FAME Studios and Muscle Shoals Sound Studio.

'The Times They Are A-Changin" Still Speaks To Our Changing Times

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American Anthem

'The Times They Are A-Changin" Still Speaks To Our Changing Times

September 24, 2018 • The Bob Dylan classic came out in 1963 and was embraced by the civil rights and anti-war movements. Decades later, young people are finding it vibrates with new meaning.

'The Times They Are A-Changin" Still Speaks To Our Changing Times

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Hear An Early Outtake Of Bob Dylan's 'If You See Her, Say Hello'

Bob Dylan, pictured in 1974, while working on what would become Blood on the Tracks. Barry Feinstein hide caption

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Barry Feinstein

All Songs Considered

Hear An Early Outtake Of Bob Dylan's 'If You See Her, Say Hello'

September 20, 2018 • Bob Dylan's Bootleg series continues this fall with Vol. 14, More Blood on the Tracks, which includes the first take he ever recorded of "If You See Her, Say Hello."

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World Cafe

Bettye LaVette On World Cafe

XPN

June 20, 2018 • At 72 years old, LaVette is back with a deep dive into Bob Dylan's songbook for her latest record Things Have Changed.

Bettye LaVette On World Cafe

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'My Fifth Career': Bettye LaVette Reinvents Bob Dylan For Herself

Bettye LaVette's Things Have Changed is out now on Verve Records. Mark Seliger/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Music Interviews

'My Fifth Career': Bettye LaVette Reinvents Bob Dylan For Herself

May 19, 2018 • The 72-year-old soul star reflects on a lifetime of overcoming industry skepticism and making Dylan's lyrics personal on her latest album Things Have Changed, her first major label release in 30 years.

'My Fifth Career': Bettye LaVette Reinvents Bob Dylan For Herself

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Guest DJ: Lord Huron On The Songs That Shaped The Cinematic 'Vide Noir'

Lord Huron's Vide Noir comes out April 20 via Whispering Pines/Republic Records. Pamela Littky/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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All Songs Considered

Guest DJ: Lord Huron On The Songs That Shaped The Cinematic 'Vide Noir'

April 19, 2018 • The band Lord Huron is known for its cinematic story songs. Ben Schneider, creator of the project, talks about some of the music by other artists that informed the tales on his latest album.

Guest DJ: Lord Huron On The Songs That Shaped The Cinematic 'Vide Noir'

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Review: Bob Dylan, 'Trouble No More – The Bootleg Series Vol. 13 / 1979-1981'

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First Listen

Review: Bob Dylan, 'Trouble No More – The Bootleg Series Vol. 13 / 1979-1981'

October 26, 2017 • The Nobel Prize winner's latest bootleg set focuses on the parables and homilies he wrote for his "Christian trilogy," including a previously unreleased gospel track called "Making A Liar Out Of Me."

Bob Dylan Explains His Roots, As Only He Can, With Nobel Lecture

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The Record

Bob Dylan Explains His Roots, As Only He Can, With Nobel Lecture

June 5, 2017 • In a brief lecture, Dylan considers his literary and musical precursors, from Buddy Holly to The Odyssey.

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World Cafe

A 420 Playlist To Spark Up Your Day

XPN

April 20, 2017 • Whether or not you partake, there's no denying Mary Jane shows up in a lot of music — and what better day to light up some of those songs than April 20?

Where Bob Dylan Was While Keeping Silent About His Nobel Prize

Bob Dylan, who announced he would accept in person the Nobel Prize for Literature, was silent after it was announced he would receive the prize. Boris Horvat/AFP/Getty Images hide caption

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The Record

Where Bob Dylan Was While Keeping Silent About His Nobel Prize

March 29, 2017 • Dylan received criticism last fall after greeting the announcement of his Nobel Prize for Literature with silence. It turns out he was just busy revisiting his artistic development.

Bob Dylan Agrees To Accept His Nobel Prize During A Tour Stop In Stockholm

Bob Dylan speaks onstage at the MusiCares 2015 Person Of The Year Gala in Los Angeles. Dylan was awarded the Nobel Prize in literature in October, though he has not yet accepted it. The Swedish Academy has announced he plans to do so this weekend in Stockholm. Frazer Harrison/Getty Images hide caption

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The Two-Way

Bob Dylan Agrees To Accept His Nobel Prize During A Tour Stop In Stockholm

March 29, 2017 • Since the American musician won the Nobel Prize in literature last year, he has not yet picked up his award in person or delivered the customary lecture required for him to receive the prize money.

Bob Dylan's new album, Triplicate, comes out March 31. John Shearer/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

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Review

First Listen

Review: Bob Dylan, 'Triplicate'

March 23, 2017 • The Nobel Award winner digs into the Great American Songbook for a third time. Stream a selection of songs from the three-disc set.

Bob Dylan's New Triple Album Reimagines The Classics

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All Songs Considered

Bob Dylan's New Triple Album Reimagines The Classics

January 31, 2017 • Bob Dylan continues his love for the Great American Songbook with a new album of classic songs called Triplicate. Listen to him singing "I Could Have Told You," first recorded by Sinatra in 1954.

Charles Lloyd, Lucinda Williams Cover Bob Dylan's 'Masters Of War'

Charles Lloyd (left) and Lucinda Williams recorded a live version of "Masters Of War" at the Lobero Theatre in Santa Barbara, Calif., on Nov. 28, 2016. Erik Jacobs, Ebru Yildiz for NPR hide caption

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Erik Jacobs, Ebru Yildiz for NPR

Review

Songs We Love

Charles Lloyd, Lucinda Williams Cover Bob Dylan's 'Masters Of War'

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January 20, 2017 • Bob Dylan's song is a blunt object, liturgical in its cadence and damning in its censure. The saxophonist and singer tackle it with grace and a small but useful tension.