I recently did something I have never done before. I went and saw a movie by myself.
I don’t know why it’s taken me 45 years to do this. I’ve traveled all over the world solo - from Calgary to the United Arab Emirates and everywhere in between. I go to concerts solo. Honestly, I do my own thing most of the time. For some reason, I had never done this. It felt like a milestone.
And it was glorious. A little gift to myself - in all fairness, a gift from my dear friend Jefe who gave me the nudge - going in the middle of a Friday, picking my own seat, my own snacks - and unabashedly crying five minutes into the movie.
Not only was this my first solo movie theater experience, but it was to see A Complete Unknown, the love letter to Bob Dylan and that romanticized slice of life in the 60s East Village. I cried during the Woody Guthrie scenes, I sang along to every song (quietly - not like our episode at Wicked). I felt pride like I was watching a friend’s success unfold. It was pure delight.
For my 16th birthday, my mom got me the Bob Dylan: The Bootleg Series (Vol 1-3) cassette box set. This was an extravagant gift for us at that time - a whole box set?! My first one, and I played those tapes to the ground. They came with me to Colorado for college, and I still remember the feeling of listening to them over and over in my dorm room.
I studied Dylan - listened to his albums, read all the books, and learned about his inspirations.
When I got back from the movie that Friday afternoon, I listened to “Last Thoughts on Woody Guthrie," twice - one version I recorded in 2020 and the version from The Bootleg Series. So much of the poem rings true to here and now, reminding me once again of the timelessness of early Dylan.
This movie-going experience reinforced for me how precious and important it is to carve out time to enjoy things you love - especially on your own. It reinforced the importance of art and music in documenting history. The last few weeks I've been thinking about this a lot - our responsibility as documentarians, observers, preservers, archivists and activists to capture this sliver in time.
And I can’t get the line out of my head, when Johnny Cash encourages Bob Dylan to be himself, and says, “Bob, track some mud on the carpet.”
The creative process is messy, change is messy, resistance is messy. Authenticity is messy sometimes, too. These are some of my lingering thoughts.
Did you see the movie? What did you think?
RABBIT HOLE FODDER FOR THE SOUL
Putting 8 minutes aside to listen to “Last Thoughts on Woody Guthrie” is one of those nice things you can do for yourself RIGHT NOW. Here’s a version I recorded as part of my pandemic hobby, reciting a poem a day. This was the most challenging and longest to read.
And of course the brilliant Bob Dylan version.
I also recommend reading Woody Guthrie’s Bound for Glory. Here’s a review of the book that I wrote back on Nov. 6, 2008 – four days after Obama was elected and three weeks into my new gig at the soon-to-be-dubbed Anythink.
If you want to continue down a Guthrie rabbit hole, watch Man in the Sand - the 1999 documentary about Woody Guthrie and the creation of the Billy Bragg and Wilco Mermaid Avenue albums. (Then definitely listen to the albums if you’re unfamiliar.)
As I've been neck-deep in all things Dylan once again, I'm compiling a few of my favorite tracks.
Surprisingly to me, I’ve also been enjoying Timothée Chalamet and Monica Barbaro on the A Complete Unknown soundtrack - especially their duet of "Girl from the North Country" (one of my favorite songs of all time).