The Last Elvis

Emotion


Bob Dylan is the only performer today that is an Elvis, a musical icon, because he is the best at what he does and nobody is even in the running of taking the mantle, much less compete. Like the king, Dylan has a certain charisma that exudes a certain sincere image that the media in all its longing for profits cannot create. Dylan himself could not create the image. The image is of him, but he does not understand it.
Dylan gifts differ from that of Elvis. You do not see Dylan with his hips gyrating, but you do see him wield a guitar in a gangster-esque machine gun pose. Presley was probably straight out of the womb combing his hair appealing while Dylan's physical attractiveness lies in the emotions his face exhibit. The king could sang his tunes with a voice that angels would envy. The master poet did not strive for such a contest. His voice could express feelings more soulfully than any narrator of any book on any tape or any Madison Avenue Ad-Man's million dollar campaign. And what stories he would tell. Each song a novel penned by Zimmerman who had no need for a Colonel Parker to pick and choose any royal subjects. Any way you divvy it up, you get two icons that remain. But, only one you can see live.
Bob Dylan has a new book Chronicles. He claims that he did not want to be gifted like he was, but rather, he wanted to be gifted like Elvis. I'm glad Bob is what he is. I think he might be trying to fool us a bit. He did name himself after another poet (Dylan Thomas). Rolling Stone just named Like a Rolling Stone number one of the Top 500 greatest songs. Not a bad choice. See Bob on 60 minutes, Sunday at 7 or immediately after the game.
Here is a teaser of his interview with Ed Bradley.


Ipod update.....I have 2 of 5 people signed up for a free one. See link to the site on the left of the page.