Unlike many Sixties rockers,[Bob] Dylan sang about getting old, about broken dreams. His return to roots music pointed the way for many of his contemporaries to forsake trying to sound 'current' and to instead make music that would stand the test of time.
Jay MichaelsonIn the meantime [1963-65], [Bob] Dylan was writing some of the best love songs in the genre, like "Girl From the North Country," "Don't Think Twice, It's Alright," and "It Ain't Me, Babe."
Jay Michaelson"Masters of War" [of Bob Dylan] wasn't peacenik, anti-war stuff. With its minor key and uncompromising final lines ("And I hope that you die/And your death'll come soon/ I will follow your casket/ In the pale afternoon...") this was a previously unknown hybrid of caustic political commentary and punk rock, which itself wouldn't be invented for another decade or so.
Jay MichaelsonSometimes, sitting there on the cushion failing to watch your breath, it can feel like youโre the only weirdo weird enough to be wasting your time in this way. But youโre not! There are generations of weirdos, monasteries full of them, and we have the benefit of their accumulated wisdom.
Jay Michaelson