Honestly, I love "4th Time Around," but I just don't know what the fuck's happening in it. I have my theories, but they generally run into the same deadends that I have when trying to figure out what Cohen meant by "did you ever go clear?"
To a certain degree, though, I kinda like the idea that Dylan might've written "4th Time Around" without ever giving any thought to whether or not an audience would get it. A bit like a Lynch or Greenaway movie. There's something oddly compelling about work that comes almost with the statement, "This wasn't really made for you, so it's cool if you like it, but if you don't get it, don't take it personally." This is not to say that such work is inherently better than work that considers (or is made for a specific audience), only to say that the fearlessness required to create work that one knows will be lost on the majority of people who consume it is more than a little admirable, imo.
On the other hand, I'm always fascinated by people who are able to subsume their vision into the mainstream. Like how Bowie or They Might Be Giants are always able to work their quirky ideas into perfect pop songs.
Of course, the world is never binary; there really is never a choice that need be completely this or that. It's really a sliding scale. And I'm trying to find out where my own concerns exist on that scale.
To a certain degree, though, I kinda like the idea that Dylan might've written "4th Time Around" without ever giving any thought to whether or not an audience would get it. A bit like a Lynch or Greenaway movie. There's something oddly compelling about work that comes almost with the statement, "This wasn't really made for you, so it's cool if you like it, but if you don't get it, don't take it personally." This is not to say that such work is inherently better than work that considers (or is made for a specific audience), only to say that the fearlessness required to create work that one knows will be lost on the majority of people who consume it is more than a little admirable, imo.
On the other hand, I'm always fascinated by people who are able to subsume their vision into the mainstream. Like how Bowie or They Might Be Giants are always able to work their quirky ideas into perfect pop songs.
Of course, the world is never binary; there really is never a choice that need be completely this or that. It's really a sliding scale. And I'm trying to find out where my own concerns exist on that scale.
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Subverting the mainstream with personal visions is how the music industry grows. Unfortunately, it usually becomes co-opted and cloned before you have the chance to say "how original..."
We're still happy with the home, just not terribly happy with our builder right now. hey seem to be dragging their feet on a number of issues. Well, they have till May before we have a legal right to complain.
I'll watch Fox again when they bring back The Family Guy. Until then, I'm sticking with the Porn.