Daily Ramblings:
Dylan To Create A Next World War ...04/23/2005 05:59:21 pm
And the promoter who nearly fell off the floor is apparently President Chen Shui-Bian of Taiwan. OK - I'm dubious at this stage about nearly every element of this story but here it is, from the indispensable Taiwanese news source ET Today:
Rock singer-turned-anti-war icon {ed: give them a break they're Taiwanese} Bob Dylan is to visit Taiwan in July. According to our understanding, the singer's agent has agreed to have him participate as a part of Taipei County's annual Ho-Hai-Yan Rock Festival, in response to an invitation from President Chen Shui-bian. It will cost the presidential office nearly eight million NT dollars to bring Dylan to Taiwan.
"How many times must the canon balls fly, before they're forever banned? The answer, my friend, is blowin' in the wind," said President Chen as he read lyrics from Bob Dylan's Blowing in the Wind to express his emotions in reaction to China's enactment of its anti-secession law.
As tensions rise in the Taiwan Strait, President Chen chose Dylan's lyrics to convey his feelings. At the time, there were media speculations about Dylan's visit, but now, ETTV has been able to confirm with the press officer of Taipei Country, Liao Chih-chien, who's in charge of the Ho-Hai-Yan Rock Festival. "We're still working on the details. There's still a few minor things that we have yet to work out" said Liao.
....
The organizer will announce Dylan's visit as early as the middle of May, if plans go according to schedule. This announcement will once again bring Taiwan into the focus of international attention.Well, the thing that made me laugh out loud when first reading this was the figure of $8 million that it would cost to have Dylan perform. However, a helpful online currency converter tells me that $8 million Taiwanese dollars is actually around $250,000 US bucks. Not an inconceivable figure, then, considering the logistics of getting The Bob Dylan Show to Taipei.
Of-course the remarkable thing about all this is the way that it's being tied into the tension between the Taiwanese and the Chi-coms. The President of Taiwan reacting to China's anti-secession threats by quoting Blowing In The Wind? And now he's effectively personally inviting Bob Dylan to come proclaim the message in person in Taipei?
Here's some of what President Chen said in March:
Chen offered a rewriting of Dylan's song, including "How many roads must the Taiwan people take before they can have true democracy? How much time must the people on both sides spend before they can find lasting peace? How long must China engage in intimidation before it can move toward peace? The answer, the great Taiwan people, will be blowing in the wind on March 26!"
And all this was said with Blowing In The Wind playing the background.
What will the Red Chinese do, with the bourgeois long-haired Yankee rock star spitting in their face from across the Taiwanese Straits? Hopefully there will be only music and not any Chinese military ordinance blowing in the wind.
To Dylan, if he does do it, it would probably be just another gig and a chance to indulge his affection for the Far East (at least he's always seemed to have a thing for Japan). To me, the whole scenario is reminiscent of nothing so much as the closing scene of Masked & Anonymous.
Bob, whatever you do, please don't get into any fights with John Goodman.
Though this story will doubtless be linked on Expecting Rain tomorrow, remember that you heard it first here ...
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