It’s a case of “he said, she said,” as RWB and Ann Althouse quibble over Dylan’s new XM Radio show, over in the comments section of her post about the show.

She had said:

… I listened and enjoyed the mix of songs. I was, however, disappointed to hear that Dylan was merely reading a script. I doubt if he wrote it. It’s full of biographical facts about the artists. Dylan isn’t really DJ-ing. He just sat down at a mike and read some pages, in a stiff voice that makes it clear he’s only reading.

I responded:

While Dylan’s remarks are clearly prepared (though I wouldn’t say “stiff”), there is absolutely zero chance that somebody else wrote them for him. (It’s funny: people speculated that “Chronicles” was ghostwritten too.) He loves this music, and the stories he’s telling, including biographical trivia, are things he’s picked up along the way, and they mean something to him. It’s not like he doesn’t read music biographies and histories. He’s been in the music biz for over 40 years, and he’s been a fan for 20 more years than that. Read interviews he’s done and it’s clear what a knowledgeable afficionado he is, of a really broad range of stuff. He’s doing this radio gig to share that lifelong love of music and lifelong love of music trivia, if you want to call it that.

Otherwise there would be no point. If it were just money he wanted, he could sell a few more songs to Victoria’s Secret, or whoever, and not have to make all this effort.

She answered:

RWB: I disagree. Did you listen to the show? The facts have a canned bio feel. He may write some of it, but he has assistance. Why would he do it? To put his name out there, to reach people. Why does he tour constantly? He’s a weird guy. I thought he would talk off the top of his head, but it’s clearly pre-written. I’m disappointed. Why did he need to do that? I’d rather hear his idle chatter, even if it’s stupid. I want to hear him talk so I can be close to his mind. That requires natural speech. I think he wants attention, but he’s also a little afraid. He wants to be with us, but not really.

I said:

Ann: Yes, I listened to the show. Dylan is having fun playing the role of a DJ, and it obviously amuses him to put on the voice and recite what in some instances sounds like “canned bio” trivia. Just like the retro jingles that pop up during the hour, it’s a throwback vibe. But I’m certain that these things are not being written for him. They echo in some cases things he wrote in “Chronicles” and observations he’s made in interviews. As to your preference for him “talking off the top of his head,” — that would make sense if it were a genuine live show. But if you’re recording something, and it has a theme and a concept, and you know what you want to put across, then it’s only natural to prepare remarks to some extent. It’s only a one hour show. Would it be better to fumble through it, or prepare and say what you really want to say?

He’s talking to an imaginary person; maybe a little boy huddled under his covers with a radio, out in some cold bleak northern state, who has never heard this music before, and whose imagination is fired by the sounds and stories of these great musicians.

And then I made one more comment:

Ann: As to that part about wanting to hear him talk naturally and “be close to his mind;” you can want it — lots of people want it — but if Dylan’s career to date tells us anything, it’s that it ain’t going to happen. He’s a performer and a writer and he is deliberate about what he puts out there for the public. He’s not going to cry on the Barbara Walters show, for instance. His personal self is for family and friends. And yet, he’s written some of the most penetrating and heart wrenching songs anyone could ever hear. He’s naked in those songs, even if he’s not giving you his autobiography in them. I think he feels he gives enough that way, and, indeed, doesn’t he?

….

Addendum: Ann graciously follows up:

RWB: Well put.

It may be that he’s extra prepared for the first show that is offered up to the critics and that he’ll loosen up later.

I don’t quite buy the theory that he’s imitating old radio guys, because he’s not doing a “radio voice” (which, I might add, is the bane of many a podcast!).

And let me just say again that the mix of recordings selected is really, really good. I’ll definitely keep listening.

And now I’m just musing: What is it about Dylan that continues to inspire these kinds of discussions and arguments? Almost from the first, people have argued and debated amongst themselves about this Bob Dylan guy, and not just about what his best records are (that’s normal), but about his inner motivations. What did he mean by doing that, or saying this, or by not doing something? What’s in his head? What are his intentions? It’s one reason he continues to fascinate, and it’s also why the way people react to him and the perspectives they have on him is an interesting subject of study in itself. He’s really at the nexus of so many different strands of our culture. You basically can’t talk about him without starting an argument.

No wonder he told Ed Bradley that he doesn’t like to “eat in restaurants.”

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