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Craig Clemens

November 20, 2013
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Who said that Bob Dylan wasn’t still relevant?

Sure the guy cut his teeth on first real labor movement while channeling Woody Guthrie almost 50 year ago. Though he hasn’t released a decent album in decades, or “brought it” on stage since about ’93, Dylan’s musical journey has cemented him in the history books of Rock and Roll.

Naturally, if Bob Dylan was a niche counter culture figure and not, arguably, one of the main driving musical forces, he would probably be remembered by few and discovered on the back shelves of dusty record stores or semi-annual Top 100 of the 60’s lists. This, however, is clearly not the case. Regardless of his recent adventures in music, Bob Dylan still finds a way to reach us today – not by creating something new, but by revisiting something and making it relevant.

With the help of Interlude and Sony Music, Bob’s 1965 classic “Like A Rolling Stone” has found a home in the present day. Do yourself a favor and interact” with this video here.

Reception of this video is mixed: there is some bemusing the substandard quality of the video; others decry the inclusion of modern day pop culture on a song that should “never be adulterated with such slime”.

One comment really struck a chord with me though – “The only time all the channels on TV cohere is when something tragic happens, but instead of reporting a tragedy, everyone just decided to sing Like a Rolling Stone”. The song, in its original state, decries the hypocrisy of middle class 1960’s America, but put in this context, the song takes on a whole new meaning. The ability to write music that transcends its original intent to reach an audience born, raised, and living in a completely different society, decades after it was written, is truly what makes a song more than a song. It makes it art.

That is why Bob Dylan is still relevant today.

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