Seth Rogovoy's Blog, page 7
February 10, 2010
"essential reading for any serious Bob Dylan fan" – Dylan critic Peter Stone Brown
In his review of Bob Dylan: Prophet Mystic Poet, Peter Stone Brown, a long-time music critic and Dylan expert, as well as a singer-songwriter in his own right, calls the book "essential reading for any serious Bob Dylan fan."
Brown says that in showing "how much of what is commonly referred to as [the Bible:] informs a large part of Dylan's work … Rogovoy succeeds beyond admirably and does so in a more coherent fashion than any previous attempt. "
Brown offers that "Many of [the book's...
Reflections on Dylan's performance at White House Civil Rights concert
There's been a lot of Monday-morning quarterbacking going on surrounding Bob Dylan's performance last night at the White House Civil Rights concert, with one English critic calling it the "worst" of the evening.
I think the arrangement of the song was really beautiful. I loved the spare acoustic trio. Bassist Tony Garnier, who has been with Dylan for two decades, of course drove the song. Who was the pianist? I love the repetitive, circular phrase he came up with – it really put the song in a ...
February 5, 2010
Is "Crazy Heart" Just a Remake of "Hearts of Fire"?
Were the filmmakers trying to give us a hint by including the word "heart" in the title of the new movie Crazy Heart, featuring Jeff Bridges as a washed-up country singer-songwriter who bears a remarkable resemblance to the washed-up rocker that Bob Dylan played in the film Hearts of Fire ?
I just came home from seeing Crazy Heart, and while I loved the movie, it now occurs to me that it really is just a remake of — although some might call it a great improvement upon — Dylan's Hearts of...
January 30, 2010
When Bob Dylan Accepted a Lifetime Grammy Award by Reciting a Jewish Prayer
The Bob Dylan Examiner explores a bit of Bob Dylan history, recounting the head-scratching moment when Dylan accepted his Lifetime Achievement Grammy Award in 1991 with an obscure recitation of a commentary on the Hebrew psalm 27. The Examiner kindly reprints my explication of this great moment in rock history from BOB DYLAN: Prophet Mystic Poet, and includes rare video footage of Dylan's amazing speech, in which he quotes from memory commentary from an Orthodox Jewish prayerbook.
January 29, 2010
Personal appearance @ Downtown Seder, City Winery
The Annual Downtown Seder
City Winery
155 Varick Street (between Spring and Vandam Streets)
New York, N.Y.
Radio interview @ The Allan Handelman Show
The Allan Handelman Show
Syndicated rock music talk show
(704) 363-8326
Live feed: Friday, Feb. 5, 2010, 5p.m.
Syndicated feed: Sunday, Feb. 7, midnight
Also available as podcast
"soundly earns its place on the shelf alongside other notable examinations of Dylan's canon." – Jeremy D. Goodwin
Noted rock critic and author Jeremy D. Goodwin has this to say about Bob Dylan: Prophet Mystic Poet:
"this revelatory book does wonders in elucidating the enduring influence of Judaism on Dylan's work, and demystifying broad stretches of the canon, from the 'breadcrumb sins' of 'Gates of Eden' to the daily prayer rituals embedded within New Morning. In the process, Rogovoy has reclaimed Bob Dylan as a Jewish-influenced artist. It's a new morning for Dylan scholarship indeed."
"It soundly earns ...
Multimedia performance @ Chatham [N.Y.] Synagogue
Chatham Synagogue Netivot Torah
Chatham, N.Y.
(518) 392-0701
Multimedia program with live music and booksigning
January 6, 2010
Radio interview @ The Mic 92.1, Madison, Wisc.
The Mic 92.1 Madison's Progressive Talk
Books and Beats with Stu Levitan
Multimedia performance @ CBE, Bennington, Vt.
Havdalah Adult Ed Series
Congregation Beth-El
225 North Street
Bennington, Vt. 05201-1829
(802) 442-9645
