Bob Dylan's official website, bobdylan.com, received a major face-lift last week as part of the announcement that Tell Tale Signs, Volume 8 in the Bootleg Series, will be released in October.
The site's always had lots of excellent content including lyrics to every Dylan song but the re-launched site has introduced a range of social networking features. The most interesting is the attempt to gather user-generated content on every show Dylan's ever played. I've added my thoughts on the first time I saw the great man play, at the Fleadh in Finsbury Park four years ago. It's clear that only a few fans have so far joined in; I was surprised that no one's yet said anything about Dylan's infamous "Judas" gig in Manchester in 1966. Still, usability issues aside, the potential is here for something rather wonderful. When we made the BBC's site for No Direction Home in 2005 we asked people who'd seen Dylan live in the UK between 1962 and '66 to send us their memories and were inundated with recollections.
The other noteworthy aspect of the new site is that you can download a free MP3 of one track from the new album. Dreamin' Of You is a Time Out Of Mind outtake, and is, to be honest, pretty unremarkable. You can hear it below or download your copy at bobdylan.com. Let me know what you think of both the song and the new website.
Bob Dylan - Dreamin' Of You
Related Posts
It's A Mad Mad Mad Bob World - my take on I'm Not There
The Other Side of the Mirror - Dylan at Newport
The Return of Radio Bob - in praise of Theme Time Radio Hour
Related links
My Page at BobDylan.com - visit me at Bob's new and improved official site
2 comments:
Bob seems to be at the cutting edge of economic commentary too:
http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/08/08/dylan-on-the-economy-a-contest/
Chris,
I wrote that I thought Dreamin' of You was "pretty unremarkable" after hearing just once.
I've listened to it a few more times and still don't think it's a classic but do like the atmospheric guitars.
I look forward to hearing your acoustic version!
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