Wednesday, June 28, 2006

How many roads must a Bob walk down...

So I'm watching "No Direction Home" on OPB. I've always admired Bob Dylan, although I never quite got into him in the same way as other 60s fixtures like the Rolling Stones, Joni Mitchell (that is thanks to the parents), or even Jethro Tull. "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall" makes me sad, I love "Blood on the Tracks" and I will always have a special place in my heart for the video for "Subterranean Homesick Blues," although his physical sex appeal on first sight pales compared to that of Michael Hutchence or Jon Farriss in "Mediate." However, I am immediately addicted to anything on public television with the exception of crappy craft shows, much less anything Scorsese, so I am finding myself entranced by the Minneapolitan "folk" artist.

Surprisingly enough, I didn't know that he lived in the Land of Entrapment. My home state. My stomping grounds (the state may be big, but damn it, so is my personality) for 23 point 5 years. This documentary shows an early interview with him saying that he was raised in Gallup, New Mexico. Not the state of Minnesota, as most sources state. Even as I'm searching the World Wide Web, I had to specifically search for "Gallup" and Bob Dylan. The websites I found show that he lied about his time in Gallup, but still...This is a state (and town) whose proudest celebrity accomplishments involve the birth place of Doogie Howser and Freddie Prinze Jr. According to Wikipedia, the only notable resident of the town of Gallup is Miss New Mexico USA 2006 (which apparently is different from the Miss America pageant). Even if Dylan lived in the state for a single year, why don't we brag about him as a resident? It's as interesting as the Norman Petty studios, or the Shins (who also are concurrent residents in my adopted state of Oregon), and much more interesting than Randy Castillo (RIP).

Claiming the Rainy Day Man as a state resident would bring much needed money to the state. That can be a political slogan: "Bob Dylan May (Or May Not) Have Lived in This State At One Point or Another."

Did I mention that school is over, and I need intellectual material and research to stimulate the few living brain cells I have before I leave the country?

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