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      • Music reviews & criticism
        November 2015

        A Change Is Gonna Come: Dylan, die Beatles, die Rolling Stones und andere im Jahr 1966

        by Dürkob, Carsten

        Everyone is talking about 1967, the ‘Summer of Love’, about sun, love, peace – but what enabled this unique atmosphere, later turned into a myth? “A Change Is Gonna Come” answers this questions from the perspective of pop music, more specifically: from the perspective of a couple of songs, released in 1966, that unfolded their impact around the world in the following months. In the middle of the decade of carefree pop music, the most important songwriters born around 1940 compose lyrics about fear of the future, a lack of orientation and disillusionment. The LPs that were released in these few months do not merely change the direction and authenticity of music within one summer, but they are also a call to action: Things can’t go on like this! For this reason, ‘The Sounds of Silence’, ‘Parsley, Sage, Rosemary and Thyme’ (both Simon & Garfunkel), ‘Blonde on Blonde’ (Bob Dylan), ‘Revolver’ (The Beatles), ‘Aftermath’ (The Rolling Stones) and ‘Pet Sounds’ (The Beach Boys), as well as other individual songs, are the focus of “A Change Is Gonna Come”. They all show: The foundations of the world have become brittle in 1966. The ‘Summer of Love’ is just the response!

      • Music reviews & criticism
        July 2012

        Words are flying out' : Die Textgeschichte der Beatles

        by Dürkob, Carsten

        There are plenty of band biographies that deal with the Beatles’ careers and successes. As a contrast, even in the Anglophone market there is no detailed account of the development of their lyrics and the relation of the lyrics to each other. This is even more remarkable considering the remarks generally made about the friendly competition of the songwriters Lennon and McCartney. Still, the question whether and how this is mirrored in the band’s lyrics has not been pursued – a blank that is finally being filled with “Words are flying out”. The author shows how several topics and motives can be traced throughout the entire mass of songs, and how a sub/dialogue between the songwriters develops in the process. It quickly becomes obvious that the image of the happy and carefree ‘moptops’ is purposefully constructed with the singles, while the quantitatively equally present melancholy and pessimistic lyrics are predominantly to be found on the LPs. This is a new or even first interpretation of many lyrics and albums, and it turns out that hints to the future of the band can be found very early on – within the lyrics.

      • The Arts

        Bob Dylan 2002/2020. Eigtheen years of songs and other things

        Diciotto anni di canzoni e altro

        by Paolo Vites

        «Mi piace l’America, proprio come piace a tutti gli altri. Amo l’America, devo dirlo. Ma l’America sarà giudicata.» Così, alla vigilia dell’uscita di Rough and rowdy ways, Bob Dylan si esprime a proposito del suo ruolo di instancabile ricercatore dell’anima americana, nei giorni dell’omicidio di George Floyd e della pandemia da coronavirus che nel suo paese ha ucciso più della Prima Guerra Mondiale o della Guerra del Vietnam. Per poi celebrare nel disco quel premio Nobel che in molti hanno definito immeritato: «contengo moltitudini», citando Walt Whitman, «sono nato dalla parte sbagliata del binario come Ginsberg, Corso e Kerouac».  Atteso seguito di Bob Dylan 1962-2002, 40 anni di canzoni, il libro scava a fondo nelle attività artistiche di Dylan dal 2002 a oggi. Non solo i dischi, ma anche le altre innumerevoli espressioni di un’anima inquieta: scrittura, pittura, cinema, scultura, senza dimenticare la produzione di whiskey. Il libro più aggiornato e completo su uno dei massimi artisti dei nostri tempi.

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