In Conversation with Emma Swift about "Blonde On The Tracks"

This month, the Australian singer-songwriter Emma Swift releases her album of Bob Dylan cover songs, Blonde On The Tracks.

In our conversation, Emma tells me about the story behind the album, how she came up with the song selection, the advantages of singing Dylan as a woman, and the autobiographical dimension of cover songs.

You can listen to and order your copy of Blonde On The Tracks on the Emma Swift bandcamp page, or from the record store of your choice. Be sure to also check out the music videos for I Contain Multitudes, Queen Jane Approximately, and You’re a Big Girl Now.

Definitely Dylan Live - 26 July 2020

In the last radio episode before a little summer break, we are tackling the musical side to Rough And Rowdy Ways - we’re talking about arrangements, musicians, and the mysterious absence of a producer credit. In this context we also just HAD TO talk about what constitutes as a borrowing and what is a theft, and we’re asking the difficult question of when co-writing credit is due.

I’m currently working on a big project about the album Rough And Rowdy Ways, going into some of the big lyrical themes. This will be out as a podcast soon, so stay tuned!

Playlist:

1. My Own Version of You - Blake Mills (snippet)

2. My Own Version of You

3. False Prophet (snippet)

4. If Loving Is Believing - Billy “The Kid” Emerson

5. I Made Up My Mind To Give Myself To You

6. Black Rider

In Anticipation of Rough And Rowdy Ways - What You Need To Know Before Its Release!

On Friday 19 June, Bob Dylan releases Rough and Rowdy Ways, his first album of original songs in eight years.

Giddy with excitement, Laura drops in to bring you all the info you need to know to bring you up to speed on the whats, the whys, and the whos ahead of the big day!

Here is the link to the Dylan interview with Douglas Brinkley in the New York Times.

You can purchase the album here.

And if you’d like to buy your “This is what a Bob Dylan fan looks like” t-shirt or the “I Contain Multitudes” tote bag, you can do that here. All proceeds from the shop during the month of June will be donated to Black Lives Matter. Thank you!

Definitely Dylan #79 - Happy 79th Birthday Bob Dylan!

The stars have miraculously aligned so that Definitely Dylan’s 79th episode has fallen on the day that we are celebrating Bob Dylan’s 79th birthday! Can we call it a Simple Twist of Fate?

Still in lockdown, Laura and Robert spend the hour talking about some of the words of wisdom found in Dylan’s work that the man himself seems to have lived by.

We also take a look back at one of Dylan’s main influences and what he was up to in the month of May 1941, and we also discuss a recent project by Daniel Romano that reimagines one of Dylan’s albums.

If anyone wants to read the poem “Advice for Geraldine on her Miscellaneous Birthday” in full, you can find it here.

If you’d like to check out Daniel Romano’s reimagining of Infidels, you can purchase it here.

Join us in this celebration, and feel free to leave some birthday wishes in the comments - let’s make this a party!

Playlist:

1. Happy Birthday Everybody - Ray Barretto

2. Sweetheart Like You - Daniel Romano

3. Early Roman Kings

4. Grand Coulee Dam - Bob Dylan and The Band

5. Restless Farewell (Live, 1 February 1964, CBC TV Studios, Toronto, Canada)

6. Satisfied Mind

7. Ain’t Gonna Go To Hell For Anybody (Live , 2 December, 1980 at the Armory, Salem, OR)

Podcast: Bob Dylan's "I Contain Multitudes" - What Does It All Mean?

On the 17 April, Bob Dylan released his second surprise song in one month, "I Contain Multitudes". Borrowing more than just the title from Walt Whitman's poem "Song of Myself", Bob Dylan paints a vivid modern portrait of a country divided.

Laura takes a close look at the new song and asks the hard hitting questions: is “I Contain Multitudes” Bob Dylan’s own take on Song of Myself? Is this Dylan’s way of finally embracing the responsibility of being a thought leader and voice of his generation? Listen and find out more!