Restless Farewell

The Wall Street Journal recently ran an article that caused quite an uproar. It has nothing to do with tax policy, unemployment benefits, fiscal policy or (my favorite) what the dollar is worth compared to other countries currencies. The article was about Bob Dylan.

The piece written by John Jurgensen titled, “When To Leave The Stage” seeks to answer the question: Should Bob Dylan Retire?

Of course, the answer, my friend, is not really blowing in the wind, because I would venture to say that eight out ten readers of The Wall Street Journal probably think Dylan died in 1973 (actually, this was Bobby Darin, who was finally murdered by Mack the Knife).

Dylan (98 years old) is in a pack of Rock Stars from Paul McCartney (107 years old) to Peter Townsend (a spry 90 years old) that are not forever young. Jurgensen asks “For people of influence in any walk of life, from corporate leaders to sports stars, the question of when to leave the stage is a crucial one. Do you go out at the top of your game, giving up any shot at further glory? Or do you dig in until the end, at the risk of tarnishing a distinguished career?” It is a good question.

It seems everyone wants to stay to the bitter end. Brett Farve is the perfect example. It is not enough that he has been a professional quarterback longer than this year’s Freshman class has been alive and has a Super Bowl ring. No, he’s got to prove it to you that he still has it. You just wish he wouldn’t text it.

Unfortunately Jurgensen tries to bloster his case by quotes from fans who walked out of Dylan’s 2010 concert finale at The Borgata Casino in Atlantic City. On the Dylan blogosphere, there were reports that this concert was the concert of concerts with Dylan mingling with fans after the show, which is almost like seeing the Pope sitting around drinking a Slurpee.

Jurgensen quotes an individual stating he would never pay to see Dylan again. The only problem is that sentiment has been following Dylan ever since he hopped up on stage at dear old Hibbing High to play that confounded rock music. Think about when he “went electric” in ’65. Being called “Judas” in ’66. The boos in San Francisco in 1979 after his conversion to Christianity. You could on and on. People walking out on Dylan is just another day at the office for him.

My favorite sentence in the article is this: “Though he never had a conventionally pretty voice—that was part of its power—lately he's been sounding like a scatting Cookie Monster”.

That was a nice part of the article. Dylan’s voice and the word “pretty” have never been used in the same sentence before to my knowledge. I have seen some of the 2009-2010 concert footage on YouTube and “Cookie Monster” is a good description of Dylan’s voice, although my son describes the voice as sounding more and more like Louis Armstrong.

The problem is, of course, is Dylan himself. He barely plays the guitar anymore at concerts (although he has a cracker jack band supporting him), he arranges his songs to where they are almost unrecognizable, and he never acknowledges the audience. One of the these days somebody ought to do a serious marketing book about how this little dude has sold almost 21 million albums in 1991 and moved 3.7 million in concert tick sales and grossed more than $192 million on tour because his public relation skills stink.

But there is your answer right there. As long as there people who will shell out money to see a legend croak out songs, Dylan will be on tour. When that dries up, Dylan will “bid farewell in the night and be gone”.