I’ve been slightly obsessed with Bob Dylan lately. I realize I admire him in ways I admire few people. I guess the main reasons are:

• He went after what he wanted with single-hearted devotion, ignoring all else
• He identified a mentor (Woody Guthrie), learned all he could from him, and then built his own style on top of that
• He had the power to attract the whole nation…
• …and yet he didn’t fall under his own spell; when he felt like changing it up, he did
• He had the courage to reinvent himself
• He clearly felt the pressure of criticism, but he didn’t let him stop him from doing what he wanted to do

It’s the young Bob Dylan that fascinates me the most… that path he took that resulted in the man he became.

Oh, I’ve watched Scorcese’s No Direction Home Dylan biography twice now. Really great stuff. I’m Not There was also interesting (Cate Blanchett’s perfomance as Dylan was amazing), but no match for the real thing.