I bought tickets to go see "A Complete Unknown", the Bob Dylan Bio-Pic, with my dad, daughter, niece, and my niece's fiance. First time we'll all see a movie together. It's probably the first and last. Cheers to you Bob for that.
My dad got me into Dylan way back and took me to see Bob in concert. He and I have been to around 50 concerts together, but I'm not sure any were as important as Bob. My dad is the biggest Beatles fan I know, but going to see Bob felt different than when he took me to see Paul McCartney. Dylan represents something to my dad about his childhood, early adult years, the world, a war, the struggles, and trying to process it all. I can't wait for him to see this movie.
I know some will be turned off by Timothee Chalamet playing Bob, but I think he's going to kill it. Every preview, every thing I have read about his work tells me he took it really seriously and worked hard to get it right. Dylan himself has signed off. Plus the director is the same guy that did "Walk the Line", and I love that movie. I'm a big Cash fan and I thought he and Juaquin Phoenix captured Cash. The previews tell me he and Chalamet just may have captured Bob, and that's gotta be hard to do.
My daughter is seeing this movie for one reason, Chalamet. That is fine with me. He's awesome, killed it as Wonka (I was worried as a Gene Wilder guy), but I want her to see it for another reason. My kid adores Taylor Swift. What got her into Taylor? Songwriting. Once I knew that, I have sent her down that path. She digs James Taylor (Swift's namesake in case you didn't know), Carole King, David Bowie, Carly Simon, Billy Joel, Stevie Nicks, Chris Stapleton, and others. Now I don't need her to like Bob Dylan. You can't make somebody do that. My wife hates Dylan. I should be more accurate. She hates Bob's voice... as many do. I get it. There are some voices that keep me at arm's length too.
But I want my daughter to appreciate the writing, the lyrics, the messages. I hope Chalamet can help me do that. And my 18 year-old is at that stage where anything her mother might like will be seen as uncool, and vice versa. I'm hoping this helps Bob as well. Would I love it if she hunts down "Highway 61 Revisited" after seeing the movie, sure. But more than that, I hope she gets why the story of Dylan plugging in is so important to everything that came after.
My niece and her fiance have asked me to officiate their wedding. You read that right. And I have an idea for the ceremony that involves a Dylan tune. So if they hate the movie, we may have to go to plan B. So there's a few things riding on this motion picture.
There's a scene in the movie "Sideways" where a woman talks about wine. She says she likes what drinking it makes her think about. I like what I think about when I listen to Bob Dylan. Not many other artists create those same thoughts. I listened to some Bob today. I thought about how much my dad loves music and its power. I thought about how my favorite Dylan album helped me through the most impactful break-up of my life. I thought about what Dylan songs/albums my child MIGHT tell me she's into after seeing this movie. I thought about sharing something like Bob Dylan with my father and my daughter. The 3 of us have not been to a concert together. This may be the closest we get. At the very least, she will see how much Bob Dylan means to me and her PapaDoc.
C'mon Timothee, I'll get her there. You show her the way. You opened her mind to "a world of pure imagination". Now, tell her where the answer is, my friend.
My dad got me into Dylan way back and took me to see Bob in concert. He and I have been to around 50 concerts together, but I'm not sure any were as important as Bob. My dad is the biggest Beatles fan I know, but going to see Bob felt different than when he took me to see Paul McCartney. Dylan represents something to my dad about his childhood, early adult years, the world, a war, the struggles, and trying to process it all. I can't wait for him to see this movie.
I know some will be turned off by Timothee Chalamet playing Bob, but I think he's going to kill it. Every preview, every thing I have read about his work tells me he took it really seriously and worked hard to get it right. Dylan himself has signed off. Plus the director is the same guy that did "Walk the Line", and I love that movie. I'm a big Cash fan and I thought he and Juaquin Phoenix captured Cash. The previews tell me he and Chalamet just may have captured Bob, and that's gotta be hard to do.
My daughter is seeing this movie for one reason, Chalamet. That is fine with me. He's awesome, killed it as Wonka (I was worried as a Gene Wilder guy), but I want her to see it for another reason. My kid adores Taylor Swift. What got her into Taylor? Songwriting. Once I knew that, I have sent her down that path. She digs James Taylor (Swift's namesake in case you didn't know), Carole King, David Bowie, Carly Simon, Billy Joel, Stevie Nicks, Chris Stapleton, and others. Now I don't need her to like Bob Dylan. You can't make somebody do that. My wife hates Dylan. I should be more accurate. She hates Bob's voice... as many do. I get it. There are some voices that keep me at arm's length too.
But I want my daughter to appreciate the writing, the lyrics, the messages. I hope Chalamet can help me do that. And my 18 year-old is at that stage where anything her mother might like will be seen as uncool, and vice versa. I'm hoping this helps Bob as well. Would I love it if she hunts down "Highway 61 Revisited" after seeing the movie, sure. But more than that, I hope she gets why the story of Dylan plugging in is so important to everything that came after.
My niece and her fiance have asked me to officiate their wedding. You read that right. And I have an idea for the ceremony that involves a Dylan tune. So if they hate the movie, we may have to go to plan B. So there's a few things riding on this motion picture.
There's a scene in the movie "Sideways" where a woman talks about wine. She says she likes what drinking it makes her think about. I like what I think about when I listen to Bob Dylan. Not many other artists create those same thoughts. I listened to some Bob today. I thought about how much my dad loves music and its power. I thought about how my favorite Dylan album helped me through the most impactful break-up of my life. I thought about what Dylan songs/albums my child MIGHT tell me she's into after seeing this movie. I thought about sharing something like Bob Dylan with my father and my daughter. The 3 of us have not been to a concert together. This may be the closest we get. At the very least, she will see how much Bob Dylan means to me and her PapaDoc.
C'mon Timothee, I'll get her there. You show her the way. You opened her mind to "a world of pure imagination". Now, tell her where the answer is, my friend.
