A Yearlong Bob-a-Thon! Tuesday Night Check-In, 1/14/25

I have decided that I’ll be doing weekly check-ins for my Yearlong Bob-a-Thon on Tuesday evenings. So here’s tonight’s entry.

A quick recap: in an entry that I posted on December 30, I announced that I was launching a yearlong Bob-a-Thon. I plan on listening to all of Bob Dylan’s studio albums, along with certain other Bob items (live albums, compilations, etc.), from December 30, 2024 thru December 30, 2025. I explained my reasons for doing this in that entry and also wrote about Dylan’s eponymous debut album, a promising debut that showed that something was happening, even though most listeners didn’t quite know what it was yet.

There is no doubt that the first album must have been intriguing to folk music fans at the time. Even though Dylan only sings two original songs on the album, perceptive listeners must have seen the potential in Dylan’s singing, guitar playing, and harmonica playing.

Bob Dylan was a cool little album upon release, and it’s still a great listen. But it could not have possibly prepared the world for Dylan’s second album, The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan. Freewheelin’ was a whole new thing, and not merely for Dylan himself. Several of the song titles speak clearly for themselves: “Blowin’ in the Wind”; “Masters of War”; “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall”; “Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright.”

The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan is Dylan’s first masterpiece. He was 22 years old.

While I have known many of the songs on Freewheelin’ for decades, I can’t say that it was an album that I knew by heart. It was not one of the handful of Bob albums in Dad’s record collection, though I certainly knew “Blowin’ in the Wind” from Dad’s Bob Dylan’s Greatest Hits. And, of course, over the years, I heard all the songs I’ve already mentioned. But I’ve never immersed myself in The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan, at least until the last two weeks.

That immersion has now happened. I’ve lost count of how many times I’ve spun Freewheelin’, beginning to end, since January 1. I’m ready to move on to Dylan’s next album (The Time’s They Are A-Changin’), but I feel strongly that I’ll be hitting up Freewheelin’ occasionally throughout this year. It’s the kind of record I need right now.

Here’s the thing. I am not fond of the man who will be occupying the White House beginning next Monday. Don’t like him at all in fact. I remember how, the first time around with this man, I was way too focused on every little bit of insanity associated with him and his administration.

I can’t do that again. Yes, I need to pay some attention. I will need to express my opinions at times. But I can’t let myself get paralyzed by it all.

The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan can help. Dylan is questioning the status quo (“Blowin’ in the Wind”); he’s angry at careless, selfish, and dangerous leaders ("Masters of War”); he’s railing against racism (“Oxford Town”); and yes, sometimes he’s feeling apocalyptic (“A Hard Rain’s Gonna Fall” and “Talking World War III Blues”). All of this feels way too relevant to our current moment.

That’s not all that’s happening on Freewheelin’ though. Dylan’s got romantic entanglements (“Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright,” “Down the Highway,” “Girl From the North Country”). He’s thinking about old friends (“Bob Dylan’s Dream”) and he’s contemplating his position as a folk singer (“Bob Dylan’s Blues,” “I Shall Be Free”). He is also, at times, funny.

In short, Bob Dylan was living his whole life, and pouring it all into his art. This is inspiring to me as we head into another DJT term. Those of us who oppose him need to stay aware, stay observant, make our voices heard. At the same time, we need to live our whole lives, and that means we need to deny DJT the full-time, rent-free space in each of our brains and souls that he craves.

That’s it for tonight. But the Yearlong Dylan-a-Thon will continue, as I delve into The Time’s They Are A-Changin’.