OWED TO BOB: DYLAN INTERPRETED
12-21-09
These are samples from 15 Dylan tunes I've recorded--some very different from his. I hope I did the songs justice.
When I interpreted these, what I had in mind were those familiar with Dylan's versions.
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If someone wears another's clothes, they have to be tailored for that person. In the case of a photo shown here, I wasn't wearing any, or so it appeared. For the sake of modesty, I've replaced it. To paraphrase a saying:
I was "shirtless and shoeless with trousers to match."
An original anagram for desperate artists: "Unsigned? = Sing nude."
"Clothes make the man. Naked people have little or no influence on society." --Mark Twain
Exceptions have been in professions.
Some sacrificed all their discretions.
Dancing Josephine dared,
Norma Jean, the blonde-haired,
And both Bakers made lasting impressions.
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A little tribute to Bob Dylan, Steve Martin, and Lily Tomlin (the Incredible Shrinking Woman):
small
(A parody of Dylan's "Rainy Day Women #12 & 35," recorded under my alias "Bjorn Toulouse")
They'll shrink you when they see you walking tall.
They'll shrink you when you're up against the wall.
They'll shrink you when you're talkin' with your mouth full,
They'll shrink you, then you'll crawl into a mouse hole.
And soon, they find you muttering in the hall,
"Everybody must get small."
They'll shrink you if you're doin' right or wrong,
Knowing you were little all along.
They'll shrink you when you try to write a spoof,
Then show you that you're dumb, with all the proof.
No need for you to do a thing at all.
They tell you, "Everybody must get small."
They'll shrink you even though you're one foot eight,
At a table where you're unable to reach your plate.
They'll shrink you 'til you're buried in your clothes,
And have you look up at them from between their toes.
So shortened, you won't have too far to fall--
Yeah, everybody must get SMALL.
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IT'S NOT FOR YOU
(A Dylan Parody)
It's not for you--
Ya know that she belongs to me,
So find yourself some dignity.
You're tangled up in blue.
It's not for you.
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For those who don't mind listening to a buncha San Francentric Californiacs, a clip of an electrified
"All Along the Watchtower" I recorded with Suzy Fischer (in her teens) is available at
http://12a1234.com/suzy_f/Suzy_Fischer_Watchtower_O_V_Michaelsen_on_rhythm_guitar.MP3
(It's not rocket science--it's rock.)
Most of the tracks on the recovered and produced CD were with the famed Dinosaurs. It's listed in references under "Suzy Fischer and the Dinosaurs." I preferred that the name be "Fetus and the Fossils," but Suzy called the shots.
"Progressive throwbacks" is a catchy term, but might be better suited for other artists.
Original songs:
http://www.isound.com/mp3s/ov_michaelsen_singer_songwriter_guitarist_aut/
http://s2.toopine.com/goodhealth.htm
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I've also interpreted the Joan Baez version of Dylan's "Farewell, Angelina" (a January 13, 1965 outtake from the Bringing It All Back Home sessions), but omitted the "King Kong" and "parrot" verses. From 1964: "To Ramona"; from 1963: "Eternal Circle," "With God on Our Side," and "Farewell." From 1962: "John Brown," "Don't Think Twice," and other, mainly lesser known songs, from the early '60s, with the exception of "Nashville Skyline Rag," an instrumental from 1969.
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Lyrics to "Long Time Gone":
http://www.jumbojimbo.com/lyrics.php?songid=9102
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MASTERS OF WAR
(to the tune of the Star-Spangled Banner)
[I got this idea from a recording by Leon Russell.]
Come you masters of war
You that build the big guns,
You that build the death planes,
You that build all the bombs.
You that haven't done nil
But build to destroy,
You play with my world
Like it's your little toy.
Bridge:
Put a gun in my hand
And you hide from my eyes,
Then you turn and run clear
While the fast bullets fly.
You've thrown the biggest fear
That we'll ever see be hur-l-ed,
How we dread to bring the young
To a perilous world.
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ZIMMERICKS
Right out of the blue, a dark horse
Ran through with phenomenal force.
With intense ammunition
This poet musician
Helped chart a new cultural course.
"Mr. Tambourine Man" was a poem
That he sang to the old guard below him,
But with too many words,
Unless done by the Byrds,
Only then did the rest of us know 'im.
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A note to myself on Dylan interpretations:
Here's hoping a verbal defacement
Won't become an accepted replacement.
A license? Poetic?
The nerve. How pathetic!
What "meds" do you mix in that basement?
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While fighting my way out of a paper bag that a celebrity had discarded, I came up with this verse.
THE GARBOLOGIST
Your throwaways could be our loss.
There's a gem there I'd like to emboss.
Without a proposal,
I'm at your disposal,
In case you have something to toss.
"Garbology" was probably coined by A(lan). J(ules). Weberman by 1971 to describe his study of Bob Dylan's trash.
The term was adapted as "the study of a society or culture by examining or analyzing its refuse."
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The photos of me here are from when I was 23 (live in Berkeley, taken by Jonathan Jennings).
The three books were issued by Sterling Publishing Company since 1998--the best of which, in my opinion, are
Words at Play and Never Odd or Even.
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These are informal new recordings, all of which were done using "inexpensive" (cheap) cassette machines.
The versions of "Long Ago, Far Away" and "Long Time Gone" were taped between trains, shootings and sirens, on the corner of Amtrak and BART in Richmond, California. "Let Me Die in My Footsteps" is the most recent of the three, recorded at my new home in Berkeley. Let's hope that "Footsteps" remains dated. Unfortunately, the reality of "Long Ago, Far Away" remains.
Adding to the final verse of "Long Ago, Far Away," an anagram I wrote in '89:
"The late, great Dr. Martin Luther King = Think tall! A dreamer greeting truth."
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Who I am, and where I'm from? In short, I was born Ove Ofteness (Jensen) in the mid 1900s in Bergen, Norway, and raised mainly in the Seattle area.
I've lived in Alabama, Arizona, New York, New Jersey, North Carolina, Texas, and California. The years have been quite a haul, and "Long Time Gone" (with a low lonesome sound) is pretty much my story: self-raised and self-tot (thinking outside the books), having experienced a few things a bit early and often.
A little worn from the years and elements, I have a lot of stories to draw from.
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This video knocked me out. Don't be fooled by the rap intro.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=doNU1EndU8I&mode=related&search=
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http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/chronicle/a/2008/08/06/DDS7124RFG.DTL
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Art by my significant other, Marin Fischer:
http://www.mesart.com/artworks.jsp.que.serUs.eq.749.amp.artist.eq.645.shtml
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o v michaelsen, not MichaelSON
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