The film Don't Look Back has had an enduring impact on the world of music documentary, just as Bob Dylan's music has had an enduring impact on folk and popular music. But Dylan himself was enamored of traditional songs and often reworked them. This clip from last night's episode of The Colbert Report features a discussion of music folklorist Alan Lomax featuring Elvis Costello and Emmylou Harris and the song recording by Jean Ritchie (of "Nottamun Town") that inspired Dylan to write "Masters of War."
What sense did you have of Dylan's impact on music from the film? How does Pennebaker allow music to help tell some of Dylan's story?
Just from being present in the world, it's hard not to notice the impact of Bob Dylan. The film shows his direct musical influence on Donovan, and the almost worshipful attitude of his fans, as well as hinting at some of the immense cultural impact he was beginning to have at this time. This film was made fairly early on in Dylan's career, but it's clear that he is already making an impact. It's hard to imagine a time when Bob Dylan wasn't "Bob Dylan", the world known figure. Seeing him at this point in his career was actually very interesting. By looking at the start, some pieces of his path begin to make sense. You also gain perspective on Bob Dylan as a person. He is someone who clearly values his fans and his friends, but also someone who can focus extremely intently. As his girlfriend Joan Baez is playing guitar and singing in the background, Dylan is seen writing a song on his typewriter, tapping out the beat with his hands.
ReplyDeleteI feel that Dylan had a major impact on music from the film. The film showed him just starting out in his career and he already had a big following. His music was being heard around the world. With music and fame comes publicity, and that is one way in which Pennebaker told Dylan's story, by showing him being interviewed by the press. Also, Pennebaker showed old footage of an even younger Dylan playing guitar and singing for African Americans, which I thought was a great way to tell a part of his story. Furthermore, Pennebaker shows Dylan hard at work, writing a song while his girlfriend is singing and playing the guitar in the same room. This shows how much he is surrounded by music.
ReplyDeleteIt was extremely interesting to me to watch the back and forth commentary between Bob Dylan and the reporters. I found it intriguing that Dylan found no meaning in his words when the media and public swore that it hid some secret. I believe that this created a buzz which helped to impact his music in a greater way than i believe even he could have imagined. I found Pennebakers use of old footage of Dylan playing for people before the fame to be of great insight that showed the viewer Dylans love for the music and not for the fame. This love is also viewed in a few instances where Dylan is caught writing while the distractions of the outside world beckoned to him, yet he would not anwer.
ReplyDeleteI have to agree with Daniel about the reporters. You could tell that Bob Dylan hated the idea of being "interviewed" so he'd mess with their heads. You could imagine the excitement and dread that a reporter would get if they got assigned a Bob Dylan interview. I also agree that it created an image for Dylan, which made him (and his music) far more deep than he probably was.
ReplyDeleteAs for the film displaying his influence, that is much more apparent in what Jennie said about Donovan. While he was playing for Dylan, the influence was screaming out. It almost sounded like (a better singing, albeit a similar style) Bob Dylan was playing instead of just someone who looked up to him. He eventually got a voice of his own later on, but the best way to learn is to have inspiration. You really can't do better on that front than Bob Dylan.
I don't even know where to begin with this post. Bob Dylan is considered by many (myself included) one of the most influential artist specifically on the rock genre, but also on music as a whole. He created and inspired new styles of lyric writing such as stream of conscious writing (for example, "Subterranean Homesick Blues") and storytelling writing, such as "Boots of Spanish Leather," where each verse of the song is a letter being sent back and forth between a couple who are trying to make a long distance relationship work.
ReplyDeleteIn one scene of Pennebaker's brilliant documentary "Don't Look Back," we see Dylan sitting in his hotel room surrounded by friends and a young Donovan, who is going back and forth with Dylan playing their own songs. You can see how much of an influence Dylan had on some of the young artists of his generation because when Donovan performs one of his songs, he plays it with an almost Dylan-esque style, which he does not usually play with. It seems that he almost does that to impress Dylan and to have him accept Donovan as a young artist coming on the scene.
Bob Dylan's impact on the music industry is an endless topic, but what I admire most about him was his ability to adapt to changes in where popular music styles were heading. He may have started as a topical folk singer, but he was always one of the first (if not the absolute first) to update his style of music to keep it fresh and interesting. For example, while many people at the time were upset when Dylan went electric the The Band, he influenced and practically created another whole genre of rock music. He appealed to an entirely new audience while still holding on to his roots. The most upset fans that had a hard time with this transition were his diehard folk followers.
Overall, Bob Dylan still continues to inspire artists and music lovers all around. Amnesty records even released a 4 disc tribute album as of recent featuring a number of current artists performing Dylan's songs with their own styles of music. The album is called "Chimes of Freedom" and I recommend any Dylan lover to check it out; they have artists everywhere from Miley Cyrus and Ke$ha, to Jeff Beck and Seal.
-Dino Davaros
I thought this was a great film. My favorite part about the film was the fact that I forgot there was even a film crew filming the documentary. The crew stayed completely out of Bob Dylan's way while filming and this gave the viewer a more realistic sense during the film. When the film makers are always asking questions in certain situations it reminds the viewers that the crew is there and sometimes thats ok but other times its nice to forget about them. In this film it was good to forget about them so you could focus more on Bob Dylan.
ReplyDeleteThis documentary definitely showed the kind of influence Bob Dylan had on music. I think that Dylan's most valuable influence on music was giving meaning to his songs. At the time he was getting popular the Beatles were singing about cars and girls and achieving massive success. However Dylan continued to write songs about how things really are for people and this is why people connected to his music. His songs meant something. The filmmakers show this by just following Dylan and allowing the viewers to see what kind of person he is.
This was my favorite documentary over the course of the semester. Watching this documentary really gives you insight to how much influence Dylan had on music and performers of the time. Especially Donovan who copied Dylan's style of singing initially. Another aspect of the film that was absolutely fascinating was Dylan's handling of reporters. Specifically the final reporter in which Dylan goes on a long rant and basically shuts down the reporter completely saying whatever the writer, "writes about me isn't going to be good how could it he doesn't even leave his office." Extremely paraphrased and also when Dylan stated, "I know more about you and what you do than you'll ever know about me and you don't have to ask how, just by looking." The look on the reporter after Dylan got through was with him showed how cruel he could be I found that scene really made the documentary aside from that this documentary also paved the way for rock mockumentary Spinal Tap which I thought was really cool that this documentary is now aside from showing Dylan's influence on music it also shows the influence on other films. Don't Look Back Was an extremely enjoyable film to watch definitely something I won't forget anytime soon.
ReplyDeleteI think the way that this film succeeded in influencing music was by allowing Dylan's personality to be showcased. His music, as stated by Jake Coulter, made social statements. He meant to bring purpose and deep messages to music and he achieved this with an unstoppable attitude. This film showcases him as he bickers with journalists. He shows no fear of his public image and stays true to his mission. I believe this to have had an influence on music because it allowed for an audience to see the man behind the music that became a part of the first real protest generation. The cinema verite approach allowed for Dylan to shine on his own uninterrupted. He was able to be himself without any intervention and express his persona, and the film captures this beautifully. I'm sure that at that time, seeing something like this would influence many people to take a similar aggressive approach in their expression of their views and beliefs, and this would undoubtedly effect music.
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