Review: Bob Dylan’s Christmas Album

On October 13th, Bob Dylan released an album of Christmas standards entitled Christmas in the Heart. The reaction from critics, and much of the public, has been: Is this some kind of joke?

“Hearing Bob hack out the words ‘With angelic host proclaim/Christ is born in Bethlehem’ reminds one of grandpa clearing his throat after finishing a glass of eggnog,” wrote Joseph Brannigan Lynch at Entertainment Weekly.  It’s no joke, writes Andrew Ferguson in The Weekly Standard; it’s worse than that – Christmas in the Heart is a deliberate “affront, a taunt,” to fans and downright “embarrassing.”

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So, is it really that bad?  Not really.  Dylan’s work tends to inspire either over-praise or over-criticism, and this album is no exception (though receiving far more of the latter).

My reaction upon hearing the record lurch to life with “Here Comes Santa Claus ” in my ear buds was first to laugh; whether a joke or not, this shit is funny. Mostly because Dylan sounds so uncharacteristically jovial and (yes, I’ll say it) jolly, even.  My second reaction was relief – it’s nice to hear that from Dylan for a change. (more…)

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Tags: Bob Dylan, Christmas in the Heart, Entertainment Weekly, Little Drummer Boy, The Weekly Standard
Posted Nov 23rd 2009 at 10:20 am in Music | 26484630 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/mpatterson/2009/11/23/review-bob-dylans-christmas-album/Review%3A+Bob+Dylan%27s+Christmas+Album2009-11-23+18%3A20%3A13Matt+Patterson

More ‘Stupid Things Celebs Do To Be ‘Green”

-”I take a three-minute shower,” [Jennifer Aniston] told Elizabeth Rogers and Thomas Kostigen, authors of The Green Book. She even brushes her teeth while she’s in there.

-“Entourage” star Adrian Grenier has lived in an apartment insulated with old pants.

-Vegetarian and planetary crusader Tobey Maguire reportedly has banned all leather products from his house. He also “makes everyone take off their leather belts and shoes and leave them by the door!”

-Leonardo DiCaprio “stays green at home, too—with his $3,200 eco-friendly toilet!”

-Bob Dylan sells “renewable grocery bags” at his concerts. (more…)

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Tags: Adrian Grenier, Bob Dylan, disney channel, E! Online, Elizabeth Rogers
Posted Oct 25th 2009 at 1:34 pm in Celebrity News, Politics | 252422156 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/bighollywood/2009/10/25/more-stupid-things-celebs-do-to-be-green/More+%27Stupid+Things+Celebs+Do+To+Be+%27Green%27%272009-10-25+20%3A34%3A16Big+Hollywood

EXCLUSIVE EXCERPT: ‘Hollywood on the Potomac’: Actors to Activists

So many big name stars, singers and sports legends have visited Washington over the years, the city is often referred to as “Hollywood on the Potomac.”  So, that’s the title of my new book (available now at Amazon, Barnes and Noble and Borders) featuring over 200 photographs and stories that detail the fascination between Hollywood stars and Washington power-players — from Presidents Truman through Obama. 

Here’s an excerpt: (more…)

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Tags: "Hollywood on the Potomac", Bing Crosby, Bob Dylan, Bono, Brigitte Nielsen
Posted Aug 27th 2009 at 1:14 pm in Entertainment, Featured Story, Politics | 21247813 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/jmeath/2009/08/27/hollywood-on-the-potomac/EXCLUSIVE+EXCERPT%3A+%27Hollywood+on+the+Potomac%27%3A+Actors+to+Activists2009-08-27+20%3A14%3A57Jason+Killian+Meath

Bob Dylan is the Anti-Gates: What CNN Doesn’t Want You to Know

On a rainy day last week in Long Branch, NJ, Bob Dylan, wearing a hood, was peering into a for-sale home when a neighbor called the police fearing he might be a burglar. Two young officers arrived on the scene and neither of them knew who Bob Dylan was. They asked for I.D. – he had none but explained he was a musician on tour with John Mellencamp and they were set to play at a nearby stadium in Lakewood. Without fuss or anger, Mr. Dylan was escorted back to his tour bus where he produced I.D.

That was that. End of incident. (more…)

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Tags: Bob Dylan, CNN, Crowley, Gates, New Jersey
Posted Aug 19th 2009 at 8:41 am in Celebrity News, Politics | 206090173 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/mmcgruther/2009/08/19/peeping-dylan/Bob+Dylan+is+the+Anti-Gates%3A+What+CNN+Doesn%27t+Want+You+to+Know2009-08-19+15%3A41%3A59Michael+McGruther

Bob Dylan and the Haunting of America

The new Bob Dylan CD Together Through Life comes in a bright, plastic jewel case, but it may as well be cuneiform scratched on a baked clay tablet.  Sure enough, though the shrink-wrap crackles and snaps at the unwrapping, the dust of a century and half of American music blows up into your face:

“Beyond Here Lies Nothing” shambles to life like a dusty corpse shuffling to a slow and sloppy rumba.  Dylan oversees the proceedings: part funeral director, part carnival barker, commanding ancient instruments and sentiments with a wink and a throaty growl.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, tonally, musically, lyrically, is “I Feel A Change Comin’ On”- imagine a sunny spring stroll down a country lane with your heart subsumed with thoughts of a new and tender love, and you have an idea of what this tune will do to you.

That Dylan can command these two diametrically opposite songs (on the same album, no less) is testimony to his expansive talent – he is large, he contains multitudes, and is frighteningly comfortable with all the sides of his protean and encompassing nature. (more…)

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Tags: Bob Dylan, cuneiform, Music, Together Through Life
Posted May 10th 2009 at 7:03 am in Featured Story, Reviews | 130534One Commenthttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/mpatterson/2009/05/10/bob-dylan-the-haunting-of-america/Bob+Dylan+and+the+Haunting+of+America2009-05-10+14%3A03%3A49Matt+Patterson

Dylan’s Outhouse – Smells Like ‘Rank’ Hypocrisy

In all of the uproar about how the stinky porta-potty at Bob Dylan’s Malibu compound is making his neighbors ill, has no one stopped to think about the rank (pardon the pun) hypocrisy on the part of Dylan, who made his fortune singing songs about the downtrodden, the disenfranchised, the haves versus the have-nots?

In this Red Pepper article reviewing the politics of Dylan’s music during the 1960s, we learn that… (more…)

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Tags: Bill Ayers, Bob Dylan, celebrity hypocrisy, port-a-pottie, security guards
Posted Mar 20th 2009 at 11:13 am in Celebrity News | 84534141 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/pmeister/2009/03/20/dylans-ou/Dylan%27s+Outhouse+-+Smells+Like+%27Rank%27+Hypocrisy+2009-03-20+18%3A13%3A59Pam+Meister

Mr. President, Is My Job Worth Saving?

Just in case you’ve never read my bio, I am a stand-up comedian and have been slinging jokes for over thirty years. I have had my ups and downs, worked the road for years, gigged in dumps and Vegas palaces, done TV and had a few shots at the big time. I have hurt my career by my personal behavior and I blame no one but myself for that.

I reinvented myself as a performer almost as many time as Dylan and I’m still standing. To quote my good friend, radio host Marc Germain, “I’m better than most and not as good as some.” (more…)

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Tags: AFL-CIO, Bahamas, Barack Obama, Barney Frank, Bob Dylan
Posted Mar 6th 2009 at 11:25 am in Entertainment, Political Humor, Politics | 73738103 Commentshttp://bighollywood.breitbart.com/jjena/2009/03/06/mr-president-is-my-job-worth-saving/Mr.+President%2C+Is+My+Job+Worth+Saving%3F2009-03-06+19%3A25%3A48Jeffrey+Jena