AURAL INTERCOURSE

Thursday, August 07, 2003
Copyright © Las Vegas Mercury

Aural Intercourse: It's all right, Ma, I'm only stealing

By Mike Prevatt

It's been 40 years since his emergence as America's greatest songwriter, and Bob Dylan is still making the case for his relevance. Too bad some of the recent press he's received isn't exactly flattering.

As first revealed by the Wall Street Journal, a diehard Dylan fan recently discovered the singer-songwriter's inspiration for some of the lyrics found on the 2001 album, Love and Theft. Chris Johnson, a Japanese resident, happened to be reading an obscure 1989 book called Confessions of a Yakuza, by Junichi Saga. In it, he noticed that some of Saga's sentences looked familiar. Sure enough, he had heard those almost exact same lines on Love and Theft. He posted 12 comparisons--six alone from the song "Floater"--on the academia-oriented dylanchords.com. The Journal noticed this, with much of the media following a day or two later.

At press time, neither Dylan nor his handlers have commented, par for the course given the troubadour's reticence with the press. Saga--perhaps the biggest beneficiary of the discovery, thanks to new interest in his book--was flattered, saying he had no plans to sue.

This shouldn't come as much of a surprise to music fans. Whether he owns up to it or not, Dylan has been a de facto supporter of the great-artists-don't-borrow-they-steal axiom for much of his career, informed by his fascination with blues and folk artists from the first half of the 20th century. Not only does Love and Theft sound like a polished gem from the pre-rock 'n' roll era, but its title would suggest the smirking tipoff. After all, he has never hid his appreciation for the great guitar and songwriting trailblazers who came before him.

That same appreciation surfaces in a new movie that sometimes-actor Dylan stars in called Masked and Anonymous. Directed by Larry Charles, of TV sitcom renown, and written by Charles and Dylan (under the names Rene Fontaine and Sergei Petrov, respectively), the cameo-heavy movie centers on a benefit concert for victims of a worldwide revolution, where the line dividing the good guys and the bad guys is blurred.

Dylan is Jack Fate, a jailed old-timer asked to headline the concert and poised for a comeback. Fate and his band--Dylan's real-life motley crew of insanely talented musicians--perform several numbers in the movie. Occasionally in the background are some of Dylan's songs covered by other artists.

The music--Sony recently released a soundtrack--may be the best thing about the film (scheduled for release Aug. 29 in Las Vegas). Film writers have slammed the picture, concerted avant kitsch, uncompelling story and precious dialogue among the criticisms. Not that the hubbub should perturb the artist too much. As another movie, the 1967 documentary Don't Look Back, proved early on, Dylan's legacy stands on its own, the press be damned.

Quickies

On the file-sharing front, the L.A. Times reports that the music industry may offer U.S. colleges a free to heavily discounted music download service, in exchange for a university's efforts to quell student piracy. Reps from the Recording Industry Association of America (R.I.A.A.)--the organization responsible for more than 800 recent lawsuits against file sharers--and the various legit online music services are trying to work out a deal that lets students--the largest demographic among the Net "thieves"--obtain music legally with little to no cost on a jukebox-like service within a school's network. The aim is to attract students off peer-to-peer services like Kazaa and Grokster, where a majority of online piracy occurs.

Meanwhile, Napster 2.0 is aiming for a launch by the end of the year, but it won't be like old times. Roxio, the new proprietor of the revolutionary file-sharing service, will absorb the legit PressPlay online music store--formerly owned by Universal and Sony--into Napster 2.0, meaning songs are no longer free.

The nominations for this year's MTV Video Music Awards recently were announced, led by Missy "Misdemeanor" Elliott's eight nods for "Work It," including Video of the Year. Also up for the big kahuna is resurgent legend Johnny Cash, whose moving "Hurt" clip garnered an unexpected six nominations. Other multiple nominees include 50 Cent, Radiohead, Justin Timberlake, No Doubt and Beyonce, as well as scheduled performers Christina Aguilera and Coldplay. The ceremony, hosted by Chris Rock, will take place in New York and air Aug. 28.

Legit download

of the week

MTV.com frequently offers MP3 freebies, and usually among the mix is at least one unsigned artist. This week, it's New York quartet Elkland, who blends all its '80s influences in the charming indie-pop song "Everybody's Moving." You can nab the song at www.mtv.com/bands/az/elkland/artist.jhtml. To find out more on the band, visit elkland.net.

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