It's Bob Dylan's birthday. I really would have liked to post something pretty by him, "Shelter from the Storm," say, on Facebook as a tribute. However, Sony, which bought Columbia Records ages ago, is hostile to YouTube transmission of their records and gets videos (usually a still of the album cover over the record playing) taken down as soon as they go up. There are official Dylan videos of course; the one for "Shelter from the Storm" is a noticeably Eric Weissberg-free live version. The problem with live Dylan is that we're here for the lyrics; if Dylan ever enunciates, it's in the studio.
Of course, this could all be Mr. Zimmerman's decision rather than Sony's, but the same story applies to Bruce Springsteen. While Bruce, unlike Bob, is legendary for his live shows, still the same problem with lyrics and enunciation applies. So we've got two old guys, neither of whom has a very pleasant singing voice, both famous for their song lyrics which YouTubians aren't going to be able to decipher. There are 20 years worth of kids who have grown up with the Internet numbering in the millions, and these are the primary music buyers in the land. It seems like Sony (or Bob and Bruce, if you prefer) would figure out that giving access to some of the songs that made them legends would be a good business practice, leading to much improved sales. If I were 30 years younger and somebody had told me "You've got to hear 'Shelter from the Storm' by Bob Dylan!," that video would just make me say, "Why?"
That said, I was able to find a video for "Idiot Wind" on Vimeo. Don't tell Sony.
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