Name: Edvinas Bartkus's review of The Philosophy of Modern Song by Bob Dylan
Item: The Philosophy of Modern Song
Rating: 3
Author: Edvinas Bartkus

Bob Dylan

The Philosophy of Modern Song is Bob Dylan’s first book of new writing since 2004’s Chronicles: Volume One—and since winning the Nobel Prize for Literature in 2016. Dylan, who began working on the book in 2010, offers a master class on the art and craft of songwriting. He writes over sixty essays focusing on songs by other artists, spanning from Stephen Foster to Elvis Costello, and in between ranging from Hank Williams to Nina Simone. He analyzes what he calls the trap of easy rhymes, breaks down how the addition of a single syllable can diminish a song, and even explains how bluegrass relates to heavy metal. These essays are written in Dylan’s unique prose. They are mysterious and mercurial, poignant and profound, and often laugh-out-loud funny. And while they are ostensibly about music, they are really meditations and reflections on the human condition. Running throughout the book are nearly 150 carefully curated photos as well as a series of dream-like riffs that, taken together, resemble an epic poem and add to the work’s transcendence. In 2020, with the release of his outstanding album Rough and Rowdy Ways, Dylan became the first artist to have an album hit the Billboard Top 40 in each decade since the 1960s. The Philosophy of Modern Song contains much of what he has learned about his craft in all those years, and like everything that Dylan does, it is a momentous artistic achievement.

The Philosophy of Modern Song

Edvinas Bartkus

Mat Connor

I was a little disappointed at first just because I was so surprised and excited when this book was first announced. The title is misleading but honestly who expects Bob Dylan to give us something straightforward. In hindsight it probably would have been disappointing if he gave us something normal. 

Don't go into this expecting a master songwriter to reveal the mysteries of songwriting. He does justice to some of the songs, but most of the time he just uses them as writing prompts to talk about whatever he wants to talk about. 

He's Bob Dylan so some of the ramblings are pretty funny. Some of them you kind of feel like your grandpa is ranting and seconds away from saying something really inappropriate and you almost want to be like "That's funny Grandpa should we play the next song now?" 

I bumped up the rating because as a physical object this is a gorgeous book. The art direction is doing a lot of heavy lifting here. 

Listen to the Spotify Playlist as you go through it.

Edvinas Bartkus &
The Philosophy of Modern Song by Bob Dylan

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Edvinas Bartkus &The Philosophy of Modern Song by Bob Dylan

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Edvinas Bartkus &
The Philosophy of Modern Song by Bob Dylan