Musical Expeditionary

Bob, originally uploaded by c.e.s..

There is a lot to be learned from listening to what people have to say, and the way in which they say it. It all depends on what you are trying to get out of your experience on the planet. Complicated stuff.

I have been watching No Direction Home, the recent Scorsese documentary about Bob Dylan. It's incredible.

One thing I have learned in my own life is that some things do not have answers. The second half of Scorsese's film focuses on how the incessant questions of the press and the world at large got under Bob's skin. It's manic and cloying, and one truly gets a sense of the absurdity of it all.

Allen Ginsberg has some insightful thoughts as to why Bob failed to provide answers to all the people who wanted them.

You either get it or you don't. If you don't get it, the answer will not come to you by way of asking questions. Art is a form of observation, isn't it? Bob is already telling you how he feels about all that stuff, just listen.

Asking a musician why they create is like asking your neighbor why they go to the bathroom. Because they are compelled to do so. All experiences cannot be broken down into black and white.

The attempt at deconstruction belittles the affair. I have said before, and stand by it... experience is and should be. There's little to be gained from going any further. Asking "why" is not always the best strategy. Keep it simple. Acknowledge the subjectivity of truth and reality. Try not to go insane in the process.

There are a million quotes and moments in the movie that strike a chord with me. I'll offer up this one as food for thought, from the man himself:

"...what's money? A man is a success if he gets up in the morning and goes to bed at night and in between does what he wants to do."