They’ll phone you when you’re trying to be so good, they’ll phone you just like they said they would…
As we wrap up this fourth month of 2019, let’s talk about the big takeaway of the month: Bob Dylan still doesn’t like cell phone cameras at his concerts.
Earlier this month he stopped a show and told his ticket-buying public, “We can either play or we can pose, ok?”
Now, he’s not the only performer who tells his audiences to put their cameras down and actually focus on the show, and his policy isn’t new.
But it shouldn’t lead you to conclude that Dylan is anti-photography.
A quick look at the many striking photos on his album covers will prove that.
And in fact, one of the most famous images was a concert photo taken by a random guy in the crowd!
The music website Stereogum just did a series of interviews with the photographers who took some of the most famous Dylan photos of all time.
One of them was Paul Till, who happened to bring a camera and a long lens to a concert in Canada in 1974.
He said of the photos he took that day, only one really turned out well, and after a little touch-up work in the darkroom, Till decided to send it to Dylan’s record company.
He figured at best he’d get a thank you letter back.
The letter he actually received said his photo had been chosen as the front cover of the next Bob Dylan album, the landmark “Blood on the Tracks.”
Paul Till says he’s still never met Bob Dylan, but he says a friend met Bob and mentioned Paul’s story.
Dylan reportedly said, “Tell him it was a good picture.”
Meanwhile in Australia, a group of poppy farmers were having a hard time because someone was getting onto their land and building crop circles.
When they investigated they found the culprits: wallabies, who were sneaking under the fences, eating the poppies, getting all doped up and hopping around in circles.
They would not feel so alone, every wallaby must get stoned?
Five Of Bob Dylan’s Photographers Share Their Best Dylan Stories (Stereogum)
Stoned wallabies are making crop circles in Tasmania (ABC Australia)
Help make Cool Weird Awesome! Just search for Cool Weird Awesome on Patreon and support the show for as little as $1 a month!
