Strong Songs

A Bob Dylan Beginner's Guide, with Matt Sitman and Sam Adler-Bell

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Sep 19, 2025
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ANECDOTE

How A Bus Ride Sparked A lifelong Obsession

  • Matt first discovered Dylan by buying a Greatest Hits CD on a high-school trip and was blown away by "Like a Rolling Stone."
  • He then dove into bootlegs and setlist trading, which made him a Dylan completist.
ANECDOTE

Bootleg Trading Made Listening Sacred

  • Matt and his friend traded burned CDs by mail and collected bootlegs long before streaming made everything available.
  • Waiting for and receiving those physical bootlegs made listening feel special and obsessive.
INSIGHT

Dylan Sees Concerts As Improvised Events

  • Dylan treats live performance as momentary improvisation rather than a faithful reproduction of studio records.
  • That makes many concerts alienating to casual fans but fascinating to devoted listeners.
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