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Weekend Butler: Where I’ll be on 9/24. Still More Allbirds. “My Wife Thinks You’re Dead.” The Most Relevant Movie. Bob Dylan at 80.
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Published: May 19, 2021
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Weekend
WHERE WILL I BE ON SEPTEMBER 24?
BOB DYLAN AT 80
When I was a tot compiling my first book, I arrived at the moment every writer dreads — many words to produce and a limited time to produce them. Crunch time. No choice in the matter. I was looking at an all-nighter. There are many who regularly go to bed at dawn. I am not one of them. Getting up at 4 AM — yeah, I can do it. But I’m no good between midnight and four, and no amount of caffeine changes that. And yet I was clearly going to need those midnight hours.
I played Blonde on Blonde that night. I started with the entire thing, but one song — “Visions of Johanna” — stood out for me, and I played it over and over as I wrote, until finally the dawn came and I typed THE END. That song was a parallel to my experience of that night: a 3 AM song, written from the vantage point of a downtown loft, everyone asleep except the songwriter. I’m not saying I merged with Dylan’s narrator, just that I took courage from the precision and originality of his words and music, and maybe — maybe — I wrote a little better than usual.
That was 1967. 54 years ago.
BARACK OBAMA ON BOB DYLAN AT THE WHITE HOUSE
The President’s review: “Here’s what I love about Dylan: He was exactly as you’d expect he would be. He wouldn’t come to the rehearsal; usually, all these guys are practicing before the set in the evening. He didn’t want to take a picture with me; usually all the talent is dying to take a picture with me and Michelle before the show, but he didn’t show up to that. He came in and played ‘The Times They Are A-Changin.’ A beautiful rendition. The guy is so steeped in this stuff that he can just come up with some new arrangement, and the song sounds completely different. Finishes the song, steps off the stage — I’m sitting right in the front row — comes up, shakes my hand, sort of tips his head, gives me just a little grin, and then leaves. And that was it — then he left. That was our only interaction with him. And I thought: That’s how you want Bob Dylan, right? You don’t want him to be all cheesin’ and grinnin’ with you. You want him to be a little skeptical about the whole enterprise.”
LITERACY PARTNERS: A CELEBRITY READING
May 20 (tonight), 7 PM. ET Click for free tickets.
Common, Julianne Moore, John Lithgow, Live Schieber, Tayari Jones, Ethan Hawke, Kevin Kline, Tommy Orange, and more will share their favorite poems.
JUNIOR BROWN: “MY WIFE THINKS YOU’RE DEAD”
It’s good to see you baby
It’s been a long, long while
We’re both a whole lot older and seen a lot of miles
But thing are different now since the good old days
And you’ve been in some trouble
Since we went our separate ways
We’ll have to say hello maybe some other time instead
‘Cause you’re wanted by the police
And my wife thinks you’re dead
JUST WHEN YOU THINK YOU HAVE ALL THE ALLBIRDS YOU NEED
Slip-on merino wool loungers, ideal for summer.
13 wondrous colors. $95.
A BOY OUTSMARTS HIS DAD AND PULLS MONEY KEPT UNDER A BOTTLE WITHOUT TOUCHING IT
PARIS
We can go soon. I’m thinking of breakfast at the Marly. A silent stroll through the “Deportation” memorial to the 200,000 French Jews taken in World War II. Lunch at the Rotisserie du Beaujolais. A classical music concert in the little church by the Seine. Going downstairs at the Louvre to buy the tickets that let you skip the line, wondering why no one ever told me about Napoleon III’s apartment. Misting up at the Degas pastels at the d’Orsay. Swooning over the twice-cooked pork at the Coin de Gourmet on the Rue Dante. After, though it’s too corny even to consider, set sailing on a Bateau Mouche and sneaking a kiss.
And then taking a train for a half hour and stepping out into… France. The guidebook: Half An Hour From Paris: 10 Secret Day Trips by Train
THE WEEKEND MOVIE: IT COULDN’T BE MORE RELEVANT
In a Better World won the 2011 Golden Globe Award for Best Foreign Language Film as well as the award for Best Foreign Language Film at the 83rd Academy Awards. In Danish, the title of this movie is “Haevnen,” which translates to “revenge” — and that is what the movie is about.
Life hits you with a baseball bat, and how do you respond? And if you can identify your tormentor and hit him back, then what? But how many times can you walk away? At what point does unchallenged bullying become evil? Should we be so above the fray that a monster can march us into a concentration camp? Where do we draw a line?
To stream it, click here.
