From: howells@hasbro.csd.sgi.com (John Howells)
Last-modified: 27 January 1997
Formatted in html by Giulio Molfese


Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ), part 1 of 2
for newsgroup rec.music.dylan
Please email corrections and suggestions to:
howells@csd.sgi.com

Copyright 1994, 1995 Adam K. Powers
This electronic document may be copied and distributed freely,
provided that this notice remains intact.

CONTENTS:

    Part 2 - Where else can I get information, off-line? (next article):

  1. Where can I buy Bob Dylan collectors' items?
  2. What books about Dylan's life and music are available?
    a. Bob Dylan biographies
    b. Studies of Dylan as a performer, lyricist, etc.
    c. Reference books
  3. Are there magazines about Dylan to which I could subscribe?
  4. I just read an article about Bob Dylan in my newspaper...
  5. What are bootlegs, and how do I find them?
  6. Has Bob Dylan appeared in any movies or film documentaries?
  7. Has anybody ever sent away for the limited edition notes offered in the "Under the Red Sky" album?


0. What has been changed since the previous posting of the FAQ

(1 October 1995)?

A new system for identifying changes is being tested for this outing of the FAQ. Any line which is different has as its first character "#". (This particular section is exempt :-)

Part 1: - modified section on how to post to rec.music.dylan via email
- added reference to Boblinks page in the WWW resources section
- updated the reference to the Jack Kerouac page
- added a reference to a URL describing how tape trees work
- modified some URL pointers
- added additional email addresses for posting to rec.music.dylan
- added references to additional lyric sites
- added reference to Olof in acronym section
- changed reference to the now deleted Homer Warmline
- added reference to RMD in acronym section
- changed section on HWY61-L and simply added a pointer to the list administrator and web archives
- added some entries to the glossary and acronym list
- updated the guitar tablature site. ftp.nevada.edu isn't valid anymore
- added to netiquette section. asked people to use question marks when asking for information rather than making bold statements in the subject header that may be misleading
- modified information about HWY61-L mailing list

Part 2: - added reference to new publication "Dignity"
- added reference to Clinton Heylin's "The Recording Sessions"
- modified information about the Telegraph
- modified information about Heylin's "Stolen Moments"
- added a pointer to legal documents on the web concerning bootlegs
- added more songbooks
- modified information about the Telegraph again, this time indicating that they are apparently no longer in publication
- added information about Phill Townsends's "Galileo's Math Book"
- added information about Helter Skelter books
- added information about fanzine "The All Night Cafe"
- added section on non-existent "Under the Red Sky" notes

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1. Who is Bob Dylan?

Bob Dylan is a singer, a guitar player, a song writer and a recording artist. Born Robert Allen Zimmerman in Hibbing Minnesota in 1941, his earliest circulating recordings date from 1958! His earliest recordings on an unofficial bootleg LP date from 1960, his first commercial release dates from 1962. He continues to write, record and perform to this day.

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2. What is rec.music.dylan?

Welcome! This Usenet newsgroup is devoted to the discussion of Bob Dylan, his music, and things Dylan-related. We welcome your constructive comments on nearly any issue, even if it's only tangentially associated with Bob Dylan.

There is no official Dylan fan club, so small packs of Dylan fans band together to stay informed and carry on general discussion. This particular Usenet newsgroup was founded mid-1989 by Tom Buckley.

Sometimes it seems that all we're interested in are upcoming tour dates and clarification of fact regarding old recordings, but there is often very interesting discussion of Dylan's lyrics themselves, a reason that no doubt many of you read this newsgroup. If you don't see the sort of discussion you want, you're encouraged to bring it up yourself!

Many people criticise the content and tenor of postings on rec.music.dylan but few praise those they like. If you see a posting which is just what you like to see why not e-mail the poster privately and say so. Many good posters stop posting because they say they do not know if anyone is reading or liking what they do. The way to shape rec.music.dylan to what you want is to encourage what you like to see, and to contribute good postings yourself too!

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3. Are you certain your e-mail address works?

98% of new posters who comment that nobody has answered a query they made on rec.music.dylan turn out to have displayed an e-mail address that does not function. This is so common that it is very unlikely a correspondent answering your query will do anything once they see that mail to you bounces. One of the # best ways to test your address is to send mail to the "robot" at # bouncer@nic.near.net You should be sent two replies. If this # does not work then contact the postmaster at your site.

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4. Is there a rec.music.dylan etiquette?

You should already be familiar with Usenet etiquette. If not, the newsgroups to read are news.newusers.questions and news.announce.newusers. A particularly useful document is "Emily Postnews Answers Your Questions on Netiquette" by Mark Moraes , stored at rtfm.mit.edu in a document called "part1" in the directory /pub/usenet/news.answers/usenet/emily-postnews/

As with all newsgroups, the best recommendation is for you to sit back and read for a while before you make your first posting. That way you can get a proper feel for the newsgroup. Then you will see which postings you think are valuable and which are wasting space or preventing good discussion.

rec.music.dylan is not moderated, so within reason anything goes. However, certain types of postings are generally frowned upon. These include:

  • Tirades against other readers of the newsgroup for their opinions.

  • Failure to edit subject heading when replying via the digestified mailing list [HWY61-L, see later]. Please ensure you edit the subject line when posting a followup. Anyone seeing a posting headed:

    SUBJECT: Re: HWY61-L Digest - 5 Mar 1995

    may well choose to ignore it altogether.

  • Lists of favourite songs/albums, including Top Tens. This is a discussion that reappears gradually more frequently as more and more people discover rec.music.dylan. It is hard to imagine a posting with less value and information content than:

    My top 20 favourite Bob Dylan albums, in order of preference, are:

    1. Blonde On Blonde 2. Highway 61 Revisited 3. The Times They Are A-Changin' . . 20. The Basement Tapes

    Tell me what yours are!

    If you are interested in lists of favourite song or album titles then please do NOT post them to rec.music.dylan. You are instead directed to the ALLMUSIC GUIDE [see later for details] for the views of past and present readers on this issue. Polls on favourite albums and songs are already available for hundreds of artists, including Bob Dylan. And should you wish to add your vote to those already cast then you are free to do so. [A Web page has been set up for this very task! - see later].

    This is NOT to say constructive discussions about WHY you place certain songs in such high regard are not of interest. Far from it - what are we all here for if not to discuss the songs?

  • Using rec.music.dylan as a easy substitute for personal research. There are many resources available at your local library and over the Internet (via FTP, GOPHER, the World Wide Web and Telnet). The numerous Dylan-related areas are detailed later on in this FAQ. You are strongly encouraged to consult this extensive material before asking on the newsgroup. For example, instead of asking hundreds of people for the setlist for 12 November 1981, you could simply look it up yourself in Olof Bjorner's 1981 yearly summary (via FTP, GOPHER or the WEB) or the three or four books available at your library. If the research material proves inadequate then of course you should post your question to the newsgroup stating this is so. In such cases you are much more likely to get a response! [See later for instructions on how to access this information via the Internet].

  • Bootlegs. From time to time someone posts a request for contact details of bootleg dealers. Answers to these questions should be sent by private e-mail only. To post full details to the very public forum of rec.music.dylan is to put the dealers at risk. This may be an hysterical over-reaction to the real situation, but is it not best to avoid Bob Dylan's work being the most likely target when those greedy copyright lawyers finally hit the Internet in force? We all know Bob Dylan always says yes when his lawyers ask him if they should proceed, be it a computer company, a transit authority, or a ...

    The objection to the posting of full trade listings is more along the

    lines of bandwidth wastage. If you wish to set up a trade you are best advised to send a polite e-mail message [see later].

  • Lists of names of other artists in which you are also interested. This thread began a very long time ago and still odd postings appear on the subject. For those who may be interested Steven Zawid conducted a major poll on favourite other artists and he would be interested to hear from you in e-mail as he builds up his statistics. Steven asks that you include one choice as to who your favourite non-Dylan artist is.

    Questions to the group should be clearly indicated as questions in the subject line to avoid confusing those who are looking for new information. For instance, a subject header of "New Album" is likely to mislead those who read your post into expecting to find some news about a new album. Instead, you should ask the question "Is There a New Album?".

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    5. How do I access rec.music.dylan?

    If you have no access to Usenet News but you do have Internet access then you could join a FreeNet in order to make use of free Usenet News access. For example:

    telnet yfn2.ysu.edu

    username: visitor

    follow the instructions for becoming a registered user and then read rec.music.dylan whenever you please.

    The majority of readers access this group through a newsreader (such as rn, trn, tin or the like on Unix systems), but there is also a digestified format that is sent to many others via email. If you'd rather read in that format (a long email sent to you once or twice daily) this information will be of use to you:

    "HWY61-L Digest".

    The mailing list is owned and maintained by Maureen LeBlanc. (If you experience any problems with the list or have any questions then e-mail Maureen at HWY61-L-Request@listserv.acsu.buffalo.edu). It should be noted that since this is a moderated list, some articles posted to rec.music.dylan may not appear.

    To subscribe simply send an email message to

    listserv@listserv.acsu.buffalo.edu

    with a blank subject, and the body of the message reading "SUBSCRIBE HWY61-L firstname lastname". For complete information, see:

    http://www1.usa1.com/~hporter/furboy.html

    To post to the mailing list, you would use this address:

    HWY61-L@LISTSERV.acsu.buffalo.edu

    You don't need anything more than e-mail to post to rec.music.dylan, just e-mail your posting to one of the following:

    rec.music.dylan@news.demon.co.uk
    rec.music.dylan@pubnews.demon.co.uk
    rec.music.dylan@dispatch.demon.co.uk
    rec.music.dylan@crs4gw.crs4.it
    rec.music.dylan@berlioz.crs4.it
    rec.music.dylan@magus.dgsys.com
    rec.music.dylan@myriad.alias.net
    rec.music.dylan@bull.com
    rec.music.dylan@cass.ma02.bull.com
    rec.music.dylan@paris.ics.uci.edu
    rec.music.dylan.usenet@canaima.Berkeley.edu
    rec.music.dylan@charm.magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu
    rec.music.dylan@undergrad.math.uwaterloo.ca
    rec.music.dylan@nic.funet.fi

    (For an updated list send e-mail to mg5n+remailers@andrew.cmu.edu)

    (This information courtesy of Alan Fraser)

    If you cannot access the newgroup you want through your own ISP, Zippo offer what they call a Direct Read News Service on the Web which can give you access to all newsgroups from your browser. It would also be useful for anyone you know who doesn't have Usenet access. The address to go to is http://www.zippo.com. They offer complete functionality including sorting, selecting, decoding, reading and posting Usenet News articles.

    You have to join and pay a subscription to see all of the news groups, but Zippo allows free public access to 4,500 of the most popular newsgroups, of which R.M.D. is one. You can mimic the subscription function by bookmarking your favourite newsgroups. For help, go to http://www.zippo.com/drnhelp.htm

    There are 3 ways to reach r.m.d.

    (1) Drill down through the Recreation list by selecting Recreation from the Home Page.

    (2) Search for "rec.music.dylan" from the Home Page.

    (3) Go directly to r.m.d.'s URL - http://drn.zippo.com/news-bin/wwwnews?newsgroups=rec.music.dylan

    (This information courtesy of ed@edlis.org)

    Another alternative rec.music.dylan posting method is

    http://grunt.dejanews.com/post.xp

    Some prefer e-mail:

    mg5n+remailers@andrew.cmu.edu

    Worth noting these things for when you are travelling and decide to post something on a strange machine with World Wide Web access but no familiar browser with UseNet News software. Not everyone has Netscape. With Zippo you can get going well from almost anywhere.

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    6. Glossary of terms and acronyms common to this newsgroup.

    All areas of knowledge develop jargon and acronyms which inevitably serve to keep outsiders out and to confuse newcomers. Medical doctors complicate the simplest things with needlessly difficult terms and abbreviations, computer experts often make the easy inaccessible to newcomers with obscure terms and abbreviations by trying to 'simplify' communications, management consultants... Well, you get the picture. People with a serious and debilitating Dylan habit can also develop these tendencies. Watch for the following obscure terms...

    #Dylan = The name of the Dylan channel on irc.

    BoB = Blonde on Blonde [1966] [not a typo for "Bob"!]

    BotT = Blood on the Tracks [1974]

    BIABH = Bringing It All Back Home [1965]

    boot = bootleg

    bootleg = circulating copy of officially unreleased material in any form. The term is probably derived from 'bootleg' liquor, which was sometimes smuggled in bottles strapped to one's leg during Prohibition in the United States, 1918-1933.

    Bootleg Series = The Bootleg Series 1961-1991, Rare and Unreleased, Volumes 1-3 [1991] - not to be confused with 'bootleg' above, this is an official release that reveals many songs and performances from throughout Dylan's career that were previously available only on bootleg media. The liner notes of this boxed set mention that further volumes would be released, but no reliable source has been able to determine if and when this might actually happen...

    BTW = By the way... EDLIS = Exchange of Dylan Lyrics - Internet Service [see question 8, below, for more information on EDLIS]

    GAIBTY = Good As I Been To You [1992]

    H61R = Highway 61 Revisited [1965]

    Hurricane = The lead-off single from Desire [1976], which tells Dylan's rather loose interpretation of the murder trial of boxer Rubin "Hurricane" Carter; Carter is today a free man in Canada after having endured a convoluted series of mistrials and legal wrangling.

    IMO = In my opinion...

    IMHO = In my humble opinion...

    irc = Internet Relay Chat, an international live real-time conferencing system with a channel called #Dylan. [see question #9, below]

    JWH = John Wesley Harding [1967] This album (and its title track) were mis-named after outlaw John Wesley Hardin. Dylan's song has very little to do with the story of the real Hardin; instead, it's basically just a spin-off of Woody Guthrie's "Pretty Boy Floyd." Some Dylan fans note the religious bent of this album and claim that the initials 'JWH' really refer to the Judeo-Christian deity...

    Krogsgaard = Krogsgaard's 1991 reference book, Positively Bob Dylan [listed below in question 10c]. A Krogsgaard number would be in a form such as [7/201]. This refers to item seven in the Krogsgaard listing for event 201. Badly addicted rec.music.dylan readers can be told such a number and then immediately sing the relevant item without reference to the Krogsgaard book itself!

    pirate = Illegal copy of officially released material. Also known as a "counterfeit".

    RAH = Royal Albert Hall. This refers to the famous, but misnamed Royal Albert Hall 1966 bootleg that is now generally believed to be from Manchester 5/17/66.

    RMD = The Usenet newsgroup rec.music.dylan. Also abbreviated as r.m.d. or just plain rmd. <>P smiley = An unusual punctuation device, presumably employed only by computer-users, which looks like a sideways smiley-face: :-) A smiley usually means that a comment or article has been written in jest, and should be read accordingly. A common variant is ;-) with the 'winking' eye. There are many, many variants on the smiley, and most are used to represent the flairs of spoken language that are often hard to perceive in text. :-(

    tape tree = A 'pyramid' method of distributing tapes organized by someone with a good or unusual tape that begs to be circulated. That person posts an announcement to the newsgroup, asking people to send email to him to sign up. He collects the names of those interested, and creates a 'tree' such that no one has to make an excessive number of copies, and people with better tape decks make copies for those without, etc. The original tape is the 'seed'. Those who receive copies from the seed and make further copies are 'branches', and those who receive copies from branches but don't copy for anyone else are the 'leaves'. Sometimes a person who makes copies is called a 'parent' and one who receives copies is a 'child'. Each person who receives tapes is expected to send tapes of other events in return to their branch. If blanks are sent in lieu of recorded tapes, the person sending blanks is expected to send double the number of blank tapes to recorded tapes. A less common method is that the person sendng blanks is expected to pay postage for both the tapes that sent and the ones received. If trading with a DAT collector who is supplying you with an analogue cassette, one blank DAT is adequate double compensation should they not want any blank analogue cassettes from you. For more information on tape trees, see the URL http://www.cs.umass.edu/~greene/files/tape-tree-def.txt.

    T-999 = Numbers like these are Townsend numbers.

    Townsend number = A three figure number identifying a specific bootleg CD as cited by Phill Townsend in his Strangers And Prophets [listed in question 2c of part 2], or as cited in Isis [listed in question 3 of part 2].

    troll = A provocative posting made with the intention of generating a reaction, ranging from flames and hate mail to trolls which are intended to spark discussion or controversy. It is best to ignore the foolish ones, and be alert to the clever trolls if you are responding.

    UTRS = Under The Red Sky [1990]

    WGW = World Gone Wrong [1993]

    WWW = World-Wide-Web [see question 5, below]

    ZZ = someone used to the vi editor in Unix posting from a different and unfamiliar editor trying to end their posting...

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    7. Is there a Bob Dylan discography available online, or some way to order Dylan CDs via Internet?

    It is beyond the scope of this document to give a true discography for Bob Dylan, but here is a list of the standard U.S. release full- length Bob Dylan albums:

    TitleReleased CD Order #
    Bob Dylan March 1962 CK 8579
    The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan May 1963 CK 8786
    The Times They Are A-Changin' anuary 1964 CK 8905
    Another Side of Bob Dylan August 1964 CK 8993
    Bringing it All Back Home March 1965 CK 9128
    Highway 61 Revisited August 1965 CK 9189
    Blonde on Blonde May 1966 CK 841
    Greatest Hits March 1967# CK 9463
    John Wesley Harding December 1967 CK 9604
    Nashville Skyline April 1969 CK 9825
    Self-Portrait June 1970 C2K 30050
    New Morning October 1970 CK 30290
    Greatest Hits, Vol. 2 November 1971# C2K 31120
    Pat Garrett & Billy the Kid July 1973 CK 32460
    Dylan November 1973^ CK 32747
    Planet Waves January 1974 CK 37637
    Before the Flood June 1974' C2K 37661
    Blood on the Tracks January 1975 CK 33235
    The Basement Tapes June 1975* C2K 33682
    Desire January 1976 CK 33893
    Hard Rain September 1976 CK 34349
    Street Legal June 1978 CK 35453
    At Budokan July 1978'~ C2K 36067
    Slow Train Coming August 1979 CK 36120
    Saved June 1980 CK 36553
    Shot of Love August 1981 CK 37496
    Infidels November 1983 CK 38819
    Real Live December 1984' CK 39944
    Empire Burlesque June 1985 CK 40110
    Biograph October 1985# C3K 38830
    Knocked Out Loaded August 1986 CK 40439
    Down in the Groove May 1988 CK 40957
    Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1 October 1988 Warner Bros. 9 25796-1
    Dylan and the Dead February 1989' CK 45056
    Oh Mercy September 1989 CK 45281
    Under the Red Sky September 1990 CK 46794
    Traveling Wilburys Vol. 3 October 1990 Warner Bros. 9 26324-1
    Bootleg Series Vols. 1-3 March 1991@ C3T 47382
    Good As I Been to You October 1992 CK 53200
    World Gone Wrong October 1993 CK 57590
    Greatest Hits III
    Unplugged April 1995 478374 2 (European)

    This is NOT intended to be a complete discography by any means. Check the discography file at ftp.cs.pdx.edu for more details on Bob Dylan releases available on compact disc. [see question 5 for help].

    Notes:
    ' Live album
    # 'Greatest Hits' collection - *most* songs previously released
    ^ Recorded in 1970, outtakes from Self-Portrait
    * Recorded in 1967!
    ~ This is the Japanese release date - U.S. release was December 1978
    @ Collection of previously unreleased material spanning 1961-1991...

    Also of interest are the 30th Anniversary Tribute Concert double-CD set; and Masterpieces, a triple-CD import collection that contains a few songs not available elsewhere on CD.

    To actually order CDs online, you can try the Compact Disc Connection, a California-based mail-order company.

    telnet cdconnection.com

    No password is necessary. Once you're logged in, the menus are fairly self-explanatory, and you can make purchases with your credit card.

    If you have a Web browser such as Netscape, Mosaic or Lynx and wish to look at CD shops on the Internet, use these URLs:
    http://reality.sgi.com/howells/dylan.html
    http://cdnow.com

    There have been several 'best album' polls done on the music newsgroups - the most comprehensive were the 'Usenet Artist Polls' and are available by anonymous FTP from ftp.uwp.edu in /pub/music/uap (many polls done on individual artists, not just Dylan).

    The Dylan albums most frequently recommended by readers of r.m.d are _Highway 61 Revisited_, _Blonde on Blonde_, _Blood on the Tracks_, and _The Bootleg Series, Vols. 1-3_, although you'll find staunch fans of nearly every album...

    The Dylan you might like depends more on you than on the opinions of others. You could describe in reasonable detail your musical, political, religious and sexual tastes, post that on rec.music.dylan, and ask for advice...

    Additional material may be found at the various FTP archives [see question 5, below].

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    8. Where can I find lyrics, tablature and other Bob Dylan information via Internet?

    There are three archive sites from which information regarding Bob Dylan may be obtained by FTP [If the term "ftp" is meaningless to you then ask a local computer guru to show you what to do...]:

    ftp.cs.pdx.edu (Portland State University)
    ftp.uwp.edu (University of Wisconsin, Parkside)
    ftp.nevada.edu (University of Nevada)

    The above are not guaranteed to be current, however there is a very nice web site that contains lots of guitar tabs:

    http://www.uvm.edu/~ksherloc/dylan/

    and you might want to check out:

    http://iris.bsd.uchicago.edu/~jrr/bob.html

    By far the most complete collection of Dylan lyrics can be found at this site:

    http://orad.dent.kyushu-u.ac.jp/dylan/bd.html

    Olof's yearly summaries of Bob Dylan concerts and recordings, plus a number of transcribed interviews, concert/tape reviews, and similar documents are available by anonymous FTP from ftp.cs.pdx.edu, in the directory /pub/dylan, and are maintained by Trent Fisher. This site originated as a replacement to Anthony Kapolka's archives from the early days of rec.music.dylan, but now includes all of Olof's archives and other recent files.

    Lyrics to a limited number of Bob Dylan songs, plus some guitar tabs and other information by be found by anonymous FTP from ftp.uwp.edu, in pub/music/artists/d/dylan.bob.

    Guitar tablature to many of Dylan's songs can be found on the World Wide Web at http://www.uvm.edu/~ksherloc/dylan.

    There are also a number of Dylan-related World Wide Web (WWW) pages. If you do not know what WWW is then you are best advised to ask a friend or computer technician at your site. You will need appropriate software (known as Web Browsers). Some examples: Netscape, Mosaic and Lynx (a text only version).

    WWW PAGES DEDICATED TO BOB DYLAN

    The Web has grown so fast that it's getting harder and harder to keep up with all the new web sites. Rather than attempt to catalog all known Dylan sites, here's a site that has links to all the others:

    http://www.execpc.com/~billp61/boblink.html - "Boblinks" (Bill Pagel) - Links to every Dylan internet resource known to man.

    Plus, if you want to locate more Dylan links than exist on the above site, you can try the following search engines:

    http://www.yahoo.com

    http://altavista.digital.com

    http://www.mckinley.com

    http://www.lycos.com

    DYLAN-RELATED PAGES:

    http://www.charm.net/~brooklyn/People/JackKerouac.html - Jack Kerouac home page (Levi Asher)

    http://pubweb.parc.xerox.com/digitrad - "Digital Tradition" - This is a searchable text database of folk lyrics. It is updated every few months and, as of April '94, contained over 4500 items. The latest edition is Oct '94. There are countless Dylan-related songs in this archive. - People can download their own copy of the entire archive for their Mac, PC, or a plain ASCII version:

    ftp.parc.xerox.com (California) or ftp.uwp.edu (Wisconsin) or

    (PC version only) send three formatted HD disks (5-1/4 or 3-1/2 inch) and a STAMPED, SELF- ADDRESSED mailer to Dick Greenhaus at:

    The Digital Tradition 28 Powell Street Greenwich, CT 06831

    Phone: 203/531-7314 E-Mail: digitrad@world.std.com

    http://lcweb.loc.gov/homepage/lchp.html - Library of Congress.

    http://us.imdb.com/ - Internet Movie Database - Can look up films such as "Don't Look Back" and, as with many of these sources, you can add information to improve what they list based on your expertise or reference books...

    GOPHER SITE:

    gopher://allmusic.ferris.edu/00/pop/d/dy/dylan.b - All Music Guide. - This is the location of the Bob Dylan entry. It includes a mini- bio', list of albums and their tracks, reviews and ratings.

    If you cannot find transcribed music online, you should be able to find music to all the released albums from good music stores and suppliers. The most recommended book source is "Lyrics 1962-1985". The lyrics 'database' on "Highway 61 Interactive" CDROM, released 1995, covers virtually all of the lyrics from this book, plus all albums up to 1995. Many songbooks can also be purchased, for example the book for Good As I Been to You is available from Special Rider Music Sales, 8/9 Frith St., London W1V 5TZ, England.

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    9. Is there some way that I can get lists of Bob Dylan concert tapes and recordings from past years?

    There is currently one electronic document that makes a good reference guide, plus one essential book:

    #1 - If you've got a little disk space to spare [approx. 1.5 megabytes], you can download Olof's year-by-year Bob Dylan archive - which lists Dylan's public appearances and recordings, gives handy reference tables of songs played on tour, and even lists recommended tapes by tour! The best part is that it's free for your own personal use. Don't try printing it out unless you've got the time & ribbons - the combined total of all the files would be on the order of 600 pages... How do you get it? How do you get it? ftp ftp.neda.edu, in the /pub/dylan/olof directory, the 1960 through 1995 files.

    #2 - There is a book called "Positively Bob Dylan" by Michael Krogsgaard (this book is frequently referred to simply as 'Krogsgaard' on this newsgroup). This tome numbers Dylan's circulating performances and lists the songs performed at each and every known circulating Bob Dylan recording through early 1991. There are always gaps and changes as new tapes surface, but this book is essential to the serious collector! It provides a fast, easy reference for identifying tapes and so on. The main disadvantage of such a serious book is that it costs about US$55. Ordering information:

    Popular Culture Ink.
    P.O. Box 1839
    Ann Arbor, MI
    48106
    (800) 678-8828
    (313) 761-4300
    $55.00 U.S. (around $65.00 CDN)

    Also of interest are the following two books:

    Dundas, Glen. ~Tangled Up In Tapes: The Recordings of Bob Dylan~. 3rd ed. Thunder Bay, Ontario: SMA Services, 1994. Write: 1837 McGregor Avenue, Thunder Bay, Ontario Canada P7E 5G2. Cost is approximately $45.00.

    Heylin, Clinton. ~Bob Dylan: The Recording Sessions [1960-1994]~. New York: St. Martin's Press, 1995. ISBN: 0-312-13439-8. Cost is approximately $25.00.

    There will shortly be a third option:

    #3 - If you have an IBM PC compatible "DylanBase" may be of interest. This is a DOS computer program designed by Keith Charles Marsh, with data collated by Chris Cooper. Its objective is the same as Krogsgaard's book, to detail all circulating (and uncirculating) recordings. Regular updates are planned to maintain the accuracy and completeness of the database. To find out more you can purchase a demo disk, the price of which is fully refundable against the final product. For this or other information write to:

    Chis Cooper
    8 Northgate, Whittlesey
    Peterborough
    PE7 1RA
    ENGLAND

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    10. When and where will Bob Dylan be performing next?

    Since official announcements from Dylan's publicity office regarding tour dates are rare, we have to rely on local people to look for advertisements or call ticket agencies and then to inform the rest of us. If you hear of an upcoming concert in your area, please tell us! Set-lists from shows that you have seen recently are also appreciated, even if you don't know the titles of all the songs that were played.

    Tour dates are usually posted piece-meal to the newsgroup, and sometimes these postings will contain conflicting or confusing information. If your local ticket agency has no knowledge of a concert date that you saw announced here, don't give up hope. Agencies such as TicketMaster frequently do not know about particular shows until a few days before they are authorized to sell tickets for that show. Some concert dates start out as rumors and never materialize, but many rumors do become fact. Be patient.

    There is no mail-order for Bob Dylan concert tickets.

    There are also Dylan hotlines you can ring on the telephone for the latest information on Bob Dylan events:

    USA: 970-243-8025 (The Rolling Tomes Hotline - the operator will ask you to enter the "hotline access number" located in the lower right corner of the back cover of the current Rolling Tomes catalogue. So you must either have seen the catalogue or have contact with someone who has... See question 10, below. A touch-tone telephone is required. The recording is updated at least weekly, more often when news warrants it.)

    UK: The Homer Warmline, run by Andrew Muir, has ended. It is being replaced by John Baldwin's Warmline:

    If calling within the UK, dial 01707-394678
    From overseas: [country code] +44-1707-394678

    UK: Wanted Man offers a hotline service to Telegraph subscribers [see part two of the FAQ for subscription details].

    The EDLIS Tours & Tickets agent compiles all the above info and posts updated tour schedules to rec.music.dylan:

    ray@rothley.win-uk.net

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    11. What is EDLIS?

    The Exchange Dylan Lyrics - Internet Service is an Internet wide conspiracy to make available Dylan lyrics for the purposes of research and/or private study. Lyrics available are restricted to a reasonable proportion. Any copying to evade purchase is wrong. EDLIS consists of a number of loosely affiliated individuals who have chosen to horde and distribute Bob Dylan information. This service includes, but is not limited to, information regarding: Bob Dylan song lyrics, versions of Bob Dylan songs performed by other artists, bootleg recordings, and tape trees.

    If you post a request for specific lyrics (or for detailed boot CD information) on rec.music.dylan you might find an EDLIS agent answers your needs magically in your e-mail box. In return, EDLIS is always in need of transcribed lyrics and information on compact discs, old and new. If you are able to type in or scan Dylan lyrics not presently available on the Internet, please do so - the only reason that EDLIS sends you anything is because others have contributed in the past!If you like what EDLIS is doing and wish to help, simply e-mail

    volunteers@edlis.org

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    12. What if I want to talk about Dylan on-line at all hours?

    If no one in the same room as you wants to chat about Dylan 24 hours a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year you might think you have an insatiable desire. But there is relief! IRC! Internet Relay Chat. On Internet Relay Chat there is always an international live real-time

    Dylan conference - usually in English - waiting for you to join it. At your Unix prompt type:

    irc

    and once irc is up and running type:

    /join #Dylan

    and what you type after that will be seen by all the others on that channel. If all is quiet simply wait until the lull ends or learn how to invite others in (/invite), change the topic (/topic) and so on.

    Many arrange to meet at #dylan by prior arrangement through e-mail, setting a time to rendezvous. Bear in mind the time zones - discussion tends to ebb and flow with New Zealanders and Australians starting the day, as they begin to flag Europeans join, and Americans are last to come in, though some #dylan people keep very odd hours indeed.

    Treat #dylan like a Paris street cafe. If you want to be certain that stimulating, interesting people are there when you are there, bring them with you.

    If Bob Dylan is performing in a country you can try to see who is onfrom that country, such as Japan:

    /who *.jp

    And then use /invite to invite in unsuspecting irc-ers and ask them about media coverage, whether they are going to the concerts or know anyone who is, will they be taking a DAT recorder with them, etc etc etc.

    As with all esoteric computer matters, if the command irc is not available on your computer, simply ask a local computer guru how to ftp and compile what you need.

    You could also logon by telnet to a limited version of irc:

    telnet sci.dixie.edu 6668

    Here are some other public access telnet sites for IRC on the Undernet, which is NOT the main irc but will give you a feel for a limited irc network:

    telnet wildcat.ecn.uoknor.edu 6677
    telnet wildcat.ecn.uoknor.edu 7766
    telnet skywarrior.ecn.uoknor.edu 7766
    telnet skyhawk.ecn.uoknor.edu 7766
    telnet skyraider.ecn.uoknor.edu 7766
    telnet intruder.ecn.uoknor.edu 7766

    EUROPEAN SITES

    telnet telnet1.eu.undernet.org 6677
    telnet telnet2.eu.undernet.org 6677

    VAX/VMS Users: use "telnet host.name /PORT=6677"

    telnet sci.dixie.edu 1 | sh

    So long as you have full Internet access something should be possible, and you can join in on the Dylan discussion via irc...

    The standard #dylan teatime in London meeting in irc is daily at:

                            Kangerlussuaq
    Fairbanks                   13:00  Reykjavik
      07:00                             16:00                     Petropavlovsk
                                         Trondheim                      04:00
                            St John's      17:00
                             13:30           Helsinki
                       Charlottetown   LONDON 18:00
              Hibbing     12:00         16:00   Moscow  Irkutsk
               10:00                             19:00   00:00
                      Greenwich            Paris
     San Francisco     Village             17:00 
         08:00         11:00           Lisbon      Bombay  Kyoto
                                        16:00       21:30  01:00  
           Gallup                      Monrovia        Singapore          Honolulu
            09:00                       16:00            00:00               06:00
                                           Lagos         Perth 
                       Quito Rio de        17:00         00:00 
                       11:00 Janeiro         Harare        Adelaide 
                             13:00            18:00         01:30  
                         Santiago                             Hobart   Dunedin
                          12:00                                02:00    04:00
    

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    (end part 1 of 2)
    formatted in html by Giulio Molfese

    John Howells
    howells@csd.sgi.com
    http://reality.sgi.com/employees/howells

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