I Had Tremendous Fun Fooling Around With

Patriotism In America, As I Understand It, Is A Matter Of Suffering, When The Country Fails To Live Up To Its Promises, Or Actively Betrays Them.

If Bob Dylan Really Is An Historian In And Of Himself In His Work, In His Performances, He Is Also An Historian With A Unique Sense Of Humor. There's Always Been A Bit Of A Stand-up Comic In Him.

Farber Had A Huge Effect On Me As A Writer. I Don't Mean I Write Like Him. Farber Is, First Of All, A Great Stylist, A Great Writer. Anyone Can Read Manny Farber's Film Criticism, Whether That Person Is A Novelist, A Poet, Another Critic, A Historian, And Learn A Lot About Writing By Reading Him.

What Always Attracted Me To [bob] Dylan, And What Has Sustained Me As A Dylan Listener, Or Has Always Continued To Surprise Me, Is His Voice, The Way He Sings, The Way He Wraps His Voice Around Certain Words, The Way He Backs Off From Melodic Moments, The Way He Moves Forward To Grab Something In A Song That, Were Anybody Else Performing It, They Would Have No Idea It Was Even There.

I Never Could Understand - It Was Impossible For Me To Get My Head Around - What The Furor Was, What The Sense Of Betrayal And Anger And Rage Was About Bob Dylan's Beginning To Perform With A Band, To Play Rock-and-roll, To Get On The Radio.