When I first heard about the new interactive video for “Like
a Rolling Stone”, I had no idea what to think about it. I had already seen the new Kanye video, so I
knew that the video would at least one video worse than it (zing!). I knew that one could switch channels, but
other than that I had no clue what I was in for. So lo and behold, I went over to bobdylan.com
and turned on my video. Boy is it a trip.
It is also quite amazing and fun on an infinite number of levels.
Toggling through the 16 different channels of this video for
the first time left my mouth agape. The synchronization
of reality shows, cooking shows, talk shows, Danny Brown, “The Price is Right”,
and every other television program under the sun was hypnotic and eerie. The combinations of words and images can hit
like a brick wall and stop you right in the middle of the road. Flipping to the cooking channel to watching
the lady chef say “scrounging for your next meal” while preparing a dessert was
an uncanny find. Seeing Drew Carey yell “make
a deal” to a contestant spinning the wheel on the “Price is Right” displayed
how much fun this video is.
If anything, this video proves that Bob Dylan really enjoys
the guys from “Pawn Stars” (second collaboration with them). The touches of subversive humor catapult this
video to another level. Watch the
channel with the news ticker or with the hashtags. Every hashtag is incredibly sarcastic, and I
personally enjoyed the one railing about people shooting black teens and the
growing divide between the rich and the poor.
I could watch the ticker for the whole 6 minutes and 13 second
length. A personal highlight for me was flipping
the channels and randomly seeing the lovely ladies from “Girl Code” appear. That stopped me dead in my tracks and I
stayed on that channel for a bit. The
video had worked its magic. Like
flipping the dials on a normal television set, I stopped for something I found
interesting and then changed the channel once my interest had waned. I forgot for a moment I was watching a music
video and thought I was watching a promo for “Girl Code”, but with the sound
turned off. I guess Dylan is a fan.
The attention to detail is amazing. Every show retains the style and even some of
the stars from the programs. Marc Maron
looks like he is having the time of his life asking a guest “how does it feel”. Danny Brown’s channel is hilarious and the
ending homage to Dylan is always appreciated.
It was a good touch to include a rap video in the mix to show how “Like
a Rolling Stone” and Dylan has weaved their way through all areas of our
culture. The vintage video of Dylan is awesome, but it
is better seen in its original form.
Watch that manic 1966 performance with the live vocals to see a genius
possessed and at the top of his performing game. The fire radiating from that performance with
The Band can only be truly enjoyed with the original sound played fucking loud.
I watched the fashion channel all the way through, but I don’t
recommend watching channels from start to finish (though in all honesty, I
probably will eventually). The lip
syncing can be off or strained at times and the video loses much of its power. Just keep flipping and enjoying. Most of the time, the song is almost over
before I’ve finished my flipping. Dylan’s
going on about pawning rings and I still have 5 channels to go! Such is the magic of the video. It never starts on the same channel twice and
every viewing is unique. Leave it to Dylan
to present a groundbreaking song with an incredible, groundbreaking video.
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