A podcast about Bob Dylan, his music & anything else. Featuring conversations and original analysis of Bob Dylan’s work.
Reading the feed…
Today we're talking about Bob Dylan's fashion through the years! What's your favourite outfit Bob Dylan has worn, or which style do you most associate with him?
In this week's Bob Dylan Hotline, we're talking about Bob Dylan's vocals! What do YOU think his sexiest, spookiest, and most moving vocals are?
In this week’s Bob Dylan Hotline we talk about the state of Dylanology, Dylan Studies, whatever you may call it, as well as the groundwork laid by fans. Plus, Rebecca reports back from when Bob Dylan Long Hot Summer stopped at Forest Hills, Queens!
When Bob Dylan began his career, murder ballads were having a bit of a moment. In this episode, we’ll look into the influence these songs had on the young artist, and how they inspired a particular subset of his own early songs.
This week on the Bob Dylan Hotline Laura and Rebecca are talking about Bob Dylan's pronouns! In 1978, Bob Dylan told Craig McGregor, "Tangled Up In Blue [was] the first [song] I ever wrote that I felt free enough to change all the... what is it, the tenses around, is that what it is? [...] The he and the she and the I and the you, and the we and the us–I figured it was all the same anyway – I could throw them all in where they floated right – and it works on that level." How does this changing around of pronouns affect how we hear the song? And why does Dylan favour writing in the second perso
This week Laura talks to writer, editor, and musician Sam Sodomsky about the trilogy of Great American Songbook albums, Shadows in the Night (2015), Fallen Angels (2016), and Triplicate (2017) – a move that for some legacy artists might be predictable, but that for Bob Dylan was a real curveball.
In this week’s Bob Dylan Hotline Laura and Rebecca about the way we listen to music – how do shifts in technology affect the way artists present their work and does that change the way we relate to it? Is the album still relevant or on its way out? And how does all this affect what we consider to be part of the Bob Dylan canon?
This week on the Bob Dylan Hotline we're talking about Bob Dylan and Paul McCartney – two extraordinary artists whose paths have crossed several times over the decade, and whose influence on the other has been significant. They're similar in some ways, very different in others – let's talk about it!
In this episode, Laura talks to history professor Court Carney about Bob Dylan and Nostalgia – Dylan’s relationship to the past and the future, The Odyssey, and Don Draper.
In today's Bob Dylan Hotline, Laura and Rebecca get a little mystical. Bob Dylan himself has often described the creative process as magical, and through the years has also been drawn to mysticism like the Tarot. We talk about creativity as alchemy, which Tarot card Bob Dylan most identified with, and the spell that music can cast. The Tarot deck we’re referring to is the Rider-Waite-Smith deck from 1909, illustrated by Pamela Coleman Smith. If you have a question for us, send us a voice memo to bobdylanhotline@gmail.com. For anything else get in touch at itsdefinitelydylan@gmail.com You can s
Buried on one of Bob Dylan's lesser 80s albums, "Brownsville Girl" is consistently cited as one of his greatest and most ambitious songs. Co-written by playwright/screenwriter/director/actor Sam Shepard, the song originally came to life as "New Danville Girl”. It was recorded, put aside, and then ultimately rewritten and overdubbed before finally seeing the light of day. Laura and Rebecca talk about creative collaboration, the alchemy of the songwriting process, and what we love about "Brownsville Girl" Find the video of this conversation over on YouTube If you have a question for us, send us
This week on the Bob Dylan Hotline, Laura and Rebecca brainstorm the best songs and albums to introduce someone to Bob Dylan’s music. Send us your question to bobdylanhotline@gmail.com (itsdefinitelydylan@gmail.com for all other inquiries) You can support Definitely Dylan on Patreon or with a one-off donation at buymeacoffee.com/definitelydylan.
Laura talks to Jim Windolf, music journalist and features editor at the New York Times, about his new book Where the Music Had to Go: How Bob Dylan and the Beatles Changed Each Other – and the World, out now with Scribner (US) and White Rabbit (UK). You can support Definitely Dylan on Patreon or with a one-off donation at buymeacoffee.com/definitelydylan.
Laura and Rebecca answer some more listener questions and talk parasocial relationships, the artist's humanity, and fan loyalty. Send us your question to bobdylanhotline@gmail.com (itsdefinitelydylan@gmail.com for all other inquiries) You can support Definitely Dylan on Patreon or with a one-off donation at buymeacoffee.com/definitelydylan.
Laura and Rebecca discuss the new Bob Dylan Patreon, AI, and eventually answer a question. Send us your question to bobdylanhotline@gmail.com You can support Definitely Dylan on Patreon or with a one-off donation at buymeacoffee.com/definitelydylan.
A new podcast segment, in which Laura and Rebecca answer your questions about all things Bob. This one's about movie soundtracks, collaborations, and Geese! Send us your question to bobdylanhotline@gmail.com You can support Definitely Dylan on Patreon or with a one-off donation at buymeacoffee.com/definitelydylan.
In this episode I talk to Chicago-based filmmaker, author, and college professor Michael Glover Smith about Bob Dylan the filmmaker, specifically his work on Eat the Document (1972), Renaldo & Clara (1978), and Masked & Anonymous (2003). Michael’s new book Bob Dylan as Filmmaker: No Time to Think is published by McNidder & Grace on 2nd of March.
Being a Bob Dylan fan is a spectrum –whether you identify as a casual enjoyer if his music or a die-hard Bobcat, the umbrella is large and leaves room for multitudes. Over the past year, many Definitely Dylan episodes have circled around the relationship between artist and audience, how Bob Dylan presents himself and how he is perceived. In the final conversation of 2025 (which you’re hearing in early 2026), we’re approaching this topic from a new angle. My guest is Elizabeth Cantalamessa, an honest to god philosopher and one of the most fun people you can run into at a Bob Dylan show. We talk
Recently the founder of The Daily Dylan was asked to leave a Bob Dylan concert, apparently for having shared illegally recorded concert videos. Today we’re talking about the relationship between Bob Dylan and his fans, particularly their ideas of how his music should be engaged with are at odds with the artist’s own.
Bob Dylan – the man, the myth, the legend – the enigma? In this episode I revisit an old radio episode on Bob Dylan the Stranger. Bob Dylan – the myth, the legend, the enigma? In this episode I revisit an old radio episode on Bob Dylan the Stranger. You can support Definitely Dylan on Patreon or with a one-off donation at buymeacoffee.com/definitelydylan.
Just over a week after I did a whole episode about how Bob Dylan doesn’t want to be filmed or photographed, he appeared as part of the 40th Farm Aid benefit concert, which was broadcast and live streamed, giving us rare good quality footage of a present day Bob Dylan set! I invited friends of the pod Rebecca Slaman and Britt Eisnor to discuss the occasion with me. The discussion of the actual Farm Aid set begins at 31:07.
At the most recent Outlaw shows, Bob Dylan has been shielding himself from view and it’s become a pretty popular talking point last week. I’ve been thinking about that as well as the upcoming Bootleg Series, filtered it through a 90 year old essay on art and technology and this is the result. <3 You can support Definitely Dylan on Patreon or with a one-off donation at buymeacoffee.com/definitelydylan.
An episode about twins, doubles & duality from the radio archives. You can support Definitely Dylan on Patreon or with a one-off donation at buymeacoffee.com/definitelydylan.
Legend has it that Bob Dylan once left his iPod behind and someone copied the contents. With Canadian musician and songwriter (and future Bob Dylan podcaster) Tim Swaddling). Find the playlist on Spotify! You can support Definitely Dylan on Patreon or with a one-off donation at buymeacoffee.com/definitelydylan. Songs in this episode: “Let Me Play With Your Poodle” - Hank Penny (Theme Time Radio Hour ep. Thanksgiving Leftovers. CORRECTION: Bob actually played the version by Tampa Red & Big Maceo, but he played several other songs by Hank Penny on the show) “Smoking in the Boys Room” - Brownsvil
Laura revisits a radio episode from the archives about April anniversaries, some good, many disastrous. And there’s a little side quest about Bob Dylan and Modernist poetry. One note – I forgot to mention that the performance of “Spring Can Really Hang You Up the Most” is by Betty Carter. You can support Definitely Dylan on Patreon or with a one-off donation at buymeacoffee.com/definitelydylan.
