Newsgroups: rec.music.dylan,rec.music.info,rec.answers,news.answers Path: bloom-beacon.mit.edu!hookup!usc!howland.reston.ans.net!vixen.cso.uiuc.edu!uchinews!quads!akp1 From: akp1@quads.uchicago.edu (Adam K. Powers) Subject: FAQ: rec.music.dylan Frequently Asked Questions (1 of 2) Message-ID: <1994Mar28.221051.8247@midway.uchicago.edu> Followup-To: rec.music.dylan Summary: Information for fans of singer/musician Bob Dylan Keywords: FAQ, Dylan Sender: news@uchinews.uchicago.edu (News System) Reply-To: akp1@midway.uchicago.edu Organization: University of Chicago Date: Mon, 28 Mar 1994 22:10:51 GMT Approved: trusted-submitter@cp.tn.tudelft.nl, news-answers-request@MIT.Edu Expires: Tue, 12 Apr 1994 00:00:00 GMT Lines: 513 Xref: bloom-beacon.mit.edu rec.music.dylan:10149 rec.music.info:2981 rec.answers:4653 news.answers:16950 Archive-name: music/dylan-faq/part1 Frequency: twice monthly ************************************************************************ Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ), part 1 of 2 for newsgroup rec.music.dylan Please email corrections and suggestions to: akp1@midway.uchicago.edu (Adam K. Powers) Last update: 28 February 1994 ************************************************************************ CONTENTS: Part 1 - What is available on Internet? (this article): 0. What has been changed since the previous posting of the FAQ? 1. What is rec.music.dylan, anyway? 2. Glossary of terms and acronyms common to this newsgroup. 3. Is there a Bob Dylan discography available online, or some way to order Dylan CDs via Internet? 4. Where can I find lyrics, tablature and other Bob Dylan information via Internet? 5. Is there some way that I can get lists of Bob Dylan concert tapes and unreleased recordings from past years? 6. When and where will Bob Dylan be performing next? 7. What is EDLIS? 8. What if I want to talk about Dylan on-line at all hours? Part 2 - Where else can I get information, off-line? (next article): 9. Where can I buy Bob Dylan collectors' items? 10. 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 11. Are there magazines about Dylan to which I could subscribe? 12. I just read an article about Bob Dylan in my newspaper... 13. What are bootlegs, and how do I find them? 14. Where can I get a copy of...? ************************************************************************ 0. What has been changed since the previous posting of the FAQ? Nothing. I plan to make changes once the tape tree is rolling... 1. What is rec.music.dylan, anyway? Welcome! This Usenet newsgroup is devoted to the discussion of Bob Dylan, his music, and things Dylan-related. We welcome your comments on nearly any issue, even if it's only tangentially associated with Bob Dylan. This newsgroup is not moderated, so anything goes; but certain subjects are generally frowned upon, such as tirades against other readers of the newsgroup for their opinions... 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. 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! 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 yfn.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 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), read this: ************************ ** FOR YOUR REFERENCE ** (Highway 61 Digest) The service addresses, to which questions about the list itself and requests to be added to or deleted from it should be directed, are as follows: Internet: Highway61-Request@fuggles.acc.Virginia.EDU Highway61-Request@uvaarpa.Virginia.EDU BITNET: HW61-Req@Virginia UUCP: ...!uunet!virginia!highway61-request You can send mail to the entire list (and rec.music.dylan) via one of these addresses: Internet: Highway61@uvaarpa.Virginia.EDU BITNET: HW61@Virginia UUCP: ...!uunet!virginia!highway61 ************************ The Highway 61 Digest is maintained by Doug Poulin If you lack Usenet news access and want to post, simply e-mail your posting to: rec-music-dylan@cs.utexas.edu ^ ^ N.B. - NOT . or _ / hyphens not full stops or underscores! 2. 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 7, 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 #8, 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. 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 make 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 his/her branch. If blanks are sent in lieu of recorded tapes, the person sending blanks is expected to pay postage for both the tapes that he sends and the ones he will receive; another method is to send double the number of blank tapes to recorded tapes... 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 above], or as cited in Isis [listed above]. UTRS = Under The Red Sky [1990] WGW = World Gone Wrong [1993] ZZ = someone used to the vi editor in Unix posting from a different and unfamiliar editor trying to end their posting... 3. 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: Title Released CD Order # ----- -------- ---------- Bob Dylan March 1962 CK 8579 The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan May 1963 CK 8786 The Times They Are A-Changin' January 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 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 4 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 holonet.net username: cdc Once you're logged in as cdc, the menus are fairly self-explanatory, and you can make purchases with your credit card. 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 4, below]. 4. 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) 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 is available by anonymous FTP from the alt.guitar.tab archives at ftp.nevada.edu, in /pub/guitar/d/Dylan.Bob, and also /pub/guitar/d/Bob.Dylan (the separate directories are probably due to an oversight or change). An anonymous FTP session begins like this - at your prompt, type: ftp ftp.uwp.edu [or whatever site you'll be getting files from] Enter 'anonymous' (without the quotes) when prompted for a login name, give your computer address as the password. Use either 'ls' or 'dir' and 'cd' to find your way to the proper directory. 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. 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. [Thanks to Frank for that info.] 5. Is there some way that I can get lists of Bob Dylan concert tapes and recordings from past years? There is 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? ftp ftp.cs.pdx.edu, in the /pub/dylan directory, the 1960.Z through 1993.Z files (they are compressed). #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 various performances and lists the songs performed at each and every known 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. See item 10c below for more information. 6. 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: 303-243-8025 (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 9, below. A touch-tone telephone is required. The recording is updated at least weekly, more often when news warrants it.) UK: 071 385 1114 (The Homer 'warmline', maintained by Andrew Muir.) UK: Wanted Man offers a hotline service to Telegraph subscribers [see question 9 for subscription details]. 7. 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 compact discs, 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! 8. 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 on from 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 So long as you have full Internet access something should be possible, and you can join in on the Dylan discussion via irc... (end part 1 of 2) ************************************************************************