Jude Warne, Rock Reviewer on Bob Dylan

Jude Warne, Rock Reviewer on Bob Dylan

This podcast welcomes Jude Warne, a rock biographer, music reviewer, and author. We discuss Bob Dylan's creativity in his book “The Philosophy of Modern Song” -- as well as the book “Folk Music of Bob Dylan: Biography in Seven Songs.”

Bob Dylan's book, The Philosophy of Modern Song, captures the mystery and creativity of his immense body of work with references to other famous songwriters. It showcases his creative voice as a critic, author, and biographer to discuss the writerly quality of other musicians' songs and their lives.

Jude says, “It highlighted for me a lot of the songwriters and songs that he touches on, he brings out their mystery or the mystery going on with the characters in each of the songs he talks about. So there's, the theme really is consistent in my opinion throughout the whole book.”

I replied, “It's exciting. And mystery is a nice word because how many people have tried to interpret a Bob Dylan song, and it's like how much meaning could we infuse in it? But often to look at it the other way and say, how does somebody like Bob Dylan interpret other people's songs?”

·     Bob’s creative, conversational tone has opened listeners' minds as he riffs and creates new stories for his songs that showcase his writing talent and insight.

·     Bob is an experienced music reviewer who notes the influence of older genres in modern songs, having charted on the Billboard charts since the 1950s and 60s.

·     Bob Dylan's selection of music speaks to artists of all eras, regardless of gender, race, or background, showing his unique creative vision and critical insight. Even though it may not seem like a “diverse” selection of artists to profile.

·     Through reflection on the works of great artists Bob Dylan questions if sacrificing one's personal identity is necessary to create strong and meaningful works.

·     We shared a laugh while envisioning Bob Dylan doing some real-life mundane tasks like sorting the photos used in the book, because of his persona of a philosophical approach to writing.

In the second half of the interview, we discussed a Bob Dylan biography on his creative journey through influences and contributions to history and culture, written by Rolling Stone critic and author Greil Marcus.

As we closed, Jude talked personally about her work as a creative critic, author, and biographer—and her secret dream to DJ in her own club where she can choose what songs to play.

We promised to keep the conversation going and check in periodically on new books and albums, especially ones that Jude reviews on platforms like The Vinyl District.

Jude is now working on a new book about a seventies rock artist which is set to be released in Fall of 2024.

My thanks to Larry Hughes at Simon & Schuster Publishing for an advanced introduction to the Bob Dylan "Philosophy of Modern Song" book.