The Philosophy of Modern Song: A Review

This is a guest-post from writer/author John Nogowski who has written an interesting new take on this fascinating book. There are now nearly 100 reviews of Dylan’s new book shared with links on our POMS page. Yet more keep coming. We’re pleased to publish this one.

By John Nogowski

The tumultuous response to Nobel Laureate Bob Dylan’s first burst of prose since Chronicles, Vol. 1 – the wryly titled “The Philosophy of Modern Song” offers not a single philosophical analysis per se. The “modern song” part of the title was also a bit of a fake out. Unless, that is, you consider songs by The Clash, Elvis Costello and the late Warren Zevon (a 2003 entry “Dirty Life And Times”) modern. Songs from twenty years ago or so.

They certainly are more recent than, say, the oldest song in the collection, the Stephen Foster classic from 1849 “Nelly Was A Lady.” But modern, as in current? No dice. At 81, were we really expecting Bob Dylan to wax philosophic on Harry Styles, Nas or Taylor Swift?

Virtually e…