cannot find server.

i don't know if it isn't because of this computer here in work.

*edit*
probably. can't get to sonic sharing section either.

yes, a new todd haynes film is great let alone a real sweet one like this, and im not even a fucking dylan fan or admirer or even appreciator!

if you wanna catch some other todd haynes films, i highly recommend these beauties......


and to a lesser extent (despite the wonderful eno soundtrack, here come the warm jets is an album of high greatness)

try this:

http://www.metacafe.com/watch/817613/iw_video_todd_haynes_christine_vachon_on_im_not_th ere/

thanks

o so fucking pumped for this movie now!!!!!!!!! Bob is one of the greatest men to walk the earth. I just finished readin his Chronicles: Volume One

9/17/2007

Finally: "I'm Not There" Final Tracklist & Poster

 

What purports to be the final, non-alphabetical tracklist for the "I'm Not There" soundtrack has appeared online. So apart from actually seeing the film and maybe talking to some of the musicians and perhaps director Todd Haynes (c'mon, give us a hand with that), we're almost done with the obsessive 'There' reporting.

 

But then again, you never know... Apparently only 15 of these tracks actually appear in the film and the other 19 are just for us obsessives, but it's not like they're that loathsome, "inspired by" dreck that often gets rolled out onto to soundtrack discs. Haynes reached out to a ton of artists and obviously not every one of them are going to be perfect for every scene in the movie, but including all of them here makes sense.

01. - "Simple Twist of Fate," Jeff Tweedy
02. - "All Along the Watchtower," Eddie Vedder and the Million Dollar Bashers
03. - "As I Went Out One Morning," Mira Billotte
04. - "Ballad of a Thin Man," Stephen Malkmus and the Million Dollar Bashers
05. - "Billy," Los Lobos
06. - "Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window," the Hold Steady
07. - "Can't Leave Her Behind," Stephen Malkmus and Lee Ranaldo
08. - "Cold Irons Bound," Tom Verlaine and the Million Dollar Bashers
09. - "Dark Eyes," Iron & Wine and Calexico
10. - "Fourth Time Around," Yo La Tengo
11. - "Goin' To Acapulco," Jim James and Calexico
12. - "Highway 61 Revisited," Karen O and the Million Dollar Bashers
13. - "I Dreamed I Saw St. Augustine," John Doe
14. - "I Wanna Be Your Lover," Yo La Tengo
15. - "I'm Not There," Bob Dylan
16. - "I'm Not There," Sonic Youth
17. - "Just Like a Woman," Charlotte Gainsbourg and Calexico
18. - "Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues," Ramblin' Jack Elliot
19. - "Knockin' on Heaven's Door," Antony & the Johnsons
20. - "The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll," Mason Jennings
21. - "Maggie's Farm," Stephen Malkmus and the Million Dollar Bashers
22. - "Mama You've Been on My Mind," Jack Johnson
23. - "The Man in the Long Black Coat," Mark Lanegan
24. - "Moonshiner," Bob Forrest
25. - "One More Cup of Coffee," Roger McGuinn and Calexico
26. - "Pressing On," John Doe
27. - "Ring Them Bells," Sufjan Stevens
28. - "Señor (Tales of Yankee Power)," Willie Nelson and Calexico
29. - "Stuck Inside of Mobile With Memphis Blues Again," Cat Power
30. - "The Times They Are a Changin'," Mason Jennings
31. - "Tombstone Blues," Richie Havens
32. - "When The Ship Comes In," Marcus Carl Franklin
33. - "Wicked Messenger," the Black Keys
34. - "You Ain't Goin 'Nowhere," Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova

19/2007Musical Preview: "I'm Not There" The Educational-Only Originals

 

Ok, you haven't yet heard the covers made by various classic and indie rockers on Todd Haynes' "I'm Not There" soundtrack, right? Right, none of us have, but the tracklist is now out.

So we thought we'd give you a preview cheat sheet of what the music on this soundtrack might sound like. Here's the tracklist, song for song, with the Bob Dylan originals for educational purposes only of course.

Get it while you can, this won't be up for long. Keep in mind there is no 07 - track because the track, "Can't Leave Her Behind" was never officially released (though yes, we're sure some of you bootleggers out there have it). The song was first heard on the 1966 Dylan film, "Eat The Document," and the clip is provided below. Also there's no track 16 because the the "I'm Not There" has the title track on the album twice (the long-waited official original version and also Sonic Youth's cover version)

I'm Not There - The Bob Dylan Originals
"Can't Leave Her Behind" from "Eat The Document" featuring The Band's Robbie Robertson

Ok, so this is actually the tracklist. Whoops. Looks like bad info was on the web. But we're a bit over sweating the little details. We actually want to hear these covers and see the movie! The wait is really killing at this point.

We're told a vinyl version of the soundtrack is on the way too. What would that be like 4 LPs? Could be. And just remember you're only going to hear 15 of these songs in the movie.

"I'm Not There" director Todd Haynes reached out to lots of people obviously and not all 34 tracks are lucky enough to make a screen appearance, but culling all the material recorded for the film is a very wise move. There's also one more soundtrack-related secret that we're dying to tell you, but mum's the word for now.

In side note wrap-ups for the film. Apparently Cate Blanchett wore a sock in her underwear to play Dylan and her husband found the role rather unsexy for her. Funny.

1. All Along The Watchtower - Eddie Vedder and The Million Dollar Bashers
2. I'm Not There - Sonic Youth
3. Goin' To Acapulco - Jim James/Calexico
4. Tombstone Blues - Richie Havens
5. Ballad Of A Thin Man - Stephen Malkmus and The Million Dollar Bashers
6. Stuck Inside Of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again - Cat Power
7. Pressing On - John Doe
8. Fourth TIme Around - Yo La Tengo
9. Dark Eyes - Iron & Wine/Calexico
10. Highway 61 Revisited - Karen O and The Million Dollar Bashers
11. One More Cup Of Coffee - Roger McGuinn/Calexico
12. Lonesome Death Of Hattie Carroll, The - Mason Jennings
13. Billy 1 - Los Lobos
14. Simple Twist Of Fate - Jeff Tweedy
15. Man In The Long Black Coat, The - Mark Lanegan
16. Senor (Tales Of Yankee Power) - Willie Nelson/Calexico

DISC 2:
1. As I Went Out One Morning - Mira Billotte
2. Can't Leave Her Behind - Stephen Malkmus/Lee Ranaldo
3. Ring Them Bells - Sufjan Stevens
4. Just Like A Woman - Charlotte Gainsbourg
5. Mama You've Been On My Mind - Jack Johnson
6. I Wanna Be Your Lover - Yo La Tengo
7. You Ain't Goin Nowhere - Glen Hansard/Marketa Irglova
8. Can You Please Crawl Out Your Window? - The Hold Steady
9. Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues - Ramblin' Jack Elliott
10. Wicked Messenger - The Black Keys
11. Cold Iron Bound - Tom Verlaine and The Million Dollar Bashers
12. Times They Are A Changin', The - Mason Jennings
13. Maggie's Farm - Stephen Malkmus and The Million Dollar Bashers
14. When The Ship Comes In - Marcus Carl Franklin
15. Moonshiner - Bob Forrest
16. I Dreamed I Saw St. Augustine - John Doe
17. Knockin' On Heaven's Door - Antony and The Johnstons
18. I'm Not There - Bob Dylan The Playlist - The sweet spot where movies and music meet.

Kim gordon is playing in the movie!

http://www.exclaim.ca/articles/multiarticlesub.aspx?csid1=115&csid2=946&fid1=2791 0


Todd Haynes
By Allan Tong

Exclaim! spoke to film director Todd Haynes who was at the Toronto International Film Festival to premiere his new film, I'm Not There, an experimental biography of Bob Dylan.

You said that in 2000, while writing Far From Heaven, that you were listening to Dylan at a time in your life when you were looking for change. Why were you looking what subsequently happened?.
I had just had a sex change operation —

I read about that. .
[Laughs] I was sort of at the end of my time in New York without really realising it. All my friends had settled down one way or the other: found real estate and made it home, or settled into long-term relationships and had kids. I didn't have any of those things and I didn't really particularly have an apartment that felt like home. I had been there 15 years but was still living out of boxes in a weirdly temporary life. I had put all of my energy into my work and not my life. Before I really knew what was happening I wanted to start listening to Bob Dylan music. I had been planning to go to the West Coast where my sister lived to write Far From Heaven. Dylan became my soundtrack on the ride to Portland.

During this whole time I got more and more into the Dylan stuff. I was writing Far From Heaven. I wrote it in ten days at night while by day I was listening to Dylan and hanging out with all these new, great people taking hikes and jumping into rivers. Then, I finished Far From Heaven then went to Dylan with this film proposal. I thought, “Well, that'll never happen, but that was fun.” Then, my landlord called from New York and said, "Todd, I want to take over your apartment, because were going to turn it into an office." So I lost my place in New York and I was just having this fantastic idyllic summer in Portland. My sister noticed this beautiful arts and crafts bungalow for sale. Then that fall I get a call from Dylan saying, "Yeah give this guy the rights."

So within one year my life had changed and I started making this project about Bob Dylan. I had ten years of work lined up for myself in one year and a whole new life. Things had changed.

What particular Dylan albums or music were you listening to on that trip?
I made myself a whole Dylan collection on four cassette tapes. Those cassette tapes kept expanding — I had a six. The stuff that was blowing my mind was something I never listened to before, the first Bootleg Series released on Columbia. When I heard “She's Your Lover” now right out of that Blonde On Blonde period — still my favourite — I was just astounded. I remember hearing there was an eight-minute solo version of him on piano on this bootleg, The Genuine Bootleg Series. Now I have all of those with A Tree With Roots, which is the entire Basement Tapes collection —

I'm Not There is on that set.
A friend of mine sent me them and that was mind-blowing, a world unto itself. Throughout this whole time I was reading [Dylan] biographies and those incredible interviews from '65 and '66 like the Hentoff Playboy, which were performance acts of literary genius. They were inherently dramatic and I felt something could be done with them.

You really did your homework. In the film there is a reference to the film, Eat the Document, specifically the outtake with John Lennon.
I found Eat the Document at an amazing video store in Portland, Movie Madness. They didn't have that anywhere in New York City. That's an amazing experimental film. I was just nourished, sucking up all the stuff and try to put as much as it is I could on film.

What was the creative process behind I'm Not There?
This period in 2000 felt natural, driven by desire and hunger and sunshine and rain. I got the [story] rights, but then immediately had to switch my gears and make Far From Heaven... Then I came back to Portland. Even though I left a rough early draft of the script as a result of that first year I thought I would put it aside and just start from scratch and really do real research. Start over. What's funny is that from that point on it was a job like all films are. You trade in your desire for labour and you've given yourself the best possible job. You are not driven by ardour, you're driven by labour, your own diligence and work ethic. That's when I worked in a more organised way. I began to orient myself much more to Dylan's work music, writings and his own creative life and influences — Woody Guthrie, Ginsberg, Rimbaud.

His Jesus period.
His Jesus period. I made copious notes that I made applicable to this film.

How did you cast Cate Blanchett and Kim Gordon?
They're [Sonic Youth] just friends in a band I've always loved. And Kim's been acting and wants to do acting roles. I'd love to continue working with Kim in different ways. I made a rock video with them a long time ago. Thurston [Moore] and Steve [Shelley] were part of the Velvet Goldmine soundtrack. Lee Ranaldo produced all the tracks for the Jude story in this film. Cate is just one of our great actresses in film and stage. She's an amazing mind and sensibility. She was terrified to do this, but something inside her was bitten by the challenge and risk.

Dylan says we're all in the process of becoming. Where are you?
Exactly right there — in the process of becoming.

Off the top of my head: he also performed Positively 4th St at the Avery Hall (New York) Dylan tribute last year.

http://www.uncut.co.uk/blog/index.php?blog=6&title=bob_dylan_covered_by_vedder _sonic_youth_&more=1&c=1&tb=1&pb=1


Bob Dylan covered by Vedder, Sonic Youth, Calexico, Cat Power, Yo La Tengo, Malkmus, McGuinn, Tweedy, Willie Nelson,Sufjan, Verlaine, The Hold Steady. . . Is the title long enough yet?

2007-10-01 15:17:11
I've been spending the past hour or so working my way through this soundtrack to Todd Haynes' Dylan movie, I'm Not There. I must admit to a bit of scepticism about the film, having actively despised Haynes' Velvet Goldmine, and been faintly terrified by the convoluted plotting and detail that was reported here.
Continued...
Good soundtrack, mind. Dylan has been better served by cover versions than most great artists, of course, and while I can't immediately spot anything here that bears comparison with the best efforts of, say, The Byrds and Fairport Convention, there's a very good feel to a lot of the music here; a nice mixture between wild mercury reverence and sensitive,imaginative reinvention.
What's immediately apparent is the good taste of whoever corralled these musicians. The closest analogue is that Stu Sutcliffe movie, Backbeat, and the all-star band focused around Sonic Youth, Eddie Vedder and so on who provided Beatles covers on the soundtrack. They return for "I'm Not There", alongside friends in a wily bar band agglomeration called The Million Dollar Bashers.
Vedder and the band's take on "All Along The Watchtower" is a bit windy, but Stephen Malkmus proves a likeably idiosyncratic frontman on a clutch of sinewy tracks, notably a pinched, organ-heavy take on "Ballad Of A Thin Man". And Karen O from The Yeah Yeah Yeahs steps up for a mighty "Highway 61 Revisited", very much in the vein of PJ Harvey's version of the same song.
The other house band on these two CDs, it seems, is the estimable Calexico, who back up a terrific bunch of frontmen: gilded Dylan interpreter Roger McGuinn ("Cold Irons Bound"); Charlotte Gainsbourg ("Just Like A Woman", a bit arch); Iron & Wine ("Dark Eyes"); My Morning Jacket's Jim James (a quite lovely "Goin' To Acapulco"); and best of all, Willie Nelson taking "Senor" deep into border country.
What else? The Hold Steady's "Can You Please Crawl Out Of Your Window?" sounds uncharacteristically stiff on first listen, while some of the gentler hands (Mira Billotte from the undervalued White Magic, Yo La Tengo, Sufjan Stevens in customary indie-baroque mode for "Ring Them Bells") handle the weight of Bobness more gracefully.
This is turning into more of a list than a review, isn't it? Well Jeff Tweedy is stripped and dignified on "Simple Twist Of Fate", Cat Power is pretty boisterous on "Stuck Inside Of Mobile. . ." (I wonder if Chan Marshall's upcoming second covers album will be as swinging and conventional as this?), and Rambling Jack Elliot outDylans Dylan on "Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues". As he should.
Tom Verlaine's po-faced, crepuscular and rather good "Cold Irons Bound" has just finished. Jack Johnson is still cobblers, and maybe when I've listened to all this properly a few more times I might have more cogent critical thoughts.
Forgive me, I've just moved house these past few days and discovered many powerful things, not least that 1)The Smiths' "Hatful Of Hollow" is excellent for checking your incompetently unpacked turntable is playing at the right speed; 2) the first Stooges album is superb for unpacking in general, even "We Will Fall", as is "Hot Charity" by Rocket From The Crypt; and 3) this new Bruce Springsteen/E Street Band album is really good, and historically I don't even like Springsteen much. I think I've changed, not him, though. . .
John Mulvey

Kim Gordon has an amusing scene as a folk singer in the film.

Going to see this in 7hrs time.

don't forget to watch the closing credit titles!

So yeah. I'm Not There makes every other film made seem like an episode of Cheers.

SY's version of I'm Not There (t sings) plays over the credits.

Kim has feathered hair in her 60 second scene.

I'm Not There: The Soundtrack CD Preview

 

Just when we thought we were running out of things to say, we've gotten our hands on the much-talked about 2-disc "I'm Not There" soundtrack that features rockers new and old (everyone from indie rocker Sufjan Stevens to Woody Guthrie acolyte Ramblin' Jack Elliott) covering Bob Dylan songs. 34 of them to be exact. Below are highlights from the two disc set. The tracklist is here in case you missed it (Oh yeah, and there's lots more: our initial musical preview, the specific music used in the film post and director Todd Haynes' NY Film Festival appearance).

Cold Iron Bound - Tom Verlaine & The Million Dollar Bashers
The original - a 1996 original from the late-classic Time Out Of Mind - is a rambling blues track with spectral dark lyrics. In Verlaine's hand the song becomes an haunting, storm's gonna come portent of death and impending misery. Haynes liked this version so much, he essentially made it the film's foreboding thematic motif. It's opening strains are used in the trailer and it can be heard in the film almost a half a dozen times.

 

When The Ship Comes In - Marcus Carl Franklin
During the New York Film Festival press conference, director Todd Haynes said he tried many of the Dylan songs with the actual actors singing (and pointed out Christian Bale's impressive attempts), but ultimately chose to have them lip synch cover versions - except for 14-year-old Franklin. Haynes said he had the voice of an angel. He was right.

Knockin' On Heaven's Door - Antony & The Johnsons
Antony's stripped-down piano version is exactly as you might think be - fragile, late-night and mournful with shades of pillowy tenderness.

Ring Them Bells - Sufjan Stevens
When you tackle a cover you've got one of two choices: a faithful rendition or veer off into open interpretation with a unique stamp. Stevens unsuccessfully tries both and we're not sure which one fails more miserably. His ultra-wussy voice is ill-equipped to take on the gravitas of this track and his sped-up, jubilant, horns and churchy ending is just Sufjan doing Sufjan. Stevens is out of his league here, but the Stereogum crowd will eat this up regardless.

 

Goin' To Acapulco - Jim James & Calexico
The My Morning Jacket singer's golden voice with Calexico's brassy arrangements transforms this track into a sad, but somewhat celebratory funeral march. It's weepy and gorgeous, but all is not lost.

Just Like A Woman - Charlotte Gainsbourg & Calexico
Leave it to Charlotte Gainsbourg to take back the night. In her hands, the song that has been severely maligned as sexist and dismissive sounds tender and understanding. Calexico wisely stay out of the song's way.

Highway '61 Revisited - Karen O And The Million Dollar Bashers
A kazoo, a transistor radio sounding vocal and an whimsical, not taking itself too serious approach; O is this group's Cate Blanchett.

All Along The Watchtower - Eddie Vedder & The Million Dollar Bashers
What can we say, we're not really fans of Eddie Vedder. The Million Dollar Bashers do a crack job of approximating Dylan's backing band, but this rendition is otherwise unremarkable.

 

Ballad Of A Thin Man - Stephen Malkmus & The Million Dollar Bashers
Malkmus and company are note perfect here. A faithful adaptation and an inspired choice as Malkmus evasive wordplay fits perfectly as a petulant Dylan with a chip on his shoulder. The rendition simmers, but never brims over. Malkmus' take on "Maggie Farm" is fine too, but it's the unreleased bootleg track with himself and Lee Ranaldo ("Can't Leave Her Behind") that's the other winner here.

Simple Twist of Fate - Jeff Tweedy
As you can imagine, Tweedy's whiskey-soaked voice is very Dylan-friendly and with the help of some lugubrious strings, he takes a Blood On The Tracks song and gives it a Desire-era sheen. Simple, but effective.

I'm Not There - Sonic Youth
Think SY's take on The Carpenters' "Superstar." While Thurston and co.'s version isn't as sublime, noisy or heavenly as that near-perfect cover, the echoed, ghostly vocals, the fractured, near-broken stumbling rhythm and Moore's cracked voice give this obscure b-side a wounded new life.

Dark Eyes - Iron & Wine & Calexico
I&W's Sam Beam recently told Paste that working with Calexico on their collaborative was all about learning about space and arrangements and the spirit of that idea is alive in well on their rendition of Empire Burlesque's "Dark Eyes." If one song on this collection sounds drastically different immediately it's their take on the straightforward vocals, guitar and harmonica original. In this groups hands, it's an almost funky, albiet dark and morose, exploration. Even the melody is twisted and minor-keyed. You'd barely recognize it, if you didn't have the title and lyrics at hand.

Pressin' On - John Doe
There's a reason why only certain covers are used for the actors to sing in the film: it's easy, they're simply the best ones (they include the Malkmus covers and interpretations by Jim James and Calexico, Mason Jennings and John Doe). Doe brings hope, and tempered religious fervor to Dylan's Saved Christian era. It's mannered, bold without going over-the-top. Salvation is found and it's no surprise this version finds its way into the film.

Fourth Time Around - Yo La Tengo
YLT are masters at the '60s and '70s era covers (see Fakebook and their many, many classic-era covers) and the idea of them taking on one of our all-time Dylan songs was exciting, but Georgia Hubley is horribly miscast as the vocal lead. Her stilted delivery kills this song on arrival. Shame.

Mason Jennings - "The Times They Are A Changin' '" & "The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll"
Could soundtrack supervisors Randall Poster and Jim Dunbar and "I'm Not There" director Todd Haynes give Jennings a more difficult task then covering such daunting and significant songs? The "topical" songs from Dylan's seminal 1964 album The Times They Are A Changin' are obviously more than a little well-known, and Jennings wisely doesn't attempt to adorn then with anything extra; playing them straight and his soulful voice does a remarkable job of infusing a timeless song with contemporary energy. Christian Bale's character sings Jennings' 'Hattie Carroll' in the film.

Man In The Long Black Coat - Mark Lanegan
Lanegan was practically born to cover these types of shadowy, storm's a brewin' Dylan tumbleweed numbers. He sounds like a dusty outlaw, cigarrio in mouth, six guns fully loaded and his gravely voice is better suited to late-era Dylan than anyone else here. He sounds like he's about to commit a grevious sin and then walk to his own funeral.

Music supervisors Jim Dunbar and Randall Poster recently talked to the Fader about their work on the soundtrack album and movie. The dup worked on the film's music for the last two years and Dunbar unearthed the "I'm Not There" Dylan original at Neil Young's ranch where it was accidentally stored for years without any one's knowledge. The two music partners, Sonic Youth's Lee Ranaldo and Todd Haynes were the group that settled upon Malkmus for Blanchett and Jennings for Bale in the film. "It's always scary when you commit to something like that," Dubar told the Fader (the piece is not online). "When you're going to get on set and shoot these things, you don't know until it actually starts unfolding in front of you if it's going to work."

wow, even sufyawn has a track

from the news page:

SONIC YOUTH RECORDS DYLAN SONG FOR TODD HAYNES FILM
Sonic Youth has recently recorded a version of the rarely-heard Bob Dylan song 'I'm Not There' for the Todd Haynes movie of the same name to be released Nov 21. Recording was done at the band's own studio with John Agnello and Aaron Mullan. Lee has also recorded a group of Dylan songs for the film with a group consisting of Tom Verlaine (gtr.), John Medeski (organ/keyboards), Tony Garnier (bass) + Steve Shelley (drums) and guest vocalists including Verlaine, Stephen Malkmus, Karen O, Eddie Vedder and Mira Billotte. The soundtrack album will be released October 30 and will include the SY 'I'm Not There' and many of the Lee recordings.

Does it mean that there are more recordings in the sonic vault that are not going to be released?

http://www.filter-mag.com/index.php?c=6&id=15695

Sonic Youth, Iעm Not There Audio
by Staff | 10.22.2007

“I’m Not There” is considered one of Bob Dylan’s lost gems. Having been recorded during the sessions for The Basement Tapes, then discarded, it can only be found by the most ardent Dylan completists on the bootlegs The Genuine Basement Tapes or A Tree With Roots, so itt seems fitting then that this nugget of insider Dylan knowledge should be used not only as the title of the upcoming Todd Haynes biopic, but also on the soundtrack.

Excavating the track, and adding their own indelible stamp is Sonic Youth. Where most of his songs are so distinctly Dylan-esque, Sonic Youth have the luxury of covering a song that very few people have heard, giving them a little more freedom with the track. The group take the easy-going vocals and apply that feeling to the whole song, shuffling through and almost making it sound like one of their own mellower compositions.

| “I’m Not There” | WM | QT | Flash |

Eddie Vedder & The Million Dollar Bashers - All Along The Watchtower
(The Million Dollar Bashers are Nels Cline, Lee Ranaldo & Steve Shelley)

Jeff Tweedy - Simple Twist of Fate

download these promo tracks at
http://www.culturebully.com/im-not-t...udio-available

http://www.pitchforkmedia.com/articl...-not-there-ost

Various Artists
I'm Not There OST
[Sony; 2007]
Rating: 8.0

I'm Not There is director Todd Haynes' third music biopic, after Superstar in 1987 and Velvet Goldmine in 1998. In each of those films, the main subject-- the celebrity at the center-- has been altered or is somehow absent: Superstar recounted Karen Carpenter's death from anorexia with only Barbie dolls, which continually prevents it from being officially released. The Velvet Goldmine traces David Bowie's rise and fall throughout the 1970s, but the singer threatened to sue and refused to license his songs. So Haynes took even more liberties with the story, which involved aliens, assassins, and an ongoing affair with Iggy Pop. By all accounts, I'm Not There, his new film about Bob Dylan,continues this sort of meaningful absence, casting six actors to play the folk singer in various stages of his life and career (essentially the same thing), and literalizing the mercurial nature of his identity. Likewise, the soundtrack for I'm Not There casts 29 singers to re-create that singular voice in all its permutations and variations, with surprising results.
Dylan and his music have become so ingrained in American pop culture that it's easy to forget what a weirdo he was, personally and musically. Drawing from a folkie predilection for overstatement, he wrote tons of verses per song, in oblique and impenetrable metaphors, words collapsing upon words, barbed with inside jokes, private accusations, and masked characters. He sang these songs in a nasal voice that became more and more of a defense mechanism as the years went on, suggesting a self-conscious lapse into self-parody. Culling songs from his legendary albums as well as from obscure bootlegs, I'm Not There covers nearly every fabled aspect of his career: his earnest folkie beginnings, his electric post-Newport days, his conversion to Christianity, his 80s nadir, and finally, his current status as an eccentric éminence grise. In taking such a broad sampling of songs, I'm Not There persuasively argues that each phase is as important and potentially rewarding as any other.
Because Dylan wrote such dense and distinctive songs, covering his work necessarily involves as much impersonation as interpretation. In fact, the best songs on I'm Not There are the ones where the artists seem to be having a great time being Bob. Chan Marshall mimics his cadences on "Stuck Inside of Mobile with the Memphis Blues Again", and her pronunciation of the world "mama" is one of the album's best moments. Craig Finn sings "Won't You Please Crawl Out Your Window?" with a chuckle in his voice, as the Hold Steady relocate the song to the Minneapolis streets of Separation Sunday. And Stephen Malkmus, who gets a whopping three tracks, gives some of his best and weirdest performances since going solo.
The cast of I'm Not There is admirably diverse, mixing relative newcomers like Karen O and Mason Jennings with veterans like Willie Nelson, whose despairing "Senor (Tales of Yankee Power)", from 1978's Street Legal, is a good argument for a full-length collaboration with Calexico. Roger McGuinn's voice has aged considerably over the years, but he sounds both surefooted and surprisingly tender on "One More Cup of Coffee", another perfect match with Calexico. And Richie Havens' uniquely jumpy energy jolts "Tombstone Blues", surpassing mere imitation and ratcheting up its wordy tension.
Perhaps it's a testament to the potency of his peculiarities-- rather than to the strength of his convictions-- that Dylan's songs are so successfully coverable in so many different styles. They're challenging undertakings, but possible, inspiring varying degrees adventurousness in some artists and reverence in others. Despite a stellar backing band (including members of Sonic Youth and Television), Eddie Vedder's "All Along the Watchtower" sounds just like every other version of the song and Mason Jennings can't do anything with the iconic "The Times They Are a'Changin'" other than render it faithfully. It's a crazy, mixed-up world, though, when Jack Johnson's medley of "Mama, You've Been on My Mind/A Fraction of Last Thoughts on Woody Guthrie" has more smarts and soul than Sufjan Stevens' "Ring Them Bells", which begins as a fairly uninspired cover but sails off into a tediously overwritten coda that strains patience and good will. But that's really the only truly objectionable track on this long album, which sounds much better on your stereo than it did on paper. With so many different types of musicians contributing to these 34 songs, I'm Not There could have turned out like so many inconsistent and forgettable tribute soundtracks-- listened to once or twice, then shelved for eternity-- but instead it plays like a real album, focused on the music and leaving the myth to the movie.

-Stephen M. Deusner, October 30, 2007

Entire album is streaming on spinner (sorry if this is already posted) Sounds pretty damn good to me. Im pretty psyched for the concert next week, hopefully we get some "surprise guests".
http://spinner.aol.com/artists/new-releases-full-cds

Lee and Malkmus outtake on itunes:

11/01/2007

I'm Not There: 3 Extra Bonus Tracks On Itunes Edition

 

Lo and behold, more Dylan. Shocking, right? Looks like the ITunes version of I'm Not There: Original Soundtrack has three extra songs on it. You have to purchase the entire album to buy them, so we're not spending the dough (sorry, ad free at the moment), but you obviously can hear snippets on Itunes.

The additional tracks are Calexico's version of the instrumental "Main Title Theme (Billy)" from Dylan's soundtrack to "Pat Garett & Billy The Kid," the version of which can be heard in the movie, and which is actually a different song from the track Los Lobos covered (simply titled "Billy," their's is a mexi-melt version of the song with lyrics). One of the principal soundtrack producers Joe Henry does a beautiful version of "One Too Many Mornings" (from The Times They Are A-Changin' )and it's nice to see him represented with his own Dylan cover. Lastly we have yet another Stephen Malkmus and Lee Ranaldo rendition of one more "Eat The Document" outtake, "What Kind Of Friend Is This?" Thanks to the reader for the tip. Feel free to send us the tracks (burn them to CD to lose the DRM and then rip).

I think this is a bullshit way to treat the customer. Hopefully they will surface on a cd single or something. I'm not buying the itunes version.

is Kim who plays the acoustic guitar on the sy version of "i'm not there"?

i think she's the noise guitar (like on 'rats'). maybe lee on acoustic?

or maybe Mark :rolleyes:

no, Mark is not listed.