
The Philosophy of Modern Song
Monthly Membership
Cancel anytime!
Memberships will renew every month
One credit every month on renewal
You can spend 1 credit every month to get an audiobook
“It’s a moving experience to hear this musical and literary giant deliver his takes on these iconic songs. His artistic and social sensibilities are in high gear, and the other remarkable cast members all narrate with equal engagement and charisma…Winner of the AudioFile Earphones Award.”
AudioFile
Winner of an AudioFile Earphones Award
A #1 Amazon bestseller in Music
A New York Times bestseller
An AudioFile Best Audiobook of the Year
Dylan, who began working on the book in 2010, offers his extraordinary insight into the nature of popular music. He writes over sixty essays focusing on songs by other artists, spanning from Stephen Foster to Elvis Costello, and in between ranging from Hank Williams to Nina Simone. He analyzes what he calls the trap of easy rhymes, breaks down how the addition of a single syllable can diminish a song, and even explains how bluegrass relates to heavy metal. These essays are written in Dylan’s unique prose. They are mysterious and mercurial, poignant and profound, and often laugh-out-loud funny. And while they are ostensibly about music, they are really meditations and reflections on the human condition. Running throughout the book are nearly 150 carefully curated photos as well as a series of dream-like riffs that, taken together, resemble an epic poem and add to the work’s transcendence.
In 2020, with the release of his outstanding album Rough and Rowdy Ways, Dylan became the first artist to have an album hit the Billboard Top 40 in each decade since the 1960s. The Philosophy of Modern Song contains much of what he has learned about his craft in all those years, and like everything that Dylan does, it is a momentous artistic achievement.
Praise
Ratings & Reviews
Review guidelines0% of listeners recommend it of readers recommend it
Be the first to rate this audiobook Be the first to rate this book
No one has rated or reviewed The Philosophy of Modern Song yet. Listened to it? Would you recommend it? No one has rated or reviewed The Philosophy of Modern Song yet. Read it? Would you recommend it?
Rate and review this book, just like in the Downpour app.
Listened to this one? Read this one?
Share what you thought and help others decide.
Sign in to write a reviewYour account can't post reviews right now.
No written reviews yet
0 listeners have rated this audiobook, but no one has written about it yet. Tell others what you thought.
Sign in to write a review