J. Lethem on Dylan

president - between his election and his swearing-in. Things Have

Changed, I believe the message was. Similarly, Bob Dylan grew that

funny little Clark Gable mustache before being awarded his Oscar but

some time since the last time you'd had a good look at his face up

close. Only, when was it that you'd had a good look at his face up

close? And were you really having one during the Oscars, at that

triple remove, peering through your television to watch a crowd of

movie stars watching Dylan beamed in like an astronaut from the

outback? And yet, for the yearning seemingly beamed back at him by

those movie stars - certainly for the yearning and love beamed back at

him through screens and across time zones from

actually delivered before, despite all rumors.

elegant live performances for those who cared and in complete

down a single song, ancient lyrics turned glinting into new light:

"Things Have Changed." It seemed enough now, one song every couple

one more cup of coffee for the road, or a big, sloppy hug, if he

Add his metaphoric brush with death - "Bob Dylan Heart Mystery" was

Some topics in this essay:
Bob Dylan, Clark Gable, Never-Ending Tour, Dock Boggs', Oscar Nobel, Abraham Lincoln, York Post, bob dylan, Heart Mystery, movie stars, you'd close,