Iconic Figures of Popular Music: Bob Dylan
Spring 2013
Course no. MUSC 424
Section no. 47229D
Units: 2
Time: Mondays 12:00-1:50pm
Room: CSS G156
Course instructor: Bill Biersach
Instructor’s office: MUS 316
Instructor’s office hours: MW 9 – 10:30 am
Office phone: (213) 740-7416
Instructor’s email: biersach@usc.edu
The Premise
Bruce Springsteen said it best on January 20th, 1988, at the induction of Bob Dylan into
the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame:
Dylan was a revolutionary. Bob freed your mind the way Elvis freed your body. He
showed us that because the music was innately physical did not mean it was antiintellectual. He had the vision and the talent to make a pop song that contained the whole
world. He invented a new way a pop singer could sound, broke through the limitations of
what a recording artist could achieve and changed the face of rock and roll forever.
Without Bob, the Beatles wouldn’t have made Sgt. Pepper, the Beach Boys wouldn’t
have made Pet Sounds, the Sex Pistols wouldn’t have made “God Save the Queen,” U2
wouldn’t have done “Pride (in the Name of Love),” Marvin Gaye wouldn’t have done
“What’s Going On,” the Count Five would not have done “Psychotic Reaction,”
Grandmaster Flash might not have done “The Message,” and there never would have
been a group named the Electric Prunes. To this day, Bob’s own modern work has gone
unjustly underappreciated because it’s had to stand in the shadow … So I’m just here
tonight to say thanks, to say that I wouldn’t be here without you, to say that there isn’t a
soul in this room who does not owe you his thanks.
Course Goal
Is Mr. Springsteen’s accolade above an example of hyperbole, enthusiastic
overstatement, understatement, fantasy, or the simple truth? In this course we will plumb
the self-styled conundrum (musical, professional, and personal) that is Bob Dylan. We
will explore examples of his work from various stages of his career, consider his lyrics
and changing styles, view documentaries, and no doubt argue over the production quality
of his recordings. In addition, the students themselves will research his albums and
prepare to lead discussions on their quality and content.
Grades
Grades will be based on the following:
Weekly assignments (written discussion points based
on reading assignments)
Oral presentations (album reviews)
First midterm exam
Second midterm exam
Final exam
20 Points
20 Points
20 Points
20 Points
20 Points
Scores for course grade will be tabulated as follows:
94 - 100
90 – 93
87 – 89
84 – 86
80 – 83
77 – 79
74 – 76
70 – 73
67 – 69
64 – 66
60 – 63
0 - 59
A
AB+
B
BC+
C
CD+
D
DF
Texts
Cott, Jonathan (Editor). Bob Dylan: The Essential Interviews. Wenner Books. New
York, 2006. ISBN: 1-932958-09-6
Heylin, Clinton. Bob Dylan: Behind the Shades Revisited. Harper Entertainment. New
York, 1990. ISBN: 0-06-052569-X
Students with Disabilities
Any student requesting academic accommodations based on a disability is required to
register with Disability Services and Programs (DSP) each semester. A letter of
verification for approved accommodations can be obtained from DSP. Please be sure the
letter is delivered to me (or to TA) as early in the semester as possible. DSP is located in
STU 301 and is open 8:30 a.m.–5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. The phone number
for DSP is (213) 740-0776,
http://sait.usc.edu/academicsupport/centerprograms/dsp/home_index.html.
Academic Integrity
USC seeks to maintain an optimal learning environment. General principles of academic
honesty include the concept of respect for the intellectual property of others, the
expectation that individual work will be submitted unless otherwise allowed by an
instructor, and the obligations both to protect one’s own academic work from misuse by
others as well as to avoid using another’s work as one’s own. All students are expected to
understand and abide by these principles. Scampus, the Student Guidebook, contains the
Student Conduct Code in Section 11.00, while the recommended sanctions are located in
Appendix A: http://scampus.usc.edu/1100-behavior-violating-university-standards-andappropriate-sanctions/. Students will be referred to the Office of Student Judicial Affairs
and Community Standards for further review, should there be any suspicion of academic
dishonesty. The Review process can be found at:
http://www.usc.edu/student-affairs/SJACS/.
Schedule of Album Presentations and Reading Assignments
WEEK MEET- ALBUM
ING
DATE
1.
Bob Dylan
1962
Jan . 14
2.
(Holiday)
Jan. 21
3.
The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan
1963
Jan. 28
4.
The Times The Are a-Changin’ Feb. 4
1964
Clinton Heylin
Jonathan Cot ed.
Behind the Shades Essential Interviews
Chpt. 1-7
Chpt. 1-2
Chpt. 8-9
Chpt. 3-4
5.
Highway 61 Revisited
1965
Feb. 11
Chpt. 10-12
Chpt. 5-8
6.
(Holiday)
Feb. 18
7.
FIRST MIDTERM
Feb. 25
8.
Blonde on Blonde
1966
Mar. 4
Chpt. 13
Chpt. 9-10
9.
John Wesley Harding
1967
Mar. 11
Chpt. 14
Chpt.
10.
(Spring break)
Mar. 18
11.
Blood on the Tracks
1975
Mar. 25
Chpt. 15-23
Chpt. 11-13
12.
SECOND MIDTERM
Apr. 1
13.
Slow Train Coming
1979
Apr. 8
Chpt. 24-28
Chpt. 14-18
14.
Infidels
1983
Apr. 15
Chpt. 29-30
Chpt. 19-24
15.
Time Out of Mind
1997
Apr. 22
Chpt. 31-39
Chpt. 25-28
The Finishing
End
Chpt. 29-31
16.
13
Love and Theft
2001
Apr. 29
17.
14
FINAL EXAM
Friday, May 10
11am – 12noon
Bibliography
Brackett, David. The Pop, Rock, and Soul Reader. New York: Oxford University Press,
2005.
Brown, Peter, and Gaines, Steven. The Love You Make: The Insider’s Story of the
Beatles. New York: Signet Books, 1983.
Campbell, Michael, and Brody, James. Rock and Roll: An Introduction. New York:
Schirmer Books, 1999.
Carton, Katherine. Rock Music Styles. Fifth edition. New York: McGraw Hill, 2008.
Covach, John. What’s that Sound? An Introduction to Rock and Its History. New York:
W. W. Norton & Company, 2006.
Dylan, Bob. Chronicles Volume One (Chronicles). New York: Simon & Schuster, 2005
Dylan, Bob. Lyrics: 1962 – 1985. New York: Alfred A. Knopf, 1990.
Dylan, Bob. Tarantula. (Fifth edition) New York: Scribner, 2004.
Garofalo, Reebee. Rockin’ Out: Popular Music in the U.S.A. Upper Saddle River, NJ:
Prentice Hall, 2008.
Ginsberg, Allen. Howl and Other Poems. San Francisco: City Lights Books, 1959.
Greil, Marcus. Invisible Republic: Bob Dylan's Basement Tapes. New York: Owl Books,
1998.
Hedin, Benjamin. Studio A The Bob Dylan Reader. New York: W. W. Norton, 2005.
Hentoff, Nat. “Playboy Interview: Bob Dylan.” Playboy Magazine. February, 1966.
Herdman, John. Voice without Restraint: AStudy of Bob Dylan's Lyrics and Their
Background. New York: Delilah Books/Putnam, 1982.
Heylin, Clinton. Bob Dylan: Behind the Shades (revisted). New York; Harper, 1991.
Larson, Thomas E. History of Rock & Roll. Dubuque; Kendall Hunt, 2012.
Pareles, Jon, and Romanowski, Patricia. The Rolling Stone Encyclopedia of Rock & Roll.
New York: Rolling Stone Press/Summit Books, 1983.
Pattison, Robert. The Triumph of Vulgarity: Rock Music in the Mirror or Romanticism.
New York: Oxford University Press, 1987.
Rubin, Nathan. Rock and Roll: Art and Anti-Art. Dubuque: Kendall/Hunt Publishing,
1993.
Shelton, Robert. No Direction Home: The Life and Times of Bob Dylan. New York:
Ballentine Books, 1986.
Starr, Larry, and Waterman, Christopher. American Popular Music: The Rock Years.
New York. Oxford University Press, 2006.
FILMS
Don’t Look Back. Dir. D. A. Pennebaker. Distributed by Docurama, 1967.
Eat the Document. Dir. Bob Dylan. Featuring the Band. 1966.
I'm Not There. Dir. Todd Haynes. The Weinstein Company/Paramount Pictures, 2007.
The Last Waltz. Dir. Martin Scorsese. United Artists. 1978.
Masked and Anonymous. Dir. Larry Charles. Sony Pictures, 2003.
No Direction Home. Dir. Martin Scorsese. Paramount Pictures, 2005.
The Other Side of the Mirror: Live at the Newport Folk Festival, 1963-1965. Dir.
Murray Lerner. 1965.