Dylan als DJ - exclusief te beluisteren via het Amerikaanse XM

Bob Dylan, DJ, debuts retro satellite-radio show
By Jay Lustig

Bob Dylan's "Theme Time Radio Hour" debuts today on XM satellite radio.
In last year's PBS documentary on Bob Dylan, "No Direction Home," the rock 'n' roll bard recalled listening to the radio as a boy in Hibbing, Minn.
"We'd have to, like, listen late at night for other stations to come in from other parts of the country," he said. "Johnnie Ray, he had some kind of strange incantation in his voice, like he'd been voodoo'd, and he cried, kind of, when he sang ... it was the sound that got me, it wasn't who it was ... I began to listen to the radio, [and] I began to get bored being there [in Hibbing]."
In his first, pre-recorded stint as a DJ, premiering at 10 a.m. today on XM satellite radio, Dylan, 64, fills his hourlong show with lots of primal, mind-expanding pop, rock, blues, gospel and country: Fats Domino, Frank Sinatra, the Staple Singers, Jimi Hendrix, Irma Thomas, the Spaniels, the Carter Family.
He'll continue in this fashion in future installments of his weekly show, with lots of vintage stuff, plus a few relatively recent (but still far from new) tracks sprinkled in: Prince's "Little Red Corvette," L.L. Cool J's "Mama Said Knock You Out," Bruce Springsteen's "Cadillac Ranch."
In accordance with the show's retro title — "Theme Time Radio Hour" — each week's playlist revolves around a theme. Dylan's premiere begins with the weather (Jimmy Davis' "You Are My Sunshine," Joe Jones' "California Sun"). Then, in honor of Mother's Day, he'll explore songs about moms (Ernie K-Doe's "Mother-In-Law," Merle Haggard's "Mama Tried"). Then drinking songs, and car songs, and so on. The show will be repeated several times throughout the week. Check www.xmradio.com/bobdylan for additional information.
And so, the demystification of Bob Dylan continues.
For decades, he had cultivated an aloof, mysterious image, and seemed incapable of talking about himself or his art in anything but riddles.
Then, in 2004, he published "Chronicles," a memoir that was eccentrically structured and avoided large chunks of his life, but did seem to offer some glimpses of the real Dylan.
Now, with the radio show, he offers a view of himself that most fans probably thought they would never see. He's relaxed and chatty, and eager to share some of the music he loves.
The advent of satellite radio — and the eagerness of satellite executives to attract new listeners by hiring big names — has led to a glut of pop, rock and hip-hop stars on the subscription airwaves. Dylan joins XM DJs such as Tom Petty, Snoop Dogg and Ludacris, while rival satellite station Sirius has Eminem, Jimmy Buffett and Steven Van Zandt.
Some of these artists may be doing it because of the opportunities for self-promotion, but this doesn't seem to be Dylan's motivation. He resists the temptation to play his own material, and if he ever had an excuse to play one of his own songs, it would be in a show about the weather. This is the guy, after all, who wrote "Blowin' in the Wind," "Idiot Wind," "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall," and "Shelter From the Storm."