This week we explore Jens's favorite Bob Dylan song—Visions of Johanna. Visions of Johanna is a song that defies simple analysis or explanation. It is overflowing with rich, textured imagery. It is one of Dylan’s most beloved, debated, and surreal epics, yet it all boils down to one simple truth: he misses Johanna, whoever that may be. Infinity isn…

Welcome to "episode 1" of The Dylanologists. This week we tackle a song that was voted in by our followers on Instagram. "Changing of The Guards" was a marked shift for Dylan in more ways than one. Endless interpretations abound, but maybe that's the point—sometimes things aren't black and white; a situation can be interpreted 1,000 different ways;…

The time has finally come for something to be revealed on the podcast. You don't want to miss this. The Podcast: @TheDylanologistsPod Adam: @dylan.ology Jens: @dylan.ologist Email us: [email protected] Thank you, Thomas Francis (@thomasfrancisfolk), for the podcast soundtrack. Thank you, Andrea (@andreahm.1), for our podcast artwork…

"Like A Rolling Stone" is undoubtedly one of Bob Dylan's masterpieces. However, were it not for several fortuitous events, it may not have had the immediate impact that it did, and thus, the lasting legacy that exists to this day. The wordplay. The attitude. The volume. The subject matter. This was a sneer turned up to 11—proof that rock & roll cou…

According to BobDylan.com, Dylan has 706 songs, but that number is nearly 1,000 when you consider outtakes, alternate takes, unrecorded songs, and material that has never seen the light of day. Given this fact, is it even possible to pick just one song that is universally considered to be his "masterpiece," or is this just a fruitless endeavor? Wha…

A Deep Dive into a Mysterious Album For all intents and purposes, Bob Dylan, as the world conceived of him, had died after crashing his motorcycle on that fateful July morning in 1966. Now equipped with ample free time, a farm, and a growing family, Dylan had finally escaped the rat race that was very quickly getting out of his control. So, what wo…

“Bob Dylan is dead! The CIA killed him. The mafia killed him... or the real Dylan is alive, but can never play music again.” A two-sentence story published four days later in The New York Times under the headline "Dylan Hurt in Cycle Mishap" said he was under a doctor's care. Rumors sprouted over the following months that he was gravely injured, bl…

An Instagram Live Event with Adam & Jens (recorded live on Saturday, March 29, 2025) To celebrate our 30th episode and crossing 4,000 followers on Instagram, we hopped on an Instagram Live to engage directly with our listeners. Over 500 people showed up throughout the hour-long event to ask us about meeting characters from Dylan songs, our dream gu…

A contextual history of the night Dylan was censored by TV executives. In May of 1963, Dylan was a complete unknown—just another aspiring musician with a passionate niche following, but no national profile whatsoever. Despite his lack of fame, he had secured what would surely be his big break with an invitation to perform on "The Ed Sullivan Show."…

An Album Deep Dive This week, we dive into Rough and Rowdy Ways, Bob Dylan's 39th studio album and his first collection of original songs since Tempest. Released after his trilogy of Sinatra cover albums, this album is a rich tapestry of themes, including art, death, assassinations, religion, and Dylan's own myth. Clocking in at 70 minutes and 33 s…

Adam's claim is that the Never Ending Tour is the best thing that Bob Dylan has ever done. That would mean it is above the 1966 world tour, Blood On The Tracks, the Rolling Thunder Revue, and everything else he has ever put to tape, toured, painted, sculpted, and/or malted, mashed, fermented, distilled, and aged. It is a bold claim, but one that Ad…

Bob Dylan's "Christian Era" is one of his strangest, and perhaps most controversial, eras. The songs were about God, Jesus, and man giving names to all the animals, while his concerts were filled with fire and brimstone sermons between songs. On this episode, we seek to contextualize this often overlooked and misunderstood period in his illustrious…

White face makeup, a hat with ornate flowers, and an energy, an exuberance yet to be seen from the enigmatic Dylan are on full display in what many consider to be his most iconic era. The Rolling Thunder Revue was a 1975–76 concert tour by Bob Dylan. The purpose of the tour was to allow Dylan to play in smaller auditoriums in less populated cities …

A ✨Mystical✨ Album Deep Dive Desire is one of Bob Dylan's most fascinating records. It deviates significantly from any of his previous albums in more ways than one. Blood on the Tracks, for example, was a memorial to personal and romantic trauma that traced an outline around a generation who prized individual freedoms to the point of self-annihilat…

“Keep a Good Head and Always Carry a Lightbulb” —Bob Dylan Throughout his career, Bob Dylan has had a unique relationship with the press. At times, he has expressed concerns that the media misquotes him and takes his answers out of context. He has also said that he doesn't like giving press interviews because of these concerns. In the 60's he had t…

What makes Bob Dylan so endlessly fascinating? We are going back to school. New and old Dylan fans alike will benefit as we breakdown the life, loves, losses, and legacy of the enigmatic Bob Dylan. From his humble beginnings in Duluth, Minnesota to his recording career, relationships, and religion—few rolling stones are left unturned. The Podcast: …

Adam & Jens finally share their thoughts on the recent biopic, "A Complete Unknown." “Charged up by Timothée Chalamet's electric performance, this ballad of Bob Dylan might not get under the enigmatic artist's skin but will make you feel like you've spent time in his company.” Inconsistencies, inaccuracies, and idiosyncrasies abound, but maybe that…

An Album Deep Dive "Bringing It All Back Home" is one of the most influential albums ever. The opening alarm bell of "Subterranean Homesick Blues" signified a paradigm shift—Dylan was mixing up the medicine and changing up the formula. The world of music would never be the same again. This week we explore how this spectacular album came to be, whil…

Ross Wylde is the mythical legend behind the ever-popular Bob Dylan YouTube channel, Swingin’ Pig. He started the page in July of 2014 and has well over 30 million views across his 290 videos. His page also boasts nearly 57,000 subscribers. On this episode, we chat with Ross about the page—how he made his videos, why the channel went dark, the good…

We may be a Bob Dylan podcast, but we are fans of all kinds of music. 2024 was one of the best years in recent memory in terms of new music releases, so you know we had to share our favorites. In total, 25 different albums from this year are discussed, along with a handful of non-2024 albums that we particularly enjoyed this year. Jens also shared …

An Album Deep Dive "When Bob Dylan—the patron saint of sneering, disaffected poets—announced he was releasing a collection of classic Christmas songs for charity, smirkers got smirkier: What, after all, is more absurd than a beloved iconoclast embracing the schmaltziest, most achingly commercial genre of all? It sounded insane. And it is insane, so…

A Conversation About Bob Dylan's Alternate Takes. Bob Dylan has never played a song the same way twice, whether in the studio or on the big stage. The Bootleg Series has made this abundantly clear. So, what if Dylan had released Take 5 of Visions of Johanna from The Cutting Edge? What if he had released only the New York sessions for Blood On The T…

A Conversation About Bob Dylan's Album Outtakes. Bob Dylan has released many incredible albums over his illustrious career, but it is often said that he leaves his best material on the cutting room floor. Is that true? Would these respective albums be even better if we replaced some of the tracks with outtakes? Is there an inherent phenomenon with …

Original Episode Title: "Planet Waves — "Hotter Than A Crotch"?" An Album Deep Dive Planet Waves is the fourteenth studio album by Bob Dylan. It is significant in Dylan's discography, as it is the only official studio album to feature longtime collaborators The Band. This album is often overshadowed by his early 60's output, along with Blood On The…

Bob Dylan is one of the most prolific recording artists of all time. He has 40 studio albums and over 650 songs in his discography. So, what are his best songs? Do the most played songs on Spotify and Apple Music tell an accurate story? This week we explore what his "top" songs communicate about his popularity, how streaming services compare to mor…

Bob Dylan currently has 40 studio albums. Jens's favorite album is Blonde On Blonde. Adam's favorite is Blood On The Tracks. While these aren't shocking albums to find at the top of a list, there are deeply personal reasons that a person resonates with a particular album. So, why are Blonde On Blonde and Blood On The Tracks at the top of our lists?…

Bob Dylan once said, "Well, I've been in jail, where all the mail showed that a man can't give his address out to bad company." Well, in this case, the (digital) mail showed that we can give our Instagram out to all sorts of company. This week we are answering some Bob Dylan questions submitted by listeners on Instagram. Some are funny. Some are se…

Original Episode Title: "Wiggling Under The Red Sky" An "Under The Red Sky" Retrospective / An Album Deep Dive Slick production, nursery rhymes, and a whole lot of wiggling make for a strange Bob Dylan album. As such, Under The Red Sky is often the butt of internet jokes. Is the album as bad as many say it is? How can such a star-studded cast make …

Bob Dylan is a significant figure, not only in the history of music, but in popular culture more broadly. He is even the subject of rigorous study in higher education. Meet Jon: a psychology professor turned Dylan professor who is currently teaching a class on Bob Dylan at Texas State University. With him we discuss why Dylan is worth studying in a…

Is ‘he had a face like a mask’, from Man In The Long Black Coat, Bob Dylan’s most autobiographical lyric? Bob Dylan is the chameleon poet. He is constantly evolving his voice, appearance, and writing style. Who is the real Bob Dylan? The Podcast: @TheDylanologistsPod Adam: @dylan.ology Jens: @dylan.ologist Email us: [email protected] T…

This week the guys discuss Dylan's use of the bible, religious imagery, and spirituality in his work prior to his conversion to Christianity in the late 1970's. -Why does Dylan make use of the Bible and religious imagery so frequently in the 1960's? -What does his use of the Bible suggest about his relationship to it? -What can be learned about the…

Original Episode Title: "Deep Down In The Groove" A "Down In The Groove" Retrospective / An Album Deep Dive The music critic Michael Gallucci once stated: “Dylan has made some perplexing and even lazy records over the years; none, though, sounds as pointless as Down in the Groove." Is this true? Does the album really deserve the hate that is often …

This is part two of our conversation about Dylan's track placement. This week we are discussing album-closing tracks. If you missed our conversation about album-opening tracks, be sure to check out last week's episode. -What can we learn from the songs Bob chooses to close his albums with? -What categories do these songs fall into? -What themes hav…

This is part one of our conversation about Dylan's track placement. This week we are discussing album-opening tracks. Next week we will discuss album-closing tracks. -What can we learn from the songs Bob chooses to open his albums with? -What categories do these songs fall into? -What themes have become apparent as his career has progressed? Where …

What is Bob’s approach to recording? How does he compare to his contemporaries? How has his approach changed over the years? These questions, and more, are explored on this week's episode of Nothing is Revealed: A Bob Dylan Podcast. [In honor of Bob, we left in a few mistakes and threw in an overdub for good measure.] Books Mentioned: "That Thin, W…

What are liner notes? What kind of liner notes do Dylan albums have? What do they communicate about Dylan and his music? These questions and more are explored on this week's episode of Nothing Is Revealed. The Podcast: @TheDylanologistsPod Adam: @dylan.ology Jens: @dylan.ologist Email us: [email protected] Thank you, Thomas Francis (@t…

Welcome to Nothing Is Revealed, a Bob Dylan Podcast that seeks to answer the questions no one is asking. On our first episode, we discuss a bit about our background as Dylan fans, explain why another Bob Dylan podcast should exist, and answer some rapid-fire questions about our favorite and least favorite Dylan material. The Podcast: @TheDylanologi…