Bob Dylan's song "The Times They Are A-Changin' " may not be sacred music, but it's in the next bin. Or at least it used to be. Dylan's ballad was a cultural and moral anthem of the '60s and '70s, a musical seismometer accurately forecasting a social earthquake.
Blaring out of speakers in dorms, apartments and cars across America, it was a compelling alarm and call to action:If your time to you is worth savin'
then you'd better start swimmin' or you'll sink like a stone
'cause the times they are a-changin'.
His portentous lyrics defined ground zero on the generation's sensibilities.
So you can imagine my surprise when I heard it being used recently in a TV commercial. Apparently, the times really are a-changing. Dylan's revolutionary anthem is now a jingle. In a musical context, the only thing more disconcerting would be to hear "The Star Spangled Banner" in a Sony ad.
And to make matters worse, Richie Havens is singing the historic lyrics. While Havens never had the cultural gravitas of Dylan, he was certainly higher on the gravitas food chain than, let's say, Sam the Sham.
The TV ad is so discreet you have no idea what product is being sold. While Havens renders the song in his most plaintive voice, a series of oddly disconnected images flash across your screen: frantic brokers on the trading floor; a dour scientist looking up knowingly from his microscope; a one-legged man roller skating; a pregnant woman; whirling graphics on a computer; a priest wearing a headset, kneeling to pray in church; a rocket blasting off; more computer graphics; even a bird!
As we used to say when we didn't understand something, "Heavy, man." Only this isn't heavy. This is dumb.
Suddenly, you find yourself thinking, "What is this, an old `Saturday Night Live' episode?"
This is a sellout by someone you wouldn't expect to sell out, namely, Robert Zimmerman, also known as Bob Dylan. For reasons not disclosed, the man whose music was most associated with anti-establishment, anti-status quo, anti-commercial sentiments has allowed his work to be commercialized. He has allowed "The Times They Are A-Changin' " to be used to sell soap or something.
It really shouldn't surprise anyone. The last time I saw Dylan on TV was during a Madison Square Garden concert broadcast on PBS. He looked like a member of Spinal Tap, the fictitious rock band made up of hippie has-beens. His fake jeans, with sequins up the legs, were baggy in the butt.
Dylan had lost his snap and his snarl. He looked as revolutionary as Barney Fife.
That was bad enough. Worse is to have him allow his work to be used as a soundtrack for a TV commercial. Even Paul McCartney had the sense to protest the use of the Beatles' "Revolution" in a Nike spot.
Who would have guessed that between Dylan and McCartney, Paul would be the one with musical integrity? I guess this probably means the '60s are over. Dylan is right again. The times they really are a-changin'.