THE BLACK SPOT IN MY BOB DYLAN VLOG - LESSONS IN THE VIRTUAL WORLD

Gutted. To do a Bob Dylan evening and get something factually wrong loses the VLOG a lot of credibility. The man who murdered Hattie Carroll was not Zinger but Zantzinger. I knew that. I have heard the songs enough times. 

The lesson of course was to catch on quickly enough to re-record the VLOG. It is a hard way to learn that lesson. You can be sure that when we return to the Light In Rock Music series in the autumn with hopefully editions on Leonard Cohen, Bruce Springsteen, Paul Simon, Joni Mitchell, Coldplay and Mumford & Sons we will be recording a week in advance of going out on Fitzroy TV!

This is another of those differences between the new virtual church and how it is different from the physical one. 

I was concerned about the new format. Our popular Fitzroy series The Gospel According To… worked off a live buzz. It was a cross between a concert and a seminar. It had spontaneous moments and it was not watched after the event. You had to be there.

When I started planning the Light In Rock Music series I was immediately aware that what I said would be heard differently. There would be a wider audience. There would be more hard core Van Morrison, Bob Dylan and U2 fans watching. What I said would be under more scrutiny. I didn’t need to get the name of the man who murdered Hattie Carroll wrong! A mistake like that would not be lost in the live ether.

For the Van Morrison edition, I scripted it. After I recorded though I was unhappy. As I have said about the Sunday services there is a need for a relationship with the screen and I hated looking at notes. That means downloading the script into my head and I have found that the way I have scheduled this series so close to Sunday sermons that this week that  has been all a little too much.

Lesson learned. I hope that apart from the hardcore Dylanophiles, that I can hear tutting, that this edition will be helpful for those who want some insight into how Bob Dylan has used Scripture right across his catalogue. 

I think I draw out a lot of helpful light in Dylan's work particularly a song released in 1964 about race and civil rights that is tragically still prophetic in 2020, maybe more so. The Church needs to see that light and apply it quickly. 

Very best of all, are the performances of Chris Taylor. They are wonderful and the VLOG is worth watching just for them alone. 

The Light In Rock Music series is available on HERE