Written on April 16, 2020 for Music Criticism JR-310-02 at Emerson College.

“Like A Rolling Stone” by Bob Dylan from the album HIGHWAY 61 pushes past defining only the youth of the ’60s to encompassing a plethora of future generations, including the 20th-century generation. The storytelling component of the song breaks folk-rock boundaries by incorporating elements of poetic lyricism that exposes a larger philosophical connotation. Dylan composed the song alongside producer Tom Wilson, guitarist Michael Bloomfield, organist Al Kooper, drummer Bobby Gregg, bassist Joseph Macho, and pianist Paul Griffin, on June 15-16, 1965. Columbia Records released the song on July 15, 1965, and it became an instant staple hit within Dylan’s discography. To this day the song distinguishes Dylan’s idiosyncratic songwriting talent that pushed the use of rhyme and political ideals into a new level of rock and roll storytelling. 

Thematically, “Like A Rolling Stone” contains various complex levels of meaning seen in references to isolationism, classism, and existentialism. The structure of the song follows a coming of age narrative depicting a female protagonist who faces a cultural shift from leaving home to facing the hardships of reality in a big city. The song switches perspective when the verses encompass a third-person point of view, with the listener taking in the coming of age narrative of the woman, but the chorus signals a shift to the first person. The chorus where Dylan repeatedly pleads the lyric “how does it feel” can apply to the listener. This causes a self-reflection effect on the listener and allows the song to take meaning into the personal life of the listener. Amongst the four verses, Dylan chronologically sings about the downfall of this woman as she begins to realize that external, superficial factors such as marriage, alcoholism, and going to the finest school have no substantial value. This common narrative held prevalence in the lives of many young adults in New York City during the ’60s, specifically known as “beatniks.”   

The Beat generation originated in the 1950s in New York’s Greenwich Village, and the term “beatniks” defined a group of youthful young adults that emphasized rebellion and the arts such as poetry and jazz music. Beatniks display characteristics of angst and going against the social norm. Historically, beatniks aligned their values with high brow ideas such as finding “the joylessness and purposelessness of modern society [as] a sufficient justification for both withdrawal and protest” (Britannica, 2020). Similarly, the Bohemian group in New York City promoted a lifestyle of partying at local bars, clubs, and saloons. Bohemians like nomads did not consider anywhere as a home and found that there was never, “a chance of assimilation; life is a condition of permanent resistance to belonging (to a place, to family, anything resembling home)” (Thomas, 2005). Both of these groups served as formative influences to Dylan while he lived in New York City. Dylan regularly participated in beatnik events held in jazz clubs where he gained exposure to the combination of jazz music and poetry recitations. Dylan describes his experience from moving from Minnesota to New York as coming out of the wilderness where he “naturally fell in with the Beat scene, the Bohemian, Bebop crowd” (New Yorker, 2010). Dylan’s close literary friend in New York City, Allen Ginsberg, catalyzed Dylan’s segway into both of these scenes. Through Ginsberg Dylan also met the famous writer, Jack Kerouac, known for his famous novel “On The Road.” Released 8 years prior, Keuroc’s novel contains a similar theme of self-discovery as seen in famous quotes from the novel such as:

“Because he had no place he could stay in without getting tired of it and because there was nowhere to go but everywhere, keep rolling under the stars” (Kerouac, 1957)

“I realized these were all the snapshots which our children would look at someday with wonder, thinking their parents had lived smooth, well-ordered lives and got up in the morning to walk proudly on the sidewalks of life, never dreaming the raggedy madness and riot of our actual lives, our actual night, the hell of it, the senseless emptiness” (Kerouac, 1957)

The lyrical annotation connecting Dylan’s narrative of a woman facing life on her own to the “hell” of reality that Keuroc illustrates, shares a commonality of isolationism and a sense of both protagonists having to pave his or her life path like “rolling under the stars” or “like a rolling stone.” Even though “On The Road” does not have an official linkage to “Like A Rolling Stone,” Dylan admired the work of Kerouac. Dylan’s heavy literary short storytelling within his lyrics can also be seen in popular albums such as BRINGING IT ALL BACK HOME and BLONDE ON BLONDE.  

Alongside the boom in the arts during the ’60s, the Vietnam War shaped American society and politics. Both Beatniks and Bohemians held opposing views towards the demographic context of the Vietnam War. Although, “Like A Rolling Stone” does not exhibit clear characteristics of a protest song like other Dylan hits such as “Blowin’ In The Wind” and “Hurricane,” it contextually distinguishes a major cultural movement of the ’60s that redefined the notions of the arts. 

The beginning instrumentation of the song reveals a steady rhythm between the mixture of the organ keys, electric guitar, bass, tambourine, and drums that do not overpower Dylan’s vocals. The instrumentation serves to subtly mesh as the foreground of the song, while Dylan’s large vocals take up the entire 6-minute span of the song. Immediately the poetic elements become self-evident within the first verse in which Dylan spits out 9 lines of rhymes within 47 seconds. Fluidly each sentence contains a hint of a rhyme scheme such as “dime” and “prime,” “doll” and “fall,” and “loud” and “proud.” The frequency in rhyme creates a textured balance in the song between the lyrical storytelling and the artistic application of poetry. Dylan makes the narrative clear about a woman falling from grace from her life full of riches in “People call, say “beware doll, you’re bound to fall.” Dylan described this freeform style of lyrics as a “long piece of vomit” that reaches a sense of clarity and detachment from the narrative in the chorus (Magic In Rolling Stones Session, 2011). Dylan’s vocals sound scruffy and nasally throughout every verse until the transition into the chorus where he holds the “how does it feel” in a straining, one-note, portamento. 

The segway into the repetitive chorus underscores the explosive sound of the organ keys that add a new dimension to the song evoking a conglomerate of folk and rock elements. The organ key swells allude to the nostalgia that one hears at a traditional church service and evokes an uplifting mood to the song in contrast to the isolating lyrics in which Dylan strains out, “How does it feel/To be without a home/ Like a complete unknown/ Like a rolling stone.” The ode to the track name lyric “like a rolling stone” represents a simile open for interpretation to the listener, but directly connects to the theme of representing the youth generation. Music critic, Herb Bowie, connotes the phrase to symbolize “liberation for the rock generation” tying into the Beatniks, but the phrase conveys a larger sense of humanism to it  (Bowie). The phrase alludes to society as a monogamous whole, in which everyone floats on the same boat in going through the motions of life whether realizing it or not. 

The second verse begins with a frustrated “Aw” continues the narrative of the woman’s entitlement getting stripped away from her self absorbed bubble, best expressed in the lyrics, “You’ve gone to the finest school all right, Mrs. Lonely/ But ya know ya only used to get juiced to it” and “Nobody’s ever taught ya how to live out on the street/ And now you’re gonna have to get used to it.” These lyrics directly align with Dylan’s criticism on the woman’s late self-awareness on hardship also seen in the third verse where Dylan makes a tongue in cheek reference to the metaphoric phrase of riding on a high horse in: 

“You use to ride on a chrome horse with your diplomat/ Who carried on his shoulder a Siamese cat/Ain’t it hard when you discover that/ He really wasn’t where it’s at/ After he took from you everything he could steal.” 

Following each transition into the chorus, Dylan’s voice seems to become progressively more aggressive and pleading in a call to action manner as he stresses out “How does it feel?” to the listener. The final fourth verse brings the narrative of the woman to a full circle in which Dylan describes how not even marriage can detract from the protagonist’s loneliness, “But you’d better take your diamond ring, ya better pawn it, babe.” This verse also subtly references the demographic of the Bohemian and Beatnik youth in the lyric, “Aw, princess on the steeple and all the pretty people/ They’re all drinkin; thinkin they got it made” a direct homage to how partying culture can not serve as an escape from reality. While the final lyric “You’re invisible now, ya got no secrets to conceal” circles back to the main idea of how the protagonist represents every other person and her past life of privilege represents a sugar-coated facade of reality. 

The final fourth chorus hits the song home at the 5 minutes and 19 seconds mark and leaves room for a harmonica solo in comparison to its brief appearances in between each verse. The harmonica solo gives the song a jangly down to earth ring to it, similar to the style of The Byrds or The Doors. The harmonica seamlessly meshes with the last verses within the chorus. The 6-minute duration of the song in the ’60s represented a sense of unconventionality towards the label of becoming a smash hit single, but Dylan proved otherwise with “Like A Rolling Stone” earning millions of plays from every forthcoming generation. The skillful use of combining poetic stanzas within his verses, alongside the unique assemblage of instrumentation would pave the way for inspiring iconic artists such as Bruce Springsteen, Neil Young, and more. 

Overall, “Like A Rolling Stone” represents an accidental masterpiece, with the crux instrumentation in the song found within the organ. Played by Al Kooper, Kooper entered the studio as a guitarist and ended up playing a random organ melody that caused Dylan to instruct Wilson to increase the organ notes seen in the boisterous chorus. Kooper describes the recording process as “general chaos” in which no leadership took place during the session and everything that came about in the song happened through trial and error (Marcus, 2006). Lyrically, the song holds potency in correlating Dylan’s personal life experience, with the life narrative of many listeners in the present day. This coming of age mantra Dylan employs in this song can resonate with any person that goes from their small hometown into the big city, in which the shift from family to independence takes place. 

The self-journey of independence diminishes all sense of fantasy and teaches one to open their eyes to the dark underbelly of society characterized by greed, poverty, and corruption. Dylan does not use any sense of escapism in the lyrical connotations of the song and keeps it authentic to the underlying irony of the woman. The song serves as a relevant memento that at the end of the day we are all complete unknowns that make up the planet and Dylan stresses to acknowledge the bigger picture in what matters in life. In conclusion, Dylan’s “Like A Rolling Stone” will not age like a human and instead continue to roll through the lives of many generations to come.

MLA Citations 

Bowie, H. (n.d.). Reason to Rock. Retrieved from https://www.reasontorock.com/tracks/like_a_rolling_stone.html

Greene, A. (2019, June 18). Bob Dylan Recorded ‘Like a Rolling Stone’ 50 Years Ago Today. Retrieved from https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/bob-dylan-recorded-like-a-rolling-stone-50-years-ago-today-65422/ 

Kerouac, J. (1957). On The Road . New York City, NY: Viking Press.

 Magic In Rolling Stones Session . (2011). Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EOAowiF3y_8&feature=emb_title

Marcus, G. (2006). Like a Rolling Stone: Bob Dylan at the crossroads. London: Faber and Faber.

The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica. (2020, January 6). Beat movement. Retrieved from https://www.britannica.com/art/Beat-movement 

The New Yorker. (2010, August 13). Bob Dylan, the Beat Generation, and Allen Ginsberg’s America. Retrieved from https://www.newyorker.com/news/news-desk/bob-dylan-the-beat-generation-and-allen-ginsbergs-america

Thomas, I. (2005, January 31). The Arrival of a Bohemian. Retrieved from https://slate.com/human-interest/2005/01/the-arrival-of-a-bohemian.html

Written on February 29, 2020 for Music Criticism JR-310-02 at Emerson College.

“A Day In The Life” by The Beatles represents one of the band’s most distinguished bodies of work, with its experimental approach to instrumentation and humanitarian lyrics. “A Day In The Life ” makes its debut on SGT. PEPPER’S LONELY HEARTS CLUB BAND, an album that inspired iconic acts such as The Beach Boys and the Rolling Stones to take a more unconventional approach to their music. The Beatle’s  recorded the staple hit on January 19, 1967, and was specifically recorded during odd hours within the night. The late-night recording sessions of the song could potentially allude to how the entire 5 minutes and 37-second duration of the song feels like a fever dream. It was officially released on May 26, 1967, for Capitol Records with production done by George Martin and contribution from a 41-piece orchestra and roadie Mal Evans. 

Historically, “A Day In The Life” was released during the zeitgeist of psychedelic rock music with notable albums such as THE VELVET UNDERGROUND & NICO 45TH ANNIVERSARY, SURREALISTIC PILLOW, PET SOUNDS, and BUFFALO SPRINGFIELD AGAIN promoting a psychedelic sound. These notable bodies of work contain twangy guitar chords, serene woodwind instrumentation, and shoegaze style lyricism that correlates to the structure of “A Day In The Life.” In conjunction with this form of experimental rock music, the ’60s fueled the hippie movement and the “swinging sixties” in Britain. During this time Britain started to see an increased drug use rate with marijuana and LSD, a rise in feminism, an embrace of sexuality with the proliferation of contraceptive pills, and an explosion of self-expression in art, music, and fashion. The phenomenon of “Beatlemania” hysteria catalyzed a source of musical hope with the Beatles lyricism and creativity inspiring a generation of youthful progressives to express themselves through art. 

Out of all the songs on SGT. PEPPER’S LONELY HEARTS CLUB BAND, “A Day In The Life” symbolizes a cultural cornerstone track amongst the 12 preceding tracks. “A Day In The Life” references both social commentary on news and drug usage during the ’60s and pushes lyrical and instrumental boundaries with its production. Thematically, “A Day In The Life” embodies a circle of life structure where between the two verses and the bridge, John Lennon and Paul Mccartney convey a mundane narrative of going through the motions of a daily routine. In terms of songwriting, Paul and John bounce off each other with lyrical ideas. Beginning with verse 1, Lennon carries a balanced tone as he narrates the news of a man who “blew his mind out in a car.” This lyric contributed by Lennon refers to the death of his personal friend known as Tara Browne, who faced  a car accident featured in the Daily Mail on December 18th, 1966. Additionally, the lyric “I saw a film today, oh boy/The English army had just won the war” in context to John’s acting debut in the film “How I Won The War” which came out within the same year as “A Day In The Life.” Throughout the first verse, neither John’s rhythmic vocals or the steady guitar chords feel overbearing until the orchestral build-up. 

The lyric “I’d love to turn you on” in reference to both drugs and sex did not please the radio industry, such as the BBC whom ironically banned the song from receiving airplay. Before the instrumentation swells, John’s lyrics convey a habitual routine of being desensitized to consuming bad news until the hallucinatory shift bleeds into the foreboding orchestration. What John referred to as a “music orgasm” in the instrumental build-up  composed by both Paul and George Martin. Paul gained inspiration from avant-garde music and stylistically made the 41 piece orchestra purposefully play incoherently from pushing their instruments from lowest to highest pitches. In effect, the orchestration has a fantastical, LSD trip style to it that brings a profound effect not prevalent at the beginning of the song. The sensation of the concoction of sound with the woodwind instrumentation alongside the countdown voice sample creates a chaotic and jumbled atmosphere that makes the listener feel breathless. On a metaphorical level, the overwhelming swells of instrumentation create a sonic sensation of what life flashing before your eyes would sound like or a sense of escapism. 

The transition within the audio sample of the alarm ringing halts the effect of the psychedelic orchestration and brings the listener back to the primary tone of narration evident from the first verse in the song. Purposefully, the alarm comes into the song after 24 bars mirroring the same amount of hours in a day. This subtle sound underscores the prevalent theme of time and circulation of a routine in life. The alarm noise done by The Beatles’ personal roadie, Mal Evans, who worked for them from 1963 to their break up in 1970. The ringing of the alarm indicates a new day has begun and holds a tongue-in-cheek reference in wordplay within the title of the song that a new day in life is starting. The cycle of going through the mundane routine returns to the forefront of the song as Paul describes his morning, “woke up fell out of bed/ dragged a comb across my head.” As Paul describes his normal morning ritual of drinking a cup of presumed tea to grabbing his coat and heading to the bus ,as Paul says “found my way upstairs and had a smoke,” catalyzes the surrealism attributes to re-enter the song. As someone spoke and Paul goes “into a dream” the “Ahhh” background vocal harmonies envelop the song into a spellbinding sensation that feels like the listener entered the free falling sensation of going down a rabbit hole. 

The hypnotic transition between the bridge and the final second verse with John’s vocals creates an atmospheric feel of solace, even though John recites the cyclic nature of reading bad news. John’s final verse brings the mundane theme back into a full circle in which a new day has begun with “4,000 holes in Blackburn, Lancashire.” John’s concluding vocals feel placid and soothing that the intense whirlwind build-up of orchestration emerges abruptly and in a dominant manner that it demands the listener’s entire attention. 

The whirlwind of jumbled woodwind and string instruments chaotically playing in increased, synchronized harmony drives the interpretation of the passing of time into full throttle. The immense intensity prevalent in the shrieks of the string instrumentation, specifically the violin causes a creeping feeling of anxiety that the listener can not digest the magnitude of the instrumentation until the final sharp piano “dong” sound. The closing E major piano chord took 9 times to perfect amongst Mal, John, and Ringo to get the chord hit at the same time. Metaphorically, the abrupt piano chord reflects a connotation of life-ending or a flat line. An eerie resonation of the piano key permeates for the rest of the song as if the listener has reached oblivion and slowly blends into complete quietness. The lingering effect of the piano chord quietly transitions into a distorted audio loop of Paul saying “never could see any other way.” The chilling combination of the sharp piano chord and Paul’s eerie audio loop gives a religious connotation of purgatory in conjunction with the cyclic theme of life in the song. 

Ultimately, “A Day In The Life” is nearly 6 minutes of a full circle metaphorical theme of the continuation of life. The track metaphysically spellbinds the listener into expanding their perception of time and humanity. Through the contrasting vocal verses and emphasis on a plethora of instrumentation instead of the typical drums, guitar, and bass assemblage. The Beatles effectively achieved a track that distinguishes itself from the rest of their catchy tunes by tapping into a more psychological state of mind with their listeners. “A Day In The Life” remains timeless and still resonates as a song that has set new heights to the professional standard of production.

Since the release of her groundbreaking debut album “LP1” [2014] showcasing her unique genre blending of R&B and experimental electronica, to her last single in 2016 for “Good To Love,” Tahliah Barnett known as FKA Twigs has musically been in the shadows for 3 years. However, a 3 year break from music is well justified due to Twigs undergoing laparoscopic surgery in 2017 to remove 6 fibroid tumors from her uterus. Twigs’ surgery affected her both physically and emotionally as seen in her Instagram post where she shared how, “I started to doubt if my body would ever feel the same again,” yet within that 1 year gap of recovery Twigs proved that adversity was no match for her strong psyche. 

Dedicating all of her time in 2018 to learning the art of pole dancing, Twigs’ recovery process allowed her to get in touch with her body again and challenge herself as an artist. The main challenge to learning pole dancing was mastering it in order to incorporate it into her narrative idea for a music video. Thus, after a year of consistent practice, “Cellophane” was born last month. 

In essence, “Cellophane” serves as an embodiment of all of Twigs’ hard work in transforming her vision into a reality. The “Cellophane” music video feels like watching short film instead of a 4 minute music video. Needless to say “Cellophane” will be considered another work of art to add onto Twigs’ assemblage of cinematic music videos. Acting as the director for all her music videos, Twigs has stated the focus behind all her videos is to create feeling in: “I know when I feel something and when I don’t and that’s always my drive.” Consequently, the “Cellophane” music video transports the viewer to a surreal dreamscape where heartbreak and beauty or wrapped together. 

Immediately, the video seizes the viewer’s attention with the crisp skimming of Twigs glass heels against the floor as she elegantly crawls and demonstrates her flexible choreography. The feeling of emptiness is evident as seen in the fake audience cheers alongside Twigs’ blank facial expression as she conducts a show with her pole dancing routine. As her movements become more fervent, the video shifts into a dreamlike narrative seen in the mirroring of her movements and the pole ascending into a divine atmosphere. The sense of heaven is conveyed through the silk curtains dissipating at the top of the pole and through the mystical flying sphinx-like creature that awaits Twigs. The interaction between Twigs and the creature that oddly seems to represents herself alludes to the Michelangelo painting, “The Creation of Adam,” but instead of their fingers touching the creature devours Twigs entirely. 

For the rest of the video Twigs is essentially free falling into the unknown with the chaotic contrast of her sliding down the pole and reaching out for a nonexistent hand to grasp onto. Emotions of pain, hopelessness, and loneliness are evoked in Twigs’ freefall as the once silk curtains are now replaced by darkness and Twigs no longer has control of her movements. However, the narrative of the video takes a twist when Twigs finally lands on a ground of red clay where a tribe of women similar to the creature greet her and cover her body with clay. Metaphorically, the end of the music video feels like Twigs has obtained acceptance with her sense of self seen in her serene facial expression as the women take care of her. It can be inferred that the clay and the women allude to the overall message of how figurative old wounds can be healed by overcoming the past.

Though Twigs purposefully leaves her music video narratives open for interpretation, needless to say Twigs has returned back into the music limelight with a song and video of pristine quality. Opting towards showcasing her chilling octaves alongside a slow piano ballad, Twigs has given her listeners an entirely new vulnerable and intimate side of herself. The evident craftsmanship put into every detail of the video, alongside the fact that she spent an entire year perfecting pole dancing for the video showcases how impressive FKA Twigs dedication to her work is. Thus, if  “Cellophane” is Twigs way of giving us a glimpse into more music and videos to come in 2019 upon the release of her second album, MAGDALENE, then it can be safe to say that there’s a lot to look forward for.