Where is our Dylan?
On January 31st, Justin Vernon (aka Bon Iver) humbly took the stage at the Horizon Events Center in Clive, Iowa, to rally Bernie Sanders voters during the 2020 Iowa Democratic caucuses. This was in advance of today’s consequential first nominating contest of the upcoming U.S. Presidential election, and the same day that the United States Senate decided not to allow further witnesses in the impeachment trial of Donald J. Trump.
Vernon chose to open the performance with the 1964 Bob Dylan song, “With God On Our Side.” The song intertwines injustices over past centuries with our moral righteousness. It does so eloquently with irony and subtext. However, there is no mistaking the meaning of Dylan’s lyrics nor his intentions. This song was part of a compendium of work started just a few years earlier for Dylan, but built off decades of songs by Woody Guthrie and others bringing awareness and empathy to the plight of the many. Dylan was the voice for his generation by continuing on a journey that began long before he started.
What Justin Vernon did was a noble act. Not just to use his talents to support a political campaign that aligns with his values, but to harken back to a time when music and politics were inseparable. We should applaud him for that. Vernon frequently incorporates politics, religion, the climate emergency, and moral philosophy in his own writing. And yet he knew there was a profound power in singing Dylan’s lyrics. So Vernon chose to close his performance like he started it–with another Dylan cover.
Only five days earlier Tyler the Creator took the stage at the Grammys in Los Angeles to perform “New Magic Wand.” The song opens with “Sometimes you gotta close a door to open a window.” Set against the backdrop of a suburban neighbourhood, soon the entire neighbourhood is up in flames. The irony of discussing love interests while a neighbourhood burns could not have been lost on Los Angelinos who have been struggling with unprecedented wildfires impacting their community in recent months. Nor was it hopefully lost on the rest of the world who has been watching in horror as Australia burns while its Prime Minister denies climate change. But for Tyler the Creator, it is just his love that burns. Both the door and window still seem to be closed.
The stage is set. The question that hopefully more of our artists will ask themselves, “what am I singing for.” If our generation has not yet found its own Dylan, perhaps the best substitute we have is playing Dylan for us anew. And, hopefully, others will keep doing so until our own Dylan emerges. We don’t have time to wait.
Adam Lerner is a Co-Founder of Now What–a series of memorable gatherings with remarkable people built around meaningful conversations. To learn more please click here. This post was originally published in the Now What Diaries.