i'm teaching high school students about bob dylan and folk music. where do you even begin?
tomorrow i'm going to have them listen to some of his early songs and underline the lyrics that say something to them- make them think- or whatever.
basically, all i want to do is make them watch a documentary i have because it says everything i want to say without sounding dumb or pathetically excited. but i also want them to be able to discuss and ask questions. delema

to prepare for this class i've been reading, reflecting, and trying to outline key information. it depresses me. i can't listen or read or watch stuff about him without getting into a weird funk. its driving me to drink... more than usual. there's something about it- it affects me in a weird way- makes me think i'm not really who i should be. its weird when you think you could be someone else, living in an entirely different time, and having a different life. i told the students that if you really think about it- you can't really know anyone (especially a celebrity), and if you're honest- you can't really even know yourself. people are constantly changing; sometimes quickly, sometimes slowly. high school students don't really see that. its refreshing to know you can kind of start over, and its spooky to look at these teenagers and think they will go through the process of change in a few years if not sooner. good luck, kids.

i talked to my students today about getting a 2 at state jazz contest this weekend. they were disappointed and i threw compliments on them. i think they played well. but what do i know. i don't know anything about jazz. but i try. just like they tried. and we got a 2. i'm such a perfectionist. i felt like i let them down. to make up for my shortcomings, i gave them cookies. there's nothing like cookies to make people feel better about their musical or teaching abilities. they cheered up after i had them sightread jailhouse rock and gave them cookies. they love that song. i guess it must be timeless- or contain some weird magical ability to make teenagers freak out. music is powerful.

bob sings this song called moonshiner (its on the bootleg series 1-3). i think its just like a traditional song. it gives me the chills- makes me cry. its not the words, really. its the tone of his voice and the instrumental behind it. the melody is chilling. i can't listen to that song for awhile. man, its a good song.