A Bob Dylan Beginner's Guide, with Matt Sitman and Sam Adler-Bell
With so many dozens of albums over so many wildly disparate eras, it can take a lifetime to truly get your arms around Bob Dylan. On this episode, Kirk is joined by two guests who have spent their lifetimes doing exactly that. Matt Sitman and Sam Adler-Bell, in addition to co-hosting the terrific political history podcast Know Your Enemy, are both lifelong Dylan fans. This spring, they came on the show to give listeners a tour of Dylan's many eras, and to give newcomers a place, or places, they might start getting to know him better.DYLAN SONGS DISCUSSED, IN RELEASE CHRONOLOGY“Blowin in the Wind” and “Corrina, Corrina” from Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan, 1963 (and as sung by Peter, Paul and Mary)“Like A Rolling Stone,” “Just Like Tom Thumb’s Blues,” “From a Buick 6” from Highway 61 Revisisted, 1965“Subterranean Homesick Blues,” “Mr. Tambourine Man,” and “Outlaw Blues” from Bringing it All Back Home, 1965“Rainy Day Women #12 & 35” and “Pledging My Time” from Blonde on Blonde, 1966“All Along the Watchtower” and “I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight” from John Wesley Harding, 1967“Lay, Lady, Lay” and “Girl from the North Country” (with Johnny Cash) from Nashville Skyline, 1969“Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door” from Pat Garret & Billy The Kid Original Soundtrack, 1973“Forever Young” from Planet Waves, 1974“Tangled Up in Blue” from Blood On The Tracks, 1975“Hurricane” and “Romance in Durango” from Desire, 1976“Changing of the Guards” from Street-Legal, 1978“Serve Somebody,” and “Do Right to Me Baby (Do Unto Others)” from Slow Train Coming, 1979“Saved” from Saved, 1980“The Groom’s Still Waiting At the Alter” and “Lenny Bruce” from Shot of Love, 1981“Pressing On” and "Solid Rock" live in Toronto, 1980“Neighborhood Bully,” “Jokerman,” “Sweetheart Like You” from Infidels, 1983“Dark Eyes” from _Empire Burlesqu_e, 1985“Brownsville Girl” from Knocked Out and Loaded, 1986“Sylvio” from Down In The Groove, 1988“Everything Is Broken” and “Most of the Time” from Oh Mercy, 1989“Hard Times” from Good As I Been to You, 1992“Train of Love,” Johnny Cash tribute, 1999“Pay In Blood” from Tempest, 2012“I’m A Fool To Want You“ by Frank Sinatra, Jack Wolf, and Joel Herron from Shadows in the Night, 2015, and as recorded by Frank Sinatra“Polka Dots and Moonbeams” by Jimmy Van Heusen and Johnny Burke, from Fallen Angels, 2016“How Deep is the Ocean” by Irving Berlin from Triplicate, 2017“I’ve Made Up My Mind to Give Myself to You” from Rough and Rowdy Ways, 2020ALSO DISCUSSED/REFERENCED:The Know Your Enemy episode about Dylan's The Philosophy of Modern Song"Moonlight Mind" by Will Epstein and High Water from Crush, 2016"Lonely Woman" by Ornette Coleman from The Shape of Jazz to Come, 1959"Rainy Day Women #12 & 35" as recorded by Tom Petty and the HeartbreakersSam’s review of A Complete Unknown in The NationBob Dylan: Expecting Rain websiteEpisode one, "Weather”, from Dylan’s radio show Theme Time Radio Hour, featuring Muddy Waters on "Blow Wind, Blow”Audio from D.A. Pennebaker’s 1967 documentary Bob Dylan: Don’t Look BackAudio from Scorses’s 2005 documentary No Direction Home: Bob DylanGUEST MUSIC PICKS:Sam: Lucinda Wiliams, Car Wheels on a Gravel Road, 1998Matt: Willie Nelson, Across the Borderline, 1993----LINKS-----💰 SUPPORT STRONG SONGS!Patreon | Paypal🏠 HOMEPAGEstrongsongspodcast.com👚 MERCHstrongsongspodcast.com/store📬 KIRK'S NEWSLETTERnewsletter.kirkhamilton.com📷 SOCIAL MEDIAInstagram: @Kirk_HamiltonBluesky: @kirkhamilton.com💬 STRONG SONGS DISCORD SERVERstrongsongspodcast.com/discord🎧 STRONG SONGS PLAYLISTSSpotify | Apple Music | YouTube Music🎸 KIRK'S GEAR & INSTRUMENTSkirkhamilton.com/gear🎶 KIRK'S MUSICkirkhamilton.com/music🎨 SHOW ARTTom Deja, Bossman Graphics--------------------SEPTEMBER 2025 WHOLE-NOTE PATRONSAccessViolationAndyBen BarronCatherine WarnerCesarChristopher McConnellChristopher MillerCorpus FriskyDamon WhiteDaniel Hannon-BarryDave FloreyDavid MascettiElizabeth CulverJamie WhiteJay SwartzJenness GardnerJeremy DawsonJoe LaskaKen HirshLisa CrottyMelanie AndrichMelissa LucasNathaniel BauernfeindPaul DelaneyRick KeelerRobyn MetcalfeRushSami SamhuriThomas McIlheranSEPTEMBER 2025 HALF-NOTE PATRONSAaron CainAaron WadeAaron WilsonAbbie BergAbraham BenrubiAchint SrivastavaAdam ClarkAdam StofskyAdam WAilie FraserAJ SchusterAlan MaassAlex MillerAlexanderAlexander PolsonAlison DuganAmanda FurlottiAndrew BakerAndrew FairAndrew HoferAngela LivingstoneAnthony MentzArjun SharmaAruni JayatillekeAshleyBeaBen SteinBernard KhooBetsy BarreBill ThorntonBonnie PrinsenBrad CallahanBrendan McLeodBrett DouvilleBrian AmoebasBrian RinckenbergerBrian John PeterBruno GaetaCarlos LernerCaro FieldCatherine ClausecbalmainCharles McGeeCheryl WilkeChris KChris RemoChristian HessmannChristopher Selby SpinkClare HolbertonClaudia CartyClint McElroyColin HodoDallas HockleyDan CutterDan EliasDaniDaniel KaberonDaniel MarkoffDaniel NervoDave DouglassDave Kolasdave malloyDave SharpeDavidDavidDavid FutterDavid JoskeDavid NoahDavid StroudDeebsDent EarlDermot CrowleyDhu WikDiane HughesDiane TurnerDick MorganDonald MackieDoreen CarlsonDoug BelewDouglas H FrazerDr Arthur A GrayE Margaret WartonEdward SteenEoin de BurcaEric HelmEric Prestemoneric spErikEthan BaumanEthan LaserFreddy FreemanGary PierceGavin DoigGeraldine ButlerGlenn JacksonGrettir AsmundarsonHenry MindlinHiddenJesterIan KarmelIan PiddIan StedingInmar GivoniirritableJamesJames JohnsonJames McMurryJamieJanice BerryJason GerryJason PrattJeffJeff UlmJeffrey BeanJeffrey OlsonJennifer BushJezJoe GalloJohn BaumanJohn Berryjohn halpinJonathan DanielsJordan GatenbyJoseph RomeroJosh SingerJoshua HillJRRJJulie KellmanJustin McElroyKaya WoodallKayla RussellKellen SteffenKelli BrockingtonKenIsWearingAHatKenneth JungKevin MarceloKevin PotterKevin StaffordKym GriffithLauren KnottsLauren ReayLawrenceLee R.LGLinda DuffyLisa TurnerLottie AronLowell MeyerLuigi BocciaM Shane BordersMargaret McReynoldsMartín SalíasMathias SchmidtMatt BaxterMatt BetzelMatthew JonesMaxMelanie StiversMelissa KuhnsMelmaniacMerv AdrianMeryl AllisonMichaelMichael BermanMichael CasnerMichael SingerMichael Wisnoskymino caposselaMisty HaisfieldMonica St. AngeloMordok’s Vape PenNaomi WatsonNathan GouwensNell MorseOl ParkerPascal RuegerPaul WayperPeter HardingPhantomMarePhilip KellyPortland Eye CarePrincess of WhalesRachelRand LeShayRandal VegterRandy SouzaRichard SneddonRichard TollerRishi SahayRob TsukRobert GranatRobert HeuerRsPRyan RairighSarah VettersSean MurphySeattle Trans And Nonbinary Chora EnsembleSimon HellmanSTEPHENStephen TsoneffStephen WolkwitzSteve BSteve MartinoSteve PaquinStu BakerSuzanne CrawfordSy JacobsTanner MortonTBThomasTim SheehanTom ColemanTucker PedWendy GilchristWhit SidenerWiggy HashZach PutnamZak Remer