Just 'round midnight eastern time on Friday morning, Bob Dylan dropped another single.
Just as he did on March 27 with the epic 17-minute, JFK-inspired "Murder Most Foul," the Minnesota-born bard has delivered "I Contain Multitudes," a 4 ½-minute recitation set to light jazzy guitar filled with references to pop culture and real life.
These are the first original songs Dylan has released since his "Tempest" album in 2012. The new single is available on YouTube, Spotify and Amazon Music.
On "I Contain Multitudes," Anne Frank and Indiana Jones turn up in the same verse as the Rolling Stones. There's mention of "Mr. Poe," as in Edgar Allan, and his tell-tale heart. And Buddy Holly and William Blake, fast cars and fast foods, Beethoven and Chopin.
Most quotable line: "I sleep with life and death in the same bed."
Key line: "I'm a man of contradictions/ I'm a man of many moods/ I contain multitudes."
Yes, Dylan is many things to many people, and he sees all and processes all – but he leaves it to us to decide what to make of it all.
