Bob Dylan has a metal side? The 81-year-old folk-rock hero recently gave a rare interview to the Wall Street Journal, and during the chat he ended up revealing his appreciation for Metallica and Ronnie James Dio's Rainbow. Not what we expected.
During the discussion, Dylan was asked how he discovers new music these days, to which he said "mostly by accident, by chance" — whether that means stumbling into a recording he's never heard or showing up to a random concert and getting his mind blown.
"The Oasis Brothers, I like them both," Dylan said. "Julian Casablancas, the Klaxons, Grace Potter. I've seen Metallica twice."
Wait, what? He didn't elaborate on how he exactly feels about Metallica, but the fact that he's witnessed them live not once but twice means he probably genuinely likes them! He also shouted out fucking Wu-Tang Clan in a list of artists he enjoys, so the guy's got a hardcore hip-hop side as well.
Elsewhere in the interview, Dylan was asked if the way a person first hears a song matters, and if technology like Spotify has altered the relationship people have with their favorite music. The Bard muses on that topic for a little while and then suddenly pulls out a song by Ronnie James Dio's band Rainbow to use as an example. Again, with the metal!
"'Star Gazer,'" the Ronnie James Dio song, would probably mean a lot more to you if you first heard it at midnight under a full moon beneath an expanding universe, than if you first heard it in the middle of a dreary day with rain pouring down."
So is this Dylan's way of saying he had his life changed by a Dio song? The next time someone's granted access to his mind, we need to know how he feels about Iron Maiden. Seems like maybe he'd dig them!
