Anybody heard these and would they be worth getting for a pretty big (but not obsessive) Dylan fan?

Starbucks to Release CD of Dylan Bootlegs

SEATTLE (AP) - Bob Dylan made his mark playing in one cafe. Soon, he'll be in thousands. Starbucks Coffee Co. has reached a deal to produce and exclusively release a CD of 10 Dylan recordings from New York's Gaslight Cafe in 1962, when he was just finding himself as a songwriter. The Gaslight, in Greenwich Village, was a focal point of the folk revival in the early '60s.

"Bob Dylan: Live at the Gaslight 1962" will be available at Starbucks stores in the United States and Canada on Aug. 30. It includes the earliest known recordings of "A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall" and "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right," as well as folk standards "Barbara Allen" and "The Cuckoo."

Fans have circulated bootlegs of Dylan's Gaslight performances over the years, but these are the first to be professionally produced and remastered, Starbucks said Tuesday.

The CD's release will coincide with the release of director Martin Scorsese's feature-length film about Dylan, "No Direction Home." Starbucks will also sell the two-CD soundtrack for the movie, though the soundtrack will be available through other stores.

So conflicted! Why couldn't Columbia just release this as the next in the Bootleg Series? Starbucks is putting out this CD and a soundtrack for "No Direction Home?!" I don't want to give money to Starbucks (I already find myself drinking more of its coffee than I want to) and yet this sounds like a really cool CD.

Sell

Out

I probly own as much/more Dylan than anybody on the board but frankly, I'm not interested. This era of Dylan interests me for about 3 days a year.

And Bill, why is this a sell out? How is Starbucks more corporate than Columbia or any other record company?

I can only think because this would have Starbucks, a, extending its tentacles [sic] beyond coffee-making, in which they have already done enough damage to Jeffersonian small farmers and cloisterous (neologism) indie-scenesters, and, b, they are coopting something qual in an effort to become sort-of-cool by association.

The nerve.

I'd rather go naked than be cool...

Yeah, because record companies have never exploited anybody, right?

Even though ive only (forcibly) ever been in a Starbucks once I've heard that they are actually not that bad of a company to work for in---especially in this Wally-World age that we live in

Because Columbia is a music company. Starbucks is a coffee company. This CD is intended more to sell coffee than it is to distribute music.

Pretty good marketing stunt, really. Then again, I stay almost as far away from this joint as monty does the Chicago Book of Style.

Neither are true.

Columbia is a piece of a media conglomerate that would sell dead animals body parts to make money if it made them one more dollar than selling media.

Starbucks is a corporation with a very marketable brand name. What is their crime in selling CD's?

You are confusing me with this one dude. I thought you were the voice of libertarianism?

I don't think Dylan gives even a little bit of fuck what we percieve him as anymore. In my opinion he's given enough fuck you's to the establishment to get a pass to sell his music to starbucks.

Nothing against Starbucks, brilliant marketing for them. They're a willing buyer, and they found a willing seller. And the Columbia in question, I assumed, was the Columbia Records of the 60's that dealt with Dylan.

I made a point of this because Dylan, especially early 60's Dylan, wore the anti-establishment mantle. That apparently means nothing to him anymore. It's like Lou Reed shilling for the Honda scooter.

Great that he can get some cash, but that makes it a sell out.

He wore it, and then tried to get rid of it at soon as possible. Pretty much from the begining Dylan's tried to shake or break down any perception or label possible. The dude also has an extremely high opinion of his music, and believes it transcends shit like this.

Somehow, I'm sure he'll be able to find a way to sleep soundly tonight.

FYI: by your reckoning, Dylan has been a sellout since what, 1962 when he first signed a record contract with Columbia (which was owned by CBS at the time)....

Also, Dylan has never been too shy about liscensing his material. He's no Peter Townshend, but still...

Really Billz, I'm not trying to waste my last hour at work just being contentious with you (b/c frankly we do agree a lot of times) but I just didnt see the difference in Dylan "distributing" his music (see, keep in mind here that "selling" your music is a misnomer----the owner of the music is who owns the publishing) through a different entity. That's like dissing bands (and, in effect, PRAISING bands The Beatles, The Stones, and Zep) for allowing their tunes to be distributed through iTunes.....

que Like A Rolling Stone

i'm not sure i can agree with you exactly here brother. Dude has been touring constantly for the past several years for more than just artistic integrity. Otherwise, he would play only intimate settings instead of taking the guaranteed big paydays that headlining big festivals and summer shed tours bring.

I don't care and personally I actually respect artists who recognize that their work actually has VALUE for them (assuming that they own the publishing) as opposed to dumbasses like Jimmy Page who has liscensed 1 of his songs for commercial and basically refuses to allow release of his bands peak live years (IMHO). And ironically enough, Zep (and The Stones) were the two bands that actually made touring a highly profitable little excursion.

Peter Grant is rolling in his bloody grave....

Actually, I was merely trying to throw a snarky grenade--I didn't expect the Spanish Inquisition.

Personally, I have no problems with a "sell out". I wish I could sell out. What elevates this situation beyond a mere music distribution deal is the exclusivity of the channel--this is a Starbucks exclusive, no? This means Dylan hopefully scored extra cash for said exclusivity.

I don't consider the man to be a hypocrite, he's not out there railing against capitalism or "evil corporations", at least not to my knowledge, from one side of his mouth and then cashing their checks with the other. Dude seems to have a decent sense of who he is and a better than average level of honesty. That said, I still see it as a sell out, not that there's anything wrong with that.

Oh, im just typing for fun, dude.

actually we agree. I don't think I'm being clear. What I'm saying is I think Dylan truly believes his music transcends past what he considers petty labels of selling out and that gives him the green light to do what he pleases. More like he thinks his music will be judged with the eyes from a hundred years from now and nobody's gonna care if it sold bras or not.

I will still have a hard time buying a Bob Dylan CD (or any other CD for that matter) at a Starbucks. He can distribute his music there if he wants to and I'll still respect him but coffee is the only thing I'll buy from Starbucks and I'll only do that if there are no other options.

Oh, come on now . . . nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition!

and i'm just typing to help the last hour of work pass.

Dylan: I mean, who are da five greatest rappers of all time?
[counting on his fingers]
Dylan: Dylan... Dylan... Dylan, Dylan, and Dylan.

I just want to know why I've never heard of this Scorsese doc about him.