BSPH: Weird Al Yankovic - Bob

"Bob" is a song by American comedian Weird Al Yankovic. It was released in 2003 on an album "Poodle Hat". This song manages to perform a weird trick. It is both an affectionate parody and tongue in cheek celebration of Bob Dylan's overtly enigmatic lyricism and overall homage to his musical aesthetics. Not only Weird Al recreates the musical stylings of then man's mid 60's ouevre but the song also neatly channels Dylan's signature substandard vocal delivery.

Lyrically, "Bob" is probably one of the most impressive songs in Weird Al's catalogue from a technical point of view. The entire song is comprised of palindromes. Each line is a palindrome, the title is a palindrome. It is an incredible feat of verbosity. Curiosly, it all fits to Bob Dylan's style which can be aptly described as "try to make some sense, but don't be so serious".

While the whole palindrome thing seems impressive, it is not the whole point of the song. It is just an elaborate means to attain certain effect. And as such, it is definitely trying too hard which is in itself a dig towards Dylan. One can imagine that the song was composed with a little help of a dictionary and really intense backwards reading sessions. Or just some momentary rambling and collaging.

The weird thing about the lyrics is that the resulting lines fit perfectly into Bob Dylan's signature overtly enigmatic style. It is a stream of non sequitirs that pile up into incomprehensible mess that is simply irresistible for imagining. Lines don't add up, but they sure tell something really fragmented and disjointed. It works best if you don't listen closely to it. That way - you only catch bits and pieces of the thing and don't concentrate on its palindrome nature. It is pure DADA collage.

Musically, the song is obviously stylized after "Subterranian Homesick Blues". It is relatively easygoing country rock with a meandering groove. Except forty something years later this type of arrangement became a cliche and now it sounds almost like a placeholder set of sounds. Which is another layer of parodying the aesthetics. The connection with "Subterranian Homesick Blues" is deepened by the video that imitates that latter's video gimmick. It even homages Allen Ginsberg doing something in the corner.