The times, they are a-changin'

This week's Newsweek cover story is about Bob Dylan and his forthcoming autobiography. Despite the usual press release, so far, except for The Washington Times, only the foreign press has had articles about the contents. Maybe because the US media are in shock. Take it away, Gnu Hunter (Australia):

Bob Dylan, one of THE icons of the 60's "counter culture" dreamt of a nine-to-five existence and longed for John Howard's much villified "house with a white picket fence".

"The world was absurd ... I had very little in common with and knew even less about a generation that I was supposed to be the voice of," Dylan says.

"I was fantasising about a nine-to-five existence, a house on a tree-lined block with a white picket fence, pink roses in the backyard.

"Roadmaps to our homestead must have been posted in all 50 states for gangs of dropouts and druggies.

"I wanted to set fire to these people."

More by following the link and much, much more in the Newsweek book excerpt including:

Early on, Woodstock had been very hospitable to us.
...
Moochers showed up from as far away as California on pilgrimages. Goons were breaking into our place all hours of the night. At first, it was merely the nomadic homeless making illegal entry—seemed harmless enough, but then rogue radicals looking for the Prince of Protest began to arrive—unaccountable-looking characters, gargoyle-looking gals, scarecrows, stragglers looking to party, raid the pantry. Peter LaFarge, a folksinger friend of mine, had given me a couple of Colt single-shot repeater pistols, and I also had a clip-fed Winchester blasting rifle around, but it was awful to think about what could be done with those things.

The authorities, the chief of police (Woodstock had about three cops) had told me that if anyone was shot accidentally or even shot at as a warning, it would be me that would be going to the lockup. Not only that, but creeps thumping their boots across our roof could even take me to court if any of them fell off. This was so unsettling. I wanted to set fire to these people. These gate-crashers, spooks, trespassers, demagogues were all disrupting my home life and the fact that I was not to piss them off or they could press charges really didn't appeal to me.

Sheesh! You should have tried Texas, Bob! I believe "They needed shootin'" is still a valid defense there.