Bob Dylan has said that, "it sickened (him) no end to see George (Floyd) tortured to death like that. It was beyond ugly. Let's hope that justice comes swift for the Floyd family and for the nation."
Discussing his forthcoming album Rough and Rowdy Ways, which is out on June 19, the singer and musician said, "I think about the death of the human race." He was discussing the song I Contain Multitudes, which contains the line, "I sleep with life and death in the same bed."
"The long strange trip of the naked ape. Not to be light on it, but everybody's life is so transient," he said, "Every human being, no matter how strong or mighty, is frail when it comes to death. I think about it in general terms, not in a personal way."
Speaking in a phone conversation to American author and historian Douglas Brinkley, Dylan also discussed his fears about technology and hyper-industrialization. "There’s definitely a lot more anxiety and nervousness around now than there used to be. But that only applies to people of a certain age like me and you, Doug."
He added, "We have a tendency to live in the past, but that's only us. Youngsters don’t have that tendency. They have no past, so all they know is what they see and hear, and they’ll believe anything. In 20 or 30 years from now, they’ll be at the forefront.
"When you see somebody that is 10 years old, he’s going to be in control in 20 or 30 years, and he won’t have a clue about the world we knew. Young people who are in their teens now have no memory lane to remember."
As far as technology goes, Dylan claimed it makes everybody vulnerable. "But young people don’t think like that. They could care less. Telecommunications and advanced technology is the world they were born into. Our world is already obsolete."
Dylan also discussed the recent deaths of Little Richard and John Prine. "Both of those guys were triumphant in their work," he said. "They don't need anybody doing tributes. "
He also recalled how he grew up with the songs of Little Richard and said that the iconic performer, "lit a match" under him. "Tuned me into things I never would have known on my own. So I think of him differently. John (Prine) came after me. So it’s not the same thing. I acknowledge them differently."
Asked about Murder Most Foul, his recent 17-minute-long ballad about JFK and allied topics, he was asked if he was surprised that the track should become his first number one Billboard hit? "I was, yeah," he replied tersely.
The Guardian granted the forthcoming album a full five-star review. "For all its bleakness, Rough and Rowdy Ways might well be Bob Dylan's most consistently brilliant set of songs in years: the die-hards can spend months unravelling the knottier lyrics, but you don’t need a PhD in Dylanology to appreciate its singular quality and power."
Rough and Rowdy Ways will be released on the Columbia label on June 19
