Buried on one of Bob Dylan's lesser 80s albums, "Brownsville Girl" is consistently cited as one of his greatest and most ambitious songs. Co-written by playwright/screenwriter/director/actor Sam Shepard, the song originally came to life as "New Danville Girl”. It was recorded, put aside, and then ultimately rewritten and overdubbed before finally seeing the light of day.

Laura and Rebecca talk about creative collaboration, the alchemy of the songwriting process, and what we love about "Brownsville Girl"

Find the video of this conversation over on YouTube

Read Bill Latenzi’s essay that we’re referring to over at the Dylan Review.

Find out more about Mason Moreno’s research into the Dylan/Shepard Tapes over on the Infinity Goes Up on Trial podcast.

Read Sam Shepard’s play True Dylan over on Esquire.

Watch Gregory Peck’s entire speech introducing Bob Dylan here.

If you have a question for us, send us a voice memo to bobdylanhotline@gmail.com.
For anything else get in touch at itsdefinitelydylan@gmail.com

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You can support Definitely Dylan on Patreon or with a one-off donation at buymeacoffee.com/definitelydylan.

This week on the Bob Dylan Hotline, Laura and Rebecca brainstorm the best songs and albums to introduce someone to Bob Dylan’s music.

Send us your question to bobdylanhotline@gmail.com (itsdefinitelydylan@gmail.com for all other inquiries)

Get your Definitely Dylan baseball cap here.

You can support Definitely Dylan on Patreon or with a one-off donation at buymeacoffee.com/definitelydylan.

Laura talks to Jim Windolf, music journalist and features editor at the New York Times, about his new book Where the Music Had to Go: How Bob Dylan and the Beatles Changed Each Other – and the World, out now with Scribner (US) and White Rabbit (UK).

You can support Definitely Dylan on Patreon or with a one-off donation at buymeacoffee.com/definitelydylan.

Laura and Rebecca answer some more listener questions and talk parasocial relationships, the artist's humanity, and fan loyalty.

Send us your question to bobdylanhotline@gmail.com (itsdefinitelydylan@gmail.com for all other inquiries)

You can support Definitely Dylan on Patreon or with a one-off donation at buymeacoffee.com/definitelydylan.

Laura and Rebecca discuss the new Bob Dylan Patreon, AI, and eventually answer a question.

Send us your question to bobdylanhotline@gmail.com

You can support Definitely Dylan on Patreon or with a one-off donation at buymeacoffee.com/definitelydylan.

A new podcast segment, in which Laura and Rebecca answer your questions about all things Bob.

This one's about movie soundtracks, collaborations, and Geese!

Send us your question to bobdylanhotline@gmail.com

You can support Definitely Dylan on Patreon or with a one-off donation at buymeacoffee.com/definitelydylan.

In this episode I talk to Chicago-based filmmaker, author, and college professor Michael Glover Smith about Bob Dylan the filmmaker, specifically his work on Eat the Document (1972), Renaldo & Clara (1978), and Masked & Anonymous (2003).

Michael’s new book Bob Dylan as Filmmaker: No Time to Think is published by McNidder & Grace on 2nd of March. If you’re in the Chicago area and interested in attending the book launch and screening of Masked & Anonymous on 35mm, you can get your tickets here.

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You can support Definitely Dylan on Patreon or with a one-off donation at buymeacoffee.com/definitelydylan.

Being a Bob Dylan fan is a spectrum –whether you identify as a casual enjoyer if his music or a die-hard Bobcat, the umbrella is large and leaves room for multitudes.

Over the past year, many Definitely Dylan episodes have circled around the relationship between artist and audience, how Bob Dylan presents himself and how he is perceived. In the final conversation of 2025 (which you’re hearing in early 2026), we’re approaching this topic from a new angle.

My guest is Elizabeth Cantalamessa, an honest to god philosopher and one of the most fun people you can run into at a Bob Dylan show. We talk about Bob Dylan as the villain and trickster, selling out, and art as spiritual labour.

You can download the C. Thi Nguyen essay “Trust and Sincerity in Art” here.

Tiny correction:
The “Is there anything more American than America” wasn’t a Cadillac but a Chrysler commercial (watch it here). And btw, I’m burying this in the show notes because I’m not sure, but since we’re mentioning Lucy Sante at some point in this episode, I wanted to add that in her preface to Six Sermons for Bob Dylan (the book of sermons she wrote for the Trouble No More film), she mentions that she wrote a “Buick commercial” for him. As far as I’m aware, Dylan has never done a Buick commercial, unless you count the song “From a Buick 6”, so I’m wondering if she was maybe referring to this Chrysler commercial.

Bob Dylan and Santana - Toy Guns clip

Bob Dylan and Neil Young - “More of the same”

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You can support Definitely Dylan on Patreon or with a one-off donation at buymeacoffee.com/definitelydylan.

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