I finally got around to watching the DVD that comes with the “limited edition” version of Bob Dylan’s “Modern Times.” And the notorious “Soy Bomb” moment that occurred as Dylan performed “Love Sick” at the 1997 Grammy Awards, in February 1998, has somehow been edited out.
What happened? Is it simply a different camera angle? Were more-drastic measures taken? A concert clip isn’t journalism, but is this kind of rewrite ethical or not?
Here is the original, unedited clip, complete with Soy Bomb writhing away as Dylan tries to ignore him:
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=boGrq8VdDEE]
The editing makes for a smoother viewing experience, I suppose. But it’s not what happened.
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mike_b1
Is it ethical? Why not? It’s no different that using a sound board to mix (and improve) the output. If what you hear isn’t necessarily an exact replication of what is coming from his mouth and instruments, then how is what you see (or don’t see) any different?
Anonymous
I love Bob’s reaction! Obviously, he’s seen weirder stuff than that over the years.
Mike
Someone removed Soy Bomb very quickly with no struggle.
Firefly
As one blogger pointed out, Soy Bomb is more authentic to the spirit of Dylan’s music and Dylon’s rebellion than the bunch of black-clad hipsters who were hired to stand behind him and sway back and forth. And I agree, I really do. Soy Bomb was just doing a neo-Yippie thing – as raw, unproduced and blood-stirring as Dylan’s music was always supposed to be. If anything, it’s the hired hipsters, the production, the artificiality that are insults to Dylan, not the Bomb.