I know what you’re thinking: That doesn’t sound right. But apparently, it’s true. Bob Dylan has launched a Patreon. Yesterday, the Nobel Prize-winning singer-songwriter posted a promo graphic for a new series on the platform, Lectures From the Grave. If he hadn’t shared it on various accounts, one might assume the page is fake, not least because some of the writing on there – even the poster for it – appears to utilize AI. Users can purchase access for $5 per month.
Currently, there are different kinds of posts on Dylan’s Patreon. One is a link to a live performance by Mahalia Jackson, which is in line with his Instagram account, where he’s been sharing various clips without context. (He once famously posted a 2016 performance by Machine Gun Kelly, which led to him narrating mgk’s Lost Americana.) The following posts are more confounding. Most of them are audio essays: about Thomas Jefferson’s vice-president Aaron Burr, 19th-century outlaw Frank James, and American Old West folk hero Wild Bill. They seem to be read out loud by an AI voice.
This is content “curated by Bob Dylan,” which seems to be an important distinction. There is a fictional letter from Mark Twain to Rudolph Valentino, posted under the pen name Herbert Foster. Another post, authored by Marty Lombard, is called ‘Bull Rider (short story)’. Besides those social media teasers, there’s no mention of the Patreon on Dylan’s website. He already has a collection of essays whose audiobook features the likes of Jeff Bridges, Helen Mirren, and Oscar Isaac, which I can easily recommend. This is Dylanesque at best.
