When I Paint My Masterpiece

Bob Dylan, "When I Paint My Masterpiece" (YSI link)

Bob Dylan, "When I Paint My Masterpiece (Providence 4.11.75)" (YSI link)

Bob Dylan, "When I Paint My Masterpiece (Boston 11.21.75)" (YSI link)

Grateful Dead, "When I Paint My Masterpiece" (YSI link)

Elliott Smith, "When I Paint My Masterpiece" (YSI link)

In a week that saw someone telling me how little I've accomplished in my life and how I need to get a real job, this song seems so perfect and right to post up. It's been one of my favorite Bob Dylan songs, one that the casual fan may never have even heard. It's only official release is on the Greatest Hits Volume 2.

You need this fucking song in your life. This one is for all the dreamers, all the grinders out there trying to do big things, going out on a limb trying to realize something more than the whole make money, work your way up the corporate ladder steez. The title alone has always made me smile, as it's such a perfect phrase, a mixture of sadness and determination. The song fits perfectly with the Dylan themes of

I also included a few covers of the Dylan original, including a magnificent version from the Grateful Dead. The song works perfect for Bob Weir, he's got that forceful, more traditional voice. Ahh, what can I say about the Elliott Smith version? I can't think of a more perfect choice for the singer-songwriter who so much embodied the artist suffering for his art and broken hearts and love and pain. The two live Dylan versions come off the Rolling Thunder tour that I'm obsessed with; I actually prefer the studio version, these versions seem a tad too slow for my ears.

-Augusto Pinochet died yesterday, on Human Rights Day ironically enough. May all of his victims rest in peace. May he not. Spencer Ackerman has an even better take on his death.

-It was International Human Rights Day yesterday, so let me take the time to highlight an organization fighting the good fight on the worst human rights disaster currently unfolding, the genocide in the Sudan. Save Darfur has become the leading voice on the issue, please take the time to sign up for the newsletter, buy some gifts to raise money and/or pledge your time. Read this post by Rachel Sklar at the Huffington Post for even more info and images of this crisis.

-Dylan Monday is still happening, for the record.