For the past ten years, I've been documenting and interpreting the Christmas decorations on Bob Dylan's Malibu home, much as the hippest music critics of my youth dwelled on and picked apart the abstract lyrics of his songs. My reasons were many and you can read about them in this early analysis, here.
I honestly didn’t think I would be able to file a report this year because, well, on November 9, Malibu (where Mr. Dylan and I both have homes) caught fire. The residents who were not on tour, like me, had to evacuate until almost the first of December.
150 homes in the nearby area burned to the ground, making the neighborhood streets darker than usual for this time of year. Though some residents have returned to poignantly decorate the vacant and destroyed sites where homes used to be:
More importantly Bob’s lighting message of 2018 turned out to be as profound as the one sent by John Lennon’s first solo album when he confounded all expectations by a return to a simpler, more basic approach. With this new, more classically arranged format, Bob is reminding us that the true spirit of Christmas right now can best be found in a return, for our country, to the classic values of democracy to which it used to aspire. He is telling us that it is time, once again, to welcome the disenfranchised, make protecting the environment a priority, re-instate the traditions of intelligent civil discourse, revive the two party system of debate, begin in earnest to fight against gun violence, and for the protection of all of our rights, regardless of gender, race, or ethnic heritage. And yes... re-commit to the ideals of democracy for all.
Only Bob Dylan could say so much with a simple string of lights. Happy Holidays.
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