Dylan Talks Red Revolution, Maggie’s Farm?

The Hindu, which purports to be “India’s national newspaper,” published an interview with Bob Dylan May 29 that has prompted charges of fraud from the blogosphere.

The chat with the prickly 70-year-old singer-songwriter was conducted by Ranjan Dasgupta over the telephone and, while the general contrariness of the statements comes close to the tone that Dylan often assumes in interview mode, the gist of what he says makes little sense in light of Dylan’s dismissive remarks about the media reaction to his recent China concerts.

In the interview, Dylan expresses “admiration” for the “Red Revolution,” saying China is a “nation to look up to.”

He also goes into detail to explain just what a “folk song” is, and then does something very un-Dylan-like: he actually talks about the meaning of his songs.

About “Maggie’s Farm”: “Through this I brought out the plight of a deprived and exploited peasant in the American countryside.”

In the end, the “interview” is more notable for its cleverness than any fake insights it might provide about Dylan, ending with a shout-out to someone named “Dalia Lave” whom Dylan describes as “the greatest revolutionary singer.”