A few months ago, I sat down and tried to figure out just how many episodes I’d done—give or take a few—and realized we were coming up on episode 1300. And now, here we are. I had planned to put together a full retrospective to mark the occasion, and it’s still happening… it’s just taking longer than expected. Turns out, making decisions is hard. When you’ve got nearly 30 years of material to sort through, it’s not easy deciding what’s still worth throwing back out into the world. So that retrospective is coming in August. It might even end up being two shows. Whatever shape it takes, it’ll be worth the wait.
But this week? We’re hanging out with Robert Zimmerman, better known as Bob Dylan, who turned 83 on May 24, 2025. We’re not doing a full Dylan deep dive—that’s a lot of Bob—but I started thinking about how massive his influence has been. Across genres, generations, and movements, he’s always been the guy who stuck it to the man and never softened his message.
And yeah, I know why he changed his name—but let’s be honest: Robert Zimmerman just sounds more badass.
For anyone who needs a quick refresher, Dylan came out of Hibbing, Minnesota by way of Greenwich Village in the early ‘60s, and almost single-handedly changed what people thought a song could be. He wasn’t just writing folk songs—he was writing manifestos, riddles, laments, and revolutions. From protest anthems like Blowin’ in the Wind and Masters of War, to surreal electric poetry like Desolation Row and Ballad of a Thin Man, Dylan redefined lyrics as literature—and the rest of the music world has been chasing him ever since. The guy won a Nobel Prize in Literature, and somehow that still doesn’t cover the scope of what he’s done.
I’ve always thought of Dylan as a freaking awesome poet who just happened to pick up a guitar. I love the guy—but let’s be real, he can’t really sing. And I don’t think he ever cared. There’s this moment in the We Are the World documentary (which was up on Netflix not long ago), where Dylan had to ask Michael Jackson how to sing like Bob Dylan—because he had no idea how to imitate himself. That tells you everything. He’s not trying to sound a certain way—he just opens his mouth and whatever comes out, comes out. But when someone actually stops and asks him to do the Dylan thing, he’s kind of lost. It’s not a performance for him. It just is.
We’re starting off tonight by rolling the clock all the way back to 1964 with Dylan’s The Times They Are A-Changin’—because if you’re going to light a fire, you might as well start with gasoline. From there, we move into Bruce Springsteen’s The Ghost of Tom Joad, a haunting echo of Dylan’s spirit layered over 90s America. Then we turn it up with Rage Against the Machine’s Evil Empire, because they also like to stick it to the man—and we’re not apologizing for it. At this point, considering where we are as a country, this just had to happen. And finally, we close with Dylan again—Highway 61 Revisited—because if anyone deserves the first word and the last, it’s him.
Hour 1 – Playlist
Artist – Song – Album – Label – Year
Bob Dylan – The Times They Are A-Changin’ – The Times They Are A-Changin’ – Columbia – 1964
Bob Dylan – Ballad Of Hollis Brown – The Times They Are A-Changin’ – Columbia – 1964
Bob Dylan – With God On Our Side – The Times They Are A-Changin’ – Columbia – 1964
Bob Dylan – One Too Many Mornings – The Times They Are A-Changin’ – Columbia – 1964
Bob Dylan – North Country Blues – The Times They Are A-Changin’ – Columbia – 1964
Bob Dylan – Only A Pawn In Their Game – The Times They Are A-Changin’ – Columbia – 1964
Bob Dylan – Boots Of Spanish Leather – The Times They Are A-Changin’ – Columbia – 1964
Bob Dylan – When The Ship Comes In – The Times They Are A-Changin’ – Columbia – 1964
Bob Dylan – The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll – The Times They Are A-Changin’ – Columbia – 1964
Bob Dylan – Restless Farewell – The Times They Are A-Changin’ – Columbia – 1964
Bruce Springsteen – The Ghost Of Tom Joad – The Ghost Of Tom Joad – Columbia – 1995
Bruce Springsteen – Straight Time – The Ghost Of Tom Joad – Columbia – 1995
Bruce Springsteen – Highway 29 – The Ghost Of Tom Joad – Columbia – 1995
Hour 2 – Playlist
Artist – Song – Album – Label – Year
Bruce Springsteen – Youngstown – The Ghost Of Tom Joad – Columbia – 1995
Bruce Springsteen – Sinaloa Cowboys – The Ghost Of Tom Joad – Columbia – 1995
Bruce Springsteen – The Line – The Ghost Of Tom Joad – Columbia – 1995
Bruce Springsteen – Balboa Park – The Ghost Of Tom Joad – Columbia – 1995
Bruce Springsteen – Dry Lightning – The Ghost Of Tom Joad – Columbia – 1995
Bruce Springsteen – The New Timer – The Ghost Of Tom Joad – Columbia – 1995
Bruce Springsteen – Across The Border – The Ghost Of Tom Joad – Columbia – 1995
Bruce Springsteen – Galveston Bay – The Ghost Of Tom Joad – Columbia – 1995
Bruce Springsteen – My Best Was Never Good Enough – The Ghost Of Tom Joad – Columbia – 1995
Rage Against the Machine – People of the Sun – Evil Empire – Sony – 1996
Rage Against the Machine – Bulls on Parade – Evil Empire – Sony – 1996
Rage Against the Machine – Vietnow – Evil Empire – Sony – 1996
Rage Against the Machine – Revolver – Evil Empire – Sony – 1996
Rage Against the Machine – Snakecharmer – Evil Empire – Sony – 1996
Hour 3 – Playlist
Artist – Song – Album – Label – Year
Rage Against the Machine – Tire Me – Evil Empire – Sony – 1996
Rage Against the Machine – Down Rodeo – Evil Empire – Sony – 1996
Rage Against the Machine – Without a Face – Evil Empire – Sony – 1996
Rage Against the Machine – Wind Below – Evil Empire – Sony – 1996
Rage Against the Machine – Year of tha Boomerang – Evil Empire – Sony – 1996
Rage Against the Machine – Roll Right – Evil Empire – Sony – 1996
Bob Dylan – Like A Rolling Stone – Highway 61 Revisited – CBS – 1965
Bob Dylan – Tombstone Blues – Highway 61 Revisited – CBS – 1965
Bob Dylan – It Takes A Lot To Laugh, It Takes A Train To Cry – Highway 61 Revisited – CBS – 1965
Bob Dylan – From A Buick 6 – Highway 61 Revisited – CBS – 1965
Bob Dylan – Ballad Of A Thin Man – Highway 61 Revisited – CBS – 1965
Bob Dylan – Queen Jane Approximately – Highway 61 Revisited – CBS – 1965
Rolling with Scissors airs live every Tuesday from 2–5 AM on 89.9 FM in Madison and streams at wortfm.org. Missed it? You can catch the episode for two weeks after broadcast at archive.wortfm.org or at rws.osmondtech.com/.
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