Voting for Bob

If you go to WilcoWorld, and "pledge to vote in the 2008 Election," you'll receive a free MP3 of the Dylan song "I Shall Be Released," covered by Wilco w/ Fleet Foxes.

"Such tumultuous times. And in the spirit of giveaways that seem to be sweeping the nation, we've got something free for you. No it's not a pile of cash (sorry) but rather an audio postcard of sorts from a summer's night in Oregon with our friends the Fleet Foxes & a lovely Bob Dylan tune. All we ask is you check the "I pledge to vote in the 2008 Election" button below. If you can spare it, we also encourage you to consider a donation to Feeding America (and please feel free to pass this link along to friends, family members, etc.)."

Lost in Mississippi

Speaking of Dylan, I found the following in The Sydney Morning Herald:
A FEW shuffling bars of acoustic guitar, then a voice combining "mango and Courvoisier and the best hissing and low, gravel Jewishness" - as a besotted Brett Whiteley once put it - growls into the microphone.

"Your days are numbered/So are mine/I need something strong to distract my mind …"

So begins Mississippi, a song originally written and recorded by Bob Dylan for his triumphant 1997 return-to-form album Time Out Of Mind. The famously prolific American songwriter kept the ballad in his back pocket for four years, finally releasing a re-recorded version on 2001's Love And Theft LP.

The original, stripped-back version of Mississippi has never been released - until now. (It's also available for a limited time from Amazon.)

[Update] Additional freebie from Bob: Dreamin' of You (Like Mississippi, this is another track from The Bootleg Series Vol. 8 - Tell Tale Signs: Rare and Unreleased 1989-2006).

R A N D O M N E S S
"Leave your stepping stones behind, something calls for you.
Forget the dead you've left, they will not follow you.
The vagabond who's rapping at your door
Is standing in the clothes that you once wore.
Strike another match, go start anew
And it's all over now, Baby Blue."