As anticipation simmers for the release later this year of Bob Dylan's 41st album, Time out of Mind, Sony has contracted to build the first official Dylan Web site, Wired News has learned. Slated for launch this fall, bobdylan.com will be a treasure trove of previously unseen photographs and rare recordings, as well as historical examinations of the singer's influences, says Dan Levy, the New York-based Web developer who has signed on to produce the site.
Noting the many unofficial Dylan sites already online - such as Expecting Rain, Bob Links, and the Bringing It All Back Home Page - Levy says, "We're not going to try to outdo the fans at doing what fans do best. We'll be the ultimate resource for those who are interested in his work, and interested in what Dylan's interested in."
In addition to audio samples from every track that the singer has released, bobdylan.com will feature a searchable lyric database, and perspectives on the artists who nourished Dylan's own vision, such as Woody Guthrie, Hank Williams, the French symbolist poets, and the writers of the Beat Generation.
Levy hosts a site called Levity, and was formerly the editor of the Citadel Underground books series, which brought back into print such bohemian ur-texts as Ed Sanders' Tales of Beatnik Glory and Mezz Mezzrow's Really the Blues.
Levy invites online fans and scholars to contribute ideas to bobdylan.com by mailing him at foggy@levity.com.
