Best Song Oscar winners tend to be sweeping ballads or lighthearted pop romps. The idea that Bob Dylan could churn out an Oscar-winning song in his uncompromising style seemed far-fetched. And then the master went out and did it.
In typical Bob Dylan fashion, he made the Oscars come to him instead of bending to its will in 2001. It led to one of the most fascinating musical moments in the history of those hallowed awards.
Dylan’s Hot Streak
Bob Dylan entered the new millennium on an extreme high note. After going through perhaps the biggest writing slump of his career and enduring a near-death experience in the 90s, he emerged with Time Out Of Mind. The 1997 album restored his standing as music’s preeminent singer-songwriter.
It was also award season catnip. At the 1998 Grammy ceremonies, Time Out Of Mind nabbed Album of the Year honors. During that ceremony, Dylan’s performance was marred by a protestor/stage crasher who danced wildly for a few moments near the singer before he was rustled off stage.
Who knew if Dylan would get another chance to give a performance like that in front of a national television audience anytime soon? Certainly, no one could have predicted that the chance would come barely three years later at another awards fete.
Bob Goes to the Movies
Following Time Out Of Mind, Dylan was suddenly a hot commodity again. It wasn’t much of a surprise, therefore, that a top director like Curtis Hanson would ask Dylan to contribute music to one of his films. That Dylan accepted to provide a song for Hanson’s 2000 film Wonder Boys shocked a few people, considering his reticence to do that type of for-hire stuff in the past.
The themes of Wonder Boys clearly resonated with Dylan. He tapped into the narrator’s feelings of disillusionment and displacement in the lyrics to the song, titled “Things Have Changed”. Musically, he borrowed from the Marty Stuart song “Confessions Of A Crow”, as Stuart explained in an interview with American Songwriter.
Dylan hurriedly recorded “Things Have Changed” in New York while in the middle of the tour. He used his touring band to back him up. And, in a sign of where he was headed with his future music, he produced the track himself.
From Down Under
“Things Have Changed” nabbed a nomination for Best Song at the Oscars. When the ceremonies were held on March 25, 2001, Bob Dylan was touring in Australia. The show’s producers didn’t want to miss out on a possible appearance by the legend. Thus, they accommodated a gritty performance via satellite from Dylan and his band at an Australian TV studio.
That studio would come in handy once again when it was announced that “Things Have Changed” won the award. Dylan stepped in front of the camera and gave a short, grateful speech that included his typical straight-talking jargon:
“I want to thank the members of the Academy who were bold enough to give me this award for this song, which obviously is a song that doesn’t pussyfoot around nor turn a blind eye to human nature.” Bob Dylan, Oscar winner, ladies and gentlemen.
(Photo by Kevin Mazur/WireImage)
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