For an anarchistic organization dedicated to the promotion of Sony Music,
EDLIS offers a surprising amount of advice on diverse subjects, ranging from
etiquette and what to wear at concerts, to trading one's wife for uncirculating
tapes and sisterly discretion. While there's much talk about EDLIS
training camps, very little is known about the training regime itself.

Originally compiled: November 2, 1996
Last revised: February 1, 1998
 

From: rcj10@cam.ac.uk (Craig Jamieson)
Subject: To Sit Or Stand?
Date: 31 Oct 1996 15:20:33 GMT

Keith Lane Wigington (klwiging@unity.ncsu.edu) wrote:
: objection to folks standing up and shoing there inthusiasm at numerous
: Blue"?  But for over the hill, rude, uninterested creaps who DEMAND
: year and a little more than hostility was in the air for this song.  I
: take into account and if someone is standing at an inappropriate time or
: place deal with it or at least be polite when asking them to have a
: seat.   I'm sure this will never be resoved, and that is a reason I

 Always ask each person on each side of you if they are taping (audio or video) and whether they mind if you dance, jump, stand, shout, sing, levitate, exchange bodily fluids, or tickle others. This way you meet new people and might get a nice copy of a tape. Or something else.

 Is "shoing there inthusiasm" a euphemism for kicking people? It is not nice to kick or spit. Unless, of course, someone is ruining a tape. Then kicking is permissable, but screamers must be gagged before toe communication. Quiet spitting can be better if the tape is rolling, though some do scream if spat upon. It is a matter of good judgement and taste.

 There that explains a few of the screams on your CDs, yes?
 
 

                                         You, you know Tom Thumb?!?

From: jcliburn@bellsouth.net (Joseph Cliburn)
Subject: To S(p)it Or Stand?
Date: Sat, 09 Nov 1996 14:34:59 GMT

 
Ron Chester (rvc@best.com) writes:

>And it explains why Craig is ALWAYS front row balcony! I had 
>suspected he was taping, but no, he is spitting on the crowd to get the
>perfect formation for Bob and for the tapers.

 Besides, it is widely known that Prof Jamieson has NOT attended the EDLIS Freedom Summer training camp in Yazoo City MS (where is it soooo hot & they force you to eat cattefisk). For that reason, we can assume that, while he may be able to *expectorate* in proper British fashion, he doesn't know how to SPIT.

 Were he raised on a *Mississippi* pig farm, things might be different...

 He also may *perspire* but I rather doubt he has learned how to sweat. (This is module 2 of the Freedom Summer training program...)

 It is said to understand Blonde on Blonde one must eat 2 tabs of acid. To appreciate Self Portrait fully, one must dip 2 tins of snuff...

 Joe
--
Joe Cliburn
jcliburn@bellsouth.net
http://www.win.net/~flintcreek/
"Obviously, I'm not an IBM computer any more than I'm an ashtray." - Dylan
 

Subject: Newbie
From: Ben Taylor (bptaylor@laguna.demon.co.uk)
Date: 1996/09/26

Ann Thompson (AnnTho@AOL.COM) writes:
> I'm going to the San Luis Obispo concert Oct. 17.  - does this list 
> like concert goers to give a review afterward?

 Ben Taylor
 

From: rcj10@cam.ac.uk (Craig Jamieson)
Subject: DYLAN ROCKED MY SOCKS OFF!
Date: 31 Oct 1996 12:50:00 GMT

 Really? We were told they would do that, I did not believe it.

 Many people running into new people at the concerts wearing flowers?

 For newbies an old posting on flowers:
 
 

As has often been said the traditional secret sign of the rec.music.dylan reader at Dylan events is a flower.

 Heike wears hers in her hat. A certain someone was known to wear a dead dandelion in the laces of a trainer. And everything in between.

 A small flower in the lapel, an image of a flower on a t-shirt, a rose between the teeth, the choice is yours.

 Official nerds are far too shy to wear anything as flamboyant as a flower, but equally they probably don't wish to mix with other human forms.

 Wearing a reasonably discreet flower attracts no attention from those not in the know. And when YOU see someone sporting a flower you approach them and say, "Are you connected with rmd?" or somesuch phrase. If they say, "No, piss off!" then no harm done. If they say, "No, what is that?" you are then well into a conversation. But it is highly unlikely you will find anyone sporting a flower other than those with rec.music.dylanesque tendencies. And at any Dylan event there are always people looking for people they have never met before, friends of friends, deliverers of rare things (to listen to, to smoke, or to whatever), and so on.

 One other thing. The traditional meeting place is the bar. At a venue with one bar this is simple. Multiple bars? The largest. No bar? The nearest pub to the venue. Lobby may be the American tradition.
 
 

From: sadiejane@folly.org (sadiejane)
Subject: DYLAN ROCKED MY SOCKS OFF!
Date: Thu, 31 Oct 1996 23:18:14 -0500

 Before I even knew what RMD was I was sporting roses at Dylan shows, tucked into my cleavage (remove the thorns first).

 One night after a particularly good show at the Orpheum in Boston, I tossed the Rose up right in front of bob's monitor just as the lights went down for the first bow at the end of the show. He retrieved it and then held it aloft (over his head) as he bowed again.

 This I took as a sign that Bob does in fact read our newsgroup. I'm sure you must have emailed him about the flower, right Craig?
 
 

xx
sadie

Delia ain't dead, she's pushing up daisies....

From: rcj10@cam.ac.uk (Craig Jamieson)
Subject:DYLAN ROCKED MY SOCKS OFF!
Date: 4 Nov 1996 15:00:46 GMT

sadiejane (sadiejane@folly.org) wrote:

: Before I even knew what RMD was I was sporting roses at Dylan shows, tucked
: into my cleavage (remove the thorns first).

 And why did a flower become the symbol of rec.music.dylan?

 And was it spelt "flour" before rmd reached NYC?
 
 

And did people come up to you and ask if you read rec.music.dylan
or were an anarchist in a cell? I mean while wearing a flower.
Did you do the same thing with flour in the early years, now that 
would be difficult to explain away as coincidence. Ray has his
surname for a reason, but so has Ron, you know...                     ;-)

Vicious indeed! (Not Sid but Lou)

From: sadiejane@folly.org (sadiejane)
Subject: DYLAN ROCKED MY SOCKS OFF!
Date: Mon, 25 Nov 1996 00:11:31 -0500

 xx
sj

 Delia ain't dead, she's got flour power....
 

Subject: High End Audio and Music
From: rcj10@cam.ac.uk (Craig Jamieson)
Date: 1996/09/25

Matthew B. Tepper (tepper@psrinc.com) wrote:
: Doug Schneider wrote:
: > THE High-End Audio and Music Mag on the Net - Soundstage!
: > Visit us at: http://www.magi.com/~das/sstage.html
: Is there any opera content, or are you just screwing around with an
: alpha spam?

For those who do not know it, you dress in your best casual clothes, borrow a mobile phone if you have none, and take your Guitars Kissing & The Contemporary Fix (51766A, 51766E, 1995, GZ GB 1633 SIAE: 51766A, GZ GB 1632 SIAE: 51766E) to the poshest High-End Audio shop in town. You say you have come into rather a lot of money and always wanted the best high-end audio money can buy but wondered if it was worth it. Could you spend a while testing what they recommend for the Dylan fan, handing over the CD? Ostentatiously turn off your telephone, settle back in the comfortable chairs, and see why good audio can be sold to the mindlessly wealthy for thousands of dollars.

 This is also the opportunity to compare gold remastered CDs with ordinary.
 
 

          GZS 1021      Highway 61 Revisited [August 1965] 
          Columbia, 1992
          DCC [Digital  Compact Classics] (Manufactured and marketed by DCC
          Compact Classics, Inc.)
          Matrix: GZS 1021 SP SZA

          CK 53016      Blonde on Blonde [May 1966]
          Sony/Columbia (Sony 53016 1992, Sony 64411 1994)

 If the equipment is really high end not only do you hear him yell, "Judas!", as if he was there, you can also feel his breath!
 
 

The winning agent at this year's agent trials threw a Dylan boot party
with loaned audio equipment! Returned it to the shop the next day as he 
judged it was not really worth the price. But he's now on their mailing 
list and may try another loan if they insist...                    ;-)

                                                          Craig
--
"But," says Arthur "I wouldn't be proud of your clothes
For you've only the lend of them, as I suppose
And you dare not change them one night for you know
If you do you'll be flogged in the mornin'."

Subject: EDLIS - AUSTRALIAN AFFAIRS - TV guide
From: rcj10@cam.ac.uk (Craig Jamieson)
Date: 1996/08/14

Man of Peace (101514.1767@COMPUSERVE.COM) wrote:
: Relax, Tricia... B-)

 'Course they tell me there is rest and recreation in the hills of California.

 But Norway looms in winter for the over-relaxed. Or the retraining camp. And our NYC Kneecapping agent can't be expected to spend his time in CD shops with almost no Dylan on the shelves can he, he's restless to instil a little discipline too.
 
 

                                                          Craig
--
ready t' listen
restin' restin'
a silver peace
reigns an'
becomes the nerves of mornin'
an' I stand up an' yawn
hot with jumpin' pulse
never tired
never sad
never guilty

for I am runnin' in a fair race
with no racetrack but the night
and no competition but the dawn

Subject: Private e-mail
From: Ron Chester (rvc@best.com)
Date: 1996/08/19

rcj10@cam.ac.uk (Craig Jamieson) writes:
>: The information on the House Committee was taken from the EDLIS
>: Handbook:
>:      Rhythm, Riots and Revolution
>:      David A. Noebel
>:      Tulsa, OK: Christian Crusade Publications  1966, p. 284-7
>
>: Ron Chester
>
>Oh my goodness! Is this not top secret information? What is Crazy Chester
>doin'?
>
>That book is on the shelves of all good libraries, anyone can pick it up
>and see how EDLIS functions in explicit detail.
>
>Or are we in e-mail Ron? We better be in e-mail. If this was posted
>to rec.music.dylan on UseNet News the whole fabric of Amerika would
>be torn to shreds as we read.        
>
>Rev Noebel's books are dangerous in the wrong hands, more dangerous than
>you might imagine.

 Yeah, that should do it; send a message by post, just to our fearless leader.

 Hi Craig,

 I hope this doesn't mean another trip to the retraining camp in Norway, though I suppose it might be downright balmy for a change there in August. Last time I was there it was sooo cold, and dark for sooo long. I thought you had said we should get as many to read the handbook as possible. But now I'm not sure. It was kinda hard to concentrate, being so cold.

 Please don't send the NYC kneecapping agent my way. I'll try to properly restrain myself in the future. Hardly any Bulgarians here, anyway.
 
 

>Are you sure this is e-mail Ron? If you're sure then continue with
>the juicy gossip about everyone in California, I was enjoyin' that...

 OK, well anyway, as I was saying before, we were all crowded over on one side of the ship, so as to see the rockets' red glare, maybe six thousand were there. We were all sorta', well you know . . . pressed together. As I looked over at him, the side was a-slowly goin' down, so maybe he was just reaching out to steady hisself, but it sorta seemed like his hand had gone down out of view from where it had been, at the top of her blouse. I got shoved down 'n' pushed around. All I could hear, there was a screamin' sound.

 Just remember wakin' up on a little shore, head busted, stomach cracked, feet splintered, I was bald, naked . . . quite lucky to be alive though. And he sure seemed to have a funny little smile on *his* face, as she glared at him and told him to grow up. Whadya 'spose that meant?

Oops, better go. Someone at the door. Looks like another one of those packages in the plain brown wrapper I was telling you about last time.

 Cheers,

 Ron
 

Subject: Highway 80 Revisited CD
From: rcj10@cam.ac.uk (Craig Jamieson)
Date: 1996/04/18

Ben Taylor (bptaylor@laguna.demon.co.uk) wrote:
: Dan Breazeale  writes:
: >Anyone have any information on this cd, "Highway 80, Revisited,"which
: Can you post the track titles?

Subject: The "D" in EDLIS Must Stand Firm (Statistics)
From: rcj10@cam.ac.uk (Craig Jamieson)
Date: 1996/05/13

Robin Jatko (rjatko@umabnet.ab.umd.edu) wrote:
: > : > > Does anybody know (Robin perhaps?) where would Dyl
: > : time to research the stats I'm supposed to research--and the pay 
: > : stinks. It would be easy to find out, just see the number of 
: > : entries in standard music album reference books, only a handful of 
: Good idea, Craig. As soon as I recover from VA, I will head to the 
: library. Now about that raise ;-)

Raise!?! What other position would give you unlimited use of a Cadillac car, on whatever continent you find yourself? Few people can display such elegance and keep their credentials as a card carrying anarchist. Count yourself lucky girl, when I was young EDLIS agents had bicycles in summer, skates in winter, and they had to skate miles on the Rideau Canal to steal computer time on the RCMP's mainframes. Have you ever fed a horse?

 Bear in mind an agent can always be posted to Canada! If they're really troublesome we even had to make some stay in Norway. Do you realise how lutefisk is made???

 Oh my goodness.

 http://www.expectingrain.com/dok/gif/GOODCAR.GIF
 

From: rcj10@cam.ac.uk (Craig Jamieson)
Subject: ISO of the Meaning of "Ceremony of the Horsemen"
Date: 25 Sep 1996 15:13:05 GMT

Mark Landis (YVAY31A@prodigy.com) wrote:
: Now, I for one never believed that LBJ had any role in JFK's murder, but 
: it seemed to me--at the time--that perhaps Dylan did, and lots of words 
: and phrases in Love Minus Zero sure seemed to me to point in that 
: direction.  But I was so much older then.....

 Mark, EDLIS likes, as a matter of policy, to support the wackiest and weirdest Dylanological theories, but you are going to need more evidence for this one.

 Remember, we are open-minded. When the woman came along to argue that Bob Dylan is really a lesbian we supported her fully. Convince us.

 It's not in Krogsgaard, Dundas or Heylin, as far as I can detect?
 

Subject: Boo-Hoo
From: rcj10@cam.ac.uk (Craig Jamieson)
Date: 1996/04/17

Brett Rudd (d.rudd@student.anu.edu.au) wrote:
: something ticked at my brain.
: I have only been listening to Dylan for five years now and I was wondering
: what happened before this newsgroup or the internet in regard to bootlegs?
: Was it just word of mouth or "trade manuals"?

 The IS in EDLIS is Internet Service. EDLIS existed in another incarnation before there was the Internet EDLIS. Data was exchanged on floppy discs by snail mail and often they were corrupted, presumably in security check machines.

 Of course no tapes were traded, that would be illegal, and no one broke the law in those days, too many Bobbies On Bicycles... ;-)

 I came on the Internet in 1986, ten years ago, which was early for the UK, you needed permission and a password to get through a London gateway. Does anyone have memories of Dylan on the net before 1986?

 I am hazy about when I first heard a bootleg Dylan tape, but it was on reel to reel, early 1960s. The quality was terrible, the sound quality, as we were hearing copies of copies of copies of copies of copies... And tapes circulated of many performers, not just Dylan by a long shot.

 In a long ago thread I wrote about 1960s parties where someone would arrive with a tape "just in from New York". I kept none, they were all replaced by better quality tapes, vinyl or now CD and DAT. Anyone got an example of a reel to reel which used to circulate? I mean really poor quality, I know several serious collectors here have low generation high quality reel to reel, some from famous names. And of course many of our DATs and CDs are taken from reel to reel tapes.

 To get an idea of audio quality tape your Karen Wallace [now Karen Moynihan] May 1960 St Paul Armpit Tape onto the worst tape in the worst cassette recorder you have, several times, then listen back wearing earmuffs, standing in another room. More like working at GCHQ decoding spy messages than like listening to Guitars Kissing & co.

 Anyone else care to reminisce about how they first heard real reel to reel Dylan rather than commercial store bought Dylan? It was much like bread, no one refused the white sliced Columbia but a wholemeal loaf made with loving care by someone you knew, welll it just tasted so much better no matter how lopsided it might be... Of course in those days we did not realise it was better for your health too!
 
 

                                                Craig
--
A little piece of cornbread layin' on the shelf, uh-huh
A little piece of cornbread layin' on the shelf, uh-huh
A little piece of cornbread layin' on the shelf
If you want anymore you can tape it yourself, uh-huh!

From: rcj10@cam.ac.uk (Craig Jamieson)
Subject: who?
Date: 19 Aug 1996 17:58:10 GMT

Stephen Scobie/Maureen Scobie (sscobie1@sol.uvic.ca) wrote:
:  wrote:
: > > : who is dylan talking about in she belongs to me?
: > > Maria Himmelman his adopted daughter.
: > > "the child of the hoodlum" 4 or 5 years old when he wrote it...
: > Is that right?  I never knew that!  Now I'm going to have to sit down 
: > Any thoughts or comments?
: This is a perennial problem in interpretation of any kind.  I operate on a
: few guiding principles:

[lots of good stuff deleted] 

: (4) Which, again, is not to say that words can be made to mean anything
: you damn well please.  If you tell me that this song is actually a set of
: instructions on how to boil eggs, I will feel no compunction in telling
: you that you are WRONG.  But if you tell me that it's addressed to an
: adult lover rather than to a small child, I will say that this
: interpretation makes perfect sense in terms of the words of the song as
: their denotations and connotations are commonly understood.  And at that
: point, Bob Dylan or Craig Jamieson saying that it's about Maria will not
: in the slightest way affect the validity of your reading.

 I like a good discussion myself.

 EDLIS of course believes words can mean anything you want them too. But the boiling eggs instructions may take some time. It seems more of a lutefisk song to us, but if Stephen is into eggs we'll deliver. Trust you caught the chicken and egg thread? EDLIS is here to meet everyone's needs, no matter how bizarre. We are seeking fishermen at the minute...

 Bear in mind I answered the original question. No one else did.

 Not to imply there was an answer though...

 Anybody want to name the adult lovers they have found it is addressed to, that might be interesting...

 Some people, me included, like multiple meanings in their songs, just as some people like multiple organisms in their Darwinism. Let the song evolve around what you see, stop listening to those of us putting bad thoughts in your head.

 EDLIS advice? Next time you find yourself in a room with Bob Dylan and he starts to sing She Belongs To Me, look in his eyes, see what he sings, decide if you can adopt the Maria theory. And see who appears in the visions on the stage if our mystic is projecting visions that night.
 
 

                                                               Craig

--
Have you ever had it on your lips
Or said it in your head,
That the person postin' next to you
Just might be misled.
Does the raving of the maniacs
Make your insides go insane,
Then you heard my voice a-singin'
& you know my name.

Subject: Dylan and Alcohol
From: rcj10@cam.ac.uk (Craig Jamieson)
Date: 1995/07/03

Thad Williamson (thwilliamson@igc.apc.org) wrote:
: I'm writing these words pretty drunk right now, having polished off
: 2 pitchers of margarita with a couple of pals. I came uhome and played
: efect, postive, on his performances. It seems to me this should be a 
: subject of major concern to RMD. Is it time to appoint a Dylan and Alcohol
: agent (Craig?)

 We get many inside stories and confessions. Some are wild fantasies. Some might not be. All are treated equally.

 We know enough to stay out of arguments and judgements on certain topics.

 This is not journalism, EDLIS agents have standards and can actually be quite fond of the object of their agency.

 And don't worry Thad, if your pals told you what they e-mailed us about you, well every bit of it was so disgusting we would never reveal it. Surely much of it is illegal in your state? But we have filed it away so future generations can see that even when drunk Dylan fans deserved some respect. Of course if we put the images your pals sent up on the World Wide Web, the amount of respect might dwindle... ;-)

 You should see the e-mail people send me when drunk, the posted mentions are tame compared with that!
 
 

                                                                   Craig
--
Well, I've already had two beers
I'm ready for the broom
Please, Missus Henry, won't you
Take me to my room?
I'm a good ol' boy
But I've been sniffin' too many eggs
Talkin' to too many people
Drinkin' too many kegs
Please Missus Henry, Missus Henry, please!
Please Missus Henry, Missus Henry, please!
I'm down on my knees
An' I ain't got a dime...

From: rcj10@cam.ac.uk (Craig Jamieson)
Subject: newbie looking for tapes
Date: 13 Aug 1996 16:42:35 GMT

Robert Moose (rmoose@CES.CLEMSON.EDU) wrote:
: Don't know. But I'll go "E." one better: Your list gets my wife... 
: If it's a good list :):)
: "Take my wife, please"

 Do you have a homepage with a photograph of your wife?

 Is that homepage open to those of us under 18?

 Is "Moose" a name or a nickname?

 Did your parents name you after Bob?

 Did they wear towels around their heads when they wanted you to think they were not there?

 How many uncirculating tapes would you expect in the trade? To what extent do you believe your wife to be "uncirculated" ?

 Will your wife be aware of the trade? Do you expect her to be willing or unwilling, how much of an element of surprise would you recommend?

 Are there any EDLIS agents you are excluding from this offer? (Most traders exclude Nates & Joe at the very least.)
 
 

                                                          Craig

[The EDLIS - Lonely  Hearts agency specialises in merging Dylan
collections to the mutual satisfaction of all parties involved.]

--
With hungry hearts through the heat and cold,
We never much thought we could get very old.
We thought we could sit forever in fun
An' our chances really was a million to one...

Subject: '65 material NOT found on 1965 Revisited
From: rcj10@cam.ac.uk (Craig Jamieson)
Date: 1995/09/27

R. Sweener (RSweener@AOL.COM) wrote:
: Craig Jamieson  wrote:
: >R. Sweener (RSweener@AOL.COM) wrote:
: >: >[116] Early October 1965
: >: >6) Jet Pilot (not in Krogsgaard)
: >:                ^^^ ? Ummm, look at the next
: >:                        page, top of page 49!

: In the track listing notes I have, Jet Pilot is listed as follows:

: 15. Jet Pilot (1:30) [?] [not 5]

 jcliburn@bellsouth.net

 EDLIS has been known to list tracks before a CD has been pressed! They are a wicked bunch, the sort you would not want to meet in a dark alley, never trust 'em. Sometimes they intentionally mislead people, even say they want to be your friend and what they really want is to give you a wrong Krogsgaard number!

 : But am I wrong in how I interpret the meaning of "not 5" in this case?

 It means the first listing EDLIS sent out was wrong. An informant who had heard the song told EDLIS it was a new version, misled by extra intro and outro I suspect. The assumption is people want quick and dirty info and turn to Townsend when they want perfection [:-)] or other published sources. Always remember EDLIS is just a bunch of amateurs cutting and pasting their way around the net with gay abandon. The files are ever changing, always open to correction by e-mail.

 15. Jet Pilot (1:30) [5] *

 Columbia Studios, New York City, New York, early October 1965. [116]

By the way EDLIS trusts that everyone realises it is compulsory to sing all EDLIS supplied random .sig generator quotations out loud wherever you read rec.music.dylan. Failure to do so can render you liable to imprisonment, substantial fines and/or confinement to a Sony office with the Sony whistler and the laugh track/audience track department.
 
 

                                                               Craig
--
Well, she's got jet pilot eyes from her hips on down
All the bombadiers are tryin' to force her out of town
She's five feet nine and she carries a monkey wrench
She weighs more by the foot than she does by the inch
She's got all the downtown boys, all at her command
But you got to watch her closely
'Cause... ;-)