Bin There, Done That

AJ Weberman is a bin-hoker, although he would prefer his own job title, garbologist. The guy became famous for rooting though Bob Dylan's rubbish in New York, aiming to find some revelatory scraps about his art. What he found was a discarded postcard to Johnny Cash, a few utility bills and diapers from the little Dylans.

Back in the Seventies, this was enough to get you noticed, and for a time Weberman was a minor celebrity, leading a gaggle of Bob fanatics around town in search of the truth. The singer was ambivalent about all this. Sometimes he was infuriated, other times he would engage in wibbling phone conversations with AJ, threatening to write a song about this grand-standing buffoon.

On Friday night I got my chance to see Tangled Up With Dylan, a sharp little documentary about Weberman. He has not aged particularly gracefully, with a prison sentence behind him, a messy family life and a social circle that looks like it was on loan from a David Lynch film. They have peculiar eyebrows, hoarding issues and startling dress codes. To them, Weberman is a proper talisman, a reminder of a time when the chimes of freedom were pealing with abandon.

AJ can't resist a quick foray over to Woody Allen's place, but the pickings from his garbage are slight, and shredder culture is not great for the old activity. Not that we feel terribly sympathetic.

Bob fans however, have a wealth of pickings from the BBC output. For a resume, have a look here.

My Monday radio show will carry a few extra thoughts and musical steers on the subject of Dylan's towering art. The least we can do, really.