Farewell Suze Rotolo

I only read Suze Rotolo's book A Freewheelin' Time: A Memoir Of Greenwich Village In The Sixties last year but I completely fell in love with her spirit, intelligence and independence. Yes, she was Bob Dylan's girlfriend as he rose to fame and inspired some of his most famous songs but Rotolo was an amazing woman in her own right: an artist and teacher whose political activism and world-view influenced Dylan's and was an integral part of the folk music scene of the early 60s, something she documented so well in her book. So I was saddened to hear that Rotolo had died aged just 67. I'm definitely glad I got to know her a little through her book and she's certain to live on through that, the iconic images like the one above and the many songs that Dylan wrote for her.

Hawksley Workman at The Borderline

Hawksley Workman

Roken Is Dodelijk

The Borderline, 14 February 2011

I've always wondered just why Hawksley Workman isn't a huge star. He writes clever, funny and incredibly tuneful pop songs that are just on the right side of offbeat, sung with a powerful, soaring voice and in concert he's a true showman, full of amusing stories and slightly surreal banter. I can only assume it's because he's not as classically good looking as the Jeff Buckleys and Rufus Wainwrights of the world, especially now with his slightly chubby face and receding hairline. But live he's somehow transformed, he looks younger, like an adorable little schoolboy who can't believe what he's getting away with. "I get to live inside my head for a living," at one point he admits grinning.