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The Lafayette

The Oldest College Newspaper in Pennsylvania

The Lafayette

The Oldest College Newspaper in Pennsylvania

The Lafayette

Rolling into the 21st- Century

Bob Dylan’s new music video allows viewers to switch through channels themselves.
Bob Dylan’s new music video allows viewers to switch through channels themselves.

Photo by  Nicole Maselli ‘14

It’s 2013 and Bob Dylan’s still kickin’…online.

Dylan’s new viral music video for his iconic hit “Like a Rolli ng Stone” was released Nov. 19. The interactive video received over 1.5 million hits within 36 hours of its release according to FOX News.

Recorded and released in 1965, the song has become Dylan’s most commercially successful song to-date. For decades the song has tugged at the heart strings of many, so it is no wonder why it’s been given new life and meaning in the 21st century.

Interlude Studios produced the intricate video for the American folk legend. Praised for its interactive nature, the video mimics a functional television set. The viewer feels like they’re in the living room on their couch, flipping through 16 available channels, all of which feature various actors in different scenes lip-synching along to the classic hit.

With a click of the “channel” button, the viewer is literally able to scroll through shows like The Price is Right, Pawn Stars, SportsCenter, and more at their leisure, allowing a completely unique experience with each individual’s viewing. Stars such as comedian Marc Maron, rapper Danny Brown, Drew Carey, and the hosts of Property Brothers appear on the channels, as well as hired actors. There is even a children’s station with cartoon characters as well as a cooking channel where a chef baking a “decadent dessert” mouths the words of the song.

According to the video’s 27-year-old Israeli director Vania Heymann, they “tried to use the form of TV media to reinterpret the content.”

Heymann alludes to the beauty of the video, where an old song meets new media.

“The song is timeless and I think the video is trying to prove that in whatever time, or whatever channel or situation [you are in] the song has life and meaning,” Heymann said in a Fox News interview.

According to Yoni Bloch, CEO of Interlude Studios, they have had a 96 percent engagement rate.

“People are creating the video that they want which is exactly what we wanted,” Bloch said.

It has been over 50 years since Dylan first took America by storm. His status as a classic musician has renewed itself in the making of the music video. The 72-year old has utilized the internet nicely in reviving his sound and popularity.

The new music video for “Like a Rolling Stone” can be found at http://video.bobdylan.com.

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