I'm Not There

The buzz around the new Bob Dylan biopic, I'm Not There, has become pretty deafening over the last few weeks. The movie, which was co-written and directed by Todd Haynes (Velvet Goldmine), stars Marcus Carl Franklin, Ben Whishaw, Heath Ledger, Christian Bale, Richard Gere, and Cate Blanchett, all playing Dylan at different times in his life. As you can imagine, most of the buzz around the movie has dealt with the fact that Cate Blanchett is playing Bob. Hollywood sure does love its gimmicks.

Anyway, the movie doesn't come out until November 21st (in limited release), but the movie's soundtrack is out now. And it's pretty freakin' cool. It's two discs of covers of Dylan's songs from the likes of Jeff Tweedy, Eddie Vedder, Roger McGuinn, Glen Hansard, Bob Forrest, The Hold Steady, John Doe, Willie Nelson, Calexico, Iron and Wine, Yo La Tengo, Sufjan Stevens, Stephen Malkmus, Jim James, Sonic Youth, Tom Verlaine, The Black Keys, Antony and the Johnsons and... ahem... Jack Johnson. And more. Got your attention yet?

I've just started listening to it, bouncing around from song to song. This one is my favorite so far:

Willie Nelson and Calexico, "Senor (Tales of Yankee Power)"

Cat Power also does an excellent version of "Stuck Inside of Mobile With the Memphis Blues Again". Glen Hansard and Marketa Irglova's version of "You Ain't Goin' Nowhere" is pretty good too. But you knew I'd like that one.

My least favorite, by far, is the Stephen Malkmus and the Million Dollar Bashers' (Nels Cline, Lee Ranaldo, Steve Shelley, John Medeski and others) cover of "Maggie's Farm". Seriously, what in the hell happened to Stephen Malkmus?

You can buy the soundtrack over at Lala.com for $12.69. If you're a fan of Dylan's, or any of the artists named above (other than Malkmus), definitely check it out.