22: Leonard Cohen & Bob Dylan with Rock Journalist Sylvie Simmons

Much of what we know about the gods of rock comes from their music. But it is the rock star interview, pioneered by the rock bible Rolling Stone magazine as named after Dylan’s own song, where testaments of rock and roll were given. Kind of like an oral tradition to the sacred texts of the songs, kind of a new testament to the old, explaining the gaps, coloring the personal details, humanizing the gods.

This has been rock journalist Sylvie Simmons' unique role in the rock and roll mythology for 45 years. We talk here a great deal about Leonard Cohen, his intersection with Dylan, how Cohen and Dylan work, how rock’s mythmakers play, and what all of this might mean from a very personal lens framed by a truly thoughtful, knowledgeable rock and roll pro joining us by the good old-fashioned landline from San Francisco. It's a wonderful conversation.

Welcome to Episode 2 of Season 3 of Bob Dylan: About Man and God and Law, the podcast that inspired the book About Man and God and Law: The Spiritual Wisdom of Bob Dylan. The book is on sale right now wherever books are sold.

We're proud to be part of the Pantheon Podcasts Network.

Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices