勵志偶像鮑勃?迪倫？

????舉例來說，在“堅持你的堅持”（Keep on Keepin' On）一章中，我們了解到迪倫是一位固執的家伙，他“不管發生什么都會挑戰自我、開拓進取?！痹凇暗米锶说乃囆g”（The Fine Art of Pissing People Off）一章中，弗里德曼記敘了迪倫年輕時的一段軼事。當時，迪倫在參加《小城名流》（The Ed Sullivan Show）節目，但是神經緊張的電視審查員禁止他演唱《約翰?伯區的狂想藍調》（Talking John Birch Paranoid Blues）這首歌，因為它諷刺了上世紀60年代美國的共產主義威脅妄想癥。于是，迪倫拂袖而去。得分！雖然他錯過了在《小城名流》廣大觀眾面前唱歌的機會，但迪倫的聲譽卻因反抗這位審查員而在反主流文化中達到了頂點。教益呢？“如果你真正相信某件事情，不管多么微不足道，它都值得捍衛?！?/p>

????在1965年的“新港民謠音樂節”（Newport Folk Festival）上，年齡稍長的迪倫因為使用電吉他而激怒了民謠原教旨主義擁護者?！巴ㄟ^轉向電音，”弗里德曼寫道，“迪倫敢于做出一些大多數人一輩子都沒有勇氣干的事情，那就是顛覆我們自己過去的成功?！?/p>

????如此這般，通過從明尼蘇達大學（University of Minnesota）輟學前往格林威治村（Greenwich Village）追尋自己的民謠音樂事業，迪倫教會我們在舒適區以外實現自我；通過在1969年專輯《納什維爾的天際線》（Nashville Skyline）中成功地使用鄉村音樂元素，迪倫證明了“可信就是一切”。教益呢？“如果你打算呈現一種新的面貌，那你最好確保自己對別人來說是可信的?！绷硗?，事實證明，市場營銷人員也可從迪倫上世紀80年代末不間斷的巡演日程中學習跟新客戶群持續打好關系的重要性。

????我最初難以接受這本書的地方在于，弗里德曼將鮑勃?迪倫那迷人的生活以及不朽的音樂事業濃縮成一系列令人沮喪的、賀曼賀卡式的陳詞濫調。作為一種文學技巧，這本書一路倒退到巴特勒的《圣徒的生活》（The Lives of the Saints）。跟所有圣徒傳記一樣，敘事之豐富及議論之尖銳都為滔滔不絕的道德訓誡提供了原料。

????迪倫的粉絲無法從《忘記今天》中找到太多新的信息，這一點確鑿無疑。盡管弗里德曼在寫作這本書時采訪了很多跟迪倫親近的人以及相關專家——包括The Band樂隊的羅比?羅伯遜這樣的音樂名人以及迪倫前私人助理這樣的后臺人員——但他仍然嚴重依賴公開發表的訪談以及迪倫在2004年出版的回憶錄《編年史：第一卷》（Chronicles: Volume One）。迪倫通過經紀人禮貌地回絕了弗里德曼的采訪請求，這我倒能理解。我猜想，對迪倫這樣一位總是被賦予強烈神秘感的藝術家來說，將他的人生分解成鼓動積極性的陳詞濫調，這種想法可能并不吸引人。

????另一方面，對于迪倫的重要性，弗里德曼塑造出了一個清晰而充滿激情的行為榜樣，而不是藝術家或文化符號。他總結的教益顯然十分陳腐，但如果你喜愛鮑勃?迪倫同時也喜愛勵志文學，那你可能會喜歡這本書。說不準你還有可能搬到曼哈頓下城，發動一場革命呢。誰知道呢？

????譯者：王燦均

????In the chapter "Keep on Keepin' On," for example, we learn that Dylan is a persistent dude who "challenges himself to forge ahead, no matter what." In "The Fine Art of Pissing People Off," Friedman writes about the young Dylan walking off the set of The Ed Sullivan Show when a nervous network censor ruled that he couldn't sing "Talkin' John Birch Paranoid Blues," a song that lampoons '60s-era American paranoia about the Communist threat. Score! Although he missed the chance to sing for Sullivan's vast audience, Dylan achieved maximum counterculture cred for defying the man. The lesson? "If you truly believe in something, however small, it's worth standing up for."

????An only slightly older Dylan would infuriate legions of acoustic folk purists by strapping on an electric guitar at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival. "By going electric," Friedman writes, "Dylan dared to do something most of us wouldn't have the courage to do in our own lives: tamper with our track record of success."

????And so it goes. By dropping out of the University of Minnesota and moving to Greenwich Village to pursue a career in folk music, Dylan apparently taught us to find fulfillment outside our comfort zone. By successfully adopting a country sound in the 1969 album Nashville Skyline, he proved that "credibility is everything." The lesson? "If you're going to create a new persona for yourself, you had better make sure you seem authentic to other people." And marketers, it turns out, can study Dylan's relentless touring schedule since the late 1980s to learn the importance of constantly forging relationships with new customer segments.

????My initial, dyspeptic take on this book was that Friedman had reduced Bob Dylan's fascinating life and monumental body of work to a series of depressing Hallmark clichés. As a literary technique, this one goes all the way back to Butler's Lives of the Saints. As with all hagiography, narrative richness and critical acuity both yield to the relentless imparting of moral lessons.

????It's true that Dylan fans won't find much new information in Forget About Today. Although Friedman interviewed many Dylan intimates and experts for this book, including musical luminaries like Robbie Robertson of The Band and backstage figures like Dylan's former personal assistant, he relies heavily on published interviews and on Dylan's own 2004 memoir, Chronicles: Volume One. Through his management, Dylan politely declined Friedman's request for an interview, and I can't say that I blame him. I would guess that for Dylan, an artist who has always imparted a strong sense of mystery, the idea of having his life dissected into motivational bromides was probably unappealing.

????On the other hand, Friedman has produced a clear, passionate case for Dylan's importance as a personal role model, rather than an artist or a cultural symbol. The lessons that he draws are no less true for being trite. If you love Bob Dylan, and you enjoy self-help literature, you'll probably like this book. Who knows, you might even move to lower Manhattan and start a revolution.