The following Glossary term was submitted by Rock Town Hall’s favorite Dylanologist, E. Pluribus Gergely.

Hershey Squirting: An artist’s continual release of uninspired singles and LPs that do nothing but soil a back catalog of solid work

Now that that’s taken care of, I’d like all RTHers to carefully examine the catalogs of our beloved heroes to determine which artist has done the most Hershey squirting. To qualify for the designation, the artist in question has to have a back catalog of some merit. In other words, choosing someone like The Replacements or Tom Petty is totally unacceptable.

My choice, and I defy and RTHer to come up with a more deserving nominee, is Bob Dylan. Bob’s Hershey squiriting started right after Desire and hasn’t shown any sign of abating. Dylan diehards stand tall and firm behind the so called nuggets found on Infidels, Empire Burlesque, Time Out of Mind, etc., claiming that the deep trax on the noted long players are every bit as good as the stuff found on the holy trinity of Dylan’s first three electric LPs. That is simply not true. Ever take one of those nasty penicillin influenced dumps that make you gag while you’re wiping your hiny? If so, then you know what I think of tunes like “Tight Connection to My Heart.” There isn’t a single Dylan number recorded after Desire that even comes close to the dartboard of the electric trinity’s snoozers, to something like Blonde on Blonde‘s “Temporary Like Achilles.” The post-Desire slop is lyrically, structurally, melodically, instrumentally, and sonically chronically inferior to anything pre-Desire. Continue reading »