Dylan’s new video puts on the hurt

There’s a bit of shock going around at the video for Duquesne Whistle, a song off of Bob Dylan’s forthcoming album, Tempest. Paste and Rolling Stone call it “shockingly violent,” and Spin handed it the label “Tarantino-ish.”

While the video, directed by Nash Edgerton (who played a young uncle Owen in Episode II: Attack of the Clones), certainly has a few cringe-worthy moments, the video also plays smoothly into Dylan’s pop-culture prowess. We can tell he’s aware of the bluster whipped up by the slightest of Gaga shimmers, and that he’s probably seen an episode or two of Breaking Bad. More to the point, Dylan is portrayed in the video as being cooler than everyone, rising above paltry concerns and giving no gosh darns, even in the face of forces like the pursuit of love and the forces of fate. That’s pure Dylan.

It’s a good video concept for a good song, though. You have to hand it to the hapless main character, whose best wishes to meet and fall in love with the girl of his dreams come unravelled by circumstance. Ain’t it the truth, pal.