"Theme Time Radio Hour" (XM Channel 40) features Mr. Dylan introducing his favorite records, organized each week around a different theme — like cars, drinking or, this week's theme, weather. (First tune: "Blow, Wind, Blow," by Muddy Waters.) He typically records from home or on tour, XM says, even though an announcer says the show is recorded in "Studio B of the Abernathy Building," to lend it a vintage aura. The hourly programs are sprinkled with recorded spoken cameos from the likes of Elvis Costello, Sarah Silverman and Penn Jillette.

As D.J., Mr. Dylan vamps on the lyrics of his chosen songs, and makes observations that often amount to something like what he does musically: he taps America's musical heritage with words that veer from the logically linear to the abstract, delivered in his wry, mumbly growl.

# posted by Gerry Canavan @ 1:09 PM  |