DanMargarita.com

Where do I even begin?

Hey, I'm no Tom Cruise but let's face it; Dylan looks a little out of place here. He looks more like someone who has to register at the local police station every time he comes to town. In real life, if a gorgeous woman in her underwear turns around to find Bob Dylan staring at her, she's more likely to call the authorities.

When Dylan burst on the music scene in 1961 as a young folk singer, he gained an immediate following for his songs that chronicled the troubles of poor, working-class people. It seems now that Dylan wouldn't sing "The Times They are A-Changing" but is more likely to sing "The Supermodels, They are A-Changing."

His classic tale of a poor black maid being beaten to death by a rich white tobacco farm owner who received a six month sentence tugs at hearts in "The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll." This new ad makes me think he'd probably sing "The Lonesome Date of Hottie Carol."

OK, maybe I should leave the song parodies to Weird Al Yankovic.

Then Dylan outraged his fans at the Newport Folk Festival in 1965 when he appeared onstage with an electric guitar and a back-up band. The crowd jeered him called him a "sell out." Little did they realize that 30 years later he could still "sell out" his concerts.

I seem to recall about 10-15 years ago that these people were again outraged when Dylan bought an expensive house, once more crying "sell out." Apparently they assumed that Dylan had spent the previous twenty years by the side of the road with his guitar slung over his shoulder, his belongings in a cloth sack, thumbing for a ride. Hey, the man's worked hard and made a lot of money. Let him enjoy it.

Now comes the Victoria's Secret ads and they've hardly made a peep, which raises three possibilities:

1. They're no longer fans of his and don't care.
2. They've accepted the reality of modern day commercialism.
3. They're all dead.

Still, the sight of an artistic legend commercializing his is art is a little disappointing. It's hard to imagine William Shakespeare popping up in a "Queen Elizabeth's Secret" ad. Well, now that I think about it...

FADE IN:
A heavily corseted women in Elizabethan underwear walks seductively toward the camera. In the background we cut to the aging, craggy face of The Bard of Avon. The voiceover says "Is't possible, friend Licio, that Mistress Bianca
Doth fancy any other but Lucentio?
I tell you, sir, she bears me fair in hand."

Pretty hot stuff, huh?

Perhaps there's not been much outcry over the Dylan spots because the ad is somewhat mild by current standards, considering the amount of commercials there are dealing with male inadequacy.

Have we not all seen the ad for "Enzyte" with the perpetually smiling man, which claims to produce "natural male enhancement?"

It used to be that if you woke up in the middle of the night all you had to worry about was stubbing your toe. Anyway, shouldn't his wife be the one smiling?

I digress.

Perhaps Dylan needs the money and if that's the case, he has every right to make a buck. On the other hand, perhaps Dylan doesn't get the groupies that he once might have.

He might just figure that this is his only chance to see a beautiful woman in her underwear.