timothee chalamet with a guitar
(NBC)

Timothée Chalamet should do a tour

After his turn on Saturday Night Live as both host and musical guest, one thing became clear: People love watching Timothée Chalamet perform. Chalamet did two musical numbers of lesser known Bob Dylan songs and it is all people could talk about.

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Chalamet was there to promote his film, A Complete Unknown, which earned him an Oscar nomination for playing Dylan at a point in his career from the early days and ending when Dylan “went electric” for his album, Highway 61 Revisited. As a fun twist, he decided to be both the host and musical guest this week and was the first non-professional singer to do that in the last 30 years.

His first performance was a mash-up of two of Dylan’s songs. The first being “Outlaw Blues,” the song that was released in 1965. And then he moved to the front of the stage where James Blake was playing the piano. For context, the song “Three Angels” is a powerful one from Dylan’s discography but it is primarily a spoken word song with slight back vocals to Dylan’s recitation.

It was a fun mash-up of the two Dylan songs and really kicked off Chalamet’s first musical performance with a bang.

Second, Chalamet performed a song released in 1971 titled “Tomorrow Is a Long Time.” This was more of a performance like that of Dylan would give. Famously, the singer-songwriter goes on stage with his guitar, plays the songs he wants to play, and then doesn’t play the hits people expect him to. It is a power move that Dylan has and I absolutely adore it.

Chalamet going out on SNL performing three different Dylan songs that were all rare in comparison to songs he sings in A Complete Unknown is really a perfect nod to Dylan.

Give him his own Dylan inspired tour

The reviews for the episode itself were split. Some didn’t care for the sketches while others loved them. But one thing was clear: We all were obsessed with Chalamet’s performance of these Dylan songs. And it then made me wonder if a brief tour with Chalamet leading the charge would do well.

Maybe it is selfish of me but I am a lifelong Dylan fan who hasn’t heard many of my favorite songs live. Now, I don’t think Dylan would dare perform songs like “I Want You” or even “Pressing On” but if Chalamet did a tour, I could have hope. I also just think seeing him in that kind of environment would be fun.

Chalamet clearly loves Dylan and the role he got to play but watching him, as a young actor with many young fans, share his love of Dylan with his fanbase has meant a lot to me. It means that younger people will maybe understand the power of Dylan’s music and keep it all alive for years to come. And if Chalamet did a tour with the music of Dylan (and maybe threw “Stastics” in there,) I think it’d be a fun way to keep the love of A Complete Unknown going.


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Rachel Leishman
Assistant Editor
Rachel Leishman (She/Her) is an Assistant Editor at the Mary Sue. She's been a writer professionally since 2016 but was always obsessed with movies and television and writing about them growing up. A lover of Spider-Man and Wanda Maximoff's biggest defender, she has interests in all things nerdy and a cat named Benjamin Wyatt the cat. If you want to talk classic rock music or all things Harrison Ford, she's your girl but her interests span far and wide. Yes, she knows she looks like Florence Pugh. She has multiple podcasts, normally has opinions on any bit of pop culture, and can tell you can actors entire filmography off the top of her head. Her current obsession is Glen Powell's dog, Brisket. Her work at the Mary Sue often includes Star Wars, Marvel, DC, movie reviews, and interviews.