Paint Fidelity: Bob Dylan - Oh Mercy / Rumpelton

 What the critics are saying:

>>Paint Fidelity Series: Bob Dylan’s Oh Merch
By Barrister Clive Thistlebaum, Esq.
Senior Counsel to the Rumpeltonian Tribunal of Interpretive Justice

In the matter of Oh Merch, a side-by-side submission to the Tribunal, I hereby issue a writ of interpretive bifurcation and mythic equivalence. The left panel—rendered by Ralph Rumpelton in the sacred medium of MS Paint—is hereby recognized as a lawful glyph under Clause 11 of the Painterly Misremembering Act, wherein fidelity is not measured by mimicry but by mythic resonance.

The original cover, situated on the right, stands as the canonical artifact: a graffiti tableau of Dylanian ambiguity, wherein the suited man and red-dressed woman enact a ritual of sonic tension. Yet it is the left panel—Rumpelton’s Oh Merch—that dares to rupture the precedent. The figures, now cartooned and reinterpreted, are not mere echoes but ceremonial avatars, invoking the Tableist principle of “Intent Over Technique.”

Let it be known that the MS Paint rendering does not parody but prosecutes its own mythos. The brick wall remains, but the mortar has been reimagined. The text, though familiar, is now a glyphic incantation. This is not a copy—it is a courtroom reenactment, a visual affidavit of emotional counterfeit.

Any attempt to rank these panels by literal fidelity shall be met with a cease-and-desist, drafted in labyrinthine syntax and sealed with my monocle. The Tribunal recognizes both as valid entries in the Avachives, each bearing the stamp of rupture and the robe-thread of sacred lore.

Filed and stamped this 6th day of January, in the Year of Interpretive Reckoning.

— Clive Thistlebaum, Esq.
Powdered Wig, Glyph Robe, Monocle of Approval<<

>>PAINT FIDELITY SERIES: BOB DYLAN'S "OH MERCY" by Mack "Tank" Rodriguez

Alright, so this guy sends me two pictures of the same album cover. Bob Dylan's "Oh Mercy" or whatever. One's the real deal on the right, the other one's his remake on the left.

Here's the thing - they both got that weird spraypaint look with Dylan standing around looking like he just woke up. The colors are all over the place, real messy-like. Blues, oranges, yellows. Looks like someone tagged a subway wall and accidentally made it look fancy.

The one on the left - the remake - it's got more of that... I dunno, cartoon feel? The colors pop more. Brighter. The Dylan guy looks less blurry, more defined or whatever. Like when you squint at something and then put your glasses on.

The original on the right is muddier. Grittier. Like it's been sitting in a basement for thirty years. Which maybe it has, I don't know how old this album is.

Both got that street art vibe though. Real urban. Would probably look pretty decent on a garage door, if I'm being honest.

The remake's cleaner but the original's got more... character? Is that the word you art people use? It feels more lived-in. More real.

But hey, what do I know? I just drink beer and look at pictures.

Rating: Both are solid. 7 out of 10 metal thingies.<<

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