"Holiday," St. Vincent's "Los Ageless" and Kendrick Lamar's "Humble". Tim Murphy of the progressive publication Mother Jones wrote in 2010 that "Talkin' John Birch Paranoid Blues" seemed especially relevant as the John Birch Society was allowed to participate in that year's Conservative Political Action Conference and had been embraced by Ron Paul. Murphy said that, given the Society's newfound relevance, perhaps Dylan should have played the song when he performed at the White House earlier that year. In a 2017 article for The American Conservative, Scott Beauchamp writes that the track is a "great example" of Dylan "skewering the diffuse paranoia of the time by lending articulation to the logic of a situation." Beauchamp also opined that "Half a century later, the humor of this muddy, paranoid thinking persists, albeit in reverse political polarity," wherein people will use the term "fascist" to refer to conservatives, President Donald Trump, or anything they dislike; he added that "the definition [of 'fascism'] should be deeply grounded in historical and political specificity, lest we come to believe that what made the Nazis fascist was their rude demeanor or failure to vote for Hillary Clinton." The Ed Sullivan Show controversy "Talkin' John Birch Paranoid Blues" was at the center of a controversy that brought national attention to Dylan and played a significant part in shaping his second album, The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan. On May 12, 1963, with the album about to be released, Dylan was scheduled to appear on The Ed Sullivan Show on CBS. The Sunday evening variety show, among the most popular shows on American television, had earlier introduced Elvis Presley to national audiences and in 1964 would do the same for The Beatles. Dylan had auditioned for the show in early 1962, before the release of his first album. He played a few songs from the recording, but the network executives who sat in on the set were not exactly sure what to make of him. Unhappy with the experience, Dylan thought he would not hear from the network again. More than a year passed when the call came inviting him to make a guest appearance on the show. For his one selection, Dylan chose "Talkin' John Birch Society Blues" (as it was then titled). Ed Sullivan and his producer heard him play it at the Saturday rehearsal on May 11 and were delighted with the song. However, when Dylan showed up