I can't wait to read it. Been waiting a long long time for it. Batman, have you read Anthony Scaduto's book on Dylan. Easily the best book on Dylan I have ever read.
I've read them all, Bob*. That's a great one. Have you read Larry "Ratso" Sloman or Sam Shepard on the Rolling Thunder Revue? Those are pretty sweet too. If Scaduto's was easily the best you've read, fasten your seatbelt. You're about to read a better one.
What is Dylan's appeal other than musical talent? He seems to have a cult following amongst what I refer to as the 'confidently skeptical idealist' crowd. "CSI's"
I am coming back to visit Texas from New Zealand this Christmas and I reckon the first thing I do when I get on US soil is buy the Dylan autobiography. He's the man.
BMoney: It's out in Australia round mid-month. I'd expect it'll be out in NZ sometime round then too. By the way, do you know our fallen friends Elvis and dimsie? They're there too. Jorge: It's different for a lot of different people. For me, more than anything else, he's just my favorite singer. I'm also fascinated by his very weird life and his ways of handling it. For others, it's his lyrics (give me Leonard Cohen first and foremost where poetry's involved, but Dylan's right behind). It's got to a point where a lot of people who think for a living consider him a modern Shakespeare and devote college courses and sometimes even degrees to the study of his work. The main reason he's so revered though is the impact he's had on popular music. The recent Newsweek cover story was touted as an interview with the most important living cultural figure (or something like that) along with a challenge to name another living person with greater impact on our cultural lives. There are a great many arguments along those lines, but one is that he was arguably the first pop artist ever to treat songs as art. And virtually every artist since, from the Beatles to Eminem, has tried to do the same. That's a fairly impressive legacy.
What is (insert any musical act in the history of music)'s appeal other than musical talent? and i mean legitimate acts, not mtv bland plasticity. i think w/ dylan you either love him or hate him. for a long time i didnt get his appeal at all and than about 5 years ago something just switched on for me and ive been a fan ever since.
To me, the appeal of Bob Dylan is that (1) he is one of the greatest songwriters of my generation. In my opinion, he ranks right up there with Irving Berlin and George Gershwin from previous generations, and will be remembered as such in music history after he passes away. And, (2), he is one of the greatest white blues singers ever. Listen to songs like "Down Along the Cove" off John Wesley Harding, "Leopard Skin Pill Box Hat" off Blonde On Blonde, or "Tombstone Blues" off Highway 61 Revisited and you'll know exactly what I'm talking about. And I'm not even mentioning the influence he had on the songwriting of many of his 1960s contemporaries, with John Lennon at the top of that list. I read the excerpts of the book in Newsweek, and can't wait to get it. It looks fascinating.
sort of a blanket statement here batman. do you mean that he was conscious he was creating art or that he realized that songwriting could be construed as art?
Opened a dumb can of worms with that statement. I was just trying to give Jorge an answer as to why Dylan had such a following. The argument that he made pop or rock into a serious art form isn't mine -- I was repeating what various other pop critics and songwriters had said about him. I'm not even particularly interested in this line of thought. I do think though that some of the answers to your question are in the book. I'm only halfway through it now, having been distracted by the debate and a long night out, but he talks a great deal about how he came to write the way he did. As for a quick look at his impact on pop and rock songwriting, look at the Beatles before they heard his music and look at them after. Lennon, McCartney and Harrison have all been very open about the impact he had on them. And virtually every pop or rock songwriter after him has too. He changed the weather. He turned the whole game on its head. That's not me talking -- that's them. p.s. to RMT: Best white blues singer? Hells yeah.
neither am i. i love dylan, don't get me wrong, but i think he is best viewed as the great bridge between my boy woody and the national consciousness. as a matter of fact, i would say woody and louis armstrong are the two pillars that hold up the great tradition of american music.
As a matter of fact, I would say Dylan would probably agree with you, though he'd throw a few more names into the mix. As a Woody fan, you HAVE to get this book. Love your sig, by the way. Only wish there was a picture of a guitar to go with it.
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/10/05/books/05masl.html?oref=login i read the times article about it yesterday. i'll probably check it out.
Batman! Did you know this? Dylan's Nobel Nomination Sparks Debate STOCKHOLM, Sweden - How many roads must a man walk down, before you call him a ... Nobel Prize-winning songwriter? It's a question being asked increasingly in literary circles, as the annual debate over who should win the Nobel Prize in literature — to be announced Thursday — tosses out a familiar, but surprising, candidate: Bob Dylan (news). While many music critics agree that Dylan is among the most profound songwriters in modern music, his repeated nomination for the Nobel Prize has raised a vexing question among literary authorities: Should song lyrics qualify for literature's most prestigious award? http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tm...=5&u=/ap/20041006/ap_en_ot/nobel_literature_2
As some warn victory, some downfall Private reasons great or small Can be seen in the eyes of those that call To make all that should be killed to crawl While others say don't hate nothing at all Except hatred. Disillusioned words like bullets bark As human gods aim for their mark Made everything from toy guns that spark To flesh-colored Christs that glow in the dark It's easy to see without looking too far That not much Is really sacred. While preachers preach of evil fates Teachers teach that knowledge waits Can lead to hundred-dollar plates Goodness hides behind its gates But even the president of the United States Sometimes must have To stand naked.
