In a recent interview Bob Dylan called music recordings "Atrocious" and went on to add that no good music has been made in the last 20 years, he went on to add that downloads should be free because the music is not worth anything anyway. I have never really liked Dylan except for a few songs, but it is nice to see someone take a stand on how badly most music is recorded.
Well, if he was talking about music and not sound, I for one wouldn't rush to disagree with him -- including regarding his own work over that span. Recording quality? Now that's irrelevant! ('Specially when the music is too.)
>> Saying that a person can't sing because you don't appreciate that particular tonal quality is like remarking that somebody can't play the clarinet because you don't personally like the sound of clarinets. <<
Huh? In Bob's case, it would be a particular *atonal* quality. Bob's a great writer and a fair musician. He is a *lousy* singer. Period.
If you don't get Dylan, that's too bad. Over-rated? Surely you jest. Can't sing? Ask any artist who has tried to cover a Dylan song if he can't sing. They tell a much different story. Producing a pleasant tone with your voice isn't really the point at all, if you consider music to be a form of communication and a language all its own. The words you pick and how you give them a unique meaning through your intonation of each word and phrase is the key, and nobody in the 20th century did it better.
Saying that a person can't sing because you don't appreciate that particular tonal quality is like remarking that somebody can't play the clarinet because you don't personally like the sound of clarinets.
He was right about recordings, too. They are atrocious, by and large.
I don't agree that no good music has been made in the last 20 years. Lots of good music out there. Badly recorded, though.
One things for sure not every word uttered by Dylan should be seen as a statement from on high.
Good point.
How quickly I forget that I'm having internal dialogue with a journalist, and not directly their source. Wasn't the point of the article to evoke this sort of reaction? If so, I for one was roped in.
Capt369's post shows the depth of thinking about music for a whole lot of people and I think that's fine but it's neither interesting or thought provoking in itself. Audiogon is filled with this level of comment time and time again on music.
Dylan's comments aren't particularly clear nor is the context but I do think it is more to do with the CD format and the clear trend towards the disposable aspect of modern music. There is a certain validity in some of those comments and sure perhaps an element of somebody who has just got old and bitter. Indeed maybe he does sound a bit like an Audiophile. :-)
One things for sure not every word uttered by Dylan should be seen as a statement from on high. Dylan would be the first to admit that. Once you start to realise that he never believed any of the hype and labels bestowed upon him you might start to open up to the music.
Dylan said: "I dont know anybody whos made a record that sounds decent in the past 20 years, really." AND Even these songs probably sounded 10 times better in the studio when we recorded em. CDs are small. Theres no stature to it.
Irrespective of his talents as a musician/songwriter, he sounds no less embittered than any other 65 year old decrying the advent of the computer as the end of inter-personal communication. It couldn't be that he simply doesn't hear as well as he did 20 years ago? He's 65, c'mon! It happens to all of us, genius and dunce alike.
The fact is there are labels who have put out entire catalogs of well-constructed, well-recorded music...and no one has to go on an audiophilogical dig to find them.
>>I have never really liked Dylan except for a few songs<<
As a performer or songwriter? I understand the argument about Dylan's vocal renditions. He's no Mel Torme but that wasn't his goal. However, he is an outstanding musician.
That being said, he is the finest and most prolific songwriter over the past 50 years. That is indisputable.
I never really "got" Dylan. He came on the scene when I was in my late teens. Sure, he suffered some pain and had a little insight into the human condition but so did most of the rest of us.
As one of the, ahem, original hippies, I smoked tons of pot, dropped acid, did mushrooms etc. along with lots of others people.
I think we all, to a certain degree, had insights and solutions for humanity to digest. He just put his "stuff" to song. Welll...okkk.
Of course, the general public thought he was some kind of prophet. Well, that`s cool.
I, and the people I got high with, were just not very impressed. Sorry....Then again, maybe we were just full of crap anyway. :)
btw...I`ve been clean and sober for almost nine years now.
I think some of you are wasting time talking about something that is a by product of your hobby it's called music.
As Hdm states above you couldn't even interpret his comments correctly. I also think he's probably referring to his field and general popular music not the art of seeking out "recordings" that so many Audiophiles are obsessed with.
It doesn't surprise me so many Audiophiles don't get/like Dylan because it's well beyond that search for perfection that so many seek through equipment and the unhealthy obsession on recording quality. Dylan has operated in parameters and levels that simply don't interest equipment hobbyists in the main.
It's been proved time and time again with a few notable exceptions that Audiogon really is better suited to talking Audio because when it comes to music it is reactionary and for the most part clueless. Imho of course.
I think you are slighty wrong, and as a matter of fact I submitted ealry today a thread about Dulan's comments that never made it through.
What Bob Dylan said was that he was amazazed on how bad the recording quality has been for the past 20 years, he did not complain about the music itself. He mentioned that music is over compressed and that instrument and vocal definition is not present.
He even said that his latest album sounded better in the studio than after he heard it on CD.
Hdm, you make a good point. I should have known better than to buy that CD compilation. I think the sheer number of great titles must have swayed me. Original vinyl has to be the way to go with Dylan's work.
"Most overrated musician"? Dylan has been the voice of his generation and a huge, and I mean huge, influence on popular music. His comments, I think, are directed much more to the quality of recording, than the quality of music. Read what he says. He talks about how even his most recent performance(s) sounded better in the studio than they do now on CD (although the new album is out on vinyl shortly).
All I take from Dylan's comments are that he's an analog guy. Take a listen to a mint 2 eye of "The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan" on vinyl released in 1963 and you'll agree with everything he says. Skip the re-releases and compilations, especially on CD and do yourself a favor.
I bought a Dylan double CD recently, which is a compilation of most of his hits through the years. You want to talk about poor recording quality, then look no further. Most of the Dylan recordings are truly deserving of MP3 formatting and free downloading!
Dylan is #1, in music. Like many artists, he can be an idiot outside of his art. I listen to the music, not the musician. Frank Sinatra was great, too, but a total jerk. James Brown, incredible music, total idiot. And the beat goes on. . . you can think of your own . . . Stick to the art, not the artist.
One of my favorite quotes comes from an early Dylan interview. When asked why his music seemed to have lost some of the bitter edge he replied (and I paraphrase) "it's hard to be a bitter millionaire." Musician? Not so great. Folk poet? One of the best. IMHO
He sounds no different than most other people who disparage the generation after theirs. And he sure isn't digging too deep if he says that no good music has been made in the past 20 years. Because there are literally thousands of recordings released during that time which are outstanding in terms of both composition and production.
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