Perhaps it has been noted and I missed it. Read the words of Johnny Cash about Dylan on the back of the Nashville Skyline LP.
Dylan wins Nobel Prize in Literature
Awesome. Best news I've read in a while.
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Mapman, thanks for that. You've reminded of a little-known Dylan work, "Last Thoughts on Woody Guthrie," which you can read here: http://bobdylan.com/songs/last-thoughts-woody-guthrie/ or you can hear Bob himself read it aloud (which is better) here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q0OdNY8Aybw |
Any one not sure about Dylan or the importance of Johnny Cash should read what Dylan wrote when Cash died. http://www.frankgrizzard.info/public_html/cash.html |
Congrats to Mr. Dylan! I really don't know whether he deserves it any more this year than someone else, but a group of people in Sweden have declared him worthy. Frankly, they know more about modern literature than I do and I suspect they know more about that subject than anyone posting on this thread. |
Sarcasm. Is this a rational response to someone's post? Does sarcasm have on it's own merit, a place on these forums as a rational, effective response to any kind of discourse? Please rate your response to this as: (1) I agree that sarcasm should be a sufficient response to any post made. Having accepted this form of response, I also agree that this form of response stands as the ultimate definition of what my point is and that I can't make or conceive any other form of another reasonable, rational counterpoint. (2) I agree that sarcasm should have no place as a response to any post made. Let the voting begin. |
inna wrote, "Would you recommend a couple of albums, I only heard him once long time ago", & Debily,blayd'. I think the more important question that needs addressing is, why a member has formed a years long, (maybe life long), opinion based on hearing an artist "once". Then requires another member to go into a more detailed explanation of why this member's reasoning for supporting Dylan's work should be relevant? I could not base a formative opinion on any artist based on listening only once. That's just me, I guess. (What does "Debily, blayd'" mean?) Not that your response would be of much importance based on that two word statement, but may help me understand any future posts you make. |
The classic Dylan interview with the dude from Time magazine is timeless... https://youtu.be/mnl5X5MQKTg |
For anyone desiring help in understanding Dylan, or why others like him more than thee, here are some books that may be of interest: The Old, Weird America: The World of Bob Dylan’s Basement Tapes; by Greil Marcus. Includes great info on the hugely influential Basement Tapes and The Band. No Direction Home: The Life and Music of Bob Dylan; by Robert Shelton Bob Dylan: Performing Artist, Vol.1: The Early Years 1960-1973; by Paul Williams. Paul also chronicled the making of the Beach Boys’ Smile album, Brian Wilson's lost masterpiece, as it was transpiring. It was originally published in three installments in Crawdaddy Magazine, and later reprinted in three chapters of his great book Outlaw Blues. Bob Dylan: A Biography; by Anthony Scaduto |
Bob Dylan won the Nobel Prize in Literature. Read his lyrics and his book, Chronicles Volume One and you'll see why. While his music helps put across his poetry (much as Elizabethan stagecraft helped convey Shakespeare's) his musical sensibilities are primitive, sometimes very effectively so. I don't see how this discussion veered off onto Dylan's vocal abilities or guitar skills. There is no Nobel Prize in guitar playing. If there were, Jeff Beck would win that. |
A Facebook friend of a friend of mine yesterday posted an article entitled "How Jimi Hendrix's obsession with Bob Dylan led him to Woodstock". It was from something called "Cuepoint", whatever that is. I was unaware Hendrix was obsessed with Dylan. A different friend's comment on the posting reads "His (Dylan's) singing on Blood On The Tracks is so incredibly great it defies words". One man's incredibly great is another man's trash. |
Inna: There are many sublime lyrics. Too many to list. But to show just one of his many writing talents--- the depth of his ability to inhabit a foreign state of mind and write from that perspective, read the lyrics of "Every Grain of Sand" (google will do), a song written by a Jewish boy who turned Christian for a while (not sure if he still is). Can you imagine any artist who can switch religions, inhabit the new one for a short time and write about it with such grace? |
Speaking of Dylan and Cash. http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x1qaym4_bob-dylan-johnny-cash-girl-from-the-north-country_music |
IMHO, inna has some issue that prevents him from accepting what most others hear when listening to Dylan. That's ok, but there are some things like art/music that transcend explanation. If you don't get it, (as bdp24 said), that's OK. Asking one to explain what (moves) another in any art form is a hard, maybe impossible task. Even then, it is person specific. It's the meaningful, thoughtful way of expressing a song, the grasp of the subject matter and relating it in a song. It is Dylan's voice, that has moved so many throughout decades of our history in a relevant way that I find meaningful even more as I grow older. What moves me will not likely move someone else in the same way. |
Czar, many others around the world as well I am sure, but well, I live in America, so I am certainly not qualified to judge other countries artistic icons, nor who qualifies most for an international award. I can only speak for my guys, and Dylan is one of those. Apparently others overseas feel the same. Frogman, thanks for that. Hope I didn’t mangle my choices too much. :^) My son is doing overseas studies in St. Petersburg Russia this semester. I'm looking forward to asking him what he may have observed about such things from that perspective when he returns. |
If you read the criteria for winning a Nobel Prize, Dylan fits it perfectly. Him putting his words into music is the icing on the cake that makes the totallity of his impact even more obvious. Being a musician brought his wordws to more people than it would otherwise I would say though. Perhaps an unfair advantage, but certainly not against the rules. Maybe other Nobel hopefuls should learn to play a guitar or piano. If you read up on Dylan, nobody will say he is a great musician or a great vocalist. What he is is a great artist with more tools than most, although he has also demonstrated his dedication to what he does by touring almost contantly over the years and continuing to produce music that is appealing. He learned to hire other good musicians and use them in his band to help convey his message, which changes at his whim. The facts speak for themself. He is brilliant, a genius, a machine,totally deserving of any accolade given him. He knows how to make things work when it comes to delivering his message to his audience which only continues to grow as the years pass. He is also the gold standard by which many an aspiring musician has been compared to over the years and that many aspire to be able to equal or exceed. |
To my way of thinking, the hyperbole that is the idea that Dylan is the greatest artist of the 20th century does no more than diminish his very real importance in the art world. Likewise, the true significance of the award should be tempered by the acknowledgment of the inherent politizarion of the nomination process; this, best exemplified by the award of the Peace Price to a president who's achievements at the time of the award were largely only ideas which remain mostly unrealized. Still, congrats, Bob. |
An Audiogon member praises the, say, Audio Research pre-amp he owns, saying it in his opinion is the "best" pre-amp in the world. Do you ask him to convince you that such is the case or to explain why he thinks so, or do you listen for yourself, coming to your own conclusion? Whatta you care what he thinks, it's what you think that matters, right? |
On a more personal note, though I won't listen to Dylan because I can't accept such a low level of musicianship and singing, I think he is quite authentic, kind of quaint and likeable city cowboy summoning memories of American heritage and evoking universal dreams and feelings of protest and discomfort. |
A Facebook friend today posted a video of Marshall Crenshaw doing a killer version of "My Back Pages". It's on a compilation entitled Bleecker Street, and Marshall's take on the Dylan song is imo even better than is The Byrds', if you can believe that. And if I'm not mistaken, Marshall plays every instrument and sings every part. Really, really good. Available for viewing and listening on You Tube I assume. |
I don’t understand people who want others to do the heavy lifting for them. Listen for yourself; if you don’t get it, you don’t get it, no shame in that. Allen Ginsberg did, Sam Shepard did, John Lennon did, as did Bruce Springsteen and countless other leading songwriters and singers. You know who Bob loved that loved him back? Johnny Cash, another guy who couldn’t sing or play guitar "very well". I’d much rather listen to them than lots of "better" singers. To each his own. |
Please, give an example of his "sublime" lyrics, let's discuss it. We are not members of the Nobel Prize Committee, as far as I can guess, and as such cannot judge whether he deserves it or not. What we can judge is that his influence appears to be very strong and broad. We can also judge that he can't bloody sing or play a guitar. In addition, I suspect that the members of that committee are well aware of the existence of many poets and writers who are incomparably better at that. I read that the committee's decisions are often very political but cannot verify it. In any case, who is next - Rolling Stones or Pink Floyd ? |
