Dylan has been compared to many other agenda-setters, but rarely to the Virgin Mary.
A lovely article I just re-discovered compares Dylan’s powers as a healer to that of Our Lady of Lourdes, the Catholic pilgrimage mecca in southern France.
Cultural commentator Jonathan Meades, in a typically thought-provoking piece, likens the scene at the Lourdes grotto to that of Dylan’s legendary London Earls Court gigs (published as Lourdes: a last resort - Jonathan Meades’s Sense Of Place column, in The Times, Sat 15 Jan 2005):
“It is however another performance that Lourdes brings to mind. Bob Dylan. When this genius cum charlatan… played Earls Court… his gigs were packed out by paraplegics, quadraplegics, the chair-bound and the literally legless. He might cure.”
Typical Meades juxtaposition: he will be known to some UK readers as a refreshing writer/broadcaster. I’ve been singing his praises since his first TV docs – contrarian, challenging, wholly original – were aired nearly 30 years ago.
Gerry Smith
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Friday, September 25, 2009
More on Joan Baez
Thanks to Kurt H:
“Well said re Joan Baez. I used to love her stuff – I remember buying four albums at once in the late ‘60s, unusual for this cheapskate!
“But I did tire of her, and can’t tolerate Joan’s singing any more.
“However, I do get angry when Dylanistas gratuitously insult her. I remember reading one “expert”, who described her as “awful in many ways”, or words to that effect. Can’t remember where I saw it, but such nastiness is quite common. And disgracefully mean-spirited.”
“Well said re Joan Baez. I used to love her stuff – I remember buying four albums at once in the late ‘60s, unusual for this cheapskate!
“But I did tire of her, and can’t tolerate Joan’s singing any more.
“However, I do get angry when Dylanistas gratuitously insult her. I remember reading one “expert”, who described her as “awful in many ways”, or words to that effect. Can’t remember where I saw it, but such nastiness is quite common. And disgracefully mean-spirited.”
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Joan Baez: respect
Joan Baez is treated shabbily by some Dylan aficionados. I don’t particularly like Baez’s voice, her music or her worldview, but I’d shrink from the personal attacks she occasionally attracts. As a successful musician (and an early promoter of Dylan), she deserves respect.
Baez is still performing at the age of 68 – remind you of anyone? She’s touring the UK from 1 October. Though I wouldn’t dream of attending a gig myself, if you are, I hope you (and Ms Baez) enjoy it.
The Daily Telegraph newspaper carried an extensive interview by Mick Brown on 15 Sept; it includes lots of Dylan content - recommended:
www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music
Gerry Smith
Baez is still performing at the age of 68 – remind you of anyone? She’s touring the UK from 1 October. Though I wouldn’t dream of attending a gig myself, if you are, I hope you (and Ms Baez) enjoy it.
The Daily Telegraph newspaper carried an extensive interview by Mick Brown on 15 Sept; it includes lots of Dylan content - recommended:
www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music
Gerry Smith
Tuesday, September 22, 2009
Early Xmas shopping
Thanks to Matthew Zuckerman:
“Gordon Macniven writes:
> ³I'm intrigued, however, by the timing of this unfortunate venture - why bring
> out a CHRISTMAS album before mid-October? Surely a late November/early
> December release would have been more appropriate?
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
“I presume it is connected to the fact that profits from the album will go towards feeding the hungry at Christmas. In order to do so, the money will be needed sooner than the week before Christmas.
As for its "mawkish sentimentality" being "deeply embarrassing": in 1969 and 1970 when Nashville Skyline and Self Portrait were released, much of the indignation was aimed a the very fact that Dylan had chosen to sing country music. I mean, country music!
“To newly serious ears that had forsaken "pop" music a few years earlier for "rock", this seemed the ultimate betrayal. Redneck music. That the world of country music might have anything to teach
these young pioneers was a ridiculous thought.
“Now, of course, we know better than that. We have outlaw country, country rock and alt country, we listen to music from all over the world, Paul McCartney writes classical music and classical musicians perform arrangements of Jimi Hendrix.
“Sentimentality is the last frontier, and it seems to be a tough one. We listen to Jimmie Rodgers' Blue Yodel, In the Jailhouse Now and Waiting for a Train and we applaud, but when he starts to sing The Soldier's Sweetheart or Mother the Queen of My Heart, we look the other way.
“My wife calls Sony the prince of darkness, the Walkman being the devil's tool. It taught generations of music lovers how to listen in private, make their own musical world, and lose the sense of music as a shared experience.
“Why do people chat during a concert? Why do people recoil at music that is designed to be shared across the generations? Why do people treat music as a way to retreat from the world where it used to be a cement to hold it together?
“Christmas in the Heart may not solve this state of affairs, but if it can awaken a few people to the fact that fun, sentiment and the quality of sharing are at least as central to music as being cool, then it will have more than justified its existence.”
“Gordon Macniven writes:
> ³I'm intrigued, however, by the timing of this unfortunate venture - why bring
> out a CHRISTMAS album before mid-October? Surely a late November/early
> December release would have been more appropriate?
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
“I presume it is connected to the fact that profits from the album will go towards feeding the hungry at Christmas. In order to do so, the money will be needed sooner than the week before Christmas.
As for its "mawkish sentimentality" being "deeply embarrassing": in 1969 and 1970 when Nashville Skyline and Self Portrait were released, much of the indignation was aimed a the very fact that Dylan had chosen to sing country music. I mean, country music!
“To newly serious ears that had forsaken "pop" music a few years earlier for "rock", this seemed the ultimate betrayal. Redneck music. That the world of country music might have anything to teach
these young pioneers was a ridiculous thought.
“Now, of course, we know better than that. We have outlaw country, country rock and alt country, we listen to music from all over the world, Paul McCartney writes classical music and classical musicians perform arrangements of Jimi Hendrix.
“Sentimentality is the last frontier, and it seems to be a tough one. We listen to Jimmie Rodgers' Blue Yodel, In the Jailhouse Now and Waiting for a Train and we applaud, but when he starts to sing The Soldier's Sweetheart or Mother the Queen of My Heart, we look the other way.
“My wife calls Sony the prince of darkness, the Walkman being the devil's tool. It taught generations of music lovers how to listen in private, make their own musical world, and lose the sense of music as a shared experience.
“Why do people chat during a concert? Why do people recoil at music that is designed to be shared across the generations? Why do people treat music as a way to retreat from the world where it used to be a cement to hold it together?
“Christmas in the Heart may not solve this state of affairs, but if it can awaken a few people to the fact that fun, sentiment and the quality of sharing are at least as central to music as being cool, then it will have more than justified its existence.”
Monday, September 21, 2009
Shop early for Xmas
Thanks to Gordon Macniven:
“For what it's worth (having listened to the samples) I won't be buying the Christmas album either.
“Its mawkish sentimentality is deeply embarrassing, but I expect it to be a hit on "Sing Something Simple" (English radio series aimed at over-80s early school leavers – Ed).
“I'm intrigued, however, by the timing of this unfortunate venture - why bring out a CHRISTMAS album before mid-October? Surely a late November/early December release would have been more appropriate?
“Very odd.”
And thanks to Humberto:
“Yes, agree with Johanna...
"If anybody wants to cry "sellout!" once again, so be it. Probably
Bob will just smile to himself and know people still care enough to be outraged. And maybe, they will listen with an open mind and judge the performances, not the idea."
“For what it's worth (having listened to the samples) I won't be buying the Christmas album either.
“Its mawkish sentimentality is deeply embarrassing, but I expect it to be a hit on "Sing Something Simple" (English radio series aimed at over-80s early school leavers – Ed).
“I'm intrigued, however, by the timing of this unfortunate venture - why bring out a CHRISTMAS album before mid-October? Surely a late November/early December release would have been more appropriate?
“Very odd.”
And thanks to Humberto:
“Yes, agree with Johanna...
"If anybody wants to cry "sellout!" once again, so be it. Probably
Bob will just smile to himself and know people still care enough to be outraged. And maybe, they will listen with an open mind and judge the performances, not the idea."
Friday, September 18, 2009
Mary Travers RIP: she introduced Baby Boomers to Dylan
Thanks to Pete Mackie:
“Mary Travers' death prompts me to write that for the baby boomer generation, my guess is that 99%-plus of us were introduced to Bob Dylan via Peter Paul and Mary. Grossman's strategy worked and PPM were crucial in that.
“The other 1% had US connections or went to the folk clubs in London in dec 1962 or happened to see Madhouse on Castle Street.
“In the Wind didn't come out till Dec 1963, probably later than that in the UK. I remember sitting on a bus in spring 64 saying 'who is this Dylan'-- listed on the album as author of Blowing in the wind, Don't think twice and Quit your lowdown ways and a schoolmate turning around and saying 'you ought to listen to Freewheelin'.
“So, given Dylan's extraordinary pace of development, the timescales were even more compressed for the fans, just a year or so to absorb the four albums from Freewheelin' to Bringing it all back home.
“No wonder there was a bit of a backlash when he went electric.
“Fast-moving times!”
“Mary Travers' death prompts me to write that for the baby boomer generation, my guess is that 99%-plus of us were introduced to Bob Dylan via Peter Paul and Mary. Grossman's strategy worked and PPM were crucial in that.
“The other 1% had US connections or went to the folk clubs in London in dec 1962 or happened to see Madhouse on Castle Street.
“In the Wind didn't come out till Dec 1963, probably later than that in the UK. I remember sitting on a bus in spring 64 saying 'who is this Dylan'-- listed on the album as author of Blowing in the wind, Don't think twice and Quit your lowdown ways and a schoolmate turning around and saying 'you ought to listen to Freewheelin'.
“So, given Dylan's extraordinary pace of development, the timescales were even more compressed for the fans, just a year or so to absorb the four albums from Freewheelin' to Bringing it all back home.
“No wonder there was a bit of a backlash when he went electric.
“Fast-moving times!”
Thursday, September 17, 2009
More on the Christmas album
Thanks to Kenneth Crouch:
“I’ve just listened to samples. I’ve been a fan since the sixties but this a joke; the only good thing if any are sold is that the money goes to charity.
“If my son buys me it, then it will stay in the wrapper.
“No more like this, Bob, please.”
And thanks to Johanna Moore:
“The ongoing discussion about the new album makes me smile... Bob Dylan has done it again, created something that some of his fans are unwilling to forgive him even before they got the chance to listen.
“Many of "us" of course will buy it anyway, I know I will. It is really only just history repeating. People seeing electric guitars and disagreeing with the idea, without giving it a chance. People shuddering at the idea that "the voice of promise of the 60s counter culture (etc etc)" will be heard singing Christmas songs.
“It has nothing whatsoever to do with whether any of "us" ever bought Christmas albums before. Would it really be the first time for Bob to introduce "us" to something new, that we hadn't considered thinking about before? I guess it will sell okay in this time and day.
“If anybody wants to cry "sellout!" once again, so be it. Probably Bob will just smile to himself and know people still care enough to be outraged. And maybe, they will listen with an open mind and judge the performances, not the idea.”
“I’ve just listened to samples. I’ve been a fan since the sixties but this a joke; the only good thing if any are sold is that the money goes to charity.
“If my son buys me it, then it will stay in the wrapper.
“No more like this, Bob, please.”
And thanks to Johanna Moore:
“The ongoing discussion about the new album makes me smile... Bob Dylan has done it again, created something that some of his fans are unwilling to forgive him even before they got the chance to listen.
“Many of "us" of course will buy it anyway, I know I will. It is really only just history repeating. People seeing electric guitars and disagreeing with the idea, without giving it a chance. People shuddering at the idea that "the voice of promise of the 60s counter culture (etc etc)" will be heard singing Christmas songs.
“It has nothing whatsoever to do with whether any of "us" ever bought Christmas albums before. Would it really be the first time for Bob to introduce "us" to something new, that we hadn't considered thinking about before? I guess it will sell okay in this time and day.
“If anybody wants to cry "sellout!" once again, so be it. Probably Bob will just smile to himself and know people still care enough to be outraged. And maybe, they will listen with an open mind and judge the performances, not the idea.”
Wednesday, September 16, 2009
Christmas album: in defense of the artistically indefensible
Thanks to Matthew Zuckerman:
Gerd Hain writes:
“Can those who defended the idea honestly say that they have ever bought a Xmas album; and even if they have, do they ever listen to it? Xmas albums are abysmal, not worth hearing again after 1 January. Like Chris, I¹ll be avoiding it."
xxx xxx xxx
“I have three Christmas albums and all get played at Christmastime:
* "Xmas From Great Old Friends" features Lightning Hopkins, Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, Fats Waller, Louis Armstrong, Lionel Hampton, Benny Carter and others.
* "Black Christmas" features The Staple Singers, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Mahalia Jackson, Freddy King, Lightning Hopkins, Amos Milburn, Charles Brown and others.
* "Soul Christmas" features King Curtis, Clarence Carter, Carla Thomas, Booker T & the MGs, Solomon Burke, Otis Redding and others.
“No doubt Gerd Hain has heard these albums, otherwise how could he state so emphatically that "Xmas albums are abysmal"? I, however, think they are seasonal fun and a great antidote to the jingly fare that is generally heard around Christmastime.
“I look forward to another antidote next month. I doubt that I will play it as often as Blonde on Blonde, Blood on the Tracks or Modern Times, but what does that matter? I wear gloves less often than trousers. I use balsamic vinegar less often than white wine vinegar.
“For the past few years, Bob has been trying hard to get people to understand that he sees himself a working musician, not as a great artist of and for the times. (That doesn't mean he isn't a great artist, just that it is unproductive and even destructive for him to see himself as such.)
“So he has a radio show at which he is at pains to play music across the board: How Much Is That Doggie in the Window is, to many people, at the very bottom of the musical barrel.
“Bob does not agree. "Here's a record that everyone always talks about when they talk about how dull radio was before rock and roll. Personally, I don't agree with them; I think Patty Page made beautiful records."
“He repeatedly namechecks Bing Crosby and other less-than-hip singers as influences. He mentions in Chronicles how he feels an affinity with Tiny Tim, Rick Nelson and Frank Sinatra Jr.
“Of the five non-original songs he has performed this year, one is by Charles Aznavour, one by Dean Martin, and one, I'm a Yankee Doodle Dandy, by George M Cohan, known as the "man who invented Broadway". (George Harrison's Something and Elvis's Heartbreak Hotel were the other two.)
“Christmas In The Heart may indeed be a dreadful album. If so, it will no doubt receive a flood of reviews saying just that. Then again, it may be a small delight.
“And if it is a surprise delight, will Gerd's having raged that it is
"artistically indefensible, a big mis-judgment by Bob, utter waste of talent" make it harder for him to share the pleasure?
Gerd Hain writes:
“Can those who defended the idea honestly say that they have ever bought a Xmas album; and even if they have, do they ever listen to it? Xmas albums are abysmal, not worth hearing again after 1 January. Like Chris, I¹ll be avoiding it."
xxx xxx xxx
“I have three Christmas albums and all get played at Christmastime:
* "Xmas From Great Old Friends" features Lightning Hopkins, Duke Ellington, Benny Goodman, Louis Armstrong, Ella Fitzgerald, Fats Waller, Louis Armstrong, Lionel Hampton, Benny Carter and others.
* "Black Christmas" features The Staple Singers, Sister Rosetta Tharpe, Mahalia Jackson, Freddy King, Lightning Hopkins, Amos Milburn, Charles Brown and others.
* "Soul Christmas" features King Curtis, Clarence Carter, Carla Thomas, Booker T & the MGs, Solomon Burke, Otis Redding and others.
“No doubt Gerd Hain has heard these albums, otherwise how could he state so emphatically that "Xmas albums are abysmal"? I, however, think they are seasonal fun and a great antidote to the jingly fare that is generally heard around Christmastime.
“I look forward to another antidote next month. I doubt that I will play it as often as Blonde on Blonde, Blood on the Tracks or Modern Times, but what does that matter? I wear gloves less often than trousers. I use balsamic vinegar less often than white wine vinegar.
“For the past few years, Bob has been trying hard to get people to understand that he sees himself a working musician, not as a great artist of and for the times. (That doesn't mean he isn't a great artist, just that it is unproductive and even destructive for him to see himself as such.)
“So he has a radio show at which he is at pains to play music across the board: How Much Is That Doggie in the Window is, to many people, at the very bottom of the musical barrel.
“Bob does not agree. "Here's a record that everyone always talks about when they talk about how dull radio was before rock and roll. Personally, I don't agree with them; I think Patty Page made beautiful records."
“He repeatedly namechecks Bing Crosby and other less-than-hip singers as influences. He mentions in Chronicles how he feels an affinity with Tiny Tim, Rick Nelson and Frank Sinatra Jr.
“Of the five non-original songs he has performed this year, one is by Charles Aznavour, one by Dean Martin, and one, I'm a Yankee Doodle Dandy, by George M Cohan, known as the "man who invented Broadway". (George Harrison's Something and Elvis's Heartbreak Hotel were the other two.)
“Christmas In The Heart may indeed be a dreadful album. If so, it will no doubt receive a flood of reviews saying just that. Then again, it may be a small delight.
“And if it is a surprise delight, will Gerd's having raged that it is
"artistically indefensible, a big mis-judgment by Bob, utter waste of talent" make it harder for him to share the pleasure?
Tuesday, September 15, 2009
Christmas album: indefensible, waste of talent
Thanks to Gerd Hain:
“I was mildly shocked by the balance of responses on Dylan Daily to C Walker’s critique of the idea of a Xmas album by Dylan.
“Can those who defended the idea honestly say that they have ever bought a Xmas album; and even if they have, do they ever listen to it?
“Xmas albums are abysmal, not worth hearing again after 1 January. Like Chris, I’ll be avoiding it.
“I’ve always supported Dylan’s changes of directions – it’s what artists do. I even welcomed the Christian conversion stuff all those years ago. But this release is artistically indefensible – a big mis-judgment by Bob. Utter waste of talent.”
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Thanks to Chris Walker:
“I’m surprised that no Dylan Daily readers have recoiled in horror at the very idea of Dylan releasing an album of Xmas songs.
“Xmas albums are for lame brains. I wouldn’t have one given for free. Whoever recorded it. For whatever charity. Xmas albums are strictly for sentimental bozos.”
“I’ve been an ardent Dylan fan for many years, but I’m afraid this kind of showbiz bullcrap is the final straw – I ain’t gonna sing Dylan’s praises no more: the greatest creative artist of the 20thC has lost it: so long, Bob.”
“I was mildly shocked by the balance of responses on Dylan Daily to C Walker’s critique of the idea of a Xmas album by Dylan.
“Can those who defended the idea honestly say that they have ever bought a Xmas album; and even if they have, do they ever listen to it?
“Xmas albums are abysmal, not worth hearing again after 1 January. Like Chris, I’ll be avoiding it.
“I’ve always supported Dylan’s changes of directions – it’s what artists do. I even welcomed the Christian conversion stuff all those years ago. But this release is artistically indefensible – a big mis-judgment by Bob. Utter waste of talent.”
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Thanks to Chris Walker:
“I’m surprised that no Dylan Daily readers have recoiled in horror at the very idea of Dylan releasing an album of Xmas songs.
“Xmas albums are for lame brains. I wouldn’t have one given for free. Whoever recorded it. For whatever charity. Xmas albums are strictly for sentimental bozos.”
“I’ve been an ardent Dylan fan for many years, but I’m afraid this kind of showbiz bullcrap is the final straw – I ain’t gonna sing Dylan’s praises no more: the greatest creative artist of the 20thC has lost it: so long, Bob.”
Thursday, September 10, 2009
All Along the Watchtower: the US in decline?
“In "All Along the Watchtower," Bob Dylan envisions America's decline and accepts the role of warning people about it… “
So begins Lawrence J Epstein’s pithy analysis in his Dylan Watch blog on The Best American Poetry site. Recommended.
http://thebestamericanpoetry.typepad.com
So begins Lawrence J Epstein’s pithy analysis in his Dylan Watch blog on The Best American Poetry site. Recommended.
http://thebestamericanpoetry.typepad.com
Beatles v Bob
You’d need to be media-averse to have missed today’s launch of the re-masters of The Beatles’ albums. Newspapers, mags, tv and radio, in this part of the world at least, are overflowing with Fab Four hype.
It’s all gone over my head, though: the Beatles were – and are – over-rated.
I loved the first two albums and the early singles: massively refreshing, the Fabs swept away half a decade of appalling pop pap.
Yes, the Beatles were the biggest pop musicians ever, far more popular than everyone else. And yes, their influence was far wider than the pop charts.
But they were less interesting than the Stones; and they weren’t even my fave mid-1960s Scouser popsters – take a bow, Gerry… The Searchers… The Big Three… and several more Merseybeat bands.
To compare the Beatles’ legacy, as many halfwit journalists have done in the current frenzy, to that of Dylan is plain stupid – it’s like comparing Dylan with Madonna or Abba. The Beatles were show biz entertainers. Dylan is the 20thC’s dominant musician.
I haven’t played a Beatles record for over 20 years; there’s little chance of that changing, re-masters or not.
Gerry Smith
It’s all gone over my head, though: the Beatles were – and are – over-rated.
I loved the first two albums and the early singles: massively refreshing, the Fabs swept away half a decade of appalling pop pap.
Yes, the Beatles were the biggest pop musicians ever, far more popular than everyone else. And yes, their influence was far wider than the pop charts.
But they were less interesting than the Stones; and they weren’t even my fave mid-1960s Scouser popsters – take a bow, Gerry… The Searchers… The Big Three… and several more Merseybeat bands.
To compare the Beatles’ legacy, as many halfwit journalists have done in the current frenzy, to that of Dylan is plain stupid – it’s like comparing Dylan with Madonna or Abba. The Beatles were show biz entertainers. Dylan is the 20thC’s dominant musician.
I haven’t played a Beatles record for over 20 years; there’s little chance of that changing, re-masters or not.
Gerry Smith
Tuesday, September 08, 2009
Christmas album: I can’t wait
Thanks to Martin Cowan:
“I laughed like a drain when I read Chris Walker's comments about the upcoming Dylan Christmas album.
“Chris would no doubt have been there with Pete Seeger hacking through the electricity cables at Newport '64 and booing and heckling in '66 and '79-'80!
“Creative artists will always be pushing the boundaries and it's interesting that what Dylan is doing here is perceived as both pushing further into the mainstream ("showbiz bullcrap") and behaving in a boundary pushing way (not afraid of the reaction of his fans).
“Personally, I can't wait for the LP, and I hope that the end result is as good as it could be (the difference between an album like "Good as I Been To You" and an album like "Down in The Groove").
As we know with Dylan, either is possible!
“I laughed like a drain when I read Chris Walker's comments about the upcoming Dylan Christmas album.
“Chris would no doubt have been there with Pete Seeger hacking through the electricity cables at Newport '64 and booing and heckling in '66 and '79-'80!
“Creative artists will always be pushing the boundaries and it's interesting that what Dylan is doing here is perceived as both pushing further into the mainstream ("showbiz bullcrap") and behaving in a boundary pushing way (not afraid of the reaction of his fans).
“Personally, I can't wait for the LP, and I hope that the end result is as good as it could be (the difference between an album like "Good as I Been To You" and an album like "Down in The Groove").
As we know with Dylan, either is possible!
Monday, September 07, 2009
Christmas album
Thanks to Matthew Zuckerman:
Chris Walker writes: 'I've been an ardent Dylan fan for many years, but I'm afraid this kind of showbiz bullcrap is the final straw. I ain't gonna sing Dylan's praises no more: the greatest creative artist of the 20thC has finally left me behind: so long, Bob.'
Amazing... Even the Judas-crying hecklers of the mid-1960s gave the music a listen before they started to boo. Nowadays, it seems we are so strait-jacketed in our thinking that the music itself is a mere signifier for whatever we wish to believe.
Over the years Dylan has enraged various people by:
Playing rock & roll at a high school dance
Singing with a less-than-angelic voice
Insulting the audience at a Tom Paine awards ceremony
Turning away from writing songs with overt political content
Playing rock & roll again
Playing country music
Playing all kinds of pop and schmaltz on Self Portrait
Making a long and hard-to-follow movie
Playing evangelical music
Speaking up for American farmers during a concert to raise money for
starving Africans
Changing the arrangements to his songs so they don't sound like they do on the records
Allowing a Canadian bank to use one of his songs
Advertising ladies underwear
Advertising a gas guzzling Cadillac
Selling a deluxe version of Tell Tale Signs at a ludicrously high price
Using and adapting melodies and lyrics from a wide range of sources
Recording a Christmas album
This list is off the top of my head and far from complete. Did he have good reasons for doing all of these things? No doubt they seemed good enough to him.
Personally, I am not sure that Live Aid was the place to speak up for relatively well off American farmers; I feel the Cadillac ad was in poor taste (I know the company sponsored his radio show, but that doesn't justify it); and charging £100 for the 3CD set of Tell Tale Signs seems inexcusable.
Should any of this affect my appreciation of one of the greatest artists of our age? Well, we all have our limits. If he were arrested as a child molester, for example, I might well find it hard to separate the fact from my enjoyment of his art.
But a Christmas album? I think I can handle that. I have heard Christmas songs recorded by Otis Redding, Aretha Franklin, Al Green, Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, Louis Armstrong and many other great singers, and while those recordings rank low on their artistic achievements, they have not lessened my love or regard for their work.
And I imagine Bob would be delighted to see the bile he has stirred up.
Chris Walker writes: 'I've been an ardent Dylan fan for many years, but I'm afraid this kind of showbiz bullcrap is the final straw. I ain't gonna sing Dylan's praises no more: the greatest creative artist of the 20thC has finally left me behind: so long, Bob.'
Amazing... Even the Judas-crying hecklers of the mid-1960s gave the music a listen before they started to boo. Nowadays, it seems we are so strait-jacketed in our thinking that the music itself is a mere signifier for whatever we wish to believe.
Over the years Dylan has enraged various people by:
Playing rock & roll at a high school dance
Singing with a less-than-angelic voice
Insulting the audience at a Tom Paine awards ceremony
Turning away from writing songs with overt political content
Playing rock & roll again
Playing country music
Playing all kinds of pop and schmaltz on Self Portrait
Making a long and hard-to-follow movie
Playing evangelical music
Speaking up for American farmers during a concert to raise money for
starving Africans
Changing the arrangements to his songs so they don't sound like they do on the records
Allowing a Canadian bank to use one of his songs
Advertising ladies underwear
Advertising a gas guzzling Cadillac
Selling a deluxe version of Tell Tale Signs at a ludicrously high price
Using and adapting melodies and lyrics from a wide range of sources
Recording a Christmas album
This list is off the top of my head and far from complete. Did he have good reasons for doing all of these things? No doubt they seemed good enough to him.
Personally, I am not sure that Live Aid was the place to speak up for relatively well off American farmers; I feel the Cadillac ad was in poor taste (I know the company sponsored his radio show, but that doesn't justify it); and charging £100 for the 3CD set of Tell Tale Signs seems inexcusable.
Should any of this affect my appreciation of one of the greatest artists of our age? Well, we all have our limits. If he were arrested as a child molester, for example, I might well find it hard to separate the fact from my enjoyment of his art.
But a Christmas album? I think I can handle that. I have heard Christmas songs recorded by Otis Redding, Aretha Franklin, Al Green, Elvis Presley, Frank Sinatra, Louis Armstrong and many other great singers, and while those recordings rank low on their artistic achievements, they have not lessened my love or regard for their work.
And I imagine Bob would be delighted to see the bile he has stirred up.
Thursday, September 03, 2009
More on: The Christmas album: so long, Bob
Thanks to Jonathan Greenwood:
“While I respect Chris’s right to junk Dylan, I welcome the idea of the Christmas album.
“To me, it’s yet another example of Dylan’s espousal of diverse musical styles – surely his trademark across the years.
“And it shows Dylan moving even further into the mainstream. He clearly craves the mass popular acceptance which has been steadily growing since TOOM. I think it’s churlish for aficionados to wish to keep him boxed into a Counter Culture niche to be enjoyed only by a backward-looking small cult.
“I’ll be buying the CD; if I don’t like it I’ll simply file it (like a few other Dylan albums over the years) and give praise that the man is still developing, and always in bewilderingly unpredictable ways.”
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Thanks to Chris Walker:
“I’m surprised that no Dylan Daily readers have recoiled in horror at the very idea of Dylan releasing an album of Xmas songs.
“Xmas albums are for lame brains. I wouldn’t have one given for free. Whoever recorded it. For whatever charity. Xmas albums are strictly for sentimental bozos.”
“I’ve been an ardent Dylan fan for many years, but I’m afraid this kind of showbiz bullcrap is the final straw – I ain’t gonna sing Dylan’s praises no more: the greatest creative artist of the 20thC has lost it: so long, Bob.”
“While I respect Chris’s right to junk Dylan, I welcome the idea of the Christmas album.
“To me, it’s yet another example of Dylan’s espousal of diverse musical styles – surely his trademark across the years.
“And it shows Dylan moving even further into the mainstream. He clearly craves the mass popular acceptance which has been steadily growing since TOOM. I think it’s churlish for aficionados to wish to keep him boxed into a Counter Culture niche to be enjoyed only by a backward-looking small cult.
“I’ll be buying the CD; if I don’t like it I’ll simply file it (like a few other Dylan albums over the years) and give praise that the man is still developing, and always in bewilderingly unpredictable ways.”
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Thanks to Chris Walker:
“I’m surprised that no Dylan Daily readers have recoiled in horror at the very idea of Dylan releasing an album of Xmas songs.
“Xmas albums are for lame brains. I wouldn’t have one given for free. Whoever recorded it. For whatever charity. Xmas albums are strictly for sentimental bozos.”
“I’ve been an ardent Dylan fan for many years, but I’m afraid this kind of showbiz bullcrap is the final straw – I ain’t gonna sing Dylan’s praises no more: the greatest creative artist of the 20thC has lost it: so long, Bob.”
Wednesday, September 02, 2009
Dylan's literary context
I’ve been catching up with the writers documenting instances of Dylan writing which is similar to that of earlier work by other writers.
Readers will be familiar with the well-documented similarities of phrases on Modern Times with Henry Timrod’s writing, and of “Love And Theft" fragments with Japanese writer Junichi Saga’s Confessions of a Yakuza, but many might not have seen the work of zealous scholars scrutinising Chronicles.
Writers whose prose, it’s alleged, find echoes in Chronicles are: Marcel Proust, Mark Twain, Mezz Mezzrow, Jack London, RL Stevenson, Henry Rollins, Hemingway and Pynchon.
Dylan fans and literati alike differ in their reactions to these textual similarities. My own instinct is that they add a new dimension to Dylan’s rich art, placing it ever more firmly in high culture, but that I need to delve far more deeply.
Fascinating stuff…
The literary detectives studying these textual similarities include Edward Cook and Scott Warmuth, mainly on Cook’s blog, Ralph the Sacred River (especially September 2006 and August 2009):
http://ralphriver.blogspot.com
Gerry Smith
Readers will be familiar with the well-documented similarities of phrases on Modern Times with Henry Timrod’s writing, and of “Love And Theft" fragments with Japanese writer Junichi Saga’s Confessions of a Yakuza, but many might not have seen the work of zealous scholars scrutinising Chronicles.
Writers whose prose, it’s alleged, find echoes in Chronicles are: Marcel Proust, Mark Twain, Mezz Mezzrow, Jack London, RL Stevenson, Henry Rollins, Hemingway and Pynchon.
Dylan fans and literati alike differ in their reactions to these textual similarities. My own instinct is that they add a new dimension to Dylan’s rich art, placing it ever more firmly in high culture, but that I need to delve far more deeply.
Fascinating stuff…
The literary detectives studying these textual similarities include Edward Cook and Scott Warmuth, mainly on Cook’s blog, Ralph the Sacred River (especially September 2006 and August 2009):
http://ralphriver.blogspot.com
Gerry Smith
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