Why Bob Dylan.

[padi56]

Maybe someone can help me out here, it is widely accepted that Bob is one of the founders of modern pop music. Creating many different styles like country rock and folk rock, as well as destroying the notion that a performer had to have a good voice (yeah cheers for that) and creating more introspective lyrical styles. I know all this. I realise his importance. But I still cannot bring myself to like him.

I cannot understand why people hold Bob Dylan and his music in such high regard. And it’s not for want of trying. I have bought and downloaded most of his ‘classic’ albums and I have sat and forced myself to listen, over and over again to his tuneless droning voice, permeated with the ever present grating mouth organ. And I feel precisely nothing, not even a gentle stirring. In fact the only thing I feel is an almost irresistible urge to chuck my Hi-fi out of the window, to escape that awful blinking mouth organ, I really hate that mouth organ. And his voice, barrier breaking it may be, but that does not distract form the fact that it is absolutely terrible. A horrible rough sounding drawl, which he uses to great effect, singing every single line and verse in exactly the same way,

I have tried to put his music into the context of the times, figuring that people must like him because of what his lyrics related to during the turbulence of the sixties, but I can’t decipher them. After 30 seconds of concentration it becomes an exercise in extreme masochism, but without the sexual pleasure. I have tried comparing him with his contemporaries, and he comes out worse. I have tried listening to his pre-motorbike accident albums, where his voice is supposed to be better, it’s not. I have tried listening to his later albums, they are awful. In fact, I have come to realise that the only Dylan songs that I like, are the ones that have been covered and sung, by other artists.

So it was with great excitement last night that I sat down to watch a documentary on the man himself, hoping to finally get some enlightenment into the why and wherefores surrounding this living legend. After half an hour I had almost lost the will to live, it was so depressingly boring. Even some of the interviewees seemed bemused by Dylan’s mass appeal. And I found a tuneless,duet with some sixties so called artist that was at least a semi-tone different from each other. Worse than a dawn chorus of Tom cats after a night on the tiles

I have finally come to the conclusion that his popularity is a case of the emperor’s new clothes, and a generous portion of nostalgia. I mean, nobody could seriously enjoy listening to the awful cat-wailing of this fuzzy haired chancer could they?

Are there any Bob fan’s out there. If so can one please explain to me how, or why this 'musician' has become a living legend? Because I’m blowed if I know,perhaps the answer my friends is blowing in the wind,just blowing in
the wind. Well we in the UK spawned our own Dylan in the form of Donovan, now IMO a much better all round artist.

[Andad]

So I take it you don’t like him Peter.

ps. For clarity.

‘We in the UK spawned our own Dylan’ should read ‘The Scots spawned their own Dylan born in Glasgow’.

[brandrea]

I think it’s because he is probably the most or one of the most prolific song writers of all time. Maybe Paul McCartney of John Lennon come close.

Dylan’s music was poetry and yes often political. His music told stories, and I think that resonates with a wide swath of music lovers.

[Dan Pierce]

I've always considered Bob Dylan an acquired taste. The songs I love, I really love [Like a Rolling Stone, Tangled up in Blue, Hurricane, Positively 4th Street]. But much of his library is lost on me. Which is cool, I don't need to like or understand all of it.
dP

[Maleg]

You are not wrong Peter. While the poetry is amongst the best in pop music, I find his delivery very annoying.

I saw him live in his prime and wondered why I paid a ticket to listen to that. I wouldn’t have gone for free had I known it would leave me with the sensation that someone had grated their nails across a chalk board for two hours.

[padi56]

Originally Posted by Andad

So I take it you don’t like him Peter.

ps. For clarity.

‘We in the UK spawned our own Dylan’ should read ‘The Scots spawned their own Dylan born in Glasgow’.

Well even Scotland is still part of the United Kingdom Eddie,and how did you come up with the assumption I don't like him.

[mongrelnomoad]

IMO Dylan's greatest albums are not the ones that have permeated the zeitgeist. His catalogue is so epic, there's really something in there for everyone. I can't listen to his early stuff either because they've almost become parodies of themselves, but give the below a try, because they're just incredible and may make you understand why he's so revered.

Blood On the Tracks - the story of Dylan's divorce, and his first ever rock album. It's lyrical and passionate and pained, and one of the most perfect records ever made. (An interesting aside - I also own the test pressing of the album which was changed at the last minute; it's folk!)

Slow Train Coming - Dylan does wierd Jesus shit. And it's amazing. Angry, reaching, soul-searching.

Modern Times - Dylan discovers country, and comes to terms with ageing (he was in his sixties when it was released). His voice is gravelly, he's no longer defining the world but trying to understand it. Just amazing.

Load up Spotify and give them a try. If you still don't like him, well hey... the world would be boring if all loved the same thing.

[Speedbird-1]

I too would suggest, it's a case of, 'the kings new clothes', with a many big names in the music industry.

Being referred to as 'The Boss', stirred my porridge in the wrong direction.
Springsteen, never appealed to me, unless of course it was Jay, in the 80's, on a Harley dirt bike.

Don't get me started on U2... and as for calling y'self, 'the Edge', and that hat...well.....

[brandrea]

Originally Posted by Speedbird-1

I too would suggest, it's a case of, 'the kings new clothes', with a many big names in the music industry.

Being referred to as 'The Boss', stirred my porridge in the wrong direction...

Don’t get me started on the whole “Boss” thing …

Loved him before he became that.

[Krash]

I’m more of a music enthusiast than most. I never found Bob Dylan appealing. I grew up in the 70s. I listened to Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, and Van Halen (later in the decade). Obviously those bands are a completely different genre than Dylan. So it’s not surprising I didn’t like him back then.

But later in life, my musical tastes greatly expanded. I listen to just about every genre now, including easy listening rock, country. classical music, metal, jazz and even Taylor Swift. And I still never found Dylan appealing.


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[White Collar Boy]

I love Bob Dylan’s voice and can’t stand Donovan. I guess my ears are painted on. :)

[BraveBold]

Music permeates nearly all aspects of my life… but my opinion remains just that, an opinion.

Dylan is overrated. Bruce Springsteen is overrated. That said, both have some songs that resonate with me. So that’s something.

In the case of Dylan, it was how others interpreted his songs that made them work. Hendrix in particular.

But Dylan is not in my top 50 or even top 100 favorite songwriters. But that doesn’t matter much, for such a personal thing.

[Blansky]

This is a rather funny thread. I have a few Dylan songs on our cars playlist and my wife hates them. Especially when that damn harmonica comes out.

His appeal really started in the coffee house days of the musical poet (beat generation/hippie) and was such a revelation to the other coffee house singers because he could write WAY better lyrics than they could.

His later stuff doesn't really appeal to me much but there are a lot of songs out that Dylan wrote and other people 'covered".

It's funny the generational thing to where someone's Prince experience, or Eagles, or U2 etc etc was life changing and I can't really stand them and wonder why anyone would listen to them.... and I have pretty eclectic tastes in music.

So much of music is tied into the times, and into when you hit puberty, as to why you love certain artists.

[JasoninDenver]

Originally Posted by White Collar Boy

I love Bob Dylan’s voice and can’t stand Donovan. I guess my ears are painted on. :)

Funny but I once had told a friend that the only Dylan song I liked was “Catch the Wind”. Embarrassing that.

[Krash]

Originally Posted by Blansky

This is a rather funny thread. I have a few Dylan songs on our cars playlist and my wife hates them. Especially when that damn harmonica comes out.

My wife does that to me when Miles Davis comes on. As soon as he gets going on the trumpet, I have to fast-forward to the next song. lol

It's a shame because Kind of Blue is probably one of the best albums ever recorded, and I can't enjoy it when she is around.

It's funny because I could put on Lamb of God, Korn, Metallica, and she won't say a word. But as soon as she starts hearing Miles Davis, she can't deal with that.

[brandrea]

Originally Posted by Krash

My wife does that to me when Miles Davis comes on. As soon as he gets going on the trumpet, I have to fast-forward to the next song. lol

It's a shame because Kind of Blue is probably one of the best albums ever recorded, and I can't enjoy it when she is around.

It's funny because I could put on Lamb of God, Korn, Metallica, and she won't say a word. But as soon as she starts hearing Miles Davis, she can't deal with that.

This could almost be another thread

My wife loves the Red Hot Chili Peppers …. Needless to say their sound drives me absolutely bonkers

[HHIslander]

I’ve been asking this same question all my life. IMHO, he’s the most overrated artist in music and just about the most overrated person in anything ever.

I’ve asked “why?” of many that I know to be his huge fans and the most common answer is that his lyrics/poetry have very strong meaning to them and they consider him to be an icon of a movement or a period of time that they strongly identify with. Either you “get him” or you don’t. I don’t, not at all.

[AzPaul]

There are two Dylans ~ the songwriter and the performer.
I agree with much of what you say about the performer but I'm surprised you (or anyone, for that matter) are not impressed by his ability to pen lyrics.

Another one like that is Kris Kristofferson. To my ears he sings like an old hobo but man, can he write.

[austinp]

lol. Agree with most here. That voice is tough to take. I do love a bunch of Dylan songs sung by other artists though. Susan Tedeschi covers a couple. “Don’t Think Twice…” is a favorite of mine.


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[padi56]

Agree he could write some great songs,but IMHO that's where it ends.

[kieselguhr]

He’s what I call a troubadour. Not really a singer. I only like one of his songs. The popular one. The rest are difficult to listen to

[Dr. Robert]

I like Bob’s music, not all of it tough.
I do love the only Bob Dylan album I own very much…….it is Highway 61 Revisited


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[RichM]

I have to agree with Dan on this one. He’s an acquired taste.

I was always amazed at how good other groups/bands made his songs sound. For example, All Along the Watchtower, Hendrix. It Ain’t Me Babe, Turtles. Mr. Tambourine Man, Byrds. Even songs like Blowin in The Wind, Peter, Paul and Mary.

Not that I was a fan of his but I see him in August of 1971 when George brought him out for a few songs at The Concert for Bangladesh. It was quite a thrill. He sounded pretty good that afternoon.

[padi56]

Originally Posted by RichM

I have to agree with Dan on this one. He’s an acquired taste.

I was always amazed at how good other groups/bands made his songs sound. For example, All Along the Watchtower, Hendrix. It Ain’t Me Babe, Turtles. Mr. Tambourine Man, Byrds. Even songs like Blowin in The Wind, Peter, Paul and Mary.

Not that I was a fan of his but I see him in August of 1971 when George brought him out for a few songs at The Concert for Bangladesh. It was quite a thrill. He sounded pretty good that afternoon.

Agree all great songs when sung by other artists than Bob himself.

[Maleg]

Originally Posted by Krash

My wife does that to me when Miles Davis comes on. As soon as he gets going on the trumpet, I have to fast-forward to the next song. lol

It's a shame because Kind of Blue is probably one of the best albums ever recorded, and I can't enjoy it when she is around.

It's funny because I could put on Lamb of God, Korn, Metallica, and she won't say a word. But as soon as she starts hearing Miles Davis, she can't deal with that.

Smart woman.

[Langnam]

Well, this thread showed that Bob Dylan is polarizing. PADI’s intro could have been written word for word by my wife. I, on the other hand have been a fan since grade school days. Probably started with under ground radio in Boston in the late 60’s.

Love his voice/twang, his lyrics and of course, the harmonica.

I grew up in the hippy, liberal times and this music appealed to me. Now, I’m an old, conservative dude, who still has a freak flag somewhere in my past.

The pump don’t work, because the Vandals stole the handle!

Great line.


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[GradyPhilpott]

I've never been a fan of Dylan's singing, but I do hold him in very high esteem in the song writing department.

I do have three of his albums that are out-of-character for Dylan and I love listening to them:

"Christmas in the Heart," "Fallen Angles," and "Shadows in the Night."

I'm certain almost no one will agree with my taste.

[Kinnakeet]

Originally Posted by Krash

My wife does that to me when Miles Davis comes on. As soon as he gets going on the trumpet, I have to fast-forward to the next song. lol

It's a shame because Kind of Blue is probably one of the best albums ever recorded, and I can't enjoy it when she is around.

It's funny because I could put on Lamb of God, Korn, Metallica, and she won't say a word. But as soon as she starts hearing Miles Davis, she can't deal with that.

Remind your wife that Miles Davis wore a Breitling Navitimer!

As far as Bob Dylan, must be one of the luckiest humans ever.

[Cru Jones]

This is a decent read: https://www.britannica.com/biography...rican-musician

[Tri-Tip]

I have many of Dylan's albums, and they are in rotation on my iTunes playlists, maybe 100 out of 10,000 songs, so they don't come up often.

There are a few that I really like:
Stuck Inside Of Mobile With The Memphis Blues Again
Visions Of Johanna
I Shall Be Free No. 10 (lyrics are incredibly funny on this one, really shows how the lyrics don't have to rhyme)
Lily, Rosemary And The Jack Of Hearts (my favorite Dylan song)