BOB DYLAN Awarded the Nobel Prize

[JerryHofschneider]

--In Literature.

His music, his lyrics, his convoluted metaphors, his wry sense of humor, his native intelligence and his respect for music, especially old folk numbers and guitar-based rock, made his art the background noise of the '60s, '70s, even the '80s. And he is still recording.

He spoke to the concerns of the members of a particular generation, who got through the Vietnam era without getting their name on a Wall, demanded equal rights, who became dopehead Hippies and who saw his ( vinyl) albums as a higher form of artistic expression.
We NEVER thought we'd grow old.

He established a new paradigm, Rock Music as literature, as political criticism-- and along with The Beatles, The Stones, Tom Rush, Phil Ochs and others, he revolutionized how music would be created and interpreted by, and through the artistic work of a talented, educated generation of iconoclastic musicians. The '60s/'70s were a golden age for music, and Dylan was the Gold Standard.

-- Well, Bobby Dylan, we DID Overcome, the times did their changin', we KNOW how it feels. We've traveled Highway 61, we've been on that beach, where hound dogs wail at ships with tattooed sails. I know that I've got a lot of nerve to say that I'm your friend...

--So why 'd it take the Nobel Committee so damn long to recognize him ??
Barack Obama got one in 2008 (?) for Peace and nobody even knew who he was.

Congratulations, Bob.

[Bubba1]

My first thought when I heard the news was the nominating committee must have been singing/yelling "everybody must get stoned" during deliberations. I was never Dylan fan. I thought his singing was awful back then and has not improved decades later) , though his great talents as a songwriter were undeniable, and more importantly, well-timed to touch a 60's generation desperately seeking a new direction. But as far as folksinger/songwriters go, I personally would have nominated the late Harry Chapin for a literature Nobel before Bob Dylan.

[JerryHofschneider]

If only based on "The Taxi", I'd agree that Chapin's contribution was outstanding.
And Dylan's abilities to sing, or to express himself musically were lame and at times bordered on the incomprehensible-- but I always thought that was deliberate. He was an advocate for the spoken word, not the sung word. He was also ironic.
That's probably why, except for some recent Sinatra covers and a few Woody Guthrie tunes he did early on, Dylan's never attempted to sing someone else's songs. He Can't. Just like he can't do his OWN stuff.

His later concerts ( -- I caught him live in St Petersburg a couple years ago, for example ) were exercises in absurdity. He mumbled his way, off key and off beat, through a few of his standards and even though I knew the songs intimately, I got lost in his translation. It was like listening to an old friend who'd had a stroke and couldn't form words anymore. Still, it WAS an old friend, so I did enjoy the concert, even though I kept wondering if they would refund my ticket if I asked them to.

I also caught Harry Chapin's next to last concert before he passed. It was in Fort Myers, Florida. That night, he did 'The Taxi", and since it's always been in my personal Top 10...

[centralcoaster33]

I heard about this award on the radio. I'm happy for him, his fans, friends and family. It's good recognition. He was quite a poet. I had the opportunity to see him play live somewhere near the turn of the century. I had a girlfriend who was a big fan of his music, knew many of his songs by heart. It was a fun show, opened by Asleep at the Wheel (whom I like a lot), and I can't recall if we got an encore. It was lot's of fun as he went through many of his classics and a handful of newer bits. His voice was pretty gravely, but decipherable and he looked kind of frail. I'm glad he's still around to receive this award and recognition.

[Bubba1]

I also caught Harry Chapin's next to last concert before he passed. It was in Fort Myers, Florida. That night, he did 'The Taxi", and since it's always been in my personal Top 10...

wow. I saw Harry Chapin in concert in 1976, Bethlehem, PA. One of my all time favorite concerts. 3 encores, the last two was just him sitting on the edge of the stage with an acoustic guitar. He also did Taxi at that show. I'm sure not many here know of that song or him. He died too young.