Bob Dylan huh?

[Broughden]

So I'm live posting from the mellencamp, and dylan concert my wife wanted me to bring her to. Mellencamp was awesome! But Dylan?  What the fuck is this idiot mumbling about? He sounds like a homeless guy mumbling to himself after a pack of cigarettes, and a bottle of Thunderbird. I mean not only does he mumble everything but his actual singing voice is nonexistant its rough talking to music.

What the fuck did anyone ever see in this guy?

Oh and it shows how engineered his voice is in the cadillac commercial where he is at least in key. That was mumbling but at least it was melodic mumbling. I can shoot video for those wwho doubt how really bad this is right now.

[Nebu]

What the fuck did anyone ever see in this guy?

Dylan is loved for his song writing.  Not his voice.  See also Neil Young. 

[schild]

Dylan is loved for his song writing.

Yea, I still can't figure that out either.

As for the concert, I can't imagine the cost of seeing either of those artists, let alone together. No way that can be worth the ticket price.

[Oban]

No way that can be worth the ticket price.

Cheaper than 50% of assets.

concert my wife wanted me to bring her to

I kind of like Dylan, but I do not think anyone can understand what he is singing outside of the studio.

[Broughden]

$69 per seat. Me, her and 3 in-laws. At least I enjoyed Mellencamp.

Oh and he is appreciated for his lyrics? Awesome then have him write and sell songs but what dumbass gave him a mic and said, "sing!"

Trying to get them to let us leave early. Asked them if we came to the concert on talk like a pirate day?

[schild]

what dumbass gave him a mic and said, "sing!"

....

You do know what music came out of the 60s right? That decade was filled with great songwriters that couldn't sing and great singers singing shitty songs.

And lots of weed, shrooms, and acid.

[hal]

You don't want to do Dylan live. But he is the high poet of my generation. You don't need a weatherman to know which way the wind blows. Or something.

[stray]

Without Dylan, pop music would be sort of juvenile, and mostly love songs. Not to say he was the first or only person writing lyrics that held political and "serious" literary value... He came from a folk and blues scene that was already doing that. But his influence on rock lyrics is huge.

So huge that people who are giants in their own right were influenced by Dylan. John Lennon didn't depart from simple love songs until he heard Dylan, for instance - and in turn, Lennon influenced a megaton of people. Jimi Hendrix was a huge fan, but just a guitar player in r&b bands - until he became a songwriter himself.. and he credited Dylan a lot for that. And covered him a lot too. I mean, come the fuck on.. "All Along the Watchtower" anyone? That might be Jimi's most popular song, and yet, it's a Dylan song.

Anyways, even if you don't like him, instead of asking what anyone saw in him, just acknowledge that they did see something. And there's bound to be musicians that you favor that saw it. So in the end, you yourself are poorer without Bob Dylan.  

After the 60's, Dylan was pretty instrumental in country and rock convergence. And even people who were around before him were influenced by him, like Johnny Cash. After the mid 70's, he had different periods, some good, some bad, but even so, just that 60-70 period is huge.

[hal]

This is petty. I do not like being petty.

John Lennon never did silly love songs. Paul Mcarthy did and still does and owns up to it. John Lennon sings and wrights poetry. Why am I replying to Lennon and Dylan threads on the same night? You can not see my generation as it happened? Please listen to "a working class hero" 15 times then come back and we will talk. Just us girls.

[schild]

Without Dylan, pop music would be sort of juvenile, and mostly love songs.

Saying things like this makes me want to punch you.

John Lennon never did silly love songs. Paul Mcarthy did and still does and owns up to it. John Lennon sings and wrights poetry. Why am I replying to Lennon and Dylan threads on the same night? You can not see my generation as it happened? Please listen to "a working class hero" 15 times then come back and we will talk. Just us girls.

That paragraph is practically gibberish.

[stray]

Sorry, it's 10:30. I think you've already filled your "I want to punch you" quota for the day.

[edit] Working Class Hero came years after the Beatles, well into a period where Lennon was very influenced Dylan. I'm not sure why you mention it.

I'm talking about the period of the Beatles from the first album to Beatles for Sale - these were love songs. In between this period, Lennon fight got turned on to Dylan and got to meet him. All of the sudden the next album was "Help!" Heh.. The title track itself was different from what they'd been doing... But even the love songs took on a different tone, like "You've Got to Hide Your Love Away".

[schild]

Sorry, it's 10:30. I think you've already filled your "I want to punch you" quota for the day.

Way to sidestep that fact that what you said was flabbergastingly silly.

[stray]

What am I supposedly sidestepping? You just disagreed and said you wanted to punch me. I'm not sure what the discussion is. I read it. I laughed. Not sure what else to do.

[MahrinSkel]

Quite possibly the most pathetic (as in pathos, not pitiful) thing I ever saw was Dylan on 60 Minutes, explaining how his talent as a songwriter was inextricably mixed with his drug use, and the drugs nearly killed him.  "How could anyone ever sit down to write something like that, sober?"  You could see his regret at having become a pale shadow of his former self, and his resolve to follow through with it.

Dylan didn't just change "juvenile music", he changed music, period.  I'm not particularly into music, and even I can see we live in a better world thanks to him.

--Dave

[schild]

Of course he did, but implying that pop music would've continued being juvenile had he not existed is just insane. Someone else would've filled it in and the Stones, Aerosmith (this was a terrible example), David Bowie and Elton John would've still existed. Not to mention Springsteen, The Grateful Dead, and countless others. Sure, some of their stuff was inspired by him post 65, but nonetheless, they were already around.

[stray]

Of course someone else would have done it. I was going to write something like that.. I should have. Basically, it just happened to be Dylan.

Quite possibly the most pathetic (as in pathos, not pitiful) thing I ever saw was Dylan on 60 Minutes, explaining how his talent as a songwriter was inextricably mixed with his drug use, and the drugs nearly killed him.  "How could anyone ever sit down to write something like that, sober?"  You could see his regret at having become a pale shadow of his former self, and his resolve to follow through with it.

Dylan didn't just change "juvenile music", he changed music, period.  I'm not particularly into music, and even I can see we live in a better world thanks to him.

--Dave

Dylan is... a very inconsistent guy though.. Which also makes him interesting to me when he says stuff like that. I think he's just moving forward and talks shit about his past a lot maybe. He goes through different periods. He became folk music's hero in the beginning, and then he went electric and pissed them off - both with the direction of music and his disdain in interviews for them in crowning him their messiah... and then after that, he was dismissive of a lot of rock.... and then even after that, he became a born again Christian in the late 70's and dismissed his previous music even further. Lennon (since we're speaking about him) parodied him in some home recordings here... he seemed pissed. Then all of the sudden, Dylan pissed off the Christian community by hanging around Rabbis and getting in touch with his Jewish roots.. and so on and so forth.

[Nebu]

To appreciate Dylan and his contemporaries better, you have to have a good understanding of how the music industry operated before them.   Writing and singing songs with moral overtones and political themes was a bold thing to do in the early to mid 60's.  Dylan was a pioneer (among many).  

[Broughden]

what dumbass gave him a mic and said, "sing!"

....

You do know what music came out of the 60s right? That decade was filled with great songwriters that couldn't sing and great singers singing shitty songs.

And lots of weed, shrooms, and acid.

Very true. The banana, chocolate and peanut butter pie (for the birthday cake) at home made it all worth while in the end.
We have to be thankful for pie.

To appreciate Dylan and his contemporaries better, you have to have a good understanding of how the music industry operated before them.   Writing and singing songs with moral overtones and political themes was a bold thing to do in the early to mid 60's.  Dylan was a pioneer (among many).   

Awesome. He could be the living messiah of everything that is good in music. That does not change the fact he sucks ass now. Major giant hemorrhoid covered ass. He sounds worse than the guy with no voicebox signing the in the Truth television commercials about the dangers of cigarettes.
Even my 60 year old father-in-law who was a hippie in the 60's said, "Wow he butchered that."

[Rendakor]

When did pop music stop being mostly juvenile love songs?

[stray]

Umm, to answer seriously (sorry!).. 1965 had some angry and/or introspective hits. Satisfaction, My Generation, California Dreamin, Eve of Destruction, Don't Let Me Be Misunderstood, I Fought the Law, Turn Turn Turn, It's Been a Long Time Comin, and Like a Rolling Stone. To name a few.

Putting it all in perspective, Dylan is only a small part of that. I'm sure Kennedy and Civil Rights.. and just generational differences.. pissed everyone off. Yet, oddly enough, the top hit of 1966 was the Ballad of the Green Berets.

[kaid]

So I'm live posting from the mellencamp, and dylan concert my wife wanted me to bring her to. Mellencamp was awesome! But Dylan?  What the fuck is this idiot mumbling about? He sounds like a homeless guy mumbling to himself after a pack of cigarettes, and a bottle of Thunderbird. I mean not only does he mumble everything but his actual singing voice is nonexistant its rough talking to music.

What the fuck did anyone ever see in this guy?

Oh and it shows how engineered his voice is in the cadillac commercial where he is at least in key. That was mumbling but at least it was melodic mumbling. I can shoot video for those wwho doubt how really bad this is right now.

Unfortunately bob dylan always sounded like a mumbling homeless guy I love his music especially if somebody else is singing it.  He is a great songwriter but his singing ability leaves a LOT to be desired.

[Sky]

Dylan is amazingly over-rated. He wrote a few good tunes, and other people played them much better. If he had stuck to songwriting, I'd have more respect for the guy.

I like Mellencamp alot, but he's boring in concert for me. We saw the Allmans "open" for Tom Petty a couple years ago, Tom is the same kind of artist. I like a marriage of songs and music, Tom and Jphn are "songs" guys. You'll hear the hits, and a few interesting deep catalog choices, but nothing you can't get from a cd player. You go see someone like Widespread Panic (opening for the Allmans this year), and you get music but not much in the way of songs, turns into boring jams (though elevated while Jimmy sits in with them). A band like the Allmans, you get great songs and incredible musicianship with everything being malleable, the live versions often being far superior to the recorded versions. I like any band that puts musicianship to the fore while still playing good songs to showcase it.

However, the Petty show was iconic in the form of the people who sat in front of us. Through the Allmans set she read a newspaper, then Petty gets on and she only gets rocking to the big hits, and goes nuts on cue when Petty raises his hand (opposed to the ABB fans who cheer when someone plays a particularly tasty solo). I bet she only watches comedies with a laugh track.

To appreciate Dylan and his contemporaries better, you have to have a good understanding of how the music industry operated before them.   Writing and singing songs with moral overtones and political themes was a bold thing to do in the early to mid 60's.  Dylan was a pioneer (among many).   

I'd use Pete Seeger as a much better and far less douchey example.

$69 to a double headline bill isn't too bad.

[IainC]

Unfortunately bob dylan always sounded like a mumbling homeless guy I love his music especially if somebody else is singing it.  He is a great songwriter but his singing ability leaves a LOT to be desired.

What Bob Dylan is good at:

Writing songs >>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Playing the guitar>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>Singing>Playing the harmonica.

[Sky]

Man, I forgot about the harmonica. Folk singer need to be banned from harmonica use.

Little Walter wept.

[WayAbvPar]

Dylan is amazingly over-rated.

This.

[Nebu]

I happen to like Dylan.  A lot.  I also know, having seen him live a few times, that he's a very inconsistent live act.  I also like Neil Young.  A lot. 

Then again, I hate coffee and prefer vanilla ice cream.  Different strokes and all that. 

[NiX]

I happen to like Dylan.  A lot.  I also know, having seen him live a few times, that he's a very inconsistent live act.  I also like Neil Young.  A lot. 

Then again, I hate coffee and prefer vanilla ice cream.  Different strokes and all that. 

You're so bland.

[Yegolev]

I still like Bowie better.

[Nebu]

I still like Bowie better.

That's like saying you like lobster better than asparagus.  They are completely different types of music. 

[MrHat]

I still like Bowie better.

That's like saying you like lobster better than asparagus.  They are completely different types of music. 

Bowie is the lobster of the music world.

[Sky]

Different strokes and all that. 

Well, of course. Is Dylan really doing anything interesting these days? I saw Young (who I enjoy) on that thing with Emmylou (mmm) and he had a nice new tune that almost made me weep, about the death of the hippy dream. I like some early Bowie, but there's another squandered talent imo.

Whereas you can go see the Allman Brothers and see a show that'll be better than it was in 1970, and it was pretty damned good then. Same with Buddy Guy, he fucking tears it up and his latest album is one of his best...at 73. Dickie Betts is also inconsistent, but he's been great the three times we've seen him. Again, diff'rent strokes, I prefer great musicianship combines with great songs, lacking either gets boring for me.

[stray]

What did Bowie do so badly that makes him seem like he squandered his talent? His recent albums, as well as stuff from the 90's isn't repugnant or anything. Some of it is pretty good. Some of the 80's were bad, but that's the case for a lot of people. Besides, nobody can maintain a level of excellence like Bowie had in the 70's.. everyone has dry periods, but that isn't the same as squandering.

Dylan's harmonica.. well, I don't think it's bad either.. He wasn't trying to be a kickass harp player, just accompanying himself. And by necessity, he couldn't muffle or bend notes, since his hands were tied up. So the only different about him is that he just has a plain blowing sound.

[Oz]

And by necessity, he couldn't muffle or bend notes, since his hands were tied up

um...actually you don't use your hands to bend notes...its a mouth thing.  And yeah, as a harmonica player Dylan can't play...it hurts.  hell, if you listen to him in recordings its a rare feat if he can even replicate a riff.  some would say that's artistic, but I say he's just a bad inconsistent player.

[HaemishM]

What did Bowie do so badly that makes him seem like he squandered his talent? His recent albums, as well as stuff from the 90's isn't repugnant or anything. Some of it is pretty good. Some of the 80's were bad, but that's the case for a lot of people. Besides, nobody can maintain a level of excellence like Bowie had in the 70's.. everyone has dry periods, but that isn't the same as squandering.

Yeah, this. Even his bad '80's stuff was some catchy pop music. He's still producing good music.

[Broughden]

Same with Buddy Guy, he fucking tears it up and his latest album is one of his best...at 73.

Saw Buddy Guy two months or so back with BB King. He was awesome.