So recently i got really really into Bob Dylan, I'm talking about diving head first into his catalogue of work. (As you can see by the title of my blog) Not to say i didn't like him before i always knew he was a God so to speak but i think i was to young to really understand his music. I have been solely listening to Dylan for about 6 months now and have fallen in love with all of his songs. They are so meaningful and powerful and poetic; and the music is complicated yet simple, fast and yet slow. His voice ,at first, is off-putting to most but once you really listen you can see that his voice only adds to his words.
I just finished watching the other side of the mirror: Newport folk festival, which is a DVD that has the three years that Dylan played at the festival ( 1963, '64, and '65). And as i watched the performances i noticed how much the audience loved him, i mean he really did, as they say, have his finger on the pulse of the generation. He was their voice. His songs meant so much to his fans and i assume still do. What I'm trying to get at, and what I do not understand is the lack of knowledge about him by not only younger kids but ones my age as well. I mean they have their hinders and their Rhiannas and their hip and their hop, but thats not music...music these days is so produced that you don't even have to be good to be famous. Now, I don't hate the music that is coming out these days well not all of it. There is still good music and great bands being made. Just nothing at all like what was being made back then. I'm not saying Bob Dylan is the greatest musician of all time and that if you don't like him that you have no taste in music. First off i do not know many people who have listened to Dylan and do not like him. All I want is for kids these to learn the roots of their music. And probably most of the "Rock" bands they love and think are the greatest things ever probably like Dylan and in some way or another are influenced by him. To put it into perspective for those of you who do not really know Bobby; The Beatles, Johnny Cash, Led Zeppelin. All bow down to his excellence....so to speak. So next time you wanna youtube something maybe try some Bob Dylan.
I've never really got into Dylan, though I do love some of his songs. I feel many of the musicians at the time really did have their fingers on the pulse of the generation *cough* Hendrix's National Anthem *cough*. It would be interesting to hear what they ahd to play now.
ReplyDeleteI transferred to Bridgewater from UMASS, so I went to quite a few concerts at the Mullins Center there. My freshman year I went to the Bob Dylan concert because my boyfriend was a fan of his old stuff. We were actually really disappointed in his performance. He barely played any of his classics, and he failed to interact with the crowd. Even though the concert wasn't great I still like his old songs!
ReplyDeleteI rarely watch videos of Dylan concerts from today...I definitely think its not the same experience as it would have been to him back in his heyday. I would give anything to him live back then. And I think most people go to his concert just to say they went to a Dylan concert. I have seen a couple videos though and his voice sounds totally shot.
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