Going to Bob Dylan concert tonight - know nothing about him - what do I need to know?

bob is an acquired taste, people generally either love him or hate him. Thumb your nose all you like at his nasally voice or irritating harmonica from early days, but something about his lyrics tickles the funny bone in my brain. I've seen him play live 4 or 5 times, sometimes barely toledarble, sometimes outstanding. Personally, I think he's a genius and his writings contain a fairly complete and balanced philosophy. But I understand a whole lot of people don't "get" him, and I'm OK with that.

Bad Wigins wrote:

Darkness at the break of noon

Shadows even the silver spoon

The handmade blade, the childs balloon

Eclipses both the sun and moon

To understand you know too soon

There is no sense in trying

A fine example of Dylan's pseudopoetic style. Write a bunch of shit that makes no sense, and gullible people will think it's deep. All he's really doing is listing words that rhyme with "noon."

Even John Lennon started doing that crap in the late 60's, though at least his songs were good enough to make up for it. Dylan is just ballad after ballad of moaning, pretentious gibberish.

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There are basically two types of people, right brain and left brain dominated people. People who are visual (artistic types) and those who are verbal (just the facts maam)

Those blessed (or cursed) with imaginations and those who live in a black and white world. You, Bad Wiggins, appear to be the second.

Just because you can't pick up on the disillusionment, shattered dreams and the sense of futility the lyrics evoke you immediately label it shit.

I don't believe in God, but I'm willing to admit that it might just be my definition of God that is wrong.

Hey Bad Wiggins,

An additional comment: You remind me of an old friend of mine who has no appreciation for art. He needs a literal interpretation of everything.

He once said to me, "Why do we need paintings when you can just take a photograph?"

I see a lot of "art" that just looks like crap to me, but if there are others that truly appreciate it, or "get it," I'm the one who has lost.

Just because I think it's crap doesn't mean it is..

Expect the unexpected. Every Dylan gig is different. That's the way it has always been. He might be brilliant or terrible.

old guy 69 wrote:

Hey chilhowee,

Thanks for posting the lyrics to "It's Alright Ma (I'm Only Bleeding"

Anyone who has ever tried to write poetry can appreciate how difficult it really is. Sometimes the simplest lines can be the hardest to come up with.

When you read something someone else has written it looks easy, but start with a blank piece of paper and an idea and see how hard it really is.

Dylan wrote "It's Alright, Ma" when he was 21 or 22 years old. To have that insight at that age, let alone communicate it in a song is mind boggling.

You can get a good sense of Dylan from "A Simple Desultory Philippic".

parsley sage blah blah wrote:

You can get a good sense of Dylan from "A Simple Desultory Philippic".

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So who has had the more impressive career, Dylan or Paul Simon?

Paul Simon had "The Sounds of Silence," "I Am a Rock" and his silly jab at Dylan, but most everything else has a bubble gum qualilty. Kind of like Paul McCartney

old guy 69 wrote:

You remind me of an old friend of mine who has no appreciation for art. He needs a literal interpretation of everything.

There is art, and then there is artsy-fartsy.

As I already explained, a truly great songwriter like Lennon could get away with a bit of artsy-fartsy. A hack like Dylan who makes it his gimmick cannot.

BW

Why do you suppose guys like Lennon, Clapton, Hendix, Stevie Wonder, etc were/are such big fans of Dylan's writing?

I used to think Dylan was a relic of the 60s. A guy with a unique voice and some nostalgic value. 40 now, Dylan is seriously underrated. The guy is not just genuine, he's a treasure. I'm not a real music guy but his stuff is universal. There's magic in his work, particularly when compared to just about anyone else from the last 50 yrs. My two cents.

Bad Wigins wrote:

All that greatest-songwriter stuff is fanboy hero-worship. People overrate the music of famous people all the time, just because they're famous.

What made Dylan famous was playing folk music on electric instruments. That pissed off his folk fans but the sound was popular with mainstream people who bought his big "Like a Rolling Stone" song. It was the sound that made him stand out from the crowd, not the lyrics.

As time passed his music became legendary simply because it happened during the 60's. Ironically, with all the people who think so highly of it, only two or three of his songs are in the main rotation of classic rock radio, and one of them is performed by Hendrix, not Dylan.

Dylan is a notoriously lousy performer, even his fans don't deny that.

I am glad I saw this and read it ... now I am starting to be able to fathom the depths of your ignorance.

"in the main rotation of classic rock radio"... all of that was great, but that takes the cake.

Yep, Bad Wiggins has exposed himself.

"Alone you stand with nobody near

When a trembling distant voice, unclear

Startles your sleeping ears to hear

That somebody thinks

They really found you."

(yes ... you Bad Wiggins, though I don't expect you to understand. After all...Dylan is just artsy-fartsy))

He is a very talented singer - that is the only fact you should know. Just enjoy it. I've seen him once in Vegas where I bought ticket on http://o-vegas.com/

Hi bad wig, sorry for your loss.

Good Dylan stories and texts here.

psychedelic