Angry young man to protesting pensioner? Or is Dylan spot on about new music?
As he released his third album – this one triple – of grand old American lounge-lizard ballads His Royal Bob-ness attacked new bands, saying they are just fake when it comes to the blues.
He was performing on his 6,000 date Never Ending Tour – this time it was a whistle-stop in Sweden which coincided with the belated presentation of his Nobel Literary Prize at a private ceremony in Stockholm.
In something reminiscent of one of his 1960s ‘truth attacks’, Bob, then aged 75, turned his coruscating wit on bands making a living today.
He said: “Traditional rock ‘n’ roll, we’re talking about that. It’s all about rhythm. Johnny Cash said it best ‘Get rhythm. Get rhythm when you get the blues’.
“Very few rock ‘n’ roll bands today play with rhythm. They don’t know what it is. Rock ‘n’ roll is a combination of blues, and it’s a strange thing made up of two parts. A lot of people don’t know this, but the blues, which is an American music, is not what you think it is. It’s a combination of Arabic violins and Strauss waltzes working it out. But it’s true.
“The other half of rock ‘n’ roll has got to be hillbilly. And that’s a derogatory term, but it ought not to be. Fast cars on dirt roads. That’s the kind of combination that makes up rock ‘n’ roll, and it can’t be cooked up in a science laboratory or a studio.
“You have to have the right kind of rhythm to play this kind of music. If you can’t hardly play the blues, how do you put those other two kinds of music in there? You can fake it, but you can’t really do it.”
Bob’s set list at the Waterfront Theatre in the Swedish capital was liberally sprinkled with Tin Pan Alley standards normally associated with Sinatra and Bing rather than the gravelly-voiced folk rock and country singer, including Autumn Leaves and All or Nothing At All.
But the fact that 30s, 40s and 50s music has become a staple of his act in the last couple of years, it hasn’t stopped him from taking a swipe at some of the most respected song writers in history:
“I didn’t really care what Lieber and Stoller thought of my songs. They didn’t like ’em, but Doc Pomus did. That was all right that Lieber and Stoller didn’t like ’em, because I never liked their songs either. “Yakety yak, don’t talk back.” “Charlie Brown is a clown.
“Baby I’m a hog for you.” Novelty songs. They weren’t saying anything serious. Doc’s songs, they were better. ‘This Magic Moment.’ ‘Lonely Avenue.’ ‘Save the Last Dance for Me.’”
“I just released an album of standards, all the songs usually done by Michael Buble, Harry Connick Jr., maybe Brian Wilson’s done a couple, Linda Ronstadt done ’em. But the reviews of their records are different than the reviews of my record.
“In their reviews no one says anything. In my reviews, they’ve got to look under every stone when it comes to me. They’ve got to mention all the songwriters’ names. Well that’s OK with me. After all, they’re great songwriters and these are standards.
“I’ve seen the reviews come in, and they’ll mention all the songwriters in half the review, as if everybody knows them. Nobody’s heard of them, not in this time, anyway. Buddy Kaye, Cy Coleman, Carolyn Leigh, to name a few.”
Bob’s bad-tempered but hilarious rant came hot on the heels of his attack on people who have been saying for decades that the man who has sold more than 100 million records simply can’t sing.
His Royal Bobness of Dylan ranted: “Critics have been giving me a hard time since Day One. Critics say I can’t sing. I croak. Sound like a frog. Why don’t critics say that same thing about Tom Waits? Critics say my voice is shot. That I have no voice.
“What don’t they say those things about Leonard Cohen? Why do I get special treatment? Critics say I can’t carry a tune and I talk my way through a song. Really? I’ve never heard that said about Lou Reed. Why does he get to go scot-free?”
#bobdylan #bob #triplicate #blues
Chris Larkin
What I don’t understand about Rock ‘n’ Roll is how music that is required to lack God or morals is somehow conducive to an imaginary ‘universal’ society and has such a revered place in our country and our world. Sam Phillips was a thief and a shyster. We believe that any muse that represents God or morals is too offensive for public performance and cannot be represented even as an art form on today’s stage.
Karen Kleiman
Chris Larkin That’s Mr Dylan’s advantage when it comes to analyzing music, or anything else, God’s got his back with regular doses of infused knowledge 💖
Andrea Martin
Yesterday at 00:22 ·
Bob said this a while ago – bit controversial?
Modern rock’n’roll is fake, says that ol’ crooner called Bob…
LEIGHGBANKSPRESERVATIONSOCIETY.BLOG
Modern rock’n’roll is fake, says that ol’ crooner called Bob…
Angry young man to protesting pensioner? Or is Dylan spot on about new music? As he released his third album – this one triple – of grand old American lounge-lizard ballads His Royal Bob-ness attacked new bands, saying they are just fake when it comes to the blues. He was performing on his 6,000…
36 comments
Chris Larkin
What I don’t understand about Rock ‘n’ Roll is how music that is required to lack God or morals is somehow conducive to an imaginary ‘universal’ society and has such a revered place in our country and our world. Sam Phillips was a thief and a shyster. We believe that any muse that represents God or morals is too offensive for public performance and cannot be represented even as an art form on today’s stage.
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Karen Kleiman
Chris Larkin That’s Mr Dylan’s advantage when it comes to analyzing music, or anything else, God’s got his back with regular doses of infused knowledge 💖
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Jim Trowbridge
Chris Larkin Respectfully, anyone else having trouble understanding this?
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Carlo Fortunato
Chris Larkin How is it required to lack God or morals? Gospel music in one of its roots. Spirit in the Sky and Presence of the Lord were all over the radio. And morals? 60s music, particularly, was loaded with moral messages.
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Chris Larkin
Carlo Fortunato ?
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Chris Larkin
Love the one you’re with?
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Carlo Fortunato
Chris Larkin That’s one song. “Let’s Stay Together” is about monogamy. “Kicks” is a anti-drugs. So what makes you think it’s “required”? Required means you have to.
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Bill Conlon
Chris Larkin Would it help if Dylan did a couple albums dedicated to Christianity?
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Chris Larkin
Bill Conlon I did a Buddhist one myself: http://www.chrischevalier.bandcamp.com But your statement is funny too.
Memphis Belle, by Chris Chevalier
CHRISCHEVALIER.BANDCAMP.COM
Memphis Belle, by Chris Chevalier
Memphis Belle, by Chris Chevalier
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John Stodder Jr.
Chris Larkin You’ve got a lot on your mind, and maybe you should’ve left it there. You lost me when your proof point about an imaginary universal society was that Sam Phillips was a bad businessman. As if that was the mark of the beast on every musician who played it.
This could make a great video game.
But you don’t know what you’re talking about regarding music. If you’ve got good songs and can play them, it doesn’t matter if they’re about “God or morals” or about raccoons and skunks. If a song speaks to the audience, that’s what makes it a hit.
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Edited
Chris Larkin
John Stodder Jr. yeah I guess.
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Jim Odom
Chris Larkin What I don’t understand, at all, is what you just posted.
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Chris Larkin
Jim Odom I certainly didn’t say he was a bad businessman I said he was a shyster: he ‘shyed’ away from the truth about the forces he was serving, forces with a physical address in the US. He needed a ‘sucker’ in Elvis to succeed, and in the end, we are all suckers here.
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Jack Moores
Chris Larkin The truth being said is “Rock N Roll” was never about “Sex and Drugs” it was about “Freedom of the Soul” and this central “Source” is traced all the way back to the essence of all music. From today’s music, which deals with todays topics i… See more
May be an image of text
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John Leonard
Chris Larkin The reason rock n roll was/is so popular is because it threw off the hypocrisy of moral virtue. Did you believe Pat Boone, I mean really?
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Dennis Alvey
Chris Larkin If you want gospel, go to church. Rock and Roll is for everyone not just your cult of christianity.
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Chris Larkin
Dennis Alvey yea the ‘universal’ culture
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Daniel Collins Sr.
Chris Larkin don’t listen to it -wouldnt want you going to hell now
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Jim Odom
Dylan was/is a brilliant lyricist, but he’s always somewhat obscure and puffed-up when it comes to his pronouncements on pretty much anything. I read his recent book “Philosophy of Modern Song”, and found most of it rather boring and uninspiring