Bob Dylan wins Nobel Prize for Literature - Page 7

HappyMartin · 10-14-2016, 01:53 PM

My all time favorite musician. I even named my son Dylan. Love his voice. His civil rights protest stuff from the 60's meant a great deal to me n the dark days of apartheid.

kennyc · 10-14-2016, 02:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by HappyMartin

My all time favorite musician. I even named my son Dylan. Love his voice. His civil rights protest stuff from the 60's meant a great deal to me n the dark days of apartheid.

ElspethB · 10-14-2016, 07:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by issybird

I'm stunned, after reading through this entire thread, to see there's no love yet for Blood on the Tracks, his absolutely greatest album. I considered it such when it came out, and according to Rolling Stone, the consensus has come around to my opinion.

I'm with you, Issybird. My favorite Dylan album, and it contains one of my all-time favorite songs, "Tangled Up in Blue."

grumbles · 10-14-2016, 08:20 PM

I stand (sit) corrected. For some reason (age?) I thought that I had read that Haruki Murakami had died. All the more reason why he should have received the prize. Thomas Pynchon would not have been inappropriate either.

After I sent my previous reply I though of Patti smith as well. I have her "Patti Smith Complete" on my shelf. But, and I think this was also relevant to the choice of Dylan, Dylan has moved more product than those three together. Dylan's counter-culture creds made his name and reputation. It isn't that I think that Dylan's song writing isn't good, he's written some great songs. It's just that I think that the others have written better songs. For the record, two of my favourite Dylan songs (they vary according to the time of day, phase of the mood etc.) are "Masters of War" and "You've Got to Serve Someone"

barryem · 10-14-2016, 08:32 PM

I'm not sure the Nobel Prize has to do with who writes the best songs or books. Here's a quote from Alfred Nobel according to Wikipedia: "in the field of literature the most outstanding work in an ideal direction".

There's some discussion of the meaning of "ideal direction". It seems that early on that was taken to refer to idealism but in recent decades it's become more liberal so that it can mean either idealistic or having literary merit.

It's worth reading the article about this:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nobel_Prize_in_Literature

Barry

drofgnal · 10-15-2016, 06:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by issybird

I'm stunned, after reading through this entire thread, to see there's no love yet for Blood on the Tracks, his absolutely greatest album. I considered it such when it came out, and according to Rolling Stone, the consensus has come around to my opinion.

That said, I'll always have a weakness for Like a Rolling Stone, the second greatest rock song ever.

Blood on the tracks was my favorite album of Dylan's as well. I think I've had several versions over the years. The actual LP, cassette, CD, a remastered CD, and two different masterings on SACD, one from MOFI. Great stuff.

I'm also a big fan of the work he did with Harrison, Orbison, and Petty on the Traveling Wilbury's

doubleshuffle · 10-15-2016, 06:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by drofgnal

Blood on the tracks was my favorite album of Dylan's as well. I think I've had several versions over the years. The actual LP, cassette, CD, a remastered CD, and two different masterings on SACD, one from MOFI. Great stuff.

The version you really need is the half-speed mastered vinyl, of course. It's the only one that runs at the proper speed.

http://www.expectingrain.com/discuss...hp?f=6&t=42949

http://shrinky.net/2011/music/bob-dy...ry#comment-548

pynch · 10-15-2016, 09:30 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by doubleshuffle

The version you really need is the half-speed mastered vinyl, of course. It's the only one that runs at the proper speed.

It goes without saying that this goes without saying, of course.

kennyc · 10-15-2016, 11:22 AM

"The song "Highway 61 Revisited," the title track from the album released in August 1965 — what do we know from this period in terms of his style?

Well, it's the Book of Genesis, right? It's the story of Abraham and Isaac and he's turning it into something that's very, very new. He's talking about Highway 61 ... a highway that runs right through the middle of America, all the way from Minnesota down to the Deep South. So, starting with the Bible. You know, this terrifying story of Abraham — who happens to be his father's name too, so when he's talking about "God said to Abraham, 'Kill me a son,'" yikes, it gets a little personal maybe, too. But he is telling a whole song about what's going on in America in his time through the idiom of the Bible. Rock 'n' roll, folk, it's all there."

http://www.npr.org/2016/10/13/497849...rary-alchemist

doubleshuffle · 10-16-2016, 05:07 AM

Bill Murray, genius.

drofgnal · 10-16-2016, 07:09 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by doubleshuffle

The version you really need is the half-speed mastered vinyl, of course. It's the only one that runs at the proper speed.

http://www.expectingrain.com/discuss...hp?f=6&t=42949

http://shrinky.net/2011/music/bob-dy...ry#comment-548

Yea, for some reason all commercial versions of BOTT were released at 2% faster than the artist intended, with the exception of a 1981 vinyl release. I had hoped that MOFI would have corrected that with the latest release, but did not.

william z · 10-16-2016, 05:27 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jswinden

I personally think they should keep music and literature separated, but what do you expect from a prize organization named after the inventor of dynamite. But just like most other awards organizations, the awards or the opinions of a very few people. I don't really care who wins a Nobel, Oscar, Grammy, or most any other awards based on the opinions a few people. Other than the Fickle Finger of Fate award, they are all pretty much meaningless IMO.

I agree with you 100%. All of those awards are only based on the opinions of a few people, and I am sure we have all read books, seen movies or heard songs that never won any awards that were better than some of the ones that did.

Literature and music should be separate and there is no way song lyrics should win a prize for literature.

doubleshuffle · 10-16-2016, 05:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by william z

Literature and music should be separate and there is no way song lyrics should win a prize for literature.

But what if the song lyrics happen to be literature? There are serious producers of "proper" literature who consider Dylan a serious poet. Look at what Paul Muldoon has to say on the subject:

Quote:

A particular favorite is “Early Roman Kings.” It’s from “Tempest,” his thirty-fifth album, which was released in 2012. I mention the date because a mark of the great artist is surely his capacity to stay the course. I’m certain that’s one of the components the Nobel committee is rewarding with today’s announcement:

All the early Roman kings
In their sharkskin suits
Bow ties and buttons
High top boots
Drivin’ the spikes in
Blazin’ the rails
Nailed in their coffins
In top hats and tails

Here Dylan rather brilliantly combines a version of the Roman empire with the railroad and steel moguls who provided the infrastructure of the American empire, as well as a version of a Puerto Rican gang from the Bronx, as well as a self-portrait of the artist in his natty stage gear! This is the artist who continues to fiddle while America burns, not out of negligence but out of sheer need:

Bring down my fiddle
Tune up my strings
I’m gonna break it wide open
Like the early Roman kings

http://www.newyorker.com/books/page-...e-dylan-lyrics

BearMountainBooks · 10-16-2016, 05:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by william z

I agree with you 100%. All of those awards are only based on the opinions of a few people, and I am sure we have all read books, seen movies or heard songs that never won any awards that were better than some of the ones that did.

Literature and music should be separate and there is no way song lyrics should win a prize for literature.

I don't see how they should be separated. The "music" is the instruments the words are set to. The literature is the words. Words are lit. The words to the song are still meaningful if not set to music.

ApK · 10-16-2016, 06:07 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by BearMountainBooks

I don't see how they should be separated. The "music" is the instruments the words are set to. The literature is the words. Words are lit. The words to the song are still meaningful if not set to music.

Well, not really, and certainly not always. You may have heard of a cappella or talking songs or chants or rap.
Music is a distinct and different art form, and the words are often an integral and inseperable part of a particular whole.
Even when the lyricist is a poet, there are different considerations and sensibilities involved in making a song lyrics vs making a poem, let alone prose.
There is reason that Paul Simon didn't just set the words of the poem Richard Cory to music as-is when he wrote the song.

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10-14-2016, 01:53 PM	#91
HappyMartin Martin Kristiansen Posts: 1,546 Karma: 8480958 Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Johannesburg Device: Kindle International Ipad 2	My all time favorite musician. I even named my son Dylan. Love his voice. His civil rights protest stuff from the 60's meant a great deal to me n the dark days of apartheid.

10-14-2016, 08:20 PM	#94
grumbles Addict Posts: 238 Karma: 1500000 Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Toronto Device: Pandigital Novel (Black), T-2 and 3, Nexus 7	I stand (sit) corrected. For some reason (age?) I thought that I had read that Haruki Murakami had died. All the more reason why he should have received the prize. Thomas Pynchon would not have been inappropriate either. After I sent my previous reply I though of Patti smith as well. I have her "Patti Smith Complete" on my shelf. But, and I think this was also relevant to the choice of Dylan, Dylan has moved more product than those three together. Dylan's counter-culture creds made his name and reputation. It isn't that I think that Dylan's song writing isn't good, he's written some great songs. It's just that I think that the others have written better songs. For the record, two of my favourite Dylan songs (they vary according to the time of day, phase of the mood etc.) are "Masters of War" and "You've Got to Serve Someone"

10-14-2016, 08:32 PM	#95
barryem Wizard Posts: 2,459 Karma: 68781975 Join Date: Oct 2012 Location: Arkansas Device: Paperwhite 4	I'm not sure the Nobel Prize has to do with who writes the best songs or books. Here's a quote from Alfred Nobel according to Wikipedia: "in the field of literature the most outstanding work in an ideal direction". There's some discussion of the meaning of "ideal direction". It seems that early on that was taken to refer to idealism but in recent decades it's become more liberal so that it can mean either idealistic or having literary merit. It's worth reading the article about this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nobel_Prize_in_Literature Barry

10-15-2016, 11:22 AM	#99
kennyc The Dank Side of the Moon Posts: 35,930 Karma: 119747553 Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: Denver, CO Device: Kindle2 & PW, Onyx Boox Go6	"The song "Highway 61 Revisited," the title track from the album released in August 1965 — what do we know from this period in terms of his style? Well, it's the Book of Genesis, right? It's the story of Abraham and Isaac and he's turning it into something that's very, very new. He's talking about Highway 61 ... a highway that runs right through the middle of America, all the way from Minnesota down to the Deep South. So, starting with the Bible. You know, this terrifying story of Abraham — who happens to be his father's name too, so when he's talking about "God said to Abraham, 'Kill me a son,'" yikes, it gets a little personal maybe, too. But he is telling a whole song about what's going on in America in his time through the idiom of the Bible. Rock 'n' roll, folk, it's all there." http://www.npr.org/2016/10/13/497849...rary-alchemist

10-16-2016, 05:07 AM	#100
doubleshuffle Unicycle Daredevil Posts: 13,944 Karma: 185432100 Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: Planet of the Pudding Brains Device: Aura HD (R.I.P. After six years the USB socket died.) tolino shine 3	Bill Murray, genius.