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Tuesday, October 18. 2016

Why Bob Dylan Shouldn’t Have Won a Nobel Prize


In my view, such prizes should only be for the sciences, but I am not the King of Sweden, alas.


Kyle Smith makes a good case for Why Bob Dylan Shouldn’t Have Won a Nobel Prize.  One quote:



Dylan isn’t really a poet. He’s a troubadour. Do even his most ardent admirers—among whom I count myself—spend much time reading his work? I think not. For the most part, his words cough and stumble across the page, though they scald and soar in song. Combining his lyrics with music produces an alchemic reaction in which the two elements strengthen and transform each other. Dylan has rightly won every prize in the book as a songwriter, but his songs are not literature...



Yes, they can scald and soar when he sings them. I mainly refer to his lyrics to avoid getting a mondegreen in my head. I had one with Jokerman when I thought it was "with a small dark look in his face." That was pretty good, but Dylan's was better: "...with a small dog licking his face."







Posted by Bird Dog in The Song and Dance Man at 17:51 | Comments (8) | Trackbacks (0)

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Bird Dog- Dylan- i·dol·a·try
[īˈdälətrē]

NOUN
worship of idols.
synonyms: idolization · fetishization · fetishism · idol worship · [more]

extreme admiration, love, or reverence for something or someone
#1 OldPhoto on 2016-10-18 19:25 (Reply)
The Nobels reached their sell-by date 7 years ago. All of them. The Swedes should just roll up the whole stinking enterprise and give the money to Islamic charities in their own country.
#2 John A. Fleming on 2016-10-19 00:41 (Reply)
We thought the Nobel was well-deserved. Both "Highway 61 Revisited" and "Tombstone Blues" have significant literary merit.

QUOTE:
The Nobel Prize for Literature, once awarded to such household names as George Bernard Shaw, Pearl Buck, John Steinbeck and Saul Bellow ...

The author apparently only recognizes authors writing in English as household names. Apparently, the only households worth note are English-speaking households.
#3 Zachriel on 2016-10-19 08:57 (Reply)
C'mon, Z! That means YOU have a chance! Go for it. Stop posting here, put your mind to it and write the Great International Novel. Take as long as you like.
#3.1 Sam L. on 2016-10-19 10:55 (Reply)
Another good argument for the prize having gone to Yogi Berra instead of Dylan. Yogi's stuff is good whether read or listened to. Not sure how good it would be put to music.
#4 BillH on 2016-10-19 10:14 (Reply)
Dylan is a good and sometimes great songwriter, but his lyrics don't rise to the level of poetry. He just doesn't compare to the likes of Tomas Tranströmer, Günter Grass, Seamus Heaney, Derek Walcott, Octavio Paz, etc. even with his best work. His lyrics fall flat read aloud from the page without the music to support them.
#5 Ghost Rider on 2016-10-19 13:26 (Reply)
There's some difference of opinion on the matter.

"RIP Seamus Heaney. I once introduced him to my son as the world's greatest poet. My son frowned. "No that would be Bob Dylan." Seamus roared."
#5.1 Zachriel on 2016-10-19 15:11 (Reply)
Given the level of poetry I've inadvertently listened to over the past quite-a-few years, Bob Dylan isn't bad. Most of what passes for poetry these days - and has passed for far too many years - is merely descriptive prose without the sentence structure. To me, poetry should sing, should have rhythm, should dance. Modern poetry, by my standards, is dreck. Bob Dylan - better sung (and preferably be a better singer) - but his lyrics are poetic.
#5.2 Frances on 2016-10-20 00:09 (Reply)

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