OK- So I never Got Into Dylan

eh....I don't like Dylan. Sure there are a few songs I like, but most? Not so much.

That's not to say he didn't have a great impact, just not my cuppa audible tea.

I have to say I'm with Nick on that one. I liked a few but I never fell in love with his voice it was irritating and whining to me.

I liked Hurricane though!

I never really got into Dylan either, but I do like some of his stuff. "Tangled Up in Blue" has some of the best lyrics ever written.

+1 on Nick

I'm with the rest of your so far....kind of. There seems to be some sort of unwritten rule about liking and act. You don't have to like everything they did to like them. A greatest hit compilation seems to be enough for me. Well, that and his efforts into the Traveling Wilbury's two CDs. That's about where Dylan fits into my library.

I always liked Bob Dylan, and I especially like the way he sings. Bob Dylan once told a reporter that he could sing just as well as the great opera star Caruso, you just had to listen closely. He said he could hit any note he wanted to.

I think the most important influence Bob Dylan had was to show that a working-class guy with a guitar could influence society as much as the wealthy and powerful who had always been in control. :wink:

When I was a kid back in the early 60's (I was 6 when the Beatles really made it big, and I've loved 'em ever since...) there really wasn't much choice on the radio. There wasn't even a dedicated national "pop" radio station until around '67, so you had to make do with a once a week TV show and odd snippets gleaned from what was mostly easy listening programmes.

Out of all that, the bands that caught my attention in the biggest way were The Beatles, The Stones, The Who, The Hollies, The Yardbirds, Manfred Mann, The Kinks, and from the USA, The Beach Boys and The Byrds. It wasn't until commercial radio took off in the early 70's I got to hear the likes of Dylan - about the only song I knew of his was "The Times They Are A Changing" until I heard "Knockin' On Heaven's Door."

When commercial radio took off, though, I absolutely devoured it - spent hours and hours taping programmes and sifting through them in case I missed anything.

Still a lot of music I missed out on, though - Zappa was mentioned recently, and I was ashamed to admit, I knew very little about him - think I've heard about half-a-dozen FZ songs in my life, and most of those in the last couple of weeks. Another band who had very little impact on me was the Grateful Dead - I still can't ever recall hearing a single track of theirs on the radio, till "A Touch Of Grey" in the 80's. It's only the last few months or so - after hearing "Touch Of Grey" on the radio - I actually took the time to dig out some more tracks on youtube.

(Aside - what a GODSEND Youtube's been - what would we do without it!)

Back to Dylan - a lot of people just don't like his voice. I never found his voice particularly appealing, but from day 1 almost, I found myself absolutely entranced by his lyrics. No-one (IMO) can tell a story like Bob. And there were also plenty of people ready to cover his songs - the Byrds and Manfred Mann seemed to compete for songs of his every time one of them released a new single! Hendrix's version of Watchtower....amongst others.

There are bands and artists hugely popular on these forums I don't particularly like - Pink Floyd, SRV, Rush for example, don't do much for me. Maybe not Floyd - I find myself enjoying a lot more of their music than I used to, but I could go to my grave with no regrets if I never heard "Another Brick In The Wall" or "Money" again.

Then again, there are artists I love who've put out albums I hate - The Beatles White Album's top of that list. Voodoo Lounge, by The Stones - never could form much of an attachment to that album. The Who By Numbers was another one. Bowie's "Station To Station" - all those were hugely disappointing to me, but amongst other people's all-time favourites.

So I don't really get on my high horse these days and say "How can you not love Dylan!" - too much of music's down to personal taste, and I think - like fingerprints - no two people are exactly the same. As Derekslide says, "It's All Good!"

:D :D :D

Vic

Well put, Vic. Good points all up and down that post. 8) 8)

YouTube has got to be one of the finest sites out there. The internet without it now would seem so empty.

I grew up with Dylan practically. as a teenager his songs were on the radio. they were kind of cool and weird. but, folk was becoming passe' . rock was coming on strong. imagine. songs with long drum solos!
when I became draft age, right after high school, the Vietnam was still going on. I went off to college, too young to drink, too young to vote. I was classified 1A draft status. huh? say what?
all of a sudden Dylan's music made a lot more sense.
he is a very good song writer. it's amazing how many of his songs are a part of our cultural ethos.
Dylan is a true artist. he grows. some of his stages I like more than others.
country Dylan is top notch. gospel Dylan can rock at times, folk Dylan is well, folk. timeless and dated simultaneously.
Dylan's music explores many genres of music. and one thing for sure, he has the best musicians.
his newest stuff has that cool vintage sound I have been into lately.
his voice kinda sounds like mine.
BTW I live in his home state.my house is a few streets from his old haunts of the 60's westbank music scene in Minneapolis.

I have that movie on my que with netflix.

I have to confess to being a long time Dylan fan. :)

It's not just his songs, it was the whole package of the times that he first appeared - he was just one of the most influentual sounds of my youth. The 60s was when I was doing the whole hitch-hiking around thing, reading books with weird new ideas, and so on. His lyrics were always intriguing, and I even liked that his voice was the polar opposite of the smooth crooners of the previous generation and he was therefore disliked on every count by the oldies - always a plus to a teenager!! :mrgreen:

I skipped him for a few decades, but have been enjoying some of his recent stuff, and also revisiting the early years. Dylan is also a one-stop instruction course in lyric writing. As Nick commented elsewhere - you want to see some of the coolest lyrics ever written, study Dylan, and if you want to see example of some dire lyric clunkers to avoid, study Dylan.

Chris

All very good posts. Yeah, I think it was the voice that got me when I was young and I never took the time to listen to him afterwards. All the while knowing that no one could write lyrics like Dylan. I mean, I knew it, but I didn't know it...Ya know?
But after watching that movie a bit older and wiser :roll:, I was suprised to see how talented he was and how poignant his lyrics were.
...all of a sudden Dylan's music made a lot more sense.
he is a very good song writer. it's amazing how many of his songs are a part of our cultural ethos.
Dylan is a true artist. he grows. ...Dylan is well, folk. timeless and dated simultaneously.

You bet, even as a kid, I knew that he was saying someting in his music, but I did not understand it.
...I think the most important influence Bob Dylan had was to show that a working-class guy with a guitar could influence society as much as the wealthy and powerful who had always been in control. :wink:
That's the one thing that jumped out at me during the movie. Here's (this kid) telling it like it is so fluently. Really something I think most musicians try to accoomplish but never quite seem to get there.
... but from day 1 almost, I found myself absolutely entranced by his lyrics. No-one (IMO) can tell a story like Bob. And there were also plenty of people ready to cover his songs - the Byrds and Manfred Mann seemed to compete for songs of his every time one of them released a new single! Hendrix's version of Watchtower....amongst others.

So I don't really get on my high horse these days and say "How can you not love Dylan!" - too much of music's down to personal taste, and I think - like fingerprints - no two people are exactly the same...
Vic
There you go. Try to find someone that's even close today. He's probably one of the most covered artists around I'd bet!
You're right about taste as well. Cept for those who can't get into Dream Theater. I just don't understand them types. :lol:

Cept for those who can't get into Dream Theater. I just don't understand them types.

OK. I'll bite. I never listened to any Dream Theater. Got a couple of You Tube links you'd suggest?

Cept for those who can't get into Dream Theater. I just don't understand them types.

OK. I'll bite. I never listened to any Dream Theater. Got a couple of You Tube links you'd suggest?

Here you go my friend. Fair warning, the shortest song they have is about 9:45 long.
This one is is from a concert they did a few years back. Some pretty complex stuff
Overture 1928 / Strange Deja Vu (Live 2000)]

This song is from the same album Track 8 called Home... very intense
Home

Here's a tune they did about 9 -11
Sacrificed Sons

I don't like Dylan as well. some reason his music is like a kid with a chalk board and long fingers nails.
dereck. first you poke a stick at my Rolling Stones and now you poke at Dylan....you and me better sit down and talk. :wink: