Bob Dylan wins Nobel Literature Prize

[Ajax]

Hi Guys,

 

Original thread was closed by Chris so I've started a new one and taken the opportunity to correct the title.

 

For those who appreciate a craftsman do yourself a favour and listen to Bryan Ferry's tribute to Dylan recorded in 2007 called "Dylanesque". There is a 16/44.1 version on Tidal and also 320kps on Spotify, both sound terrific. There was also a DVD made of the recording session, wherein Bryan talks about Dylan and his influence. I think you will find it on Apple TV.

 

If you are short on time at least listen the first track and it would be appreciated if we can stay "on track".

 

[Snowmonkey]

I like Fidel Castro and his beard.

[elcorso]

I like Fidel Castro and his beard.

 

Raúl Modesto Castro Ruz is in charge now, but no beard, I'm sorry...

 

But I like better La Chiligüila, Nicaragua first lady, she is in charge over there, not his husband and presidente Daniel Ortega.

 

 

 

Roch

[wgscott]

Rescued, as this is on-going (and interesting):

 

Maybe he doesn't want it. (Surely he doesn't need the cashola, after Oldchella.)

 

Nobel panel gives up knockin’ on Dylan’s door

 

Days after being awarded the literature prize, Bob Dylan has yet to get in touch with the Swedish Academy, or indicate whether he will attend the celebrations

 

cf: https://www.theguardian.com/music/20...nable-to-reach

[Snowmonkey]

Raúl Modesto Castro Ruz is in charge now, but no beard, I'm sorry...

 

But I like better La Chiligüila, Nicaragua first lady, she is in charge over there, not his husband and presidente Daniel Ortega.

 

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Roch

 

You know it's a song, don't you Elcorso?

 

[Snowmonkey]

This helps explain his reading voice: The appeal of Dylan Thomas’s voice - Telegraph

 

Also, I think that a bit of this may have been the style of recitation at the time. I hear a little of it in Joyce and Eliot ("The Hollow Men" in particular:

, and even a little in Richard Burton's reading of Coleridge's "Rime of the Ancient Mariner:

Indeed, Burton sounds a bit overblown there, though I love him reciting Under Milkwood, using his Welsh accent. I know the Ancient Mariner is thought of as a venerable classic, but I don't think it needs to be treated so formally - it is, after all, meant to be a story told by an ordinary sailor.

 

My favourite example of how to recite a bit of classic literature without sounding like one has a carrot inserted in one's rectum is Jacob Needleman's recitation of the Gita. Incredibly moving:

The Bhagavad Gita Jacob Needleman

[Allan F]

Speaking of tributes to Bob Dylan, the most comprehensive is the four disc set, "Chimes of Freedom: The Songs of Bob Dylan", comprising 73 tracks:

 

 

Chimes of Freedom: The Songs of Bob Dylan - Various Artists | Songs, Reviews, Credits | AllMusic

[bobbmd]

I think Ramblin Jack Elliott did a tribute and 'A Nod to Bob' on one of his birthdays is very good and one of the ultimate tributes is by a woman first name escapes me Kovette/Corvette(definitely not "EJ...") great word for word cover of 'Blood on the Tracks'in a bar with sing alongs!!

Qobuz has a 300++ playlist if you search under 'Bob Dylan' and a slew of albums or covers in the thousands-I used A+ for the search

[christopher3393]

Indeed, Burton sounds a bit overblown there, though I love him reciting Under Milkwood, using his Welsh accent. I know the Ancient Mariner is thought of as a venerable classic, but I don't think it needs to be treated so formally - it is, after all, meant to be a story told by an ordinary sailor.

 

My favourite example of how to recite a bit of classic literature without sounding like one has a carrot inserted in one's rectum is Jacob Needleman's recitation of the Gita. Incredibly moving:

The Bhagavad Gita Jacob Needleman

 

How about this one?

 

[craighartley]

http://us2.campaign-archive2.com/?u=ef88a97652cb96f06b43353d0&id=26c112d673&e=25fecc417f

[christopher3393]

Inside Bob Dylan’s Prize-winning Lyrics & Dunedin Consort Promotion Continues

 

Curious what your impressions are. I don't wish to offend, but Dylan as cabaret or light jazz? The horror! And I personally don't find her delivery sheds any light on the lyrics as the promo claims. I just don't get it at all.

[craighartley]

Curious what your impressions are. I don't wish to offend, but Dylan as cabaret or light jazz? The horror! And I personally don't find her delivery sheds any light on the lyrics as the promo claims. I just don't get it at all.

 

Actually I always prefer Dylan singing his own songs, but I quite like hearing them from another perspective every once in a while. I think some work better than others.

 

I posted the link not as a recommendation but because I thought it might interest contributors to this thread, especially those who don't like Dylan served by the Chef.

[christopher3393]

Got it . Makes sense. In that spirit, here is an obvious collection I wasn't aware of:

 

The Byrds Play Dylan

 

 

[craighartley]

Got it . Makes sense. In that spirit, here is an obvious collection I wasn't aware of:

 

The Byrds Play Dylan

 

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That's interesting. I've heard their version of Mr Tambourine Man but didn't realise there was a whole album.

[Allan F]

I think Ramblin Jack Elliott did a tribute and 'A Nod to Bob' on one of his birthdays is very good and one of the ultimate tributes is by a woman first name escapes me Kovette/Corvette(definitely not "EJ...") great word for word cover of 'Blood on the Tracks'in a bar with sing alongs!!

Qobuz has a 300++ playlist if you search under 'Bob Dylan' and a slew of albums or covers in the thousands-I used A+ for the search

Actually, Ramblin' Jack Elliott is only one of over a dozen artists on the album, "A Nod To Bob".

 

[JR4321]

Tim OBrien, Red on Blonde is great.

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Computer Audiophile

[christopher3393]

That's interesting. I've heard their version of Mr Tambourine Man but didn't realise there was a whole album.

 

Yes, these selections were culled from a half-dozen Byrds albums. The sound quality on some of the early recordings is a touch tinny and jangly to my ears, but I grew up listening to these albums regularly so I don't mind too much.

 

here's a nice cover of an old favorite of mine, Dylan's "Lay Down Your Weary Tune" by Marley's Ghost (I love Dylan's early live performance of this as well).

 

[cbee]

Apparently the Nobel committee does not does not acknowledge refusals. So it looks as if Bob is refusing to acknowledge its existence. Well done Bob.

[james45974]

Apparently the Nobel committee does not does not acknowledge refusals. So it looks as if Bob is refusing to acknowledge its existence. Well done Bob.

 

Can I take your "Well done Bob" as being sarcastic?

[cbee]

Not really, but I should have put a smiley face after it. I find it amusing more than anything else.

[Snowmonkey]

He's just being very Dylan, like the girl in The Godfather who wanted to be the one who had knocked back Johnny Fontane.

[wgscott]

He has now removed mention of it from his website, according the the Guardian.

 

https://www.theguardian.com/music/2016/oct/21/bob-dylan-unacknowledges-nobel-prize-literature-win-removed-website

 

Well done, Bob.

 

I've come to the point of thinking that the Nobel Prize (and HHMI) have really had a denigrating effect upon science. I suspect it might be the case for other fields as well. The committees really seem increasingly out of touch and much less relevant. A friend of mine who won one recently says somewhat the same thing. At the very least, too many deserving people get left out.

[christopher3393]

Still pondering this, with a little help from writers' responses: https://pen.org/dylan-nobel

I was struck particularly by the responses of Peter Godwin, Porochista Khakpour, Amy King, and Danniel Schoonebeck, all critical for a variety of reasons.

One brief quoatation from Godwin:

Insofar as lyrics are poetry put to music, the Nobel committee members were within their rubric to consider Dylan’s oeuvre. And some of his lyrics, at their best, do enter the literary realm. But for their real artistic alchemy most are inextricable from their musical accompaniment, and his extraordinary voice. Read baldly on the page, alone, not much of Dylan’s verse is great literature. Nor would he claim as much.

 

However, my favorite response so far, by poet Claudia Emerson, was actually written in 2011: https://www.poets.org/poetsorg/text/lyric-impression-muscle-memory-emily-and-jack-hearts

[Orko]

Hmmm, if I understand him correctly, Godwin's argument seems to be that lyrics aren't poetry because they are sung. Should playwrights be dismissed from literature too because their works must be acted?

 

Loved the piece by Emerson. Beautifully written.

[christopher3393]

Hmmm, if I understand him correctly, Godwin's argument seems to be that lyrics aren't poetry because they are sung. Should playwrights be dismissed from literature too because their works must be acted?

 

Good question. I don't think he is saying that lyrics aren't poetry because they are sung. But he is vague: "Insofar as lyrics are poetry put to music". I think he is suggesting that not all song lyrics qualify as poetry, and that only some (the best) of those lyrics qualify as poetry. He is suggesting that Dylan's work is great when sung, especially by Dylan, but when simply read off the page, perhaps without recourse to hearing them sung, not many of the songs qualify as great literature. So, quite simply, not Nobel worthy as just a read, as if to say if Dylan had never put these words to music and performed them, he would probably not have been nominated as a poet. I happen to agree with this. But it raises interesting questions about the long and rich relationship between poetry and music.

 

I think the average audiophile has no interest in slavishly conforming to the conventional genre distinctions of academic departments of literature and professional "literary" writers (fiction, poetry, drama, or essays valued for their aesthetic quality). But one could ask "What was the last book of poetry you've read?" and "What was the last book of great poetry you've read?". I wonder what the response would be. How often do we read poetry? How much do we value poetry as written word?