Dylan at 70 – Why he matters most

Posted on May 25, 2011http://extremelisteningmode.com/2011/05/25/dylan-at-70-why-he-matters-most/

Bob Dylan is, unarguably,
the single most important artist
in the history of modern popular music.

As he turns 70, we asked BSC,
our resident Bobcat (horrible name,
but they gave it to themselves) to tell us why.


Why is Bob Dylan important?

Where is the line where an icon,
a superstar and a legend becomes
a cliche, overrated and a myth?

Well maybe to answer those questions
you have to enter into the world
where appreciation veers into obsession.

Yes I have to confess I am a recovering Dylanologist
and like an alcoholic you’re never really cured.

Yes I’ve seen the man live countless times,
I’ve had the fanzine subscriptions,
I’ve read over 60 books on Dylan
and I suppose I’ve listened to him
more than any other artist.

As I once remarked
to a fellow Scottish Dylan fan
both lost in the hell
of a massive London Dylan gig
that I simply had to give those habits up,
he took that to mean the expense..
no I simply thought about
Bob Dylan too much and too often.

Still I was 24 before I listened to Dylan,
10 years after I started listening to music seriously
and if he was out of context for me then in 1988,
what chance have young emerging fans today?

Over 500 songs and 56 albums to date, where do you start?

There’s maybe four main hurdles you need to get over with Dylan,

Firstly his status, like The Beatles he evokes
a natural combination of resentment at the critical acclaim
and of course the fact that in the main his impact is historical.

Secondly his voice, I’m told people don’t like it much
and often prefer others singing his songs.

Thirdly that his words are his forte
and come supplemented by second rate music.

Finally the over familiarity with a handful of songs
and the fact he is a shell of that kinetic wonder kid of the sixties.

Some of these hurdles
arguably can’t be cleared,
his live act is clearly declining
and you simply cannot talk people
into liking what they naturally resist.

However those were the hurdles I faced
before I really started listening to Dylan
and the key is listening to Dylan.

The effect of listening to Dylan a lot
is that voice makes more sense,
he was never a “great” singer
but he has and is an unique voice,
a voice more versatile
than he is given credit for
but also one that retained an essence
and that essence is truth;
naked, cracked, funny, angry,
warm, broken, lost, redeemed,
-there’s not many emotions
Dylan’s not covered.

There’s fewer artists
who’ve marked the terrain of a life
as effectively and convincingly as he has.

Indeed in that context of his work
it’s probably no surprise that Dylan
(successful as he is)
is the least commercially successful
and viable of those considered
the greatest recording artists alive.

The hurdle of Dylan
as wordsmith before musician
is one that has been compounded
by the seriousness his work
is held in by academics and critics alike.

It’s not that in some aspects
that his work cannot sustain this
but it misses the key point.

Dylan is a songwriter not a poet
and the true magic appears
in the aural form not the written one.

Indeed Dylan realises more than most
a great lyric will never save a bad tune…
that’s probably why the worst
of his writing fails on both fronts.

Dylan has lost his audience several times
over but strangely despite that fact
he has created at least an album every decade
that is held up close to his 60’s masterpieces…

he also has a handful of records
that eclipse the banality and poverty
of his peer’s worst efforts…
in similar fashion he is as uneven
a live performer as you will see.

He’s human and his music reflects that.

That’s why at 70 maybe his life’s work
looks more autobiographical
and complete than any other artist.

The best observation about the barriers
in listening to Dylan came from the man himself..

”I am a mystery only to those
who haven’t felt the same things I have”.

Beyond that his legacy and impact
on popular music transcends definition.

He simply redefined what a song could be,
he took the essence of several traditions
and fused them together creating a new form.

He quickly realised the limitations of protest
and side stepped them by making the politics personal
and used the raw energy of rock and roll
to create cultural vandalism during his ’66 world tour..
an act NME described 20 years ago
as the first signs of punk.

He then retreated to a more plaintive world
and helped create Americana/Folk Rock
when the music world was heading
towards studio indulgence and psychedelia.

Surprisingly for an artist who has made
so many varied albums and indeed
sometimes incredibly poor albums
Dylan has almost never
overstretched himself musically.

He remained true to his core roots
of rock and roll, folk, country and blues.

If you really listen to Dylan
as well as the treasure lode
of magnificent albums
and the remarkable depth
and volume of performances
and songs you end up
in a more profound place.

It’s a place that suggests
that the blank piece of paper and silence
can be replaced by a magic
that encapsulates human existence
and imagination through song.

He suggests that music
has no barriers and no rules
and understands fully
the attempts to explain that are futile .

That’s why I took the essence
of what Dylan was about
and broadened my musical tastes
into different areas
and in the process drifted away
from the more obsessive nature
of being a Dylan fan.

Why is Bob Dylan important?
Simply because music is important…….
listen to him but be careful;
once that door opens
it’s a long way to the other side.