Bob Dylan sold out to Citibank.

Listen to some leadbelly

then tell me that dylan's voice won't work on a "standard folk album"

that's not pragmatism, it might be experimentation, but it sure as hell isn't pragmatism, and it's not a rational argument.

 

I also wouldn't listen to 40 damn leadbelly albums in a row, it'd become so horribly repetitive. This is the same damn argument that happened after Dylan plugged in back at Newport, but you know what, because of that he made the most memorable and influential work of his life.

 

You're the one who said standard. not me.

Now you're trying to re-couch your argument and providing cover fire with a separate argument, a terribly subjective one.

I could easily argue that his work before newport was better, from the direction of musical theory, and the direction of a musical historian

now, if you want to take the direction of popular music sales

You and vanilla ice take that victory...

dun dun dun dudududundun...... ice ice baby....

 

How exactly is Dylan's pre-electric days better in both musical theory and musical history type way? Do go on. As for popular music, all Dylan did by plugging in was risk alienating a good part of the folk scene who worshiped him, there was no guarantee it'd work.

Guess the same is true for Leonard Cohen too after he moved on beyond mainly acoustic guitar work, fuck how good his songs are now, he sold out.

 

They fulfilled a place as new story songs, they bridged from old folk, which were almost strictly story songs, with simple musical structures (john henry's hammer, pete seger pre-recorded music stuff) into newer pop music, while still maintaining the qualities of both. when he plugged in he divorced from that, he still borrowed elements from classic blues, but there was no left brain explanation, only right brain exposition.

his music went from being politically valuable, to being pop. Not pop in the "monterey pop festival" sense, which wasn't a bad thing at the time

but pop in the "britney spears" hollow, epicurean way.

it might be a much higher grade of those things. But 98 octane is still gasoline.

 

You just compared Bob Dylan to Britney Spears? He didn't go pop. He stopped doing folk. And maybe he did it on purpose, Dylan never wanted to be the face of a generation, Dylan's musical ability is nearly 90% in lyrics and he moved from folk to social surrealism. If anything his work past folk is by far more original then his folk records. Dylan was just another face in the crowd as a folk artist, albeit the best and brightest shining.

 

You're stating opinion as fact.
and not very convincingly.

you need to work harder on your methodology.

And, yes, I am. Comparing that is.

 

I'd have to agree with Dave to some extent, in saying that Dylan's pre-electric music was better in some ways. Not that he didn't release a lot of brilliant electric music, but I think the quality of writing on albums like Another Side of Bob Dylan has gone unsurpassed in most of his later work. He did come down from the surrealism a bit on Blood on the Tracks and Desire, which are also two of his best albums. All that said, I love Dylan's electric music. But I can see Dave's point.

I don't really agree that Dylan is a sellout though. With a name as big as his, I can't see how he could possibly have anything to gain from it.

 

Dylan is the most honest sell out though, he said 40 years ago if he ever sold out for anything it'd be women's lingerie, and that was in fact the first thing he sold out to.

 

Post modern DaDaist cash.

and some giggles.

 

True. He's probably just doing it for the lulz

 

Nigga gotta eat