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Who is Bob Dylan and why should I buy an album of his? (1 Viewer)

ShamrockPride

Footballguy
I'm about to make a purchase of a record player since all the throwback stuff is making a return, and figured I would buy an album of one of the premier artists of when this technology was in use. It would be my first Dylan album, and I'm unfamiliar with a lot of his music. I've always heard the name, but never actually gave his music a real listen.....I'm a dirty millennial, ya know? Gimme a break.

I'd assume most vinyls are available. Which Dylan album or collection or compilation should I buy and why? Throw in links to songs, anecdotal reasons, anything.

Think of this as a chance to give me the best first impression for this guy as possible. If it's done right, it could open up a whole new generation of music for me.

Thanks in advance.

-SP

 
If i had no ability to consume media in context with its era, influences and inspiration, i wouldnt waste time nor money.

 
he's sorta like the Taylor Swift of some bygone eras (inasmuch that he wrote a few tunes about his ex's, and was considered 'voice of a generation') - but a bit shorter, has an album called "Blonde on Blonde" (but he isn't), a tad more Jewish (though he's taken many spiritual journeys) ... hasn't won as many awards, though ... he was a tad too nasally i s'pose.

 
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They say that the Supreme Court rules differently about intellectual property when it comes to satire and parody. Well, they don't just say that, the Supreme Court does indeed do this. My professor thought that this distinction was an artificial one. He asked me, nearly asleep from the previous night's drug binge and with about thirty seconds to go in class, what I thought of said distinction between the way in which copyright is adjudicated for each of satire and parody. Figuring that I was stone out of it, he was going to catch me sleeping while making his point to the class and sending messages all around.

For a little background and clarity: According to one article, “satire is defined as the use of humor, irony, exaggeration, or ridicule to expose and criticize people’s stupidity or vices, particularly in the context of contemporary politics and other topical issues. Compare that to the definition of a parody: a literary or musical work in which the style of an author or work is closely imitated for comic effect or in ridicule."

"I think it's a good distinction," I said. "That satire's point can stand on its own seems like a crucial distinction for whether the fair use exception is implicated. Parody needs the original work to make its point," said I, "and intellectual property restrictions have to balance the public good against the creative impetus, output, and economic interests of the creator. Since intellectual property in America is based in utilitarian concerns rather than personality ones, the greater good of the public takes precedence. We juxtapose the right to have the work at all in parody's case against the right for the progress of science, or public knowledge, comment, or criticism, if one wants to be colloquial, in the case of satire. So, yes, parody's dependence on the original work itself should paradoxically give it greater protection from copyright restriction under the fair use doctrine than the often more creative and deeply-felt satire."

"Well, I think it's [the distincition is] rubbish," said he, completely dismissing my point. 

I haven't really decided who is correct yet, but he hired me to do research the next summer.  

That's a true story, down to the drug binge.

 
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Super interesting question. Love Bob Dylan but he's not for everyone. Definitely a scion in music history, who was and still is an enormous influence across so many genres and styles. It's hard to really place contextually the enormity of some of the things he did out of context -- something that seems so innocuous now, like him going electric or the social justice lyrics of many songs, for example, were extraordinarily revolutionary for the time. He has also stayed relevant by adapting and changing his style over time, like all true great artists.

For me, Blood on the Tracks, Blonde on Blonde, and Highway 61 Revisted are the height of Dylan's albums, and hard for me to choose between them.

 But for someone who has never really heard him or know a lot about him, it's almost more useful to listen to a Greatest Hits playlist on Spotify, that will give rise to the full range of his music -- from early folk to more modern electric band sound -- and narrow down to the era/style that appeals to you most.

I am not sure he still has live concerts, but that is my one piece of enduring advice -- he just doesn't translate live, and he can often be surly and disconnected to the audience, which is one thing I hold against him as a musician.

 
I will probably be the minority, but i think he's possibly one of the most overrated musicians I've ever heard.  Others covering his songs are always better.

 
Biograph box set might be the best way to go IMO - a lot of songs from all eras(up until it's release)

The new Rolling Thunder set coming out is sounding good - you can preview on NPR.

 
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I recommend watching Scorsese's excellent documentary on Dylan and working from there.

No Direction Home
My favorite documentary of any stripe. Such a great moment with Neuwirth commenting how nobody had heard anything like this before, then he repeats it nobody had heard ANYthing like this before overtop It's Alright Ma. It's a chills-inducing cut. Just a completely brilliant piece start to finish. And somebody borrowed disc two from me and may it live forever in St. Augustine.

 
I'd go with Highway 61 Revisited, but wikkid makes a good point.    Dylan was writing songs in the moment, and he was responding the the events and culture around him, as it was responding to him.   If you're listening to him without that context, you're missing most of what made his songs meaningful.  

 
I'd go with Highway 61 Revisited, but wikkid makes a good point.    Dylan was writing songs in the moment, and he was responding the the events and culture around him, as it was responding to him.   If you're listening to him without that context, you're missing most of what made his songs meaningful.  
100%

 
I'd go with Highway 61 Revisited, but wikkid makes a good point.    Dylan was writing songs in the moment, and he was responding the the events and culture around him, as it was responding to him.   If you're listening to him without that context, you're missing most of what made his songs meaningful.  
agreed, but it's more - he was personalizing song. until Dylan, music was comforting - a tonal & lyrical escape from the sturggling everyday of an earlier time. my 94yo father listens to music constantly and i don't believe he's ever conceived of music as challenging. it soothed his edges after backbreaking days and gave him sumn to dance to on weekends so he had a reason to make contact w girls. that's it -

Bob Dylan rescued the song from oo-ee baby and lemme tell you a story. he sang about he had to understand you to love you but didnt understand a lick. he sang he was mad and didnt know why. he wondered if this world wasn't a bad trick being played on him. he said things that hadda be said in a way you didn't have to read a whole book to get. that's what poetry is, except he added a melody & an invitation to it. sure he had folk music & black music & black folk music to draw from and there were a few others kinda doing what he was doing - he didn't invent it from whole cloth. but he said things he thought we should hear in a way we didn't mind listening and led others to do the same.

THAT's the context you gotta have to appreciate him. btw, i'm not a fan.

 
Is this real or some kind of satire? I don’t get it.

ETA: I am referring to the OP and not the  week old roadkill carcass foul takes on Dylan.

 
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I think you guys are making a meal out of this context business.  All pop music originates from a time and place and can lose (or rarely gain) meaning when removed from its original surroundings.  But Dylan is an artist, not a reporter.  Outside from a small number of early songs, his lyrics aren't particularly topical, certainly not more so than "What's Going On", "99 Luftballoons" and "The Message" (or Lil Nas X for that matter).   He was always a bit of an old soul.  Even as a 21 year old on his debut album, he was covering songs of much older folk and blues artists.

He never was into studio trickery so most of his records (except maybe Empire Burlesque) retain a timeless quality--you can listen to his 1970s and 2000s records back to back and except for the condition of his voice, you really can't tell which came first.

I get that he's not an easy listen.  A lot of people can't get past that voice.  Most of his songs aren't built around radio hooks.  He also doesn't give two ####s about a lot of stuff so he makes few concessions to his audience.  I don't love all of his music and he probably doesn't either.  But all of his records are interesting, even his Christmas album :rolleyes:

 
I am not sure he still has live concerts, but that is my one piece of enduring advice -- he just doesn't translate live, and he can often be surly and disconnected to the audience, which is one thing I hold against him as a musician.
I’ve seen him live five times only once (when he toured with Paul Simon) did I feel a little disappointed. He and his band are excellent live. They rework some of the songs to where they’re barely recognizable, but the musicianship is outstanding and it works. Some he plays more straightforward as well. His recent run in the 2000s he surrounded himself with great musicians on recordings and live and the band has a great sound.

 
I’ve seen him live five times only once (when he toured with Paul Simon) did I feel a little disappointed. He and his band are excellent live. They rework some of the songs to where they’re barely recognizable, but the musicianship is outstanding and it works. Some he plays more straightforward as well. His recent run in the 2000s he surrounded himself with great musicians on recordings and live and the band has a great sound.
I've seen him live twice and both times I was disappointed. Not in the sense of musicianship --  his band and the execution were super tight, when I saw them, and I appreciate the fact that he does get creative and mix up arrangements to the point that you almost don't recognize what song it is until half way through. So I'll step back from my statement that he doesn't translate live, which is too broad -- it's just that he didn't put on good shows when I saw them.

Both times I saw him was during the Neverending Tour with GE Smith, who was fantastic, but Bob himself was listless and low-energy. He has a history of not talking to/engaging with fans, but it was more than that -- kind of the sense that he was going through the motions and not really engaged and just getting through both shows as quickly as he could. 

Performers have off-nights, it happens. But I'm not sure I'd suggest to someone to go see him live -- if our experiences combined represent the general average, having a 43% of seeing a disappointing show is too large of a hit rate for it to be worth it, IMO.

 
Another vote for Blood on the Tracks. Just a great album top to bottom. If you don’t like it, you probably aren’t going to like much of what he does.

 
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You actually are a poster worthy of parody but this wasn’t it imo. 
Ever read Acuff-Rose, the case in question? Aside from the commercial question -- although we could feasibly consider the OP marketing himself socially -- it's a bit on point here. It's about the claim to fair use under copyright law regarding The 2 Live Crew trying to take on Roy Orbison's "Oh, Pretty Woman." The artistic differences are stark, as is the case here. Indeed, the Court that ruled on Acuff-Rose might not even find the element of "reasonable [perception]" by the audience necessary here to qualify it for parody and fair use. Thus, my comments above. This might also be why both the professor and I are both correct. Often, in parody, the author can't but poke broader fun at not just the object of its ridicule, but at its audience as a whole. The juridical lines bleed and prevent satire and parody from being neatly distinct, as is the case here where the OP makes fun of his position as a Millennial on the board and the board's treatment of him, something he often bemoans.

Money quotes from the case, bolded and italicized emphasis mine:

We have less difficulty in finding [a critique of the original] in 2 Live Crew's song than the Court of Appeals did, although having found it we will not take the further step of evaluating its quality. The threshold question when fair use is raised in defense of parody is whether a parodic character may reasonably be perceived. [n.16] Whether, going beyond that, parody is in good taste or bad does not and should not matter to fair use. As Justice Holmes explained, "It would be a dangerous undertaking for persons trained only to the law to constitute themselves final judges of the worth of [a work], outside of the narrowest and most obvious limits. At the one extreme some works of genius would be sure to miss appreciation. Their very novelty would make them repulsive until the public had learned the new language in which their author spoke." Bleistein v. Donaldson Lithographing Co., 188 U.S. 239, 251 (1903) (circus posters have copyright protection); cf. Yankee Publishing Inc. v. News America Publishing, Inc., 809 F. Supp. 267, 280 (SDNY 1992) (Leval, J.) ("First Amendment protections do not apply only to those who speak clearly, whose jokes are funny, and whose parodies succeed") (trademark case).

While we might not assign a high rank to the parodic element here, we think it fair to say that 2 Live Crew's song reasonably could be perceived as commenting on the original or criticizing it, to some degree. 2 Live Crew juxtaposes the romantic musings of a man whose fantasy comes true, with degrading taunts, a bawdy demand for sex, and a sigh of relief from paternal responsibility. The later words can be taken as a comment on the naivete of the original of an earlier day, as a rejection of its sentiment that ignores the ugliness of street life and the debasement that it signifies. It is this joinder of reference and ridicule that marks off the author's choice of parody from the other types of comment and criticism that traditionally have had a claim to fair use protection as transformative works. [n.17] (Ed. Note: This is the distinction between satire and parody, as mentioned in the above comment)

My analysis:

Wiki says: "Notably, Justice Souter attached the lyrics of both songs as appendixes to his majority opinion for the Court. As a result, both songs were reproduced in the United States Reports along with the rest of the opinion, and may now be found in every major American law library."

Side by side, the difference is stark, and funny, and telling about the quality of both works.

And that the OP needs his joke explained is sort of sad and telling about the efficacy of his intended use. 

 

 
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If you have no context, Blood on the Tracks. 

And why Bob Dylan?

When the jester sang for the king and queen In a coat he borrowed from James Dean
And a voice that came from you and me

Oh and while the king was looking down
The jester stole his thorny crown
The courtroom was adjourned
No verdict was returned
 
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For a new listener his voice gets some getting used to. I’d start by listening to covers. But if you want to listen to the real thing, go with Blood on the Tracks. 
Nothing says greatness like, "listen to others cover his music before listening to his original versions." :lol:  

 
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Super interesting question. Love Bob Dylan but he's not for everyone. Definitely a scion in music history, who was and still is an enormous influence across so many genres and styles. It's hard to really place contextually the enormity of some of the things he did out of context -- something that seems so innocuous now, like him going electric or the social justice lyrics of many songs, for example, were extraordinarily revolutionary for the time. He has also stayed relevant by adapting and changing his style over time, like all true great artists.

For me, Blood on the Tracks, Blonde on Blonde, and Highway 61 Revisted are the height of Dylan's albums, and hard for me to choose between them.

 But for someone who has never really heard him or know a lot about him, it's almost more useful to listen to a Greatest Hits playlist on Spotify, that will give rise to the full range of his music -- from early folk to more modern electric band sound -- and narrow down to the era/style that appeals to you most.

I am not sure he still has live concerts, but that is my one piece of enduring advice -- he just doesn't translate live, and he can often be surly and disconnected to the audience, which is one thing I hold against him as a musician.
Yep, I saw him in 2005 with Willie Nelson. Willie blew him away.

 
Nothing says greatness like, "listen to others cover his music before listening to his original versions." :lol:  
I don't get the covers argument either.  There are thousands of Dylan covers but only a handful of them are the definitive version of the song IMO. 

The Hendrix version of Watchtower is an obvious choice and The Byrds did some nice work popularizing Dylan's music.  It's a lot easier to listen to a selection of Dylan's records than to pick through cover versions and separate the wheat from the chaff.

 
So I gave Blood On the Tracks a listen. And again as @wikkidpissah says, in my current listening state, without any of the surrounding context of the time so I guess just looking at it from a purely musical perspective, there's some good stuff in here.

Starts off a bit slow for me, but around mid album it picks up. Really enjoyed Meet Me in the Morning and then Jack of Hearts. Anything with a harmonica and you can count me in. Appreciate the help here folks. Feel free to keep chiming in with other favorite if you please  :thumbup:

 
I'd go with Highway 61 Revisited, but wikkid makes a good point.    Dylan was writing songs in the moment, and he was responding the the events and culture around him, as it was responding to him.   If you're listening to him without that context, you're missing most of what made his songs meaningful.  
Excellent choice, though Freewheelin' Bob Dylan is perhaps a better starting point. Also, if you ever get the opportunity to be in NYC on a slushy winter day, head over to Jones Street & West 4th to recreate one of the all-time great rock album covers. Though this preceded the electrification of Dylan - which, it's important to know, was an absolute scandal when it went down - so maybe "rock" is a wee bit of a stretch. 

As many have pointed out, context is everything when trying to digest Mr Zimmerman. He was the unofficial poet laureate of that crevice of time between the beatniks and the hippies, and some tried to paint him as the most important voice of his generation. I rather think of him as a sheepish kid from Minnesota who was just trying to find his place in the world when he got swept up in an entire paradigm cultural shift, which he neither envisioned or defined, yet somehow he was the catalyst and the pied piper.

 
So I gave Blood On the Tracks a listen. And again as @wikkidpissah says, in my current listening state, without any of the surrounding context of the time so I guess just looking at it from a purely musical perspective, there's some good stuff in here.

Starts off a bit slow for me, but around mid album it picks up. Really enjoyed Meet Me in the Morning and then Jack of Hearts. Anything with a harmonica and you can count me in. Appreciate the help here folks. Feel free to keep chiming in with other favorite if you please  :thumbup:
There's a Netflix documentary dropping later this month about Dylan's Rolling Thunder Revue, a legendary tour that Dylan began shortly after the release of Blood on the Tracks.  Martin Scorsese directed it

 
I love that this thread is likely pure trolling and the replies are so genuine 
Curious as to what makes this likely trolling. I'm obtuse, so much of this kinda thing goes over my head anyway, but as @wikkidpissah says, it's a fun discussion regardless the intent.

Looking at the original post, if the real idea is to get a record player so that you can hear old school records in the way it was heard at the time, don't bother with Dylan. Buy Powerage by AC/DC -- now THAT's an album that is only enhanced by the pops, hisses, and scratchiness of vinyl. Raw rock n roll thrown back just the way Stompin' Tom discovered it in his brother's basement room.

 
As many have pointed out, context is everything when trying to digest Mr Zimmerman. He was the unofficial poet laureate of that crevice of time between the beatniks and the hippies, and some tried to paint him as the most important voice of his generation. I rather think of him as a sheepish kid from Minnesota who was just trying to find his place in the world when he got swept up in an entire paradigm cultural shift, which he neither envisioned or defined, yet somehow he was the catalyst and the pied piper.
I don't think you give Dylan enough credit.  The Sixties certainly would have happened without him but with all due respect, it's impossible to imagine one of his contemporaries like Dave van Ronk or Arlo Guthrie having the same enduring cultural significance as Dylan.

 
I don't think you give Dylan enough credit.  The Sixties certainly would have happened without him but with all due respect, it's impossible to imagine one of his contemporaries like Dave van Ronk or Arlo Guthrie having the same enduring cultural significance as Dylan.
He is iconic and his place in history is secure. Many flavors / iterations to choose from over the first 20+ years (I lost interest after the last of the four CCM albums.) He wrote some of the most important lyrics of his generation. I'm a huge fan.

I have always felt like the 60s were one of the richest eras in modernity, and there are so many incredible artists to choose from, in several forms and genres. IMHO - this is nothing more, nothing less - I always felt like Dylan received a bit more credit than his actual body of work deserved.

Taken in totality, I feel like the 1960s arts scene crushes every other decade from the last 60 years. 

 
I don't think you give Dylan enough credit.  The Sixties certainly would have happened without him but with all due respect, it's impossible to imagine one of his contemporaries like Dave van Ronk or Arlo Guthrie having the same enduring cultural significance as Dylan.
True enough. Dylan actually was seen and branded as the voice of his generation despite so many others contributing music geared toward social protest (Jefferson Airplane, Donovan, Barry McGuire, Buffalo Springfield, etc.), 60s counterculture (Grateful Dead, Pink Floyd, The Beatles, Joplin/Big Brother, Hendrix, etc.), and on and on.

But despite all that fantastic music and social stewardship by so many bands, Dylan was still seen at the forefront of them in terms of influence and change (save for maybe the Beatles) - his going electric at The Newport Folk Festival was truly a seminal moment in music history which many attribute to the rise of electric psychedelic rock to begin with.

 

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