Quote:
Originally Posted by blastingas10
Because he was great. He was a great lyricist. He was a poet. He inspired just about all the greats, such as the beatles and jimi hendrix and even blues greats like freddie king. He was the greatest protest singer and political songwriter of all time. You have to understand the time period that dylan rose to fame in. The 60s were a very crazy time. His songs were the anthems of the civil rights movement and anti war movement. He even performed at the famous march on washington where martin luther king would give his greatest speech.
He revolutionized perceptions of the limits of popular music. He defied existing popular music conventions. He added lyrical depth to rock n roll, which really didnt exist before him. Dylan has both amplified and personalized musical genres. His recording career, spanning fifty years, has explored numerous distinct traditions in American song—from folk, blues and country to gospel, rock and roll, and rockabilly, to English, Scottish, and Irish folk music, embracing even jazz and swing. Hes also very underrated as a musician. He didnt suck at guitar like some tend to think, he actually was pretty good. He was a good harmonica player, organist and pianist. Trust me, ive seen him live. I couldnt believe how good he was at the organ and harmonica, most of his records dont do him justice as an instrumentalist; mainly because his music is all about his words.
You wanted an answer, here you go.
|
A) Everything Dylan did was folk norm. The lyrics, the sound was pioneered by people like Woody Guthrie(Who was inspired by the songbook of countless unheard of songwriters in America since the 1800s.). Dylan did NOTHING that hasn't been done ten thousand times over.
B) Yes, sixties were the time when protest was a trend. So, all of the protester sing-songwriters before him could be considered having a tougher gig.
C) Anything he has explored beyond generic folk and rock probably can be attributed later in his career after his spotlight, and yes, when you have enough money to hire any producer, and musicians you can pull off any type of music, you don't even have to write it.
D) His lyrics continually use "Sky Die Lie" rhyme schemes. He writes songs about getting stoned, and hating Vietnam at the time where any two bit hack could wow people with such content.
E) I don't care who he influenced. If you ignore the massive folk tradition that influenced every aspect of him, you don't realize how dispensable he is.
He was a poppy trend that fed people the opinions they wanted, without an iota of subtlety, the way that was in the fashion at the time. Not a revolutionary in any regard.