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Your most controversial music opinions


CaledonianGonzo
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30 minutes ago, stuartbert two hats said:

Bob Dylan is not one of the greats. He wasn't a musical innovator, he didn't write anything particularly distinctive and has a handful of half-decent, fairly ordinary songs.  An average journeyman musician with a reputation many times greater than his actual output.  

Even his covers aren't that good.

The title of the thread is "Your most controversial music opinions", which implies some sort of ownership of the opinion, not "Just be controversial because you've nothing better to do".

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1 hour ago, CaledonianGonzo said:

My dude literally invented rock music and this is the thanks he gets.

Did he? Like, really? In which songs? Maybe his influence is so pervasive, that's why his music sound like wallpaper. What did he invent exactly? Particular chord progressions, rhythms or styles of arrangement? I don't see it.

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Just now, stuartbert two hats said:

Did he? Like, really? In which songs? Maybe his influence is so pervasive, that's why his music sound like wallpaper. What did he invent exactly? Particular chord progressions, rhythms or styles of arrangement? I don't see it.

I would trace it back specifically to this moment.

Full version here:

 

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1 hour ago, stuartbert two hats said:

Can you try? Like which songs are astonishing? Because all I'm aware of are some that are "quite good".

OK, I'll give it a go. But I won't succeed, I just can't. There's a dozens of books, millions of words been written about him, all by people more articulate than me.  Where to start? For me he is all about that shift in culture, thought and behaviour of the  late 20th century, from the extrinsic to the intrinsic, from the communal to the self. From songs about love and/or society to songs about dreams, about ideas, about what’s going on inside your head. ‘Mr Tambourine Man’ is such a towering achievement. It’s not about love, it’s not a protest song, it’s about what’s going on within him.

Prior to Dylan, that was the realm of poets. This stuff had never been done in popular song before. He started something that became THE dominant cultural form. He changed everything.

It all starts with him, singer songwriters trying to explain their vision, from late Beatles, to Cohen to Radiohead to, ah man, you name it, anyone, (including a lot of the stinkers, but hey, you can’t blame him for that)

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3 minutes ago, Mardy said:

OK, I'll give it a go. But I won't succeed, I just can't. There's a dozens of books, millions of words been written about him, all by people more articulate than me.  Where to start? For me he is all about that shift in culture, thought and behaviour of the  late 20th century, from the extrinsic to the intrinsic, from the communal to the self. From songs about love and/or society to songs about dreams, about ideas, about what’s going on inside your head. ‘Mr Tambourine Man’ is such a towering achievement. It’s not about love, it’s not a protest song, it’s about what’s going on within him.

Prior to Dylan, that was the realm of poets. This stuff had never been done in popular song before. He started something that became THE dominant cultural form. He changed everything.

It all starts with him, singer songwriters trying to explain their vision, from late Beatles, to Cohen to Radiohead to, ah man, you name it, anyone, (including a lot of the stinkers, but hey, you can’t blame him for that)

That's the thing about praise for Dylan, it's so rarely about the musical aspects, it's always this cultural thing. I'm interested in harmony, melody, rhythm, texture. And on that count, I can't see anything extraordinary about his work at all.

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Just now, stuartbert two hats said:

That's the thing about praise for Dylan, it's so rarely about the musical aspects, it's always this cultural thing. I'm interested in harmony, melody, rhythm, texture. And on that count, I can't see anything extraordinary about his work at all.

because you're used to it. In the same way it's hard to see the revolutionary aspect of Monet's work now. 

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1 minute ago, stuartbert two hats said:

That's the thing about praise for Dylan, it's so rarely about the musical aspects, it's always this cultural thing. I'm interested in harmony, melody, rhythm, texture. And on that count, I can't see anything extraordinary about his work at all.

Texturally, and melodically, those 3 65/66 albums are astonishing. His voice, his music, it all moves me intensely. 

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I can't really get on with technically perfect voices. Dylan's moves me, Patti Smith's moves me, but I can't hack the clarity and purity of early Joni Mitchell. Sets my teeth on edge. I find it unlistenable.

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