March Music Madness: Bob Marley vs. Bob Dylan

[Troy]

>He sung bad on purpose?

Well, maybe it's bad to you, but it never was to me. And the answer, again, is 'something like that. As far as I'm concerned, anyone who can't get past Dylan's vocals might as well listen to a genre where the vocals are more important than the material. It's just one part of the big picture. None of you reading this has to agree with me on this, but for my money Dylan was by far the best lyricist ever in the rock genre. Nobody ever put words & thoughts & ideas together the way he did, and that's where his influence is felt most. If somebody can't get past that, then how could any rock lyrics be considered important?

It's all so subjective. I think his voice makes his music unlistenable. I'm pretty sure I'm in the majority (for once) here.

Best lyricist? Well, I did say he was good. Everybody has to have a best, knock yourself out, J. He was too political for my taste. The first one that that thought he could change the world that spawned all the Bonos on the world . . . what a legacy.

>And I much rather do that that than huddle round the speaker reverently studying the other Bob's super serious, supercilious shuck and jive.

If you don't think there's a relevance & an importance to songs that raise the question of why the son of a well-connected bigshot of some sort or other gets away with cold-blooded murder with a six-month jail sentence, I would wonder why. I'm not big on politics & topics in music, myself, but nobody did it like this guy. The way he worked with politics & topics was something that few others could do in ways that weren't downright embarrassing. Besides, he had a sense of humor. Didn't I throw on a scene or two from Don't Look Back on that video I sent you awhile back? I really don't get the 'pretentious' jab. This is a guy who's typically thrown critics a curve throughout most of his career. Maybe you could say the born-again period was pretentious, but that's a blip on the radar.

I SO don't care for politics and such in music, you KNOW that about me! Dylan reinvented the whole concept of the protest song for the modern world. If you think that sorta thing is important, go for it. But I am too much of a cynic to believe that it works in the modern world. All I see is a rich pop star trying to shed his guilt.

Yeah, I recall that video. As I recall he was hassling that establishment looking reporter ih a very haughty and ultimately juvenile way. Dylan has always come accross as a smug prick to me.

>Bob Marley? It's just good time party music

What, like Exodus? Who did politics first, and who did it better? 'I Shot The Sherriff' doesn't strike me as party music, either. Marley was deft when it came to weaving politics into his music, but Dylan was the master. And he chose not to keep it up rather than beating something of a dead horse while his skills might've declined, which is admirable. Meanwhile, the majority of what he's done for over 35 years has been anything but political or super-serious. So I really don't get it. I'm hearing that not liking voice trumps any other consideration. If we were talking about Tom Waits, even, I could see it. But not with this guy.

Yes, I see your point, but the difference is in the music. With Dylan, the whole point of listening to him is in the lyrics. Dylan is one dimensional. With Marley (and all reggae) what most people respond to is the rhythms and groove, not the words. There is zero groove with Dylan's music.

The difference with Dylan and Waits: I enjoy Waits's voice (in small doses). It's much more dynamic than Dylan's. Wait's comes across as affected, like he's singing badly/strangely to add color and flavor to his all around creepy weird thing that he does. Dylan just sounds like he can't carry a tune.