Bob Dylan Says Modern Music Is Worthless

hammertime · Post by **hammertime** » Thu Aug 24, 2006 1:58 pm

Hey, it's all in good humor. No offense. Frankly, I don't like the guy that much. I think his music sucks, his voice is lousy, and his songs are bombastically pretentious in a silly way. Worse still, I think the guy is a complete fake. Instead of a rambling, happy-go lucky, Guthriesque troubador, I think he's a vain, pompous, disingenuous egoist who's driven by money and has become part of the grotesque rock and roll establishment in an industry that would make the most cutthroat capitalists blush. But if you like this execrable horse manure, more power to you. I know alot of people who like it. They're usually stoned and drunk lying on a couch while their listening to "Bob" and "Neil" and "Jerry."But it's all in good humor. Different people have different opinions.

lg · Post by lg » Thu Aug 24, 2006 6:16 pm

hammertime wrote:Hey, it's all in good humor. No offense. Frankly, I don't like the guy that much. I think his music sucks, his voice is lousy, and his songs are bombastically pretentious in a silly way. Worse still, I think the guy is a complete fake. Instead of a rambling, happy-go lucky, Guthriesque troubador, I think he's a vain, pompous, disingenuous egoist who's driven by money and has become part of the grotesque rock and roll establishment in an industry that would make the most cutthroat capitalists blush. But if you like this execrable horse manure, more power to you. I know alot of people who like it. They're usually stoned and drunk lying on a couch while their listening to "Bob" and "Neil" and "Jerry."But it's all in good humor. Different people have different opinions.

hey, thanks for setting us all straight. and just think, for the longest time i was under the impression the guy could actually write a decent song. just goes to show you.

maxadocious · Post by **maxadocious** » Thu Aug 24, 2006 11:17 pm

Dylan's thing was different from what people like now. That stuff would not sell now. Today, listening to a bluegrass station in rural Montana, I realized that country music used to be good, before it was all about excessive production and soulless messages in the lyrics. If Dylan means popular music is "worthless" then he's probably right, but he's also being hyperbolic... I guess that's why he's a "poet." Because, as much as you hate the music of the last 25 years, Nirvana was great. and as we all learned from the Autobiography of Malcolm X, blanket statements are by their nature flawed.

chovie d · Post by **chovie d** » Fri Aug 25, 2006 7:29 am

I just watched the biography film. No doubt there were some great songs, and also some high school journal crap that made me wince...but the guy himself seemed like such an unrepentant asshole in the film. I kinda started hating him right away , especially after he stole his buddies records

ubertar · Post by **ubertar** » Fri Aug 25, 2006 8:18 am

chovie d wrote:I just watched the biography film. No doubt there were some great songs, and also some high school journal crap that made me wince...but the guy himself seemed like such an unrepentant asshole in the film. I kinda started hating him right away , especially after he stole his buddies records

I saw that one too, and felt the same way, until I saw another one that put that stuff in perspective-- with the exception of stealing the records-- that was a dick move no matter how you look at it. But you could see why he was such a dick to reporters in a way that didn't come through in the one you're talking about (don't look back, I think).

;ivlunsdystf · Post by **;ivlunsdystf** » Fri Aug 25, 2006 8:31 am

I liked Joan Baez a bit more (up from being gravely frightened by her excessive vibrato) after watching her use several dozen four-letter words in a row during those interviews

if we're talking about the same movie

But I thought this thread was supposed to be about how Bob Dylan doesn't like today's (his) CD mastering, not a referendum on Bob Dylan and Wavy Gravy

How come nobody ever busts on Donovan?

Mark Alan Miller · Post by **Mark Alan Miller** » Fri Aug 25, 2006 9:02 am

Well, if it's the difference between the sound of the recordings in the studio vs. on CD, sure, it's the mastering that's mostly to blame. Of course, the limitations of 16 bit PCM is part of it, but... a small, small part.

So, you'd think that someone of his stature would have enough of a say to reject a CD master until he was satisfied it was at least close to the sound in the studio that he was so happy with, wouldn't you? I mean really! - it's possible to get CDs to sound quite close to what's in the control room. So if he's simply being told to accept whatever dumb standards his label insists on (volume wars, no doubt) and after all these years in the business he's not willing to stand up for what he wants, well, that's really his problem. He needs to demand masters that he's happy with. And someone like him should be able to get his demands met. And if he's somehow contractually unable to do so, wow. Wow, wow, wow.

Just musin' on it.

JGriffin · Post by **JGriffin** » Fri Aug 25, 2006 9:02 am

Tatertot wrote: How come nobody ever busts on Donovan?

Fish in a barrel are too easy for this board.

lg · Post by lg » Fri Aug 25, 2006 9:10 am

Tatertot wrote:I liked Joan Baez a bit more (up from being gravely frightened by her excessive vibrato) after watching her use several dozen four-letter words in a row during those interviews

if we're talking about the same movie

But I thought this thread was supposed to be about how Bob Dylan doesn't like today's (his) CD mastering, not a referendum on Bob Dylan and Wavy Gravy

How come nobody ever busts on Donovan?

there's "don't look back" the original documentary by d. a. pennebaker in '67 i think, and then there's the 2-part pbs documentary "no direction home" by the incomparable 'still hasn't won an oscar despite an amazing career' martin scorsese, done in 2005. marty's film has the baez @#$% interview segments. i have to admit i had more respect for her after seeing that film, vibrato notwithstanding.

i think donovan is a bit more...innocuous...is the word that comes to mind.

ubertar · Post by **ubertar** » Fri Aug 25, 2006 9:16 am

Busting on Donovan is like busting on Salieri. Why kick a guy when he's down?

;ivlunsdystf · Post by **;ivlunsdystf** » Fri Aug 25, 2006 9:32 am

I guess it's the same reason nobody ever busts on Country Joe and the Fish.

dynomike · Post by **dynomike** » Fri Aug 25, 2006 10:03 am

Mark Alan Miller wrote:Well, if it's the difference between the sound of the recordings in the studio vs. on CD, sure, it's the mastering that's mostly to blame. Of course, the limitations of 16 bit PCM is part of it, but... a small, small part.

So, you'd think that someone of his stature would have enough of a say to reject a CD master until he was satisfied it was at least close to the sound in the studio that he was so happy with, wouldn't you? I mean really! - it's possible to get CDs to sound quite close to what's in the control room. So if he's simply being told to accept whatever dumb standards his label insists on (volume wars, no doubt) and after all these years in the business he's not willing to stand up for what he wants, well, that's really his problem. He needs to demand masters that he's happy with. And someone like him should be able to get his demands met. And if he's somehow contractually unable to do so, wow. Wow, wow, wow.

Just musin' on it.

Totally! Thats what I find most ridiculous about his claim... I mean, he's saying HIS records sound like shit? I mean, go ahead and point the finger at.. technology.. or whatever, but seriously there's no reason it shouldn't sound as good as what he did in the 60s. That technology is still around, and he should have the pull to make it happen. I just blame cranky geezerdom, especially considering his blanket of "no good records in 20 years", which as we all agree is complete bullshit. I dunno. I'm all for trashing mainstream recordings but its just offensive (even to his peers) and untrue to make a statement like his.

chovie d · Post by **chovie d** » Fri Aug 25, 2006 11:15 am

yeah i was refering to the scorsese film.

once i saw Bob running (well walking really really fast) down Prince Street.
even Cops were pestering him "hey bob! bob! wait!"...it was like the elephant man was on the loose or something.

Snarky · Post by **Snarky** » Fri Aug 25, 2006 11:40 am

I'll take Donovan over Dylan anyday. Haters.

Mr. Dipity · Post by **Mr. Dipity** » Fri Aug 25, 2006 11:54 am

Bob Dylan wrote:Yes, back in my day, all the recording were much better. Much Better!!!

And that's not all - everything sounded better: car horns, doors slamming, the television. Even the garbage truck. Everything!! These days it's all just crap. I don't understand how anybody can stand it. Ridiculous! No definition. No high end. Just warble, warble, warble. What's that you are saying? Speak up! Why can't people speak up like they used to in the old days?

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Bob Dylan Says Modern Music Is Worthless

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