My 72-hour introduction to Bob Dylan was punishing. I listened over a couple days of 14-hour shifts at Seafair, setting up and taking down tents and stages. It was grueling, monotonous work that involved hauling hundreds of tables and chairs and packing away pieces of Astroturf soaked by rainwater and Coors Light.
Exhausted, dirty, and usually listening in a depressive atmosphere of public buses or shitty trucks, the listening was a trial. I was in no state for musical exploration. I felt lost in songs like “Subterranean Homesick Blues” that left me wondering what was musical gibberish and what simply went unappreciated because of a lack of historical context. Who was Johnny in the basement? What medicine was he cooking? And this soot-faced Maggie? Was she some renowned ’60s chimney sweep?
Only in rare moments did I savor, almost masochistically, the music, wallowing in Dylan’s grating melancholic voice and abandoning any attempt at understanding. Those rare moments tended to come while relaxing at home: frying potatoes for dinner with rain falling, listening to “Percy’s Song” for the second time, enveloped by its sense of weariness and powerlessness.
I didn’t linger a moment past 72 hours, reentering the wide musical world with Raekwon’s refreshingly superficial “House of Flying Daggers.” A Dylan marathon is a draining thing, and I was not grateful to be engrossed in fairly complicated lyrics when hungering for the visceral emotional relief music can provide.
RELEVANCE TO MY LIFE: 2
Bob Dylan captured a period of political turmoil in the United States, when the country was embroiled in an apparently unwinnable war in a foreign country. But really, any connection I tried to draw to my life and today’s world—hey, we’re spending lots of money on warplanes now, too!—felt superficial and forced.
THE QUALITY OF HIS VOICE: 10
Why is it that when a voice grates in a certain way (think Lil Wayne or Leonard Cohen), it suddenly becomes the absolutely best thing to listen to?
DEGREE TO WHICH MY PARENTS THINK HE’S IMPORTANT: 8
My dad said he has three CDs that he still listens to these days. One of them is The Freewheelin’ Bob Dylan. My mom called herself a great admirer of Bob Dylan and even went to one of his concerts “or maybe two,” she said. “But definitely at least one.” I can tell those were good times.
DEGREE TO WHICH I THINK HE’S IMPORTANT: 3
I think I’m being pretty generous to the guy. He’s got some great songs, but these days, whatever he’s doing, not very many people seem to be hearing about it.
Listening solely to Bob Dylan over the course of three 90-degree days while packing for college is something like being in solitary confinement next door to a rambling lunatic with a guitar. Some of the strumming is painful, some achieves sentiment, and SOME comes close to sounding like music. In the sweaty confines of my bedroom, disc one of Biograph was, bluntly, torture.
I imagine that the majority of Bobby D’s songs hit home only if you’re around a campfire in North Dakota at three in the morning. Or when you’re stoned. Hearing endless harmonica and stream-of-consciousness cacophonies is like having restless legs syndrome in your brain. This annoyance coupled with my own inability to pack resulted in utter frustration. However, by day three, now lackadaisical and coming to terms with moving across the country, I inexplicably started to dig it. For a few twilight hours of apathy, tunes like “I Want You” sounded good. But come morning, love was fleeting and his ambling lilt was just funny (“Your dancing child with his Chinese SUITTTT/He spoke to me, I took his FLUTEEEE”). My journey with this dude went from pure loathing to convulsions of laughter, with brief affection sandwiched in between.
RELEVANCE TO MY LIFE: 4
Some songs about war, change, and love can transcend generations, but unlike work by other paragons of the ’60s like Janis Joplin and John Lennon, Dylan is too indulgent. His lack of variation (congratulations, you can play the harmonica!) doesn’t inspire me to keep listening. But you’ve got to hand it to him for enduring when his work clearly lacks the substance of other hippie-era musicians.
THE QUALITY OF HIS VOICE: 3
Dylan is a storyteller, not a musician, and this is as evident in his lack of vocal strength as in his aversion to basic composing techniques. He musters flat wails and whispers with casual effort. On his more unassuming and stripped-down tracks, dude can handle a tune, but the midrange in which most of his songs rest is strained and erratic. His stylings can grow on you, but only if you accept his abilities for what they are.
DEGREE TO WHICH MY PARENTS THINK HE’S IMPORTANT: 2
When asked her opinion, my mom shrugged and said, “I could roll any which way with Bob Dylan.” Ah, sweet apathy. “In terms of people I wanted you to know, like the Beatles and Barbra Streisand… let’s just say he wasn’t on the list.” Whodathunk, my mom has good taste. Granted, she hasn’t listened to much of his work—only the New Morning album, and only because “the cover picture looked like my brother.”
DEGREE TO WHICH I THINK HE’S IMPORTANT: 4
The majority of Bob Dylan’s songs remind me of a run-on sentence by Jack Kerouac set to music. There is something compelling about the fame he’s achieved, given his apparent free-falling style where song structure is an afterthought and it’s nearly impossible to find a strain that will stick in your head overnight. I don’t know that he deserves celebrity based on his discography. It seems that his reputation rests on Bob Dylan the anomaly more than on Bob Dylan the musical artist. He’s not golden. He’s just another singer-songwriter.
Seventy-two hours of straight-up Bob Dylan. Complete and total immersion into the oeuvre of an artist revered by musicologists, professionals, and amateurs alike. An artist I was only familiar with by name and association. I really didn’t know what to expect, but an open mind is what this little experiment called for, and boy let me tell you, that’s exactly what I gave it.
By the end of day one, I didn’t hate it. It’s multifaceted. Dylan’s songs fluctuate from short and twangy with a bit of that sweet harmonica to layered and bluesy with super-clean electric-guitar riffs—from simple-yet-profound to convoluted-yet-captivating.
By day two, after going through the three-disc set at least twice, I caught myself singing along with “Groom’s Still Waiting at the Altar” and “Like a Rolling Stone,” changing my Facebook status accordingly.
Day three brought about some deeper analysis and reflection. Do I like Bob Dylan’s music because I somehow owe it to him, as being some sort of revolutionary singer-songwriter? Or do I genuinely dig it for reasons less shallow?
I’m into it. For real, though.
I took a late-night Rollerblade excursion around Green Lake (“Just Like a Woman” played while I looked at an awesome view of the lake and the moon), went to the sunny Ballard Locks, drove around, read, took naps, showered, researched, and socialized to Bob Dylan. I gotta say, he’s a good fit for all sorts of circumstances.
Though I thought he was a novelty to begin with, and I still do, Dylan is a talented dude. You can tell from the fiftysomething songs on his three-disc set, he’s got a knack for writing catchy tunes. And I’m all about catchy tunes.
RELEVANCE TO MY LIFE: 3
Not very relevant. Like I said, he has catchy tunes, but they don’t really relate to my life. More often than not, I wasn’t even listening to the lyrics, just the melody and the instruments.
THE QUALITY OF HIS VOICE: 9
Oh, I’m a big fan. I love the way he manipulates his voice to give him that bluesy, beatnik vibe. It’s as if that voice and that presence is Bob Dylan, while the behind-the-scenes self is more like Robert Zimmerman. A mask, if you will. He sounded a bit like Robin Williams doing an impression in “I Want You.” Just putting that out there.
DEGREE TO WHICH MY PARENTS THINK HE’S IMPORTANT: 0
My parents have about as much experience with Bob Dylan as I did before this project, if not less. You know, being foreign and all. They’re from Karachi, Pakistan, where I was born.
DEGREE TO WHICH I THINK HE’S IMPORTANT: 6.5
I think he’s super-talented, and there’s really no doubt about that. He’s an artist, and luckily for him, he is recognized for it and appreciated for it. I think that his name will go down in history, because it already has, but that doesn’t mean I think he’s supremely important.
When I first began my journey into Bob Dylan’s subconscious, I was afraid. Many people had told me that what awaited me was some of the most brilliant songwriting of our generation. As I put the first disc of Biograph into my CD player, I expected to adore and revere this man upon the first note of his voice or wail of his guitar. Instead, I experienced utter confusion.
What came out of the speakers was what appeared to be a middle-aged man who wailed and moaned like a witch on steroids, while trying to ramble on about something or other that happened to his wife or friend or someone. Nothing about his work impressed me; his guitar playing was oddly timed and played, his vocals were extremely lacking, and he used the harmonica like rock bands used the cowbell in the ’80s. The songs that I liked (at least in comparison to the others) were all the songs that other bands, including Jimi Hendrix, later covered and which in my opinion sound much better than the originals. Even his rhyme schemes and lyrics can be underwhelming after he uses the same base structure for lines multiple times in 10 seconds.
Despite all this, I can at least understand where some people’s love for this man’s career comes from. During the entire time that I listened, I couldn’t help but imagine an old frontier man riding on a wagon train, singing and playing just to pass the time, all the while complaining about his journey west. He wears a cowboy hat and overalls, constantly accompanied by a troupe of young boys who play harmonicas and giggle in glee at every word made by Dylan. It’s these boys who eventually grow up and spread their love of the old kindly man who sang them songs. As a result, this man experiences untold popularity after a few years and never stops his songwriting, ever. And all the while, he insists that the sun is not yellow, it’s chicken.
RELEVANCE TO MY LIFE: 5
I can only relate to his more popular hits and a few odd songs that I personally felt a connection to. Those songs were “Mr. Tambourine Man,” “Masters of War,” “Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll,” and “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door.” I like the structure and chorus on “Mr. Tambourine Man,” the overall mood on “Masters of War,” and the subject matter and pure sorrow in “Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll.” “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door” is just overall a good song and probably his best mainstream hit based off of what was on this compilation. Problem is, then I hear songs like “Million Dollar Bash” and I want to bash my head in.
THE QUALITY OF HIS VOICE: 2
There were times listening to this compilation that I thought he sang well, and there were other times when I cringed a little. Dylan’s voice can never surpass his whiny, moaning, complaining tone that he has made for himself. He is by no means a great vocalist or even a competent one, but he is able to tell stories.
DEGREE TO WHICH MY PARENTS THINK HE’S IMPORTANT: 3
My parents do not believe him to be the troubadour of their generation, because they are only 39. Neither of them likes the vocal style very much or necessarily his music, but they can appreciate and respect him because of his influence on the music they grew up with. Both agreed that covers of Bob Dylan songs are generally better than his originals.
DEGREE TO WHICH I THINK HE’S IMPORTANT: 7
I personally think that Bob Dylan’s presence and influence in music will be felt for a long time to come. He popularized the idea that singers do not have to be talented in the traditional sense in order to be appreciated. Considering that Bob Dylan has been around since the 1960s, I believe it’s safe to say his music has some staying power with the population. But do I wish for his music to remain? I can’t say that I really care. I am of the opinion that even though he did so much, we need to move on. 
I am disappointed that you went with a three disc biography set as opposed to four or five of his best albums… Blood on the tracks, the freewheelin bob dylan, blonde on blonde, etc. Listening to music as it was composed and designed especially in the era of the album I feel really helps appreciated and give context to much of the music.
Is there any three-disc best-of that wouldn’t become maddening after 72 hours of straight listening?
Dylan’s musical legacy is pretty secure. He’ll get more play in 2110 than anybody else playing at Bumbershoot this year, you can be sure. Sorry, Courtney.
I love The Stranger and have been a devout reader since I myself was a child of 18. I didn’t want to read the poorly written opinions of my peers then and I don’t want to read the poorly written opinions of children now. Off to read Paul’s article in the hopes it will rinse my brain of this ill conceived idea.
I consider myself a pretty obsessive dylan fan, love albums that span his career, the documentaries, his book… but I also own Biograph, just bought the vinyl for novelty sake and I can’t really stand listening to it either! I agree w/ comment 1, should have just picked a few albums… nothing knocked me on my ass as much as listening to Bringing It All Back home the first time from start to finish.
Degree to which an 18-year-old’s opinion has relevance to my life: 0.
Perhaps Mama Fratelli put it best: “Kids suck.” The notion that somehow Janis Joplin has more substance (?!?!?) and is less self-indulgent- ever heard the worst imaginable version of the old standard “Summertime”?- illustrates an ignorance that surpasses even The Stranger’s usual music critics.
This is how foie gras is made.
I have to agree with #1. I’m a big fan of dylan but can’t stand the greatest hits comp I have (not biography) for one reason…everytime I hear “don’t think twice” I have to dig out my freewheelin disc because I need to hear “bob dylans dream” right after. One thing possibly more difficult than writing 6 or 10 great songs is putting 6 or 10 together in the “right order”. There’s a whole bunch of great songwriters out there but not very many good “album writers”. its a rare and all but lost art. All in all though I like the premise of your story.
I bet within five years they all love him.
Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha Barbra Streisand ha ha ha ha ha ha. Kid, you deserve the shallowness you inherited. May it serve you well.
FWIW, I couldn’t listen to Bobby D for 72 hours either. One LP side at a time is my max. But a lot of those LP sides are really beautiful.
I’m fond of a story my dad told me of when he and my mom saw Dylan in concert.
My mom leans over to my dad and says, “I wish he’d play ‘Lay Lady Lay.'”
My dad responds, “He played it three songs ago.”
So a bunch of effete 18 year olds don’t get Dylan? What a surprise…here’s a quick outline on the difference between men and what you see walking around in skinny jeans with moussed hair these days:
1. Dylan road a motorcycle and does ads for Cadillacs. He doesn’t ride a tricycle and drive a Prius.
2. Dylan eats meat.
3. Dylan loved to use the words ‘chick’ and ‘faggot’ and never apologized for it Check out the Weberman tapes on youtube.
4. Dylan changed music and the world. The Decemberists have girlfriend issues.
5. Dylan wasn’t a pacifist and said so in numerous interviews.
6. Dylan owns a gun and once had to threaten hippies with it in his home.
Just to clarify, they didn’t have to listen to the music 24/7 during that 72-hour stretch. They just weren’t allowed to listen to anything else.
this is like pop relevance ethnography. love it. it really does show how important the listening environment can be to the reception of music, there is no objective standard, just a series of more or less appropriate mise en scenes.
personally i have no interest in dylan, i just love the idea of listening experiments.
The Stranger needs some writers who don’t dabble in poop.
I’m 25 and I like Dylan. He’s a poet.
“restless leg syndrome in your brain” – Hilarious!
I didn’t REALLY get into Bob Dylan until my 20’s, whenever DON’T LOOK BACK was rereleased. The BD in DON’T LOOK BACK is punk as shit.
Almost 60 and you can add me to the list of people who never got it. Poet? Don’t think so. Singer? Uh,no. Poseur? If the shoe fits…
I’m 24 and I don’t much care for him as well.
“half the people can be right all of the all of the time, some of the people can’t be all right all the time. But all the people can’t be alright all the time. I think Abraham Lincoln said that.” Guess what: Bob Dylan sang that.
Who cares what the current apathetic, non-thinking, without musical knowledge, narcissistic, without intellect, indulgently superficial, non-musical, non-poetic, non-artistic, generation has to say.
I think you need to be more involved in your world to understand Dylan. The context of his songs is when the world was changing really fast and there was a war going on. The same is true now, but people have become so isolated from it that most people nearly forget that there is a war, and there are large scale social changes happening.
These kids (who make me feel old at 22 by the way) aren’t engaged in their world, other than the pakistani kid. Dylan’s music is largely about suffering and none of them have experienced anything actually close to it.
My favorite Dylan Songs: Gates of Eden and Only a pawn in their game
@Rollinstone : I think you’re shaking your walker too hard. The boomer generation ruined the environment, destroyed our economy and spent themselves into the highest personal debt levels ever. And then has the gall to call younger people narcissistic?! Clearly you have a distorted picture of your own generation.
“there was a war going on.”
Please, Dylan stopped singing protest songs years before the war peaked. By ’68 and Tet, Dylan was married with kids and playing ‘square’ country music in Nashville while hippies were rolling in mud and spreading STDs. Dylan clearly sustained hippies, refused to play Woodstock even while living their. He knew stupid white people when he saw them.
Harumph! Go back to your Rhiannas and your Gagas and your Wu-Tang Clans, whippersnappers!
Seriously, I only have about a decade on each of these kids, but I loved Dylan from age fifteen on. Must be a Minnesota thing.
“Dylan clearly sustained hippies”
Typo: Dylan clearly disdained hippies….
“The boomer generation ruined the environment,”
Yes dear. How’s your coltan habit these days, dear?
I just saw Dylan in Portland. He is a 69 year old rock genius. But he doesn’t care what I think. He doesn’t care what these kids think. He only cares about the music. Anyone who listens to Biograph for 72 hours and doesn’t feel at least one shiver of pure recognition, one moment of new crazy knowledge about the world, has barely begun to live, or has already started to die.
The reviews were written poorly? Seemed ok to me. Damn, we have some serious “writers/ Masters of the Written Word” commenting on these articles.
I used to HATE Dylan…his songs, his voice, and I thought he was the UGLIEST TROLL on the planet.
A friend took me to see him in concert at the end of 2004 when I was 32. I LOVED HIM.
Now I love his voice, his songs, and I think he is the sexiest beast to walk this planet. lol Weird how stuff happens….
Congratulations, wonderful journalism(i sooo respect you as a part of our wonderful society). What a great new exposition of dust in the eyes! I bet we’re all aware of the statistical significance the opinion of four 18-20 year-olds really carries and how much this can be accounted for to be the general opinion of an entire generation. In fact, this piece was so effective, i think i’m gonna go listen to lady gaga. and throw up.
kate13: sorry, didn’t mean to insult an entire generation. i don’t know who is responsible for the troubles you claim are my fault. I really think we’re all in this thing together. I blame the power elite, not any one generation for the problems you mention.
Dylan wrote things no one was saying, that everybody was thinking back then…it was quite a revelation that Dylan was even possible…when society was so restrictive.
I know parents who banned their children from listening to Dylan, that seems funny now, but it wasn’t so funny back in the 60’s,,,
Listen to: “Circle Game” by Joni Mitchell
News flash: 18 year olds don’t “get” Dylan
The fact that Dylan’s important doesn’t make him listenable.
never cared much for him
this was hilarious
There is always a large number of people who don’t get Dylan, or just don’t like his voice enough to want to try. Fair enough. The amazing thing about Dylan, however, is that in 45 years…they’ll still be having this conversation…just as they were 45 years ago. Anyone want to bet Justin Beiber or Miley Cyrpus will have that kind of impact?
I am 27 and have seen Dylan in concert 30 times. He is the poet laureate or Rock and Roll, the voice of a generation, he forced folk into bed with rock.
Kids today just don’t listen to good music why do you think the music business is in such sad affairs, their are no good musical acts.
As Charlie Brown once said, “I weep for this generation.”
You don’t have to be 18 to hate Dylan’s music (if you can call it that). Some of us have always hated it since it came out!
Great article! I was not a fan until aged 21. I bought Greatest Hits Vol 2 on vinyl,second hand. I kinda liked some of it……Lay Lady Lay was my favourite……because of his voice. All I Really Want To Do, I perversely liked, because I thought his yodel was…..indescribable.
I then bought Clinton Heylin’s Behind The Shades book, and it inspired me to buy his albums chronologically, starting with Bootlegs Vols 1-3. I was sold. I would struggle to listen to Biograph straight. I agree compilations are not the way to listen to him.
Anyway, one thing that must be agreed is that he is polarising. And that is a great thing, because viva la difference!
This was a really interesting read…comment section as well. I kind of felt put off by these kids too at first, but then I realized, “Wait a minute, that was me when I was a teenager.”
I was born in the late ’70s so Dylan was more my parents’ generation’s thing…and in high school I remember a friend of mine and I trying to listen to a Dylan greatest hits record and just laughing our way through it!! Why was this guy the voice of a whole generation? The guy couldn’t even sing!!!
But then into my ’20s, I started to get it. I don’t remember why, I don’t remember how, but something just clicked. “Love and Theft” was the first non-greatest-hits album I bought of his and I played that thing out!!! Since I’ve become a bit of a Dylan nerd…visiting the “Expecting Rain” site daily.
I don’t fault these kids for not getting it. When I was listening to hair metal in the ’80s, I didn’t (don’t judge me, please!). Maybe they never will get it. That’s fine. But for many people, when Dylan’s music clicks, it CLICKS!!! His legacy is pretty firmly intact.
I just turned 20 and cannot get enough of Bob Dylan. Almost every song, save for Wiggle Wiggle, has some degree of relevance. I don’t understand how these people can’t relate to him. He truly is the best singer songwriter ever and will continue to be as his current material is just as good (to me) as his 60’s stuff.
It bothers me that this wonderful artist’s music is referred to as a “torture” test. I’ve followed Bob since 1962 and been to more of his shows than I can count. How about a Bob Dylan “appreciation” test? After all, he’s won Grammys, and Oscar, the Polar Music Prize and other awards. Not bad for someone who “tortures” people’s ears, eh?? If I have my pick of music for the day, it’s Dylan I’d put on first, and over and over again.
The reviewers don’t admit it, but all but one were personally very offended by Ballad of a Thin Man, and Emma felt that Leopardskin Pillbox Hat spoke directly to her soul.
I’m not sure why people are so pissed off to hear the opinions of young, first-time Dylan listeners. I’m 34, not a Dylan fan, but also not a huge music fan in general, and I’m not at all surprised by their reactions.
My only suggestion would be to keep listening. If I like something the first time I listen to it, it’s an excellent sign I’ll be sick of it in a month. If I keep listening to it and I hear new things and find new meanings each time, the music stays with me. People (not just kids) who are fans of pop music may not realize that, and they’ll think that if something doesn’t grab them on the first listen – never mind the tenth or twentieth because they never make it that far – it’s no good.
I do wonder what their reactions would be to listening to good covers of each song on Biograph. It might be a better “gateway” to appreciating Dylan’s originals. His voice is a hard obstacle for some people to overcome.
And now I’m wondering if I should check to see what Dylan my public library has so I should give him more of a shot. Maybe some of the albums some people here have suggested. (Can’t afford to buy CDs, or even much on iTunes.)
I don’t know why everyone is assuming that all kids listen to is Disney shit. Whether you agree or loath the opinions (I personally get bothered by the big D’s “tunes”) young people today – especially in Seattle – are as much/if not more involved with and knowledgeable about music then we were. Besides the fact that they take the time to know and love our generation too – I challenge you to find one teen who hates the Beatles or Joplin etc. Don’t get your feathers ruffled.
I don’t know why everyone is assuming that all kids listen to is Disney shit. Whether you agree or loath the opinions (I personally get bothered by the big D’s “tunes”) young people today – especially in Seattle – are as much/if not more involved with and knowledgeable about music then we were. Besides the fact that they take the time to know and love our generation too – I challenge you to find one teen who hates the Beatles or Joplin etc. Don’t get your feathers ruffled.
More breaking news: People over 50 don’t find Lil Wayne terribly relevant to their lives.