Allen Ginsberg was part of the Beat generation (early 1950s), among the first to revolt against conformity. The Beatniks preceded the Hippie movement by a decade or so.
Now... You know Bob uses the n-word in Hurricane. "And to the black folks he was just a crazy 'n-word'. No one doubted that he pulled the trigger." I couldn't listen to it until Jet magazine gave it an okay nod. A better song may Highway 61 Revisited or Knocking on Heaven's Door. Studio versions please.
I love that you highlight Dylan's delivery, he's often dogged for his unusual, nasally voice (it's very easy to impersonate for a laugh), but his vocal style and inflections were groundbreaking for the time.
Actually he didn't get this from any rappers. He is the architype of stringing lyrics together whether it be poetry. Or folk rock .hes the greatest lyricist ever
Indeed. Bob INVENTED rap. This song is arguably the very first rap song. I would not give the credit to Woody or someone else because it lacked the uptempo rhythm and the staccato lyrics.
@@wretchro100 I agree with that point. And nobody out there is more aware of or honors influences more than Dylan. I don't think there is a musician who is more knowledeable about the history of Western music than Bob Dylan. Bob loves Chuck Berry. And Chuck loved him. The thing that Dylan did is that he got inspiration from those influences such as early Rock and Roll and Delta Blues, and he took them to another level, a previously unseen level. He exploded the boundaries for thematic and lyrical content. His delivery in this song was very unique. And as stated, we had never heard or seen lyrical content like this before. What rock music became was unthinkable without Bob Dylan. But Bob himself would tell you that he could not have done what he did without Chuck Berry and Little Richard coming before him. So, that point is true. But I stand by my comment that it is essentially the first rap based upon the rhythm and vocal delivery coupled with the urban themes.
My husband says that this is the original rap song. It may be the first music video too. He had a way of expressing what was actually happening in the world.
I've always heard that the first purpose made music video was Ricky Nelson's "Traveling Man" - back in the late 1950's. It was made for a segment of his family's TV show "The Ozzie and Harriet Show".
Dylan wrote "All Along the Watchtower" which Hendrix launched beyond the stratosphere. Also check out "Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues", "Positively 4th Street", "It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)", "Rainy Day Women #12 & 35", "Highway 61 Revisited", "Desolation Row", "Ballad of a Thin Man", "Don't Think Twice, It's All Right", "Just Like a Woman", "It's All Over Now, Baby Blue", "Masters of War", "Forever Young", and "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" along with so many others.
@@michele-33 Will do. I appreciated him putting all those Song titles so I didn't have to. I absolutely love Bob Dylan. He's influenced me alot. Much thanks all around. 😊
Check out "It Ain't Me", “Visions of Johanna”, "Tangled Up in Blue", ""Lay, Lady Lay", "Simple Twist of Fate". Some songs you might be surprised that Dylan wrote because the cover versions became so popular are , "I Shall Be released", "All Along the Watchtower", "Mr Tambourine Man", "Mighty Quinn".
👍 Bryan Ferry (of Roxy Music - great stuff) did a cover of #ItAintMeBabe (#BobDylanMusic) on one of his early solo albums. Great recommendations, by the way. Stay safe.✌️
"Don't need a weather man to know which way the wind blows" - Check out the history of the weathermen and the Weather Underground. The name came from here.
Its alright Ma (I'm only bleeding) is another song that shows off his ability to put words together. I remember years ago readng a critic talking about Dylan and this song. He said that Dylan doesn't do poetry so much as he does mathematics with words
I had a cool English Lit Prof in college, hiya Mr. Garlitz, and he brought this song to us as a poem, and we spent the whole class discussing the poem and Bob Dylan. A well spent hour at college.
Chod, thanks for spotlighting Bob ! He was way out front with his 60s lyricism, but had more mature work in the 70s like the great album “Desire” featuring one of my favorite songs “Isis” - another great storytelling masterpiece.
The best anti war song ever written. If you haven't seen it, watch Patti Smith sing this song when she went to accept the prize for him. It's incredibly emotional.
I have never seen this video, but know the song well. I am impressed that he was using the cue cards like so many do now on social media. Well done Bob!
This is maybe the coolest video! It shows how creative he was and not just with music. This was long before MTV. How many other artists could express themselves this way and as far back as this?
I was born in 63 to a father who was a big Dylan fan...I hated Dylan during my early years.. hated whatever my parents were into just on principal. Wasn't until my high school years that Dylan started to 'sink in'. Saw him for the first time in 86 and 13 other times since then...6 times with my dad.
I'd like to see you or somebody go way back and react to some of his songs like; "North Country Blues", "He Was A Friend Of Mine", "Percy's Song", "Only A Hobo"...... Good reaction.
I’m so appreciative that the younger urban youth is listening to our era of music. Bob Dylan he’s a love them or hate them and I love them. Do yourself a favor and listen to “It’s ll right ma” it’s nothing but bars I mean nothing but bars. I am a new subscriber and I’ll be waiting for you to play this then you can thank me
Time Out of Mind and Love and Theft are later records that still leave me speechless. My parents exposed me to Otis Redding, Sam Cooke, The Beatles, Billy Joel, Roberta Flack, Van Halen, Barry White and everyone in between. The Bee Gees and Al Green and The Ohio Players all got played .
Searching for Bob dylan reactions, you're channel comes up a lot on RU-vid, you must be in love with this poet like the rest of us. I discoved this genius around 1979. I was 18 in the Navy. Dylan had only been famous for close to 20 years by that time lol. The song blowing in the wind blew my mind. How many ears must one man have before he can hear people cry? What a gift too humanity we have, God Bless you Bob...
the got a Nobel Prize in Literature for the poetic quality of song lyrics. his song is so full of classics. remember Disturbed cover of "Sounds of Silence">well the Hendrix cover of "All along the Watchtower" by Dylan is every bit as epic as the Disturbed cover of Simon&Garfunkel sounds of Silence
Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues, Desolation Row, Tombstone Blues. I predict you'd like the latter the best, but those are three listenable, funny, and endlessly curious songs. It's Alright Ma and Tambourine Man from the previous album would be good ones to check out to.
I'm late to the party here , but I got so caught up in your intro and you talking about growing up and all of those things and jazz and etcetera, I forgot what song that I was supposed to be listening to you with your reaction !! 🙃
Dylan identified with and admired Hip-Hop when it broke in the 80's. This is an excerpt from his book "Chronicles"': "Danny (Daniel Lanois - Producer) asked me what I was listening to and I said...Ice T, Public Enemy, NWA, Run DMC...He seemed surprised but he shouldn't have been.. These guys definitely weren't standing around bullsh*tting. They were beating drums, tearing it up, hurling horses over cliffs. They were all poets and knew what was going on."
You are looking for the phrasing: See Alan Ginsburg in the background carrying the wooden staff in the video (of what some say is the first rap song ( hence the claim that Bob is the father of rap), but back to Alan Ginsburg, one of the beat generation poets of the 50s who read poetry as an art form in coffee houses. It was about the phrasing that you are looking for in Bob's delivery, to a degree. Some say this is the first music video. That probably goes to Ricky Nelson "Travelin Man" from clip from Ozzie and Harriet, the television family of the 50s, Now the radical group the Weather Men, the Weather Underground took their name from Bob's Song, with the lyrics, You don't need a weatherman to tell you which way the wind blows.
I wish you had the freedom to react to more of Dylan's music. He is by far my favorite artist. I see Bob Dylan and Miles Davis as the two giants in the second half of the century.
Ballad of Hollis Brown, Sittin' On a Barbed Wire Fence, Highway 61, on and on. He's a freaking genius. So is Tom Waits if you want a lyricist. Tango Til They're Sore, Jockey Full of Bourbon, Clap Hands, New Coat of Paint.
Great Dylan songs include some masterpieces like Stuck Inside of Mobile With the Memphis Blues Again, Desolation Row, Visions of Johanna, Isis, and some of his best songs are his really sarcastic ones, like Idiot Wind or Leopard Skin Pillbox Hat. And pretty much everything everyone else here mentioned too...
Now get some of the material from "Nashville Skyline" and experience another totally different side of Dylan! "Girl From the North Country" "I Threw It All Away" "Peggy Day" "Tell Me That It Isn't True" or "Lay Lady, Lay"
Hattie Caroll (the lonesome.., something of HC), its allright ma, grain of sand (esp since you come from a gospel background), desolation row, visions of johanna, positively 4th st, feeling ny (best lyric “goodbye new york, hello east orange!), a pawn in their game, masters of war, song to woody, i could go on all day. By the way, this is my go to karaoke song
Cee, you'll like his "Just Like A Woman" and "Lay Lady Lay". The poet of a generation, the man can write a song! He was in the supergroup Traveling Wilbury's 1988-1991, worth checking out.
When my kids were still at home, I had a white board hanging in the kitchen, I would write Dylan quotes on the board for my kids. One of them was "don't follow leaders, and watch your parking meters". Great life advice. You already know that HE WON THE NOBEL PRIZE FOR LITERATURE, right?
Anyone who can appreciate something classic like great jazz in their youth, rather than just the popular music, is going to more likely be open to great music of other genres IMO.
I saw Dylan live only once, maybe ten years ago. I got my money's worth. I thought that concert was going to end a couple or three times before it did. I was on my way out of the arena while he was singing his 'last song' to beat the exit crowd when he started up another song, then another. Dylan loves to perform.
Thank you for showing love to the greats. My favorite album is one that does not get much love--Desire. Hurricane is on this album but every song is a gem. Isis is maybe my favorite song and I found it 20 years after finding Dylan.
Dylan changed everyone's attitude about songwriting. Even before he went electric in '65. He made it important. Listen to both sides of the Bringing It All Back Home album. Oh, it's all on a one-sided CD these days. Funny.
