Me and Bob Dylan

I have had a heavy heart for a long while about Bob Dylan. And it is wrapped up in my identity as a musician and as young person that generally likes stuff that is awesome.

So in this next little bit i am going to try to work out my feelings for Dylan, as well as in a smaller way Tom Waits. Here we go.

I don't like Dylan originals. I have said it many times, I like Dylan covers quite a bit more than his original works. But every time i say that out loud I some how feel like an uncultured jack ass. Which bothers me. I went to school for that shit. I am the one that is supposed to make other people feel like uncultured jack asses. I can wax philosophical about Josquin Depres, i can talk intelligently about Beethoven's third (the windy symphony). And yet i am brought to my knees by some jack ass who thinks Dylan is the greatest musician ever to live.

I don't think he is. I'm not really qualified to talk about this, but i think he is one of the greatest song writers/poets of his generation, And don't get me wrong i think he is an amazing song writer. But as far as musicians go, I just don't feel it.

And i feel like a jack ass for saying it. Every time i walked in to some college house with a shrine to Dylan i felt like a traitor to my generation. But i just can't do it anymore. I need to come clean.

I was raised on folk music, which Dylan is loosely connected to (maybe solidly connected?). But i will tell you right now i vastly prefer this to this(both live versions to be fare).

Now i will freely admit that my favorite classical music is post-modern-tonic-minimalism, so perhaps i am biased towards things that make some kind of western-tonal sense, and "sounds real pretty". But why do i feel like some kind of uncultured (to steal a term from Tom) ass clown because i like Dylan's music sung in-tune, with some kind of harmonic motion and integrity?

Maybe i'm just jealous that someone that can't sing for shit can be a professional singer/song writer? Maybe i just don't get it? Maybe if i were more with it i would understand what he was going for? That by choosing notes and harmonic motions that jar against the expected chord structure that he is really making you think about your life, man?

Is tonal expectation just played out? Are poets just not supposed to be good singers? Is that to much to expect? Am I being a dick? Is this to much to ask?

and as for Tom Waits... People have gone farther