Re: [Harp-L] Taking the Bob Dylan discussion on a bourbon-soaked tangent

[Richard Hammersley <rhhammersley@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

On other discussion lists, you can bet there are similar cyclical  
debates along the lines of

Bob Dylan's singing - can he/ how can he?

Bob Dylan - greatest English language poet of the 2nd half of the 20th  
century... or not?

On the other hand, I have plenty of friends who like Dylan but don't  
generally enjoy the sound of harmonica maestros at play. I have others  
who don't even like the blues. And most people cannot stand some of  
the music I love, like later John Coltrane or later Miles Davis (after  
he went mad, as one big band director and trumpet player described it).

As Neil Innes of the Bonzo Dog Do-dah Band said as he sat down on stage
"I've suffered for my art, now its your turn"

Bad technique can cause suffering in the audience, but so can too much  
technique employed entirely for its own sake.

The qualities I like in Dylan the musician - a welcome lack of  
perfectionism, a willingness to try new things and change old ones, an  
eclecticism, a willingness to use intuition to get a sound, rather  
than working it all out in terms of music theory, the ability to sing  
a song for more than 9 minutes over a simple riff or 2 without boring  
the listener senseless. These qualities are rarer than people with  
massive musical taste and technique. In fact every town has someone  
who can play like Knopfler/ Clapton etc. but hasn't quite made it for  
various reasons and usually gigs in the local dive. NOT every town has  
the harmonica equivalent, because it is a more rarely played instrument.

Treasure Dylan and learn from him, you don't have to enjoy all his  
stuff.

I would not name a harmonica after him, I would name a musical genre  
after him: "Americana" is really "Dylan Music" as he was the first to  
put it all together and do whatever the hell he pleased with it.  
Before that there were various 'traditions' instead.

On 9 Sep 2008, at 07:29, Daniel Gage wrote:

> It's funny how certain subjects seem to be on a fixed rotation on  
> Harp-L.  I remember getting lambasted for publicly expressing my  
> dislike for Dylan's harp playing a couple of years ago.  The  
> arguments were all about his song writing, his mass appeal, and the  
> impact he had on the generation.  My argument:  "It just sounds ugly  
> to me".  (emphasis on: "TO ME")
>
> I read Richard Hunter's post, and totally dug it.  Then I read Chris  
> M's post, totally agreed with it, and then I was sitting at home  
> watching Dire Straits clips on youtube.  Many people claim that  
> Knopfler is in the same songwriting vein as Dylan or Springsteen.   
> OK, so I saw The Boss once, and the show was really good.  I sing  
> Glory Days to myself, or Quinn the Eskimo from time to time, but I  
> don't own any Springsteen or Dylan Material.  Why?  I don't really  
> like em.  To me, they're harmonica abusers, and I just can't enjoy  
> what they do to the instrument I love.
>
> Then I realized why I love Mark Knopfler so much.  He can play the  
> heck out of the guitar.  There's no question of defending his  
> weakness with his strength.  He goes out there and just kills it.  I  
> think I like it better when people are really good at what they do  
> for an audience.  But that's my opinion eh?  There's plenty of room  
> on the planet for everyone else, so please don't attack me.  It's  
> just a net   forum after all.
>
> bonus harmonica content. . . not that anyone cares. . . I am hitting  
> the 6OB much more consistently and musically lately.  Still can't do  
> it onstage though.  Must'nt be ready yet.
>
> dan g.
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Richard Hammersley
Grantshouse, Scottish Borders
http://www.last.fm/music/Richard+Hammersley
http://www.myspace.com/rhammersley
http://www.myspace.com/magpiesittingdown