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The Nobel Prize in Literature 2016 awarded to Bob Dylan

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Re: The Nobel Prize in Literature 2016 awarded to Bob Dylan

#211

Earlier quoted context omitted.

He's the second person in history to have an Oscar and a Nobel Prize. The first being George Bernard Shaw.

I believe Al Gore won both a Nobel and Oscar.

Al Gore didn't win the Oscar, he gave the acceptance speech on behalf of the director of the documentary, he won a grammy though.

Re: The Nobel Prize in Literature 2016 awarded to Bob Dylan

#212
post #151

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> So did Paul McCartney and John Lennon. Do you hear this in any of their work? I only hear it in "Rocky Racoon", which is one of my least favorite beatles songs as a result. I can't say I'm a fan of Stones-style rock and roll. I'd prefer Led Zeppelin; much less caterwauling and more music.

The same Led Zeppelin that borrowed all those American blues and country riffs throughout their career? If you educate yourself on American music from the 20s-50s you'll realize the true extent of the influence on the British music of the 60s and 70s. It's a lot more than Rocky Raccoon but if you're ignorant of country music you're not going to hear the guitar licks, drum patterns and vocal inflections that show up i…

> The same Led Zeppelin that borrowed all those American blues and country riffs throughout their career?

I see that easily, it's the folk influence I have a (harder) time with.

Re: The Nobel Prize in Literature 2016 awarded to Bob Dylan

#213
post #40

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The rebel became part of the institution in the end. Somewhat sad if you ask me.

Eh, I don't know unless you are referring to some event I am not familiar with. Yeah he's not writing protest songs anymore (unless you ask him [1]), but since he went electric, he's been doing what he wants, not what's expected of him. I saw him on tour this year, and it was a strange experience. The performance, song choice, and delivery felt more like he was just doing his music thing and I was paying to watch --…

Experienced exactly the same thing. Surreal. Enjoyed the opening act (Mark Knopfler) more than Dylan, but at least I saw him live once ;)

Re: The Nobel Prize in Literature 2016 awarded to Bob Dylan

#214
post #91

Earlier quoted context omitted.

What is your favorite book by him? I've only read once thus far. "What I talk about when I talk about running"

Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World. Check it out, it's his personal favourite [1]. [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hard-Boiled_Wonderland_and_the...

Can't recommend this enough, it's probably my favorite single piece of fiction.

Re: The Nobel Prize in Literature 2016 awarded to Bob Dylan

#215

I can't help but come back to: A South politician preaches to the poor white man "You got more than blacks, don't complain You're better than them, you been born with white skin" they explain And the Negro's name Is used it is plain For the politician's gain As he rises to fame And the poor white remains On the caboose of the train But it ain't him to blame He's only a pawn in their game. YouTube: https://m.youtube.c…

It's funny because when I think of "politicians who sow hatred, insecurity, fear and division for their own ends and don't care what mess they leave behind" I would first think of the Democrats.

Re: The Nobel Prize in Literature 2016 awarded to Bob Dylan

#217

I can't help but come back to: A South politician preaches to the poor white man "You got more than blacks, don't complain You're better than them, you been born with white skin" they explain And the Negro's name Is used it is plain For the politician's gain As he rises to fame And the poor white remains On the caboose of the train But it ain't him to blame He's only a pawn in their game. YouTube: https://m.youtube.c…

>When I see Trump rallies today full of angry people complaining their country has been 'taken from them' I can't help but think of that song.

Give me a break. "Taking our country back" is talking about wrestling power back from the political and cultural elite that has emerged in the last half-century. This elite formed when 1) all of the smart kids started going off to college together and forming their own social bubble, 2) they began invariably marrying people they went to college or work with (while in earlier times, the successful were typically married to very average middle-class people they grew up around), and 3) the economy shifted to highly rewarding intelligence while wages for lower-skill work collapsed. This has led to the splintering of American society. It has nothing to do with race.

I recommend Charles Murray's book Coming Apart, which is a thorough sociological study of this phenomenon and its effects.

Re: The Nobel Prize in Literature 2016 awarded to Bob Dylan

#218

Earlier quoted context omitted.

You may be right that at the time there were no better subject matter experts. That doesn't make the Norwegian Parliament any good as subject matter experts in perpetuity, unfortunately, and I think the spotty history of the Peace Prize awards and the resulting disdain for it is evidence of that. Not least because the priorities of both the electorate and their elected representatives can change. So we certainly have…

The UN would be a rather horrible solution. No, I trust the Norwegian parliament and its assigned panel a lot more. Nobel Peace Prize and its reputation is theirs. So far they've done a decent job, even if some of the appointments - like the premature selection of Obama - are disappointing.

> No, I trust the Norwegian parliament and its assigned panel a lot more.

I trust them more than the UN too, fwiw, but that's because it's a really low bar.

> Nobel Peace Prize and its reputation is theirs.

Yes, but they don't seem to care very much about its reputation.

> So far they've done a decent job

This opinion is not universally shared.

Re: The Nobel Prize in Literature 2016 awarded to Bob Dylan

#219
post #45

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>the lyrics by themselves don't have anything like the impact (on me at least) of top-notch poetry To you they don't, to me and others they do. To the current Nobel committee they did this year. At the end, Nobel prizes are highly subjective and people dependent recognitions - so arguments of the form of X deserves and Y does not are not too meaningful.

> To you they don't, to me and others they do Really? I've spent pretty much all my spare time and money on music for the last 30 years, but no lyrics by themselves have ever had the effect on me that, for example "The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock" has had ... but then maybe I'm looking at this wrong, and the prize is being awarded for the songs rather than just the lyrics. If that's the case then I guess the priz…

If it's because of music, Bob Dylan is not the best musician.

If it's solely because of lyrics, Bob Dylan is not the best lyricist.

It's a weird comfort-food-like pick either way.

Re: The Nobel Prize in Literature 2016 awarded to Bob Dylan

#220

I can't help but come back to: A South politician preaches to the poor white man "You got more than blacks, don't complain You're better than them, you been born with white skin" they explain And the Negro's name Is used it is plain For the politician's gain As he rises to fame And the poor white remains On the caboose of the train But it ain't him to blame He's only a pawn in their game. YouTube: https://m.youtube.c…

> When I see Trump rallies today full of angry people complaining their country has been 'taken from them' I can't help but think of that song. Give me a break. "Taking our country back" is talking about wrestling power back from the political and cultural elite that has emerged in the last half-century. This elite formed when 1) all of the smart kids started going off to college together and forming their own social…

>This elite formed when all of the smart kids started going off to college together and forming their own social bubble.

You say that as if it's a bad thing.

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