The Corner

Music

On Approaching Bob Dylan

One further thought on Bob Dylan that didn’t fit in my front-page piece on his 80th birthday is the way in which listeners approach Dylan. It is ironic that Dylan began as a youth-culture icon, because to people coming later to his music, he can be forbidding. Everything about his music — the snide voice, the density of the lyrics, the long attention span demanded by his songs, the deeper themes — runs counter to how young people of my generation (Gen X), let alone young people of later generations, have been conditioned to consume music. That makes him an acquired taste. But because Dylan is popularly associated with the political Left, young people of a left-leaning bent tend to feel somewhat naturally obligated to like Dylan (or at least give him a listen), while young people of a right-leaning bent tend to feel as if they ought to reject him. I had little enough use, myself, for Dylan’s music until I was in my mid 30s. Getting past the image and into the deeper waters is where Dylan is best encountered.

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