Bob Dylan Has Been Awarded the 2016 Nobel Prize for Literature

CNN

The Swedish Academy's permanent secretary, Sara Danius, said Dylan, 75, "is a great poet in the English-speaking tradition." She drew parallels between his work and that of ancient Greek poets Homer and Sappho.

A body of work spanning 5 decades has placed Dylan into the conscience of American song and poetic tradition.

In 2008, he won a Pulitzer Prize special citation for "his profound impact on popular music and American culture, marked by lyrical compositions of extraordinary poetic power."

This award is for creating new poetic expressions in song.

The list of others that were in the running will not be released for 50 years.

From civil war poems to my beloved Japanese writings, Dylan tended towards "borrowing" his lyrics...

Love and Theft” was also notable as being the first of Dylan’s albums in some time where clear literary-lifting was identified. The New York Times1 and San Francisco Chronicle identified several lines that Dylan had taken verbatim from the English language translation of Dr. Junichi Saga’s 1991 Japanese gangster memoir, Confessions of a Yakuza. These lines included: “my old man was like some kind of feudal lord”, “why don’t you shove off if it bothers you so much”, “my uncle did a lot of nice things for me and I won’t forget him”, and “What’s the use if you can’t stand up to some old businessman?”. While the New York Times article argued that what Dylan did was closer to “cultural collage” than to plagiarism the publication asked more questions with the release of 2006’s Modern Times.

Bob Dylan's Plagiarism

-Chris

a reply to: reldra

Love his poetic mysteries. He got a lot of inspiration for that when he traveled as a hobo by rail cross this country.

I can relate.

Avoid the stigma of the song title, if you will...

Lyrics

a reply to: intrptr


I have heard the song Isis, but never focused on the lyrics. Just fantastic!

a reply to: Christosterone

Fun Fact: All musicians "lift" stuff from other songs. It's a musical tradition. For instance, the lawsuits against Led Zeppelin for plagiarism blindsided them since they argued that bands had been doing that forever. It's just that the law had other ideas and said that since they made so much money off of the songs and the black artists they ripped the songs from didn't that they should get credit. But in any case, plagiarism in music has traditionally not been looked at as harshly as it is in the literary world.

Even now, artists still do it with dubbing and remixing. The emergence of hip-hop was a completely different example of when music's plagiarism roots clashed with the law. DJ's starting taking samples of songs and putting them into their beats. The law didn't know how to handle that either.

I mean you've heard of cover songs before right? Well that is another example of musicians "lifting" other artists' works. You learn to play by playing other people's pieces. It's the entire basis for how music is created. It takes the old and builds on it to create new.

a reply to: reldra

You beat me to it reldra :-)

Was going to post as soon as I heard it this morning - but so glad you did

God this made me smile - made me happy

Some people are seriously upset. All the arguing - priceless

I am so going to enjoy this

a reply to: Spiramirabilis

He was never my favorite, but, looking at the entirety of his body of work and one of the last great foklorists, he certainly deserves this.

originally posted by: intrptr
a reply to: reldra

Love his poetic mysteries. He got a lot of inspiration for that when he traveled as a hobo by rail cross this country.

I can relate.

Avoid the stigma of the song title, if you will...

Lyrics

Wasn't that a Woody Guthrie thing?
and
Boxcar Willie
and
Softbones Willie

a reply to: reldra

Whether he is your favorite or not, there is probably a song or two that you like that another artist has covered of his. All Along the Watchtower. Knocking on Heaven's Door. Tangled Up in Blue. The Mighty Quinn (Quinn the Eskimo). Maggie's Farm. When I Paint My Masterpiece. Like a Rolling Stone. Rainy Day Women #12 & 35.

Fun Fact: Rainy Day Women isn't about smoking pot. It's sung sarcastically about people bitching about Dylan switching to electric guitar.

a reply to: reldra

The man has a gift for language

Art is an interesting thing - right? His work is pegged as folk, but he is a poet first

No different from other writers, people can bicker about what is and isn't his best work, and why - and when he was on fire as opposed to not so much

He does deserve this though - I couldn't be more pleased

a reply to: reldra

Glad to hear it.



RE: What Dylan did was closer to “cultural collage” than to plagiarism - I agree. And as Krazysh0t said, "All musicians "lift" stuff from other songs. It's a musical tradition."



...But, but - where's Leonard Cohen's Nobel Prize?

a reply to: burgerbuddy

See? Lots of character building, soul searching, experiencing life from the outside, looking in.

Whole different perspective. Highly recommended.

a reply to: Krazysh0t

I collect and play Gibson Les Pauls and am a Jimmy Page acolyte and you're mistaken on Led Zeppelin's travails..
They opened for tauras in 68 and the chord structure of "spirit" sounded similar to stairway to heaven.
The diminished chords and song structure of stairway's wild departure from the minor diminished intro to its raucous bridge, solo and outro saw this lawsuit thrown out...

When I'm on the piano it is very easy to see the differences in the songs but is entirely too complicated musically for me to explain unless u are a musician(in which case I will gladly do so)…
But Jimmy page was a composer of unequalled brilliance on the guitar and when zeppelin did covers, they called them "covers" and credited to the original composers of the songs...

Bob Dylan made no such discriminations and routinely stole from a multitude of translated Japanese stories and poems as well as obscure civil war writings...none of whose authors received credit.

When Plant referenced Tolkien(his and my literary hero) he used their named...from ramble on he spoke "gollum and the evil one(sauron)...and "the battle of evermore" is plants ode to the battle of pellenor field from "return of the king"...he referenced these allusions in the albums and in using characters names(gollum) the homage was obvious..
And jimmy composed music of unequalled simplicity and beauty to go with his lyrics...he remains the coolest man on the planet
Ramble On(a Tolkien primer song)

-Chris

originally posted by: reldra
CNN

The Swedish Academy's permanent secretary, Sara Danius, said Dylan, 75, "is a great poet in the English-speaking tradition." She drew parallels between his work and that of ancient Greek poets Homer and Sappho.

A body of work spanning 5 decades has placed Dylan into the conscience of American song and poetic tradition.

In 2008, he won a Pulitzer Prize special citation for "his profound impact on popular music and American culture, marked by lyrical compositions of extraordinary poetic power."

This award is for creating new poetic expressions in song.

The list of others that were in the running will not be released for 50 years.

Bobby Zimmerman did a lot of "borrowing" so unless there is a Nobel for literary plagiarism, this one was wasted. Maybe the committee are desperate for candidates. This reminds me of Obama's peace prize for being elected.

a reply to: pteridine

So true, Obama got a peace prize, Dylan get's a Literature prize. Time to evaluate who is doing the judging and awarding.

a reply to: Christosterone

Bob Dylan made no such discriminations and routinely stole from a multitude of translated Japanese stories and poems as well as obscure civil war writings...none of whose authors received credit.

VanGogh reinterpreted Japanese prints

You just don't get Dylan. Or - the Nobel folks is clueless

:-)

Wonderful news. Akin to a "lifetime Achievement Award", but much better.
I can't think of anyone who is more deserving.

a reply to: Christosterone

Look. I'm not trying to discredit the genius of Jimmy Page here. I certainly recognize how awesome he was, but he most certainly did lift stuff. Again. This is a trait that all musicians do at some point. You should know as a musician yourself. You didn't learn to play your instrument by playing stuff you made up in your head. You learn it by playing other artist's works.

His early stuff is brilliant and timeless. The Beatles have said they went from playing and recording teeny-bopper music to more mature, philosophical songs almost overnight after hearing Dylan in the 60s.

The Byrds great cover of Dylan's "My Back Pages"

originally posted by: Krazysh0t
a reply to: Christosterone

Look. I'm not trying to discredit the genius of Jimmy Page here. I certainly recognize how awesome he was, but he most certainly did lift stuff. Again. This is a trait that all musicians do at some point. You should know as a musician yourself. You didn't learn to play your instrument by playing stuff you made up in your head. You learn it by playing other artist's works.

Very true...
My mother was a concert pianist and band leader and to quote Dan fogelberg "my life has been a poor attempt to emulate the [wo]man....I'm just a living legacy to the leader of the band"

And I was generous in calling myself a musician to be fair...
It is not my trade, only my passion...

So to my beloved mother who I will never be sufficiently worthy of the love she gave, I want to send these most beautiful of songs...