tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8163916.post5191528846546406442..comments2023-12-03T03:43:26.162-05:00Comments on Out of the Woodwork: Is Dylan Poetry?Brian Campbellhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17182888011015400963noreply@blogger.comBlogger3125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8163916.post-28945445966209563322007-09-12T11:16:00.000-04:002007-09-12T11:16:00.000-04:00Yeah, Brian, I meant to include Mitchell in the ab...Yeah, Brian, I meant to include Mitchell in the above comment, but forgot her at the last minute. The others you suggested were good choices, too--definitely Tom Waits. Waits's old sidekick in the L.A. cafe scene of the mid to late '70s, Ricki Lee Jones, also fits the category quite nicely; as does Jimi Hendrix (particularly on the second Experience LP, Axis: Bold As Love), Bruce Cockburn, and probably Nick Cave (The Birthday Party, Nick Cave & The Bad Seeds). As well, I would consider Pete Townshend (both on his own and with The Who) and Roger Waters (with or without The Pink Floyd) as the great rock 'n' roll playwrights, so to speak. Their lyrics on concept albums truly function as opera librettos. Ditto for the late Frank Zappa in the comic sense.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8163916.post-86187261863052441402007-09-11T23:15:00.000-04:002007-09-11T23:15:00.000-04:00Yes, I'd say you're right there. I can think of a ...Yes, I'd say you're right there. I can think of a few others: Kurt Cobain, Amanda McBroom (The Rose), Joni Mitchell, even, I'd say, Tom Waits.Brian Campbellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/17182888011015400963noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-8163916.post-79929452336640403972007-09-10T18:04:00.000-04:002007-09-10T18:04:00.000-04:00I've never really considered Dylan-the-recording-a...I've never really considered Dylan-the-recording-artist a poet--just a sometimes-brilliant songwriter (who has a very limited canon of creative writing on paper). Like Elvis Presley, Paul McCartney, Ted Nugent, etc., he's also an idiot savant. He admitted in the 60 Minutes interview a few years back that he just wrote those old protest songs for the sake of writing songs--he never really fully believed in most of that stuff. Also, in that No Direction Home documentary they aired on PBS, he admits that he never knew what a communist was when he was well into his 20s, despite hanging out with the likes of Pete Seeger. And don't forget his conversion to Christianity, complete with a reputed baptism in Pat Boone's swimming pool.<BR/><BR/>As far as I'm concerned, the lyrics of Leonard Cohen, The Doors' Jim Morrison, Lou Reed (despite being heavily influenced by Dylan), Patti Smith and Sonic Youth's Lee Ranaldo all function far better as printed poetry on a page.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com