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Recently in class we learned about folk music because Bob Dylan had recently won a nobel prize in literature. I found it quite odd that a musician would win a prize that has to do with literature. The reason Bob Dylan won a prize in literature because in his songs he wasn’t really singing, in a way he was just speaking with the accompaniment of music. In each of Bob Dylan’s song rather than singing a song he was telling a story.  The music of Bob Dylan differs highly from popular music today in that music today typically is focused more on the music and less on the words. When looking at popular music today so many people can claim to hear songs say drastically different things because of the lack of clarity and focus on music. One such example of this is Fetty Waps song 679 where many believe him to be claiming that he is a devil worshiper when in reality he is saying “Ima do the worst to her.” Today there are musicians who have entire songs that are very indistinct where one can not even make out what the artist is saying such as Young Thug. Meanwhile, in Bob Dylan’s songs one can actually understand what he is saying which makes the message he is trying to send very clear. Bob Dylan wrote a lot of music in the 1960’s which focused on issues about the Vietnam war and about civil rights.

In class we listened to a few Bob Dylan songs. The music was enjoyable and catchy but it wasn’t really my thing. I never really listened to folk music before until class, because I didn’t think I would enjoy it.  The one song that stuck out to me was the song sung by his girlfriend “A hard rains gonna fall.” While listening to this song in class while she was singing it, I was kind of annoyed by it and felt like it was really long, but when I listened to it at home with Bob Dylan singing it the experience was much different for me. While listening to him sing it for some reason it seemed catchier to me and actually somewhat soothing. I particularly enjoyed the song because it talked about a whole bunch of struggles people in other nations may be experiencing and it just made me think and to be considerate of other people.

Last week in class we discussed Bob Dylan, who recently won the Nobel Prize in Literature. There have been critics of this nomination, but I think they are unjustified, as Dylan’s songs carry true weight and many of them tell a story. Bob Dylan came up from humble beginnings, having been born in Hibbing, Minnesota. He really isn’t like any other artist out there, as professor Kahan called him “sui generis”. He’s a folk singer, but his music is more upbeat than more traditional folk music. I’m listening to “Like a Rolling Stone” as I write this entry, and I really like that I can just tap my foot along to the beat and his voice definitely has a calming presence. In addition, this song features more instruments than Dylan typically uses, which is just his guitar and harmonica.

Bob Dylan most often sung of social unrest, particularly the Vietnam war. His time of prominence was during this era, the 60s and 70s. The songs “A Hard Rain’s Gonna Fall” and “The Times They Are A-Changin’” are most indicative of this. We listened to the Joan Baez cover in class of the first song, and while it was very long, it conveyed a message of impending possible nuclear fallout. The second song was more about the new generation coming of age and assuming a larger role in the country. The song “Don’t Think Twice It’s alright” has a really sad mood to it, sort of a breakup song. It just has Dylan strumming his strings and blowing into the harmonica, reminiscing on the relationship he had probably just ended.

I was pretty surprised how catchy some of these songs were. So little editing and chopping gives Dylan’s music a really raw sound that makes it that much better. I particularly liked “Like a Rolling Stone” and “The Times They Are A-Changin’”. This really contrasts with today’s popular music, with many people working on a single song and editing and sound effects and on and on.

Listening to this music for the first time has almost been like listening to The Beatles for the first time. My cousin always told me to listen to Bob Dylan, but I always just shrugged it off. I now realize this was pretty foolish of me, as this assignment has really let me appreciate Dylan as an artist. His Nobel in literature is well deserved for his meaningful tunes.

Personally I’ve never heard of Bob Dylan, probably because folk music isn’t a genre of music that I hear often. My brother loves the genre, and I love listening to it because of him. Theres one group that I like called First Aid Kit. They are more modern, but I like they’re style and music. Also when I watch the Walking Dead I like how they use a lot of folk music to match the story. A lot of folk music I listen to come from the show.

In class we listened to ‘A Hard Rain’s Gonna Fall’. I actually listened to the song again at home and added it to my playlist.  I really liked when Joan sings it though. That is simply because I liked the sound of her voice more than Bob Dylans, even thought I like his voice too. The lyrics of this song are better at telling a story than most of the music of today. Its a kind of song that you can listen to and think about rather then just listen to. In comparison to the music I listen to, a lot of the beauty in this song is the story about what Bob Dylan is actually trying to say about nuclear warfare. While the music I listen to are either just songs I can relate to or just like singing along and dancing to.

However I really liked the song when Joan sings it more. That is simply because I liked the sound of her voice more than Bob Dylans, even thought I like his voice too. In fact I think I liked a lot of Bob Dylans songs when someone else sang it, like when Peter, Paul, and Mary sang Blowin’ in the Wind. I really liked hearing them sing it.

The song I liked the least was probably Girl from the North Country when Bob Dylan sings it with Johnny Cash. I really dislike this song because of Johnny Cash’s voice, I’m just not entirely into hearing his very deep voice.

I can definitely see how Bob Dylan received the Nobel prize for expanding English literature into music. He literally takes a story and sings it, which is really cool and creative. He also makes it seem very easy to put the story with the right cords and melody because now I feel like anyone can easily make a song out of a story, even me. I’m definitely going to be listening to a lot of folk music after being introduced to it, but I probably won’t be listening to Bob Dylan’s music. I’ll probably find other folk artists.

The only Bob Dylan song I have ever heard before class on Wednesday was “Blowin’ in the Wind”. I actually forgot that I knew the song until we listened to it in class. I actually really like this song because some of the questions that are asked in it are questions that I have asked before, but of course not with the same words. The first question in the song is my favorite because it is one I want to be answered myself which is, “How many roads must a man walk down before you can call him a man?” This question is basically asking how many things does a person have to do or experience to be considered an adult. I always wonder what it means to be an adult because we are legal at the age of 18, but we are not considered mature adults until we are at least in our mid 20’s.

After listening to “Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright” a couple of times, I started to feel sad because it sounds like the girl of the “story” is leaving the guy. I seems like the girl is trying to apologize in her way and try to fix their relationship, but the guy is telling her that what’s done is done and “don’t think twice, it’s alright” because she has already decided to leave him. Every phrase at the beginning of each verse is repeated in a different tone the second time it is sung which emphasizing what the singer is saying. Overall, it was a sad, but nice song.

These two songs in particular stood out to me most because the questions in “Blowin’ in the Wind” are still asked today. It is interesting how a song from so long ago consists of questions with answers that are still “blowing in the wind” because it seems like we can never got the answers. “Don’t Think Twice, It’s Alright” has a theme that is closer to the ones of many songs we have today. It is similar to the love songs that many people listen to. The common theme is either the girl or guy is trying to express their feelings and in Bob Dylan’s song, the guy feels like he is being left behind. For a lot of these types of songs, the roles can be switched and can be in either gender or person’s perspective.

It’s not that I don’t like folk music, but it is not something I would listen to everyday. These two songs stood out to me most because I liked the lyrics.

Before class on Wednesday I had never actually sat down and analyzed an artist lyric, picking out particular themes and discussing them, but I found that while listening to Bob Dylan this practice became very natural. Also before Wednesday I never truly paid attention to Bob Dylan when he was on the radio and could honestly not differ between him and another folk artist from that period. Listening to Dylan was surprisingly pleasant and gave me a new standard at which to hold artist in regards to their lyrical message.
I enjoyed most of the songs on the playlist we were giving, but I especially enjoyed “Like a Rolling Stone,” “Tangled in Blue,” and “The Times They Are A-Changin’.” “Like a Rolling Stone,” told the fascinating story of a woman, who presumably grew up with a modestly wealthy family, but was now experiencing the real hardships that many faces every day. The story chronicles her journey from living high and mighty, to her triumphant fall, as she loses much of what she has early on in her life. The song almost is painting the image of a person who believes that they will live the perfect American life and live comfortably forever. Towards the end of the song, Dylan sings “He really wasn’t where it’s at, After he took from you everything he could steal” explaining that when her husband left he took everything from her, leading to her ultimate demise, being poor. Dylan then sings “They’re all drinkin’, thinkin’ that they got it made, Exchanging all precious gifts, But you’d better take your diamond ring, you’d better pawn it babe” explaining that while her old friends are out wining and dining, she has to struggle to meet ends meet. This song perfectly describes how arrogance can come back around and bite you in the butt.

Another song by Dylan, “The Times They Are A-Changin’,” describes the forces that were driving change during the 1960’s, and how it was a “Join us or get out the way” mentality. This song speaks about the changing attitude that the youth in the country had more power than ever before and they were going to make that power known. This song also has connections to the Vietnam war, which at the release of the song was a hot-button issue in the United States. The song draws comparisons to both Credence Clearwater Revival’s “Fortunate Son” and Marvin Gaye’s “What’s Going on,” which have similar messages that the war was causing turmoil within many different communities within the United States. The song “Subterranean Homesick Blues,” is reminiscent of Bob Dylan’s idol Woody Guthrie and has a real southern, blues feel to it. Overall I was surprised by how much I enjoyed the music and would not mind adding some of Dylan’s song into my current playlists.

When I first was introduced to Bob Dylan during class, I was pretty sure I wasn’t going to enjoy the music that he made. Since I never heard of Bob Dylan before and really don’t like experimenting in different genres of music, I was sure that he wouldn’t be my first choice to listen to at the gym, or at sitting at home. After learning that he did folk music, which I think to be similar to country, I really wasn’t excited to sit through the class listening to Bob Dylan’s music. I don’t really listen to other types of genres other than hip-hop and the occasional pop song.

The first Bob Dylan song that I listened to at home is, “Blowing in the Wind” and I’m pretty sure that we listened to this same song during class. My first impression on the song was that it was very soothing to hear. The chorus is simple, with no other instruments other than a guitar (I think, and maybe a harmonica) playing, but very enjoyable since it is very relaxing. Although his voice isn’t like the famous singers in todays music, I enjoyed it since it is his own voice, and not some auto-tuned or modified version. One thing that I can say about old songs from the 2000’s and below, are that most of them use their original voices and the focus is more on the singing then on the beats or instruments.

The next song that I heard from Bob Dylan is, “Like a Rolling Stone.” I actually enjoyed this song more than the previous song because it contained other instruments and had more engaging lyrics, ones that you can really sing along to. Out of all the Bob Dylan songs that I heard, this was probably my favorite one. The next song that I heard was, “Knockin’ on Heaven’s Door.” Truthfully, this was probably the worst song that I heard from Bob Dylan. His singing in this version (probably because it was a live performance) was sub-par to the previous ones, especially since he sounded like he was moaning. However, the lyrics really saved the song on this one. They had a gospel-like tone to it and reminded me of something that I would hear on Sunday in church.

The last song that I heard from Bob Dylan was, “Not Dark Yet.” This song was average to me, nothing special about it. The playing instruments in the background were slow and calming, however the main focus when creating the song were most likely the lyrics. I had to listen to the song twice just to catch the meaning and depth of the song. It had a very sad tone to it, with each verse having smooth but somber singing.

My final verdict on Bob Dylan’s music is that he is a great artist, but this type of music just isn’t for me. I do understand why people listen to him and see that there is great appeal in his singing, lyrics, and songs.