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Auburn Annie · 05-05-2004, 10:09 AM

From the Entertainment news section on CHUM-FM's internet station:

"Entertainment Weekly" reports that Bob Dylan and Paul McCartney may join the next season of "American Idol" as guest judges. Wouldn't it be ironic for Dylan to criticize someone for singing out of key?

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BTW there was also a lengthy cover article on Bob D in last Sunday's STARS magazine entitled "Bob Dylan: A legend finally speaks." No mention of Gord but interesting reading anyway. It was written by Robert Hilburn of the Los Angeles Times. Some quotes:

"It's only natural to pattern yourself after someone," he says, opening the door on a subject that has long been off-limits: his songwriting process. "If I wanted to be a painter, I might think about trying to be like Van Gogh, or if I was an actor, act like Laurence Olivier. If I was an architect, there's Frank Gehry.
"But you just can't copy somebody. If you like somebody's work, the important thing is to be exposed to everything that person has been exposed to. Anyone who wants to be a songwriter should listen to as much folk music as they can, study the form and structure of stuff that has been around for 100 years. I go back to Stephen Foster."

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There follows a long section on his admiration of Woody Guthrie:

"To me, Woody Guthrie was the be-all and end-all ... Woody's songs were about everything at the same time ... he was saying everything in his songs that I felt but didn't know how to. It wasn't only the songs, though. It was his voice -- it was like a stiletto -- and his diction...."

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More on his craft:

"... his sense of tradition is strong. He likes to think of himself as part of a brotherhood of writers whose roots are in the raw country, blues and folk strains of Guthrie, the Carter Family, Robert Johnson, and scores of Scottish and English balladeers.
....the process he describes is more workaday than capturing lightning in a bottle. In working on "Like a Rolling Stone," he says, 'I'm not thinking about what I want to say, I'm just thinking - is this OK for the meter?'"

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It's a surprisingly good article.

[This message has been edited by Auburn Annie (edited May 05, 2004).]

05-05-2004, 10:09 AM	#5
Auburn Annie Senior Member Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Upstate New York Posts: 3,101	From the Entertainment news section on CHUM-FM's internet station: "Entertainment Weekly" reports that Bob Dylan and Paul McCartney may join the next season of "American Idol" as guest judges. Wouldn't it be ironic for Dylan to criticize someone for singing out of key? ******************************************* BTW there was also a lengthy cover article on Bob D in last Sunday's STARS magazine entitled "Bob Dylan: A legend finally speaks." No mention of Gord but interesting reading anyway. It was written by Robert Hilburn of the Los Angeles Times. Some quotes: "It's only natural to pattern yourself after someone," he says, opening the door on a subject that has long been off-limits: his songwriting process. "If I wanted to be a painter, I might think about trying to be like Van Gogh, or if I was an actor, act like Laurence Olivier. If I was an architect, there's Frank Gehry. "But you just can't copy somebody. If you like somebody's work, the important thing is to be exposed to everything that person has been exposed to. Anyone who wants to be a songwriter should listen to as much folk music as they can, study the form and structure of stuff that has been around for 100 years. I go back to Stephen Foster." ----------------------------------------- There follows a long section on his admiration of Woody Guthrie: "To me, Woody Guthrie was the be-all and end-all ... Woody's songs were about everything at the same time ... he was saying everything in his songs that I felt but didn't know how to. It wasn't only the songs, though. It was his voice -- it was like a stiletto -- and his diction...." ------------------------------------------- More on his craft: "... his sense of tradition is strong. He likes to think of himself as part of a brotherhood of writers whose roots are in the raw country, blues and folk strains of Guthrie, the Carter Family, Robert Johnson, and scores of Scottish and English balladeers. ....the process he describes is more workaday than capturing lightning in a bottle. In working on "Like a Rolling Stone," he says, 'I'm not thinking about what I want to say, I'm just thinking - is this OK for the meter?'" ------------------------------------------ It's a surprisingly good article. [This message has been edited by Auburn Annie (edited May 05, 2004).]