Bob Dylan

I personally think that it was okay for Bob Dylan to only sing protest music because it was a trend at the time. Many people think it was wrong that he only sang this music because it was a trend but I personally think it was okay for him to do. Bob Dylan sang songs like Blowin' in The Wind, that many considered it be a protest song even though he claimed it wasn't. I think it was okay for people to think that it was but he didn't intentionally make it to be a protest song. I wouldn't be mad or angry with an artist if they made music during trends, if the song is good then that is all that matters to me. I don't really like music that addresses problems that are happening politically or in society. I don't think it is the best way for someone to voice their opinion. If someone wants to voice their opinion they should write a book, or talk to someone. A lot of people listen to music to forget about certain things. Also I would never change my point of view on something just because a famous artist feels a particular way about something. I am not upset that Bob Dylan only wrote protest songs because it was a trend, but I can understand why people would be upset. People may have been upset about it because the might feel like he didn't mean what he said.

Bob Dylan, Politically Fueled or Otherwise

Robert Allen Zimmerman, or commonly known by his stage-name, Bob Dylan, was born May 24^th, 1941, and spent his early years with his parents Beatrice and Abram Zimmerman in a cohesive Jewish community within Minnesota. Even at a young age, Dylan had a great passion for music, expending countless hours listening to the radio. In High school, Dylan spent an extensive amount of time finding his niche among the industry. In spite of this, it was not until his college years, after becoming an active performer among the Dinkytown folk music circuit, that he was able to determine is future. Dylan later dropped out of college in 1960 and moved to New York to test his luck in the big leagues, and the rest is history (Kershaw, 2012).

The artist’s first album, “Bob Dylan,” was released in 1962 and was powerless in winning over audiences. Nevertheless, the following collection of songs he released in 1963, “The Freewheelin Bob Dylan,” was a smash-hit in both the U.S. and the U.K. The album included an amalgamation of love, protest, and blues tracks, which greatly appealed to the listeners of that time (RedPepper.org.uk, 2003). This was the point in time in which Dylan found his place among the profession; writing political invective and using his platform to denounce the wrongdoings occurring at the hands of government officials toward the American people.

Though Dylan continued to write albums throughout the decades to follow, “The Freewheelin Bob Dylan” continues to show its relevance today. In most cases, rather than citing specific occurrences, Bob Dylan attempted to make his lyrics universally viable for anyone going through hardships. Many political movements can be traced back to the message brought forth by Dylan’s songs. Interestingly enough, however, Dylan tended to disagree when referred to as a political song-writer, stating in one interview “Me, I don’t want to write for people anymore – you know, be a spokesman. From now on, I want to write from inside me …I’m not part of no movement… I just can’t make it with any organization.” (Dylan, 1964).

In my eyes, Bob Dylan certainly was a political songwriter, whether intentional or otherwise. His innovative take on social issues was a breath of fresh air for those who saw what was occurring and wanted to do something about it. Does it really matter how Dylan felt regarding protest? No, it does not. To me, it was not necessarily his feelings, in that regard, which mattered most. Rather, what came about because of his words.

Works Cited:

•           “The Politics of Bob Dylan.” Red Pepper, www.redpepper.org.uk/the-politics-of-bob-dylan/.

•           Kershaw, Tom. “The Hollowverse.” Thomas Edison's Religion and Political Views, 11 Apr. 2012, hollowverse.com/bob-dylan/.

·       “Who Is Bob Dylan? Everything You Need to Know.” Childhood, Life Achievements & Timeline, www.thefamouspeople.com/profiles/robert-allen-zimmerman-886.php.

Bob Dylan: Then vs. Now

Hello blog. My fellow classmates are probably aware that this is the third blog post we’ve had to write in Professor Santos’ class thus far. It was easy for me to decide on what I was going to write about for the last two posts because they were based on personal experiences/knowledge in which I could connect in some way to a discussion from class. I didn’t have to think much about what my options were for topics because an idea just clicked, but I knew I had to come up with something today. Then, a thought stumbled upon my brain. Would our generation appreciate the message Bob Dylan portrayed through his music just as much now as it was then and what about his music may people not like as much now? Would the connection to his music be equally strong? 

For starters, I believe Dylan’s music would be just as appreciated and influential now if he spoke of the current issues of our time such as gun violence and racial segregation, which has been around since the beginning of time. The obstacles our nation faces today are just as serious as the ones we dealt with in the mid to late 1900’s. Songs that speak up will be moving to a body of people regardless of the era. 

As far as the type of music Bob Dylan creates compared to what the general population enjoys listening to today, the two stand apart. Although there are definitely people who continue to listen to Dylan’s folky approach, I see them as being older individuals who may be more educated on his success and who were living in the time period when his music was most prominent (as much of a stereotype that may be). Nowadays, music is all about rap/hip-hop, pop and EDM. You probably won’t be hearing as many young adults with their windows down listening to Bob Dylan.  

However, our ability to connect to the music of an artist such as himself regardless of the style he chooses would be equivalent to what it was 50+ years ago. Behind the ethnic tunes are words that will take you back to moments of despair and words from the heart, although it is possible that “heartfelt” was not the case in many of Dylan’s songs. We briefly discussed in class about how the underlying message was often staged which can make the music seem less authentic. Ultimately, Bob Dylan’s music was nothing like that of others when his career began which makes him so unique even to this day. 

"Turn, Turn, Turn" Lyrics by Pete Seeger

        In class we discussed listened to the song "Turn, Turn, Turn" by Pete Seeger. My initial impression was that this song is about the fact that everything comes and goes in life. " To everything Turn, Turn, Turn There is a season Turn, Turn, Turn", just like seasons, life and everything always is changing, and just like seasons you cannot stop the change. That does not necessarily mean that the change is a bad thing, it is actually a good thing as the next part suggests. "And a time to every purpose under Heaven", I took this as all the change in your life whether you see it now or not is all meant to be, and made you the person you were meant to be. The next portion of the lyrics is sped up and I took this as all of these parts of life happen quick and it happens much quicker than you think. "A time to be born, a time to die A time to plant, a time to reap a time to kill, a time to heal" all of this happens much quicker than you expect so enjoy it and trust the change. I think that this piece is very powerful.
          This next piece is just as powerful if not more so at least in my eyes. This piece is called "Ludlow Massacre" by Woody Guthrie. I think one of the most powerful aspects of the song is the fact that the actual music is very slow and faint compared to the singers voice which is very clear and direct I think to make sure that the words are the most important part of the song as a whole. The wording in this piece is very aggressive most likely to really be direct about what happened and not tiptoe around the issue. "You snuck around our little tent town , Soaked our tents with your kerosene", this part of the song is just so direct and aggressive, as if the singer was there and he is yelling at the people that did this to "them". Which in my opinion makes this piece much more powerful for the listener, and really strengthens the message of the song. "I said, God bless the Mine Worker's Union and then I hung my head and cried", was the last lines of the piece, and I really think that drives home the message and spirit behind this song. - Jack Brophy

Bob Dylan

This week we learned about the history of a famous artist Bob Dylan. We listened to his music and had to write a paper analyzing and reflecting it. I found after listening to a few of his songs that he describes what is going on in the world and puts it all together making a song. I analyzed the song “Blowin in the Wind”. This song expressed a lot happening during this time including war and slavery. It made me realize the experience the men had to go through during this time. The song had an impact on the view I had towards what I have realized now. I believed at first war truly did make you into a man, but after listening to the song on repeat and hearing the lyrics made me realize it wasn’t just that. It had a focus on discrimination which is a huge topic still talked about to this day and brought attention to the men fighting in battle. Listening to the lyrics over and over had me have a different outlook on many scenarios. Many believed war made men be more mature and an adult, but only caused fear.

    After watching the documentary on Bob Dylan it is amazing how he took control of his life at the age of twenty and moved to New York and made a name for himself. He went to a place where all musicians like him who sang songs that reflect what was going on in the world. He quickly sprouted and big artists wanted to work with him and journalists put him in the newspaper growing his fame. I find that at the time he was a huge role model to not only the community he lived in but people all over the world. To me that is amazing how one man can make a difference and write songs that express and reflect problems that occur in everyday life.

Bob Dylan

          Bob Dylan is an American songwriter and singer who was born in 1941. Dylan is most known fore his folk music, where he published and produced many protest songs on specific subjects happening in America. This week in class this is exactly what we focused on protest music and the intent of the songs.

            I had picked the song Masters of War, which was written and sung in 1963 during the Cold War and right before the U.S got involved in Vietnam. This song mainly focused on the blaming of the leaders f America for putting, keeping, and then not participating themselves in war. After, listening to the other songs that we could’ve chosen from I thought this was the realest one. What I mean by that, is the way Dylan sang the song sounded like it was from the heart and an issue he really cared about. When comparing that to the other songs they were more catchy could be made into pop songs more easily. The way he sang his song Masters of War was the reason I chose it, because it felt so genuine. I felt as if I could feel what he was feeling in the moment he was singing the song.

            Out of all he songs I believe this was a true protest song, unlike his other songs. The reason I say this is because he came out and said Blowin in the Wind wasn’t a protest song but ended up becoming one. I think that the rest of his protest songs were following a trend to some point because they were doing good as songs, but also a little intent of being a protest song. However, I feel that Masters of War was truly a protest song with no intent of following a trend but, actually protesting war and giving something to that protest y making this song.

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The Freewheelin album

   The Freewheelin' album was released in 1963 on May 27th. This was one of Dylan's more political albums. With songs like Blowing in the wind, Masters of War, and Talkin World War III Blues, it was a very powerful lyrical selection that Dylan sang about.  Dylan wrote these songs because America was in a rough time of war and cultural differences, so he wrote these songs to reach out to the people. Dylan, overtime, created a fan base that listened to Dylan and people started to understand the message that he brought to the American society. Specifically this album reached to the people because of what and who he targeted. He specifically targeted the people who were getting hurt and the people who were hurting them. The fact that Dylan could gain publicity by righting about the antagonist people in America allowed Dylan to get his word out on specific topics like government and other higher up people.
   Dylan inspired many listeners across America to be able to look up to Bob Dylan as he got their word heard. In class we have been talking about is it right or not right for singers and song writers to use their music to speak on a certain subjects. In some cases today artists will speak their own mind on something and hope to gain listeners this way. The way Bob Dylan became so popular was because he was able to speak for all the people through him. Obviously Dylan agreed with the lyrics that he wrote but he was only doing it to get the people of Americas words and feelings heard. Dylan once said to a friend who judged his lyrics, that its what the people want to hear. Dylan was ahead in his time the talent that he brought to the stage and the variety of lyrical output that he had in his songs. He was a very talented artist, and is probably the king of folk music. - Justin Ferbert