Is Bob Dylan the greatest American songwriter of the past century?

Is Bob Dylan the greatest American songwriter of the past century?

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i like tom waits better, but yes

Nah man.

Leonard Cohen

>American

Nick Drake then

ay lmao

yes

Adam Sandler

yes

No.

>Springsteen
>Waits
>Zappa
>Beefheart
>Wilson
>the entirety of Toto

The only songwriter in your list is Waits

YES IT FUCKING IS MAN.

yes

Joanna Newsom is definitely the best this century

>Zappa
>good songwriting

>"It's not dramatic thus it's bad!"
Though he's not really a songwriter so who gives a fuck anyway.

I don't think so. Lou Reed and Brian Wilson for sure top him. Not to mention who I'd name if I played it less safe: Malkmus, Mangum, Cuomo, Prince, Cobain, Martsch, and probably a fuck ton of others. When it comes down to it, musically Bob Dylan doesn't have much to offer. He's basically a poet that opened his mouth. When music plays a backseat, you're not much of a songwriter.

It's Joanna Newsom.

no Leonard Cohen is or Woody Guthrie

>Joanna Newsom is definitely the best this century

And artist that can fit the word "spelunking" into a song deserves that recognition

Newsom
Cohen
Will Toledo
Lou Reed

Cohen is canadian so Bob almost gets away with it.

Unlucky for him though, I'm rather partial to Brian Wilson.

paul simon or joanna

songwriter? no
lyricists? still no, but close
important/influential? yes

probably, but he makes up for it by being the worst American performer of the past century

>thinking music takes a backseat for any of dylan's best
>thinking malkmus, mangum, and cuomo are even remotely remarkable songwriters

this
>i don't know what america is

I love the songwriters you mentioned but if this is the way you feel you honestly don't get why Dylan's writing is so great. The appeal of most of these artists is their use of Burroughs cutup technique to set a scene and talk more about the bounce of emotions at play rather than a narrative straight forward story which doesn't capture the way we think or feel in real life at all, Cobain and magnum were especially proficient with this. The other technique used is boiling a strong indescribable emotion into a single line. You can sight examples of every artist you mentioned using these techniques, but Dylan used them proficiently in a manner not often surpassed by the artists that came after him (most of whom he was an influence) and he did it in a time where his greatest songwriting competition was writing about "gosh darn I lost a girl" and for the fringe blues and country artists "oh I just buried my wife", for sure an emotional topic but it doesn't have quite the same depth as "Disillusioned words like bullets bark As human gods aim for their mark Make everything from toy guns that spark
To flesh-colored Christs that glow in the dark
It’s easy to see without looking too far
That not much is really sacred."

lyricist, yes
maybe not "songwriter" in terms of chords/melodies

youtube.com/watch?v=yYgRwefr-JU

Listen to what he composed on Highway 61, even if it's his most normie album, there's a reason Like a Rolling Stone and Desolation Row are often listed in the top 10 songs ever.

All of Blood on the Tracks.

Saying he's not much of a songwriter is pretty dumb.

have any of you decriers even listened to blonde on blonde highway 61 or blood on the tracks. shit was completely unparalleled at the time, especially the former two.

but only freewheelin' boob dildo exists

yeah, cuz writing c f g and Am chords is such genius.

Cuomo is a fucking genius man. I understand why you say that about the others, but Rivers Cuomo has written probably the most sophisticated mainstream music in the last 25 years. Listen to Holiday, Pink Triangle, or Keep Fishing again. The guy is next level brilliant.

he's my personal favorite. i've been into his music intently for the past three years and keep finding more to love. also, is blonde on blonde not the most perfect album?

OP didnt say the Americas, he said America. Canada is not America.

i like mangum. not the person you replied to, but next to Dylan, Mangum is my favorite song writer. I mean, just listen to Oh Comely or Two Headed Boy Part Two

>posting examples of artists that would laugh in your face if you called them better than Dylan

Again, you're talking about lyrics mainly here. I would never disagree with you on Dylan's unmatched genius in this regard except with maybe Mangum. Bob Dylan didn't, however, use long term theming throughout an album like nearly all the others but especially Mangum and Cuomo have. Each song is standalone and he has more potential clearly.

Joni Mitchell is fucking underrated in my opinion. I'm kind of surprised she doesn't get mentioned more.

I like Dylan but sometimes too much politics, not enough musicality, too much just poetry with music

He's probably the best lyricist though, realistically

I'd definitely vote Lennon

this

Song Against Sex is probably more boundary pushing than anything Dylan's penned. Naomi and Two Headed Boy are both more stirring than anything he's written too.

Hey guys.

So? They have humility. Should we post Noel Galagher and Kanye?

that doesn't make any sense, fucking moron

Sorry, but music is about more than just lyrics.

Elvis Costello was a great songwriter and lyricist, and unlike Dylan his songs all sound different, are all harmonically creative, are all uniquely performed.

Dylan is overrated guys. He's a great poet. Not a great musician.

>more boundary pushing
No one here can have the context to even have this as an opinion.

Dylan was writing music when beat poets were on trail for obscenity because they mentioned homosexuals in their works. K. Dick was being questioned whether he knew anyone anti-establishment/gay/whatever during this time. That claim has just no historical context whatsoever.

It does though.

Not humility, they'd think you're incorrect 100%.

Dylan threads really are good pleb filter

Came here to mention Joni, she may be just as influential as Dylan in her own right

honestly. there was one a few months back where someone had said that chuck berry was the most influential artist ever like what? get outta here with those tall tales

Holy shit you said century?That was my original reply. Are you a fucking stupid dumbass?

Berry is one of the pioneers of rock 'n' roll, the dominant genre of the past 60 years.
What did Dylan influence other than the 60's folk fad and the nonsense lyrics meme?

the pleb filter is actually when people refer to Dylan as a poet.

yeah because pretty much all of his most devoted and pious fans do that all the time.

makes sense for his critics to do so too in that case, I would imagine.

yep, can easily spot out the pleb fans and critics alike.

is this a sick joke

Hey man I respect Cuomo because his lyrics are very personal and honest but he's not a sleek lyricist

Neither is the United States

OP says American. That is the terminology for a citizen of the United States.

ok what dylan have you actually familiarised yourself with. two distorted chords and vague sexually confused lyrics were not 'boundary pushing' in 96

>nice b8 m8 that was gr8

the most normie bob dylan is definitely his pre highway 61 work

i dont know, The Times They Are a Changing is pretty heavy stuff, not very easily pleb listenn

actually pretty sure Highway 61, Blonde on Blonde, and Blood on the Tracks are his highest selling records pre-00s. and Like a Rolling Stone is easily his best known song. thus normie. doesn't mean they're any less good.

Rolling Stone is his best known, yeah, but behind that is Blowin' in the Wind, Times are a Changin and Mr Tambourine Man, which are just okay (tambourine man is still amazing). Most people don't delve deeper than that, and that stuff is not representative of his best, at all.

Blowin' in the Wind is great. Freewheelin' also has Masters of War & A Hard Rain's A-Gonna Fall which showcase the lyricism. Don't Think Twice, It's All Right is easily one of his best songs. It's not a pleb album in the slightest.

When talking about greatest, including the word American isn't necessary.