Robbie Robertson, leader of The Band, passed away on Aug. 9. A Canadian musician with a global impact, he never forgot his Mohawk roots. After going solo, he became known for his film scores.
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Articles on Bob Dylan
Displaying 1 - 20 of 27 articles
After Gordon Lightfoot’s death, the musician was celebrated for his Canadian-ness. But his legacy is more complex than that, and his influence extends beyond Canada.
Critic Greil Marcus sees Bob Dylan as constantly rewriting the national songbook. And in his weird, funny new book, Dylan does just that.
Because Dylan draws from songs from the past, he has been accused of plagiarism. But this view has been colored by a distorted understanding of the creative process.
Ahead of the release of the artist’s posthumous album, a sense of awe and mystery around his huge archive of unreleased music remains
A somewhat obscure 2003 science-fiction film has a luminous soundtrack, which brings surprising solace to a locked down world.
During our current bout of collective trauma, many of our coping strategies have mimicked the ways Americans responded to the Kennedy assassination.
Fifty years ago, Sly and the Family Stone sang ‘We got to live together, I am no better and neither are you.’ The words ring just as true today.
A few musicians metaphorically took to the streets. But most fled for cover.
What is it about Westerns that tempts so many musicians into ten-gallon hats?
How can a band so slavishly derivative – and sometimes downright plagiaristic – be also considered radically innovative and influential?
Pinching musical phrases and stylistic approaches has always been a part of art making and can be a respectful exchange. But shallow, ill-informed appropriation only perpetuates tired stereotypes.
Bootlegs will continue to be manufactured.
The future of the bootleg might just reinvent the official release.
Musicians were able to connect with confused, scared and angry Americans – including those who supported the war – in a way actors, broadcasters and writers could not.
The story of the Odyssey is a quintessential quest that relates to the passage through life and the importance of love, family and home. Odysseus’s adventures have influenced everyone from Batman to Bob Dylan.
Bob Dylan said songs are meant to be sung not read, and he has a point. Songs and poems obey different rules.
This extraordinarily odd speech might well be the singer’s most Dylanesque performance.
He was criticised for leaning on the crutch of his guitar, but if Dylan leaned on anything, it was his love of poetry.
Perhaps more clearly than Bob Dylan, Leonard Cohen showed that songwriting can be a literary art. Within his apparently simple words lies a profound sense of playfulness and enigma.
Immigrants have contributed to America’s great success at the Nobel. Of the 350 Nobel winners from the United States, more than 100 have been immigrants.
Top contributors
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Professor of Writing and Literature, Deakin University
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Faculty of Arts, The University of Melbourne
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Dean, Graduate Research, University of Canberra
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Professor, Musicology, University of Alberta
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Senior Lecturer in Popular and Contemporary Music, Newcastle University
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Professor of International Relations, Boston University
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Associate professor in Cinema and Media Studies, RMIT University
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DPhil in English Literature, University of Oxford
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Morse Alumni Distinguished Teaching Professor of Music, University of Minnesota
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Reader, University of East London
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Research Lead at Rhythm Obscura, University of Plymouth
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Associate Professor of Communication Studies, American University School of Communication
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Associate Professor of History, University of South Carolina
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Senior Lecturer, York St John University
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Chair of Music Department, UMass Lowell
