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Caveat Emptor

The opinions expressed on this page are mine alone. Any similarities to the views of my employer are completely coincidental.

Friday 14 October 2016

Nobel Bob

Literary prizes are silly. Blood on the tracks is one of the greatest popular music albums of all time. I haven't listened to the rest of my Dylan albums since I was 18. I loved them when I was fighting the battles of the sixties ten years too late. After that they just seemed irrelevant. Saw him at Globen in Stockholm in the 90s during the phase where he changed all the tunes so you couldn't tell which song he was singing. Wouldn't have missed it for the world, but not a great musical event. If we are being honest Paul Simon is a better musician and a better lyricist. Neither Dylan nor Simon should get a Nobel for literature. How much longer can the Swedes ignore Philip Roth?

Couldn't find a decent Dylan version on YouTube, but this cover by Shawn Colvin captures the spirit of the original pretty well. You're gonna make me lonesome when you go.

Thursday 6 October 2016

On being tone deaf

Today is National Poetry Day. The BBC's contribution is to set new standards in cultural tone deafness by broadcasting on Radio 4 the Prince of Wales reading Seamus Heaney's The Shipping Forecast.

 I wonder what we'll be offered next year? Julian Clary reading If? Tony Blair reading Dulce et decorum est? Theresa May reading Refugee Blues?