Dylan vs. Pynchon

[John Carvill]

>There's general agreement that Modern Times is reasonably good, but not
>Dylan's greatest work.  

Well it was never going to be his 'greatest' work. What we Dylan fans
were waiting to see was how Modern Times would stack up against his last
two albums. So far I'd rank it 3rd out of 3, but that could change. It
takes time to properly assess a Dylan album. I didn't like a lot of Time
Out Of Mind at first listen, but it got better and better with each
listen and gently revealed itself as a masterpiece.


> Maybe you're listening to the CD over and over compulsively, but I
don't
> know anyone who is.  

Quail is! I am! Maybe not compulsively, just enjoying getting used to
the album. 

> I personally loved the final track, Ain't Talkin',
> and liked Spirit on the Water the least

One thing is clear from reading reviews, forum posts, talking to people,
etc. is that everyone has different ideas about which are the 'best'
tracks. My wife liked 'Spirit on the Water' best, for instance.

> My point is that, in Dylan's case, it's irrelevant.  He automatically
> draws raves, based on his persona alone, as the final paragraph of the

> Pitchfork review states (I think). 

My full answer to this would be far too long for anyone to bear. But my
point was that the mainstream media exhibits a herd mentality. For the
longest time, Dylan was to them a 60s has-been, once great (maybe) but
now fit only for ridicule and disdain. Then Bob had a critical and
commercial resurgence, utterly unforeseen by these sages, and they all
scrabbled to proclaim his genius. So on one hand I'm pleased to see
Dylan get the recognition he deserves after years and years of being
ignored and/or misrepresented. At the same time, you have to feel some
contempt for the very people who are suddenly fawning over him. On top
of all this, you have the Guardian's reviewer lampooning this process
but of course the Guardian are very much a part of the mainstream media
which has made this flip-flop between outright disdain and abject
uncritical eulogising, so it's a bit rich for them to be criticising
that process - a kind of meta-bullshit, if you will.


> A CD versus a long difficult-to-read-and-understand book?  Instant 
> gratification wins every time.

C'mon! That's a bit snide. Neither GR nor Highway 61 Revisited represent
'instant gratification'. Both repay repeated listens/reads. There are
many parallels between Dylan & Pynchon, not least that they're both
pre-eminent in their respective fields, and they both have that 'x'
factor, over and above their artistic genius, which leads people who get
into them to develop a level of affection for the artist (as perceived
through whatever layers of mediation apply) which often borders on the
irrational. People *love* Pynchon and Dylan in a way you could never
love, say, Saul Bellow or Paul McCartney.

Cheers
JC








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