Why Bob Dylan Matters
Written by Richard F. Thomas
Narrated by Nick Landrum
4.5/5
()
About this audiobook
When the Nobel Prize for Literature was awarded to Bob Dylan in 2016, a debate raged. Some celebrated, while many others questioned the choice. How could the world’s most prestigious book prize be awarded to a famously cantankerous singer-songwriter who wouldn’t even deign to attend the medal ceremony?
In Why Bob Dylan Matters, Harvard Professor Richard F. Thomas answers this question with magisterial erudition. A world expert on Classical poetry, Thomas was initially ridiculed by his colleagues for teaching a course on Bob Dylan alongside his traditional seminars on Homer, Virgil, and Ovid. Dylan’s Nobel Prize brought him vindication, and he immediately found himself thrust into the spotlight as a leading academic voice in all matters Dylanological. Today, through his wildly popular Dylan seminar—affectionately dubbed ""Dylan 101""—Thomas is introducing a new generation of fans and scholars to the revered bard’s work.
This witty, personal volume is a distillation of Thomas’s famous course, and makes a compelling case for moving Dylan out of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and into the pantheon of Classical poets. Asking us to reflect on the question, ""What makes a classic?"", Thomas offers an eloquent argument for Dylan’s modern relevance, while interpreting and decoding Dylan’s lyrics for listeners. The most original and compelling volume on Dylan in decades, Why Bob Dylan Matters will illuminate Dylan’s work for the Dylan neophyte and the seasoned fanatic alike. You’ll never think about Bob Dylan in the same way again.
Richard F. Thomas
Richard F. Thomas is George Martin Lane Professor of the Classics at Harvard University, a Bob Dylan expert, and the creator for a freshman seminar at Harvard on Bob Dylan.
Related authors
Related to Why Bob Dylan Matters
Related audiobooks
Dirty Blvd.: The Life and Music of Lou Reed Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Dreams to Remember: Otis Redding, Stax Records, and the Transformation of Southern Soul Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Just around Midnight: Rock and Roll and the Racial Imagination Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Determined to Stand: The Reinvention of Bob Dylan Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsAmerican Epic: When Music Gave America Her Voice Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Nightfly: The Life of Steely Dan's Donald Fagen Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5That Thin, Wild Mercury Sound: Dylan, Nashville, and the Making of Blonde on Blonde Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Dreaming the Beatles: The Love Story of One Band and the Whole World Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Beatles: The Biography Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5On Bowie Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Paul Simon: The Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Twilight of the Gods: A Journey to the End of Classic Rock Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Chronicles: Volume One Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Levon: From Down in the Delta to the Birth of The Band and Beyond Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5To Feel the Music: A Songwriter's Mission to Save High-Quality Audio Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5The History of Rock & Roll, Volume 2: 1964–1977: The Beatles, the Stones, and the Rise of Classic Rock Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Never a Dull Moment: 1971—The Year That Rock Exploded Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Another Side of Bob Dylan: A Personal History on the Road and Off the Tracks Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Revolution In The Head: The Beatles' Records and The Sixties Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Paul McCartney: A Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Unknown Pleasures: Inside Joy Division Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Birth of Loud: Leo Fender, Les Paul, and the Guitar-Pioneering Rivalry That Shaped Rock 'n' Roll Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Stone Free: Jimi Hendrix in London, September 1966–June 1967 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The History of Rock & Roll: Volume 1: 1920-1963 Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Light Come Shining: The Transformations of Bob Dylan Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5A Freewheelin' Time: A Memoir of Greenwich Village in the Sixties Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5John Lennon: The Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5One Way Out: The Inside History of the Allman Brothers Band Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Music For You
A Perfect Union of Contrary Things Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Storyteller: Expanded: ...Because There's More to the Story Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Paris: The Memoir Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5IT'S ALL IN YOUR HEAD Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Sweat the Technique: Revelations on Creativity from the Lyrical Genius Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5My Effin' Life Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Music Lesson: A Spiritual Search for Growth Through Music Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5No Bull Music Theory for Guitarists: Master the Essential Knowledge All Guitarists Need To Know Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Music Theory: A Complete Guide to Understand the Fundamental of Music for Beginners Rating: 1 out of 5 stars1/5Me: Elton John Official Autobiography Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Gold Dust Woman: The Biography of Stevie Nicks Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Dark Story of Eminem Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Where Are Your Boys Tonight?: The Oral History of Emo's Mainstream Explosion 1999-2008 Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Dirt: Confessions of the World's Most Notorious Rock Band Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Heroin Diaries: Ten Year Anniversary Edition: A Year in the Life of a Shattered Rock Star Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Relativity: The Special and General Theory Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Adversity for Sale: Ya Gotta Believe Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Effortless Mastery: Liberating the Master Musician Within, Book & Includes Online Downloadable code Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Autobiography of Gucci Mane Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Open Book Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Songwriting: Easy Approach to Write Excellent Lyrics and Melody from Beginner to Expert Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5They Can't Kill Us Until They Kill Us Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5More Myself: A Journey Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Song Maps: A New System to Write Your Best Lyrics Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin): A Memoir Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Dolly Parton, Songteller: My Life in Lyrics Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Rememberings Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Reviews for Why Bob Dylan Matters
9 ratings1 review
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Wow I never knew how deep Dylan’s music was till reading this book