highly opinionated music rant
Sep. 14th, 2012 01:46 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
johncomicBob Dylan has a new album out, which means the media will be awash with another flurry of idolatry. So I may as well trot out my usual crankery for such times:
Dylan is routinely touted as one of our greatest songwriters. When such a claim is elaborated, it usually goes on about the insightfulness and groundbreaking nature of his lyrics. My point, which I never seem to hear mentioned by anyone other than myself, is this:
lyrics are not songs. Songs are songs.
Dylan rarely writes music. He is not a melodist. I'm not saying he has never written a melody -- I'm not even saying that he has never written a good melody -- but such writings are few and far between for him. The majority of his works consist of vague sing-speak. I'll also pick on Leonard Cohen as another example of a composer who is lionized as a great songwriter because he is a great lyricist, but who also sing-speaks his way through non-music.
To miss the point that writing a good melody with good harmony is a part of writing a good song is just... I dunno, it's wrong, that's all, it's just wrong.
I mean, why not declare any good poet -- or anyone who has a compelling way with prose -- as being “a great songwriter”, then? If the music doesn't matter, then why do we even need music in order to have songs?
Whatever: people will do what they do and like what they like. I will most likely stay huddled over in my corner, where I still believe that even a great piece of instrumental music can be a great song.
Dylan is routinely touted as one of our greatest songwriters. When such a claim is elaborated, it usually goes on about the insightfulness and groundbreaking nature of his lyrics. My point, which I never seem to hear mentioned by anyone other than myself, is this:
lyrics are not songs. Songs are songs.
Dylan rarely writes music. He is not a melodist. I'm not saying he has never written a melody -- I'm not even saying that he has never written a good melody -- but such writings are few and far between for him. The majority of his works consist of vague sing-speak. I'll also pick on Leonard Cohen as another example of a composer who is lionized as a great songwriter because he is a great lyricist, but who also sing-speaks his way through non-music.
To miss the point that writing a good melody with good harmony is a part of writing a good song is just... I dunno, it's wrong, that's all, it's just wrong.
I mean, why not declare any good poet -- or anyone who has a compelling way with prose -- as being “a great songwriter”, then? If the music doesn't matter, then why do we even need music in order to have songs?
Whatever: people will do what they do and like what they like. I will most likely stay huddled over in my corner, where I still believe that even a great piece of instrumental music can be a great song.
