Mickey Newbury's Front Porch

	The Front Porch		Back Porch

[POST A REPLY ] [RETURN TO FRONT PORCH ] [PREVIOUS ] [NEXT ]
*Author:*	Curt from Yacolt, WA
*E-mail:*	not available
*Date:*	10/22/2004 10:24:04 PM
*Subject:*	Dylan
*Message:*	I'm glad, in a way, that I've stirred up a lively debate. I come from the school of thought that says that a man should be judged by the body of his work, and not so much what he says in his 20s and 30s. Believe me, I too have mixed feelings about Dylan as a person. I've read a few biographies, and heard all the rumors, but I have to give him credit for being human. And especially for having the whole mantle of "conscience of a generation" thrust upon him. Dylan didn't ask for all of this, didn't want it, and didn't know how to handle it. To those of you who are willing to dismiss, or worse yet, burn the work of, this human man (I'm sure you were being facetious), I ask you to do two things. First of all, separate art from artist, just to be fair to yourself. You may not dig the man, but you gotta love at least ONE of his songs. And if you love one man's song, you have to love at least fifty percent of the man. He gave that gift of song to you, so be grateful that you have that crumb. It may not be much, but it's a lot bigger and more enduring than a quick flash of a man's life. The song lives on, long after the man is gone. I think that's true. Second, read this book. It's impossible for any of us to imagine what it's like to be analyzed, dissected, ran up a flag pole and saluted by people who don't know what they're looking at. I said earlier that Dylan didn't ask for all of this, and he says so in his book. I believe him. I have no reason not to. For the first time he dispenses with the opacity and tells us how he felt. The way he praises and admires people is astonishing to hear. He's just as human as we are, and he did try to actively sabotage his entire image. Look at "Nashville Skyline." The guy didn't know how to deal with success, and I think he did pretty good for some kid from a northern Minnesota mining town. I honestly don't think that Dylan meant to slight Mick. Think of the thousands of influential people he has met that he didn't even mention in his book. Hell, there were people at Johnny Cash's house that he didn't name. Mick stood out in his mind, he respected him, and the guy taking notes didn't spell his name right. Even if Dylan did physically write every word and still misspelled Mick's name, I'm sure no disrespect was intended. You get the feeling from Dylan's book that he emulated, admired and respected a whole hell of a lot of good people. Someone here even misspelled Dylan's name in a post. And it was an accident! So he's human too. Just don't lose sight of that. You're gonna shoot yourself in the foot, kid. I like all of you here, I really do. I hope you don't think I'm out of line asserting my opinion. I don't mean to ruffle any feathers, I just wanted to be a rusty kerosene lantern and shed a bit of light on humanity for a second. Take care everyone, Curt