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Pulitzer rocks
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A Pulitzer citation adds another feather to Bob Dylan’s cap
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THE MAGIC ENDURES Bob Dylan
In 1964 Bob Dylan unleashed upon the unsuspecting world a song that in its own peculiar way changed the world. It went, …There’s a battle outside, and it is ragin’. It’ll soon shake your windows, and rattle your
walls, for the times they are a-changin. Four decades on, the prophetic poetic is in line for a Pulitzer Award for his “profound impact on popular music and American culture”.
It is only of late that the lyrical works of composers are being considered Pulitzer worthy. Though there has always been a prize for music, the only genre that was deemed worthy of the prestigious prize has been classical music. Way back in 2004, at a seminar, “Shifting Ears: A Symposium on the Present State and Future of Classical Music Criticism,” sponsored by the Music Critics Association of North America and the National Arts Journalism programme at Columbia University, the expansion of Pulitzer’s horizons was eagerly debated by a panel that consisted of Joshua Kosman, classical music critic of the San Francisco Chronicle, Pulitzer Prize administrator Sig Gissler; Pulitzer Prize-winning composer Gunther Schuller and writer Patrick Smith. During much of the symposium they talked about Dylan’s contribution to the music scene and American popular culture in general.
Dylan’s contribution to the counterculture movement has been written about endlessly. From the time he burst on to the scene in the early Sixties, he made a powerful impact on the cultural conscience of the nation. He stubbornly refused to be formulated in a phrase, tripping lightly through genres even as others tried to compartmentalise his music.
He started off as the new voice of folk, and by the time he was labelled as a great protest singer with anthemic songs like The Lonesome Death of Hattie Carroll, he had moved on to intensely personal surreal lyrics such as Desolation Row. And then just as people got a groove on his “magic swirling ship” Dylan did the unthinkable and turned up in dark glasses and went electric.
Quite a few of his songs like Blowing in the Wind, All Along The Watchtower, Like A Rolling Stone, Knocking on Heaven’s Door have been covered by artists like Pearl Jam, Jimi Hendrix, Guns ‘n’ Roses and The Dave Mathew’s Band. The 66-year-old rocker has not slowed down one bit. Still playing a variety of gigs and concerts, he has proved he is an enduring rock icon.
AKSHAY RAJMOHAN
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