Joni Mitchell: Everything about Bob Dylan is fake

[flipflop]

Both the blues and folk music genres are based on borrowing from other artists - it's part of what defines the genres. It's no biggie at all.

I do believe Joni is right on most points - Grace and Janis did behave themselves in a very different way than Joni (apparently) did. I think that's fair to point out and then it's up to people to agree or disagree.

No doubt Dylan put his name on way more songs and lyrics than he should have - so what.

 

[LG]

^^Have to disagree slightly Flip, when it involves a hit song or album and money, then it Does matter. The managers/lawyers will be involved at that point no matter what the unwritten code between artists says.

When George lost his lawsuit over "My Sweet Lord", that set the precedent, the Chiffons won even though I disagreed with the outcome that is one of the landmark cases when it comes to this subject.

 

[Flower]

In her interview, Mitchell also attacked her contemporaries Grace Slick and Janis Joplin, claiming both in their heyday were "[sleeping with] their whole bands and falling down drunk".

I doubt if anyone cared then or that they care now. I am totally against attacking anyone in any manner that can not respond to the attack ... Boo to Joni ....

 

[annie]

I do agree that artists should not trash other artists. It is not professional.

 

[Flower]

^^^^


From the BBC ....

 

[Lynch]

I do agree that artists should not trash other artists. It is not professional.

I agree with that to a point, but stealing the work of others isn't very professional either, and I think that topic is more noteworthy than one artist calling another one out on the carpet for doing just that.

jm2cw

 

[annie]

I agree with that to a point, but stealing the work of others isn't very professional either, and I think that topic is more noteworthy than one artist calling another one out on the carpet for doing just that.

jm2cw

The only one who should be pointing the finger is the artist whose work has been stolen, not a third party. I have the same feeling about Brian Wilson's rant against Bono on the charity topic. Who set them up as judges?

 

[TheFeldster]

In her interview, Mitchell also attacked her contemporaries Grace Slick and Janis Joplin, claiming both in their heyday were "[sleeping with] their whole bands and falling down drunk".

Welcome to rock and roll, Joni....

Anyway, it's no secret Bob has plagiarized many a song in his time. House of the Rising Sun being the classic one.

Sometimes I think he's just heard it, got stoned, forgot where he heard it and thought he wrote it himself

He should come clean about it, but whether he does or not, well, it won't stop me enjoying his style of music.

As for his voice being "fake" in the claims... well, it didn't turn out too bad for him in the end did it

As for Madonna....

 

[LG]

^^You'd think Feldy if Dylan was going to use a "Fake" voice, he would have come up with something better than his rambling/mumbling monotone that is his trademark.

It's funny, I am not a big Dylan fan, but I do like Neil Young okay, and both have that....unique voice for lack of a better description.

 

[PinkFreud]

We all have our opinions I guess, whether Mitchell, Dylan, or we mere forum-dwellers.

While I'm not sure I understand Mitchell's rant against Dylan, PF, I don't think it's entirely fair to say her pedestal is "nowhere near as high." I would agree Dylan should be at or at least very near the peak of the late 20th century popular music pantheon, but I don't think Mitchell is or should be considered that far below him. She was a seminal and generally revered figure in the west coast branch of that same folk-rock movement that Dylan spearheaded. I think she'd probably be even better known now if her muse hadn't steered her off into the jazz-inflected avant garde music she ended up in. I know that's when I sort of lost interest in her output, though I always held her in the highest musical esteem. I don't think there's any question she's a very important figure in popular music history.

And let's face it - Dylan is, and always has been, a polarizing figure. People seem to adore him or despise him. Some have good reasons for either view, some don't. While I love most of his music, I also enjoy other people's perfomances of his songs more than his own, with one or two rare exceptions.

Was Mitchell harsh in saying that? Probably. Maybe she was having a bad day. Or maybe she knows more about that period of musical history than we do and has good, but unspoken reasons for saying what she did.

And that's all nothing more than my opinion.

Fair enough, I may have over-exaggerated my position on her level of fame and influence. But still, you can only question why someone would take shots at Bob Dylan, especially when that someone is less revered and admired in the musical community.
I mean, yeah, I don't like Dylan or any of his works (save Like a Rolling Stone, but that's another story), but you won't see me say how he's a "fake", "hack", or "terrible musician". Either she's bitter about something that happened between the two of them, or she is an attention-seeker. Either way, it was completely unnecessary of her to come out of the blue and say something cruel like that.