Posted on 08/05/2005 8:50:42 AM PDT by nuconvert
Dylan Song 'Changed the World' - Poll
Bob Dylan's song "Like a Rolling Stone" topped a poll on Friday to find the 100 songs, movies, TV shows and books that "changed the world" in the opinion of musicians, actors and industry experts.
Dylan's 1965 single beat Elvis Presley's "Heartbreak Hotel" into second place in the survey for "Uncut" magazine.
Paul McCartney, Noel Gallagher, Robert Downey Jr, Rolling Stone Keith Richards and Lou Reed were among those who gave their views for the poll.
"I absolutely remember where I was when I first heard it. It got me through adolescence," rocker Patti Smith said of the winning song.
Ex-Beatle McCartney picked "Heartbreak Hotel" as his number one choice.
"It's the way (Presley) sings it as if he is singing from the depths of hell," McCartney said. "His phrasing, use of echo, it's all so beautiful. Musically, it's perfect."
The Beatles' song "She Loves You" ranked at number three, followed by the Rolling Stones' "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction."
Stanley Kubrick's "A Clockwork Orange" emerged as the most influential film at number five, followed by "The Godfather" and "The Godfather II" films in sixth place.
"The Prisoner" was the top-ranking TV series at number 10, while Jack Kerouac's novel "On the Road" was the highest-ranking book, in 19th place.
Actor Edward Norton and ex-Beach Boy Brian Wilson also took part in the poll, marking the magazine's 100th issue.
MEEEOOOOWWW!
The doctor who discovered penicillin changed the world. The doctor who discovered the polio vaccine changed the world. The guys who won WWII changed the world. Bob Dylan is just a musician and until the 20th century performers were considered to be only slightly more respectable than prostitutes. Perhaps we should go back to that.
They'll probably do what they've always done -- ignore it or deny it.
Hopefully "Chronicles II" will testify to his Christian faith.
Is there a Dylan ping list? Anyone...
"Dylan is a genius who had a profound influence on my 1960s generation in the US, but his current stratospheric elevation smacks of the faddish. " Like a Rolling Stone" is an exhilaratingly propulsive song with a wicked rap of bratty put-downs. I have found it personally inspiring in my war on political correctness in academe. But artistically, the song suffers from its compulsive sneering - an adolescent tic.
A truly great song has expansiveness, vision, and emotional range. On those grounds, the Rolling Stones' "Sympathy for the Devil" or " Gimme Shelter" would rank far beyond "Like a Rolling Stone". In my course, "Art of Song Lyrics", which I am teaching this semester at the University of the Arts, we will be studying a much greater song by Dylan, "Desolation Row", so long and complex that it always takes several class days to do justice to. "
http://comment.independent.co.uk/commentators/article309925.ece
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