Bob Dylan Goes Through Multiple Sounds, Styles, And Genres

Throughout “Body Like a Back Road,” the texture shifts depending on the section and the topic. Texture in music is defined as the combination of musical parts to compose the overall feeling and sound of a piece. The first portion of the song has a texture that is average for the piece, which sets the overall jovial mood for the whole song. This mood is caused by the overlapping of instruments and the rhythm. The main melody is played by an electric guitar, which is then layered with the acoustic guitar. There is also an organ, drums, and some background chatter which hooks the listener to listen to the song and makes them want to join whatever else is going on. As the song goes into the first verse, extra percussion and some bass was added which makes it a more dense texture. Also, the tune shifts to a more hip-hop feel rather than a classic country feeling which draws in the listener as

“The secret to doing anything is believing that you can do it. Anything that you believe you can do strong enough, you can do. Anything. As long as you believe.” This is one of the many inspirational things I have heard Bob Ross say on his show, “The Joy Of Painting.” Bob Ross is one of the most beloved American painters and is known by thousands of people across the world. His show was all about teaching his viewers how to paint and enjoy themselves while doing it. However, many of us tuned into the show not to paint, but to just listen to his calming voice and watch him form a masterpiece on a blank canvas. It is crazy to watch all the things he can do with a brush. He is also known for using the “wet-on-wet” painting technique which he learned from his mentor William Alexander. This is the process of putting oil paints directly on top of one another to create complete paintings in less than an hour. Bob Ross practiced this so much that he got it down to under 30 minutes for his show.

In addition to the elements of music, musical concepts such melody, harmony, and texture are also important to “The Piece of Resistance.” The song’s melody was played in a smoothly, connected manner, which means it is best described as a legato. This smooth melody resulted in a consonance harmony in the piece. There is a distinct main melody played throughout the song played by the drums being accompanied by the other instruments. Ultimately resulting in the different sounds competing for attention, which is a characteristic of the piece’s polyphonic texture.

That said, Country Music is a most peculiar genre of musical entertainment. Artists therein often sing about the most mundane aspects of life, and living. Songs usually include words like beer, cheating, cowboys, lying, trailers, trucks, whiskey etc.

While it is widely rumored that many of Bob Dylan’s songs were written while he was under the influence of various drugs, I’m not so sure that those rumors are accurate. Following a 1991 interview conducted by Paul Zollo with Bob Dylan, Zollo stated that “There’s an unmistakable elegance in Dylan’s words, an almost biblical beauty” and that “Dylan’s answers give you a lot to think about while not necessarily revealing much about the man”. (Zollo 2) The same can be said with regard to many of the lyrics of Dylan’s songs. The lyrics to “Mr. Tambourine Man”, for example, are wildly descriptive and sometimes confusing and can leave a listener (or a reader) open to many different interpretations, some more complex than others, with no real meaning ever being clearly stated.

For example Amber one of Dylan’s friends gets pregnant and throughout the book Dylan constantly tells her to stop smoking. Or when it was Christmas and Dylan got his brothers Micha and Jordan presents even though it made him obligated to work off the money Glen loaned him. Dylan went on a 5 hour bus trip just to see if his grandpa was alive. He also feels like he needs to take care of 14 year old crush Jenna so he likes taking responsibilities on the streets and within his family. And I think that Dylan for his group of friends.

Springsteen’s set included such classics as Darkness on the Edge of Town, Pumping Iron, Because the Night, Pink Cadillac, and Light of Day, according to USA Today.

The early 1960s was a time of extreme social issues such as the Vietnam War and the Civil Rights Movement; everyone was looking for their own voice in this time of adversity. A young Bob Dylan arises to the spotlight and sings songs speaking of protest and originality, expressing societal dissatisfaction felt by not only himself but by his entire generation. In the 1960s Dylan wrote many protest songs that people of his generation found themselves connecting to, leading way to a counterculture aside from popular music which also paved a way for introspective song writing.

Billy Joel is one of the best selling solo artists of all time in the United States. Amongst his most popular songs are “Piano Man,” “We Didn’t Start the Fire” and “She’s Always a Woman,” all with good reason. Having written a plethora of memorable songs that could easily be added to the soundtrack of our lives, Billy Joel’s undoubtedly one of the most talented musicians and songwriters of all time.

“The song has to be of a certain quality for me to sing…One aspect it would have to have is that it didn’t repeat itself” (Bob Dylan). Transforming into new people throughout his life, Bob Dylan reverted to the Bible and other religious findings in his songs. Dylan is able to reveal a fulfillment from spirituality as he perceives his music as a sacred landscape. Bob Dylan brings up a theme of religion, referencing the book of Isaiah in his 1967 song “All Along the Watchtower” as he writes a story about two people at the watchtower, where the significance of life is found. Dylan’s spiritual lyrics conceived his work as a an artist through imagination and religion that creates a hallowed dwelling for him to aqurie attainment.

To understand the sixties counterculture, we must understand the important role of Bob Dylan. His lyrics fueled the rebellious youth in America. Songs such as “Blowin’ in the Wind” and “The Times are A-Changin” made him favorable to anti-war demonstrators and supporters of the Civil Rights movement. He was commonly hailed as the spokesman for his generation. Dylan used lyrics to allow the youth to find their own form of counter-culture. The youth generation began to see the effects racism, war, etc. effect the society in America. To combat this, the youth created their own form of counter-culture to promote a peaceful change within society. Some of their actions include forming anti-war protests that opposed America’s involvement in the Vietnam War, and supporting African Americans/women get the rights they deserve through the Civil Rights Movement. Bob Dylan’s music appealed to the young generation because he openly expresses his disapproval of the establishment in order to influenced his audience to move in a direction for change. Counterculture youth rejected cultural norms of the previous generation and their values and lifestyles opposed the mainstream culture present in the 1950’s. The folk music revival of the early 1960s, as well as the counter-culture movement played an important role in advocating change. Bob Dylan wrote songs that influenced the Civil Rights Movement, New Left Movement, and Anti-War Movement.

The tour became a confrontation between Dylan and his audience, especially during one of his concerts at the Manchester Free Trade Hall in England on May 17, 1966. A recording of this concert was released in 1998: The Bootleg Series Vol. 4: Bob Dylan Live 1966. Near the end of the concert, and during the the climax of the evening, a member of the audience, who was apparently angered by Dylan's electric backing, shouted directly to Bob: "Judas!" to which Dylan quickly responded, "I don't believe you ... You're a liar!" Dylan turned to his band and screamed, "Play it fucking loud!" as they exploded into the final song of the night, “Like a Rolling Stone".

Bob Dylan is known to be one of the most influential artist during the American Folk Music. He change the way of music, especially for the American Folk Music Revival. Bob was born on May 24, 1941. His parents are Abram and Beatrice Zimmerman. His real name is Robert Zimmerman. He picked up the name Bob Dylan when he began singing in Greenwich Village. His songs are still played today, especially “Blowin in The Wind.” Bob was influenced by other artists before he became famous. His influences were Jerry Lee Lewis, Little Richard, and Elvis Presley. Also the legendary folk singer Woody Guthrie. Woody was hospitalized and Bob would visit him regulary. That same Bob dropped out of college.

Bob Dylan’s “The Times They Are A-Changin” is a unique song that was written in the early 1960’s during a time of political and military upheaval. The poem/song was written to influence the younger generation, and to serve as a rallying call for the people to come together to bring about a needed change. The civil rights movement was the main influence of the song but it can also be applied to the frustration, and anger the American people felt as a whole towards the Vietnam War. What truly makes the song unique is the way the song was written and its hypnotic verses that can be used to describe several different time periods where the people needed a rallying call for change. The most recent event being the war in Iraq and

Duluth Minnesota, May 24th 1941 Robert Allen Zimmerman (Bob Dylan) was born. 69 Years and over 45 albums later Bob Dylan has completely altered the face of popular music since his debut as a fresh faced folk singer in 1962. His early career forged him into an informal chronicler and then he later developed into an apparently reluctant figurehead of social unrest [Gray, 2006] and became a voice for a generation. His songs have been covered by many artists in a wide span of genres and he has remained a prominent and highly influential figure in the history of popular music over the past five decades. [Gates, David, 1997]