Max -- as I recall, Bernstein once said "There are two types of music: good, and bad."

I think he was right on that, too.

I read yesterday that Dylan has refused to take a call from the Swedish Academy and removed a staffer's brief mention of the prize from his website. Considering some of the appalling recent recipients, good for him.

That's just rude. Dylan's very arrogant and thinks himself superior. I well remember a documentary from the 60's when Dylan was in England and mocking Donovan (the so-called British Dylan). So discourteous, so unnecessary.
That said, he is superior, and I'm happy he's won the Nobel.

I agree he's being rude, but I don't think it's arrogance. He might have insulted Donovan, but he hosted a radio show called Theme Time Radio, 50 episodes of one hour each, in which he played other people's music and discussed it, and it's clear that he has deep respect and admiration for hundreds of other songwriters and artists, and his knowledge of the history of song is encyclopedic. He is not unduly modest, but he places himself squarely within the traditions he admires, not above them. Still, he should take a moment to give Sweden a call.

PS--
His radio shows are online here.

Hey Roger,

That's a gorgeous cover of Ring Them Bells. Did you ever see the movie 'I'm Not There'? Very odd and impressionistic, but I think very good, 'biopic'.
The soundtrack to that has some wonderful cover versions...

According to this article, if Bob Dylan continues to ignore, he will become the first person ever in the history of the Nobel prize, to offer an outright snub of the honor:

http://www.msn.com/en-us/music/news/...leX?li=BBnbfcL

Good on Dylan. It's so much more interesting than wagging your tail on cue when you're patted. I read somewhere that Jean-Paul Sartre and Doris Lessing too, when they won the prize, were somewhat less than flattering toward the Nobel-givers.

Here's an interesting (and highly amusing) page at The Guardian. I quote:

Before making fools of themselves by awarding the Nobel prize for literature to Bob Dylan, the Nobel committee should have taken into account the experience of St Andrews University, which in 2004 made the songster a Doctor of Music for “his outstanding contribution to musical and literary culture”. Arriving with his entourage 50 minutes into a 90-minute ceremony, Dylan sat glassy-eyed on the stage, yawning occasionally as the speaker burbled on about how his music “moved everything on to a place it never expected to go and left the deepest imprint on human consciousness”, even comparing him to Pablo Picasso. After which, ignoring the university choir and its rendition of Blowin’ in the Wind, and without a word of thanks or farewell, the new doctor and his train left the building.

https://www.theguardian.com/music/20...for-literature

I doubt that Dylan's snub has much to do with some deep conviction about what the Nobel does or doesn't represent. Really doubt it. And while I'm sympathetic to Julie's view on the whole thing (you know, who cares), or even such grand awards in general, I find Dylan's reaction to be suspiciously self-serving.

Anyway, being grouped among Faulkner and Hemingway etc isn't the worst thing that could happen to someone. (I'd take As I Lay Dying
over Dylan's entire body of work.)

*If still young, it may well be the worst thing...

They passed over Rushdie for this. As God is my witness -- Salman Rushdie.