[Erik Olson]

Many geniuses, of course, have unbecoming habits that are not worthy of emulation. As for Dylan, I think he takes a perverse pleasure in doing anything but what people expect of him in the context. This is not a new pattern in him. Depend on it, if the academy had projected somehow that Dylan, as a bohemian, would likely not show up for the ceremony, he would be there in a heartbeat. Nay, he would look enthusiastic to reap the prize, in proportion as he thought others expected him to snub it. Time and again, it seems, he loves to fly in the face of what the rest of mankind deems reasonable, customary, or appropriate for a given scenario. I bet he is secretly beside himself that the world is now in baffled suspense by his aloofness. Though shocking much of his fandom be part of his shtick, he probably knows that there are always 'true' Dylan fans who know his game and who will follow him no matter how jarringly he modifies his appearance, voice, hits*, or conduct.

* From Bob Dylan, Gypsy Troubadour ... He goes out night after night and gives them yet another version of his time-honoured songs from his vast repertoire accumulated over 40 years. But not only has Dylan mutilated the songs themselves over and over again, he has continually changed his image and his appearance over the years too. In recent years probably one of the most perplexing changes to his fans have been his haggard look, his apparent mental and physical instability and his unusual, craggy, monotone, nasal singing style that literally butchers his songs. As a matter of fact, during his 30th Anniversary renditions of the two songs mentioned above, Dylan seemed almost testing his fans to see just how far he could go before he'd lose them completely.