The Nobel - Who's Next (Pete Townshend?)

Hi Jim,
Dr. John is also interested in this debate, altho more about whether singer/songwriters should receive The Prize. I'm pretty sure he's on the side of the angels, tho, and Sylvia also loves the fact that Bobby D is the first ever songwriter to receive the Nobel Prize for literature.

So now that the floodgates are seemingly open, who's next (The Who's Peter Townshend?) I support your nomination for Lenny, altho I can't stand his singing or his 'poetry'. His voice sounds like
a whiny 14 year old who's just finished whacking off and who now wants to moan about not being able to score the prom queen  ;  )- I also don't get his cultural perspective - he's a Montreal Jew, who has pretensions of being a Buddhist, but whose lyrics are full of Christian iconography. WTF ARE you all about, Lenny! Perhaps the fact that you've been known to sport the occasional beret has influenced your judgment regarding the Canuck songster - me, I've never worn a beret, raspberry or other flavour (hey, how about Prince?) and never will (truthfully, my fat Celtic head is a major factor rather than an ingrained hatred of berets - they're cute on overly sensitive private school girls).

Back to Bobby, altho I sincerely hope Lenny does cop the big one sooner than later - I didn't think about the mortality factor, as he's been sounding like he's at death's door since the 1960s.
Bobby D DID change our world through his music and poetry. CBC played "The Times They are A'changin" after the newscast and it brought back memories of my 1956 beetle. Circa 1967/68 I painted that generational logo on its trunk, along with a picture of Frodo and a peace dove. I think the Coen brothers captured the importance of Bobby in their brilliant movie "Inside Llewyn Davis".

A Canuck I'd love to see receive the Nobel is Buffy St. Marie. More in sync (hey, their turn will come) with the sixties cultural revolution with her "Universal Soldier" than Lenny, and she's an indigenous woman to boot. Talk about a politikally correct selection!

Lou. I love his raspy voice, whereas I can't stand Lenny's. I can't explain (The Who again) my personal biases, they're just subjective preferences ingrained by where I happened to be at certain significant times in my life. "Sweet Jane" is my choice for a funeral requiem - best song ever.

Mick. Speaking of singer/songwriter/poets, Mick is my choice. There are only 3 CDs on my car's system, and they're all Stones! As Dr. J has pointed out, Mick has had the decency to make no attempts to claim the crown of poet/singer/songwriter. I can live by The Stones, love their sound - unlike most of the above named, they can actually play music and sing in key, and Mick's humorous, sexy, vivacious lyrics have gotten lost in the exuberance of their sound!

On short term reflection, my vote for best poetic singer/songwriters comes down to Lou and Mick, with Mick getting my nod.

Jeez, on even further reflection, perhaps the Nobel prize should have gone collectively to that generation of singer/songwriter/poets - Bobby, Lenny, Buffy, Mick/Keef, Lou, John/Paul/George/Ringo, Jimi, Petey, et alia

damien (my dark side moniker)
 

On 2016-10-15, at 8:41 AM, jim  wrote:

Alas, Lenny may not be around in a few years. He's at the door.
I'm not one of these, and they're plenty of them, who begrudge Bob but I think Cohen is more important. Dylan's songs are firmly rooted in a certain time and place (although I bought his last CD Duquesne Whistle and thought it was very good.
Gasparini made a good point about it all. Cohen is a romantic; Dylan wrote about everything. But that's not what the prize is about. Cohen's poetry is eternal and universal. "Like a Bird on a Wire", "Dance Me to the End of Love",  "Suzanne" etc. do the job in Canada or Uzebekistan or Paraguay and would have done so fifty years ago and will do so fifty years from now.



On Thu, Oct 13, 2016 at 11:04 PM, Chris Faiers <zenriver@sympatico.ca> wrote:
Me, I'm celebrating! Guess I'm more of a Bobby than a Lenny fan. Lenny will get his in a couple of years.


On 2016-10-13, at 4:39 PM, jim wrote:

> My objection can be encompassed by two words: Leonard Cohen.