um, not sure how Dylan disliking the quality of modern recordings makes him a hippocrite...

Didn't bother to look at that article, but I think I know what you're getting at already. He's a hypocrite for trashing digital recordings (he dissed CD's in a recent interview as having no stature) and then becoming the poster boy for iTunes (lossy compressed music that has less stature by definition). That's ridiculous.

That doesn't change my opinion of his songwriting, of course.

Impetus hit it spot on... advocating a format that he claims to disrespect is just crazy.

I think he's a good musician. But in that article he said that there have been no good recording in the past 20 years.

Oh- I didn't get the itunes connection...

I disagree that this makes Dylan a hippocrite.

I think we can all agree with Dylan's opinion of the lower quality of digital versions of music as opposed to analog reproductions.

I think that we can also all agree that iTunes and the iPod utilize only digital medium.

That doesn't change the fact that, as a recording artist in the business of making music (and money), the best way to get the most ears (and most dollars) invested in you is to find a means of mass distribution. In this century, that means digital.

Nothing is black and white, and even for "purists" like Dylan, the pros of digital distribution outweigh the cons.

http://www.wired.com/news/technology/0,71636-0.html

^ the article that originally got me mad at Dylan. Keep in mind, he's the poster boy for iTunes at this very moment, a couple weeks after making these statements.

All that aside, Dylan is still best lyricist of the 20th century

He's very good, but I think best may be an overstatement - I'm not sure anyone can truly decide the best of the 20th century. Still, damn good.

honestly, only Tom Waits and John Prine really come close to Dylan's lyrics.

or Joni Mitchell

or Ira Gershwin

or Billy Idol

Elmo kicks ass too. He wrote "Elmo's Song"

back up weirdo. You started out good. Joni Mitchell's the Hissing of Summer Lawns LP had great lyrics.

It's a nice day for... white wedding...