Joe, thanks for your bravery in being the first to come out of the closet. I stand proudly by your side in your time of need. It's not easy being us. We're ridiculed, spat upon and greeted with incredulous stares. "What's wrong with you?" they ask. But we are not deterred. We are not afraid. And we will stay in the shadows no longer.

We are People Who Don't Like Dylan.

Yeah, sorry I can't climb aboard the deification train that's blowing through all stops for Bob Dylan. I've just never cared for him. Can't stand his voice. Can't stand that period during the '70s and '80s where not even his fans claimed to be able to understand his mumbles. Think he's written a few catchy melodies. Greatest Songwriter of the Century? Sorry.

So hurl your stones at us. We are unbowed. Right, Joe?

Joe?

Where'd he go now...

I'm with you, Chris. I even tried downloading some of his stuff lately (because I'm, you know supposed to like his music), and I couldn't do it.

I got into Johnny Cash about the time "Walk the Line" came out a couple of years ago, and I accidentally downloaded his version of "It Ain't Me, Babe." After listening to Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon belt out a pop version of it, I can't even make it through Dylan's mopey nasally version. ACtually I prefer the movie version of it to Johnny Cash and June Carter's real life version too. June was right in "Walk the Line" where she said she didn't have the voice.

Can I make it a threesome? I have never, ever understood Dylan--or the mystique--and that was my era. I only wanted to gaze at Cate Blanchett (no matter what her incarnation at the moment).

I'm a huge Dylan fan, but I'm not all that interested in seeing this movie... maybe when it goes to video or something..

Sorry Chris, but it's not that he's the best songwriter of the century, but of ALL TIME. However, as a huge Dylan fan I would not recommend this movie to most people. I would instead suggest that they check out 'Eat the Document' or 'Don't Look Back'.
And he was totally intelligible in the 70's, it was in the 80's when he started spewing the jesus speak that noone could understand.

The Scorcese documentary airs on VH1 tonight, if I'm not mistaken.

Dylan remains to me one of the most fascinating Americans ever.

Wow. I don't know where to start.

It seems that your primary complaint about Dylan is his voice. You don't like his singing voice and you don't like his 80's albums (you're hardly stepping out on a limb with that one - nobody likes the 80's Dylan). Let me ask you this: What does his voice have to do with his abilities as a songwriter? He is universally heralded as one of, if not THE, greatest songwriter of all time. It seems a little shortsighted to be so dismissive. If you don't care for his execution of the songs, fine, I guess, but I would worry about sounding uninformed. It's like saying that Picasso was overrated. Incidentally, who do you think is the best songwriter of the century?

You know, Dylan has released some terrible albums. "Saved" comes quickly to mind, along with alot of his other 80's albums. That said, the man has released 50 albums, seven or eight of which could be argued as the greatest album of all time. Many more, I would argue, are completely essential to any music fan. That's a ratio I can deal with. Getting into Dylan isn't easy - it's hard to know where to jump in, but I would definitely NOT suggest downloading a few random songs. His albums are best understood in the context of the album, as Dylan intended. Check out Bringing It All Back Home, where you'll hear some of Dylan's best acoustic offerings (It's Alright Ma (I'm Only Bleeding), It's All Over Now Baby Blue) as well as his first forray into rock and roll (Subterranean Homesick Blues, Maggie's Farm). Check out Highway 61 Revisited and hear the opening snare hit that starts Like a Rolling Stone (this snare shot has been called "the sound of Dylan kicking down the door to your mind"). Point is, give it a real chance before dismissing this legend.

I was talking to a friend just yesterday about Dylan. I said that I thought Dylan was actually underrated. It was meant to be an over-the-top statement, but my point was that there are SO many people that are blindly dismissive of Dylan - so many people that offer the tired and lame excuse, "I don't like his voice". I LOVE Dylan's voice. His is one of my favorite in music and I absolutely mean that. I think music is more interesting when it challenges the listener a little bit. There are plenty of Sarah Mclachlans and Rufus Wainwrights out there with lovely, perfect singing voices, but I just have no interest in that. To me, it's boring.

Sorry for the rant...

Bob Dylan at the height of his fame Got asked the same question again and again In a forest of microphones 'Tell us, Bob, who really, who really is Mr Jones?'

Dylan replied: 'He's a pinboy, he also wears suspenders It's not so hard to picture him In a room with three walls and a midget, a naked man and a geek And I am the voice in his dream, speaking in his sleep'

Bob Dylan at the height of his fame Got asked the same question again and again In a forest of microphones 'Tell us, Bob, who really, who really is Mr Jones?'

Dylan, probably bored to death Is also reported to have said: 'I saw him come into the room one night He looked just like a camel And proceeded to put his eyes into his pocket'

He's a real person, you know him You don't have to be so imaginative The answer is blindingly obvious:

Mr Jones is a man who doesn't know who Mr Jones is Mr Jones is a man who doesn't know who Mr Jones is Mr Jones is a man who doesn't know who Mr Jones is Mr Jones is a man who doesn't know who Mr Jones is

--Momus

Forget about his songwriting---he's the cat who turned the Beatles on to chiba.

That's great. That's referenced in the film.

R.I.P. Mr. Jones: www.nme.com/news/bob-dylan/32804