NEW YORK: Bob Dylan has angrily responded to charges he plagiarized some of his lyrics, calling critics âwussies and pussiesâ and saying musical appropriation is âpart of the folk tradition.â In an interview with Rolling Stone magazine for its Friday edition, the influential singer-songwriter made his first public comments on the accusations, saying that in folk and jazz music âquotation is a rich and enriching tradition.â âEveryone else can do it but not me,â he complained. âThere are different rules for me.â Rolling Stone released excerpts of the interview on Wednesday and Reuters obtained a complete transcript. In 2003, the Wall Street Journal reported that lyrics from Dylanâs 2001 record âLove and Theftâ were remarkably similar to phrases in an obscure 1995 biography of a Japanese mobster. A line from the biography, âIâm not as cool or forgiving as I might have soundedâ was compared to Dylanâs âIâm not quite as cool or forgiving as I sound.â Twelve such similar phrasings have been identified. In 2006, the New York Times made similar claims about a Civil War era poetâs phrasings and Dylanâs 2006 record âModern Times.â âIâm working within my art form,â the 71 year-old singer told Rolling Stone. â¦MORE
NEW YORK: Bob Dylan has angrily responded to charges he plagiarized some of his lyrics, calling critics âwussies and pussiesâ and saying musical appropriation is âpart of the folk tradition.â
In an interview with Rolling Stone magazine for its Friday edition, the influential singer-songwriter made his first public comments on the accusations, saying that in folk and jazz music âquotation is a rich and enriching tradition.â
âEveryone else can do it but not me,â he complained. âThere are different rules for me.â
Rolling Stone released excerpts of the interview on Wednesday and Reuters obtained a complete transcript.
In 2003, the Wall Street Journal reported that lyrics from Dylanâs 2001 record âLove and Theftâ were remarkably similar to phrases in an obscure 1995 biography of a Japanese mobster.
A line from the biography, âIâm not as cool or forgiving as I might have soundedâ was compared to Dylanâs âIâm not quite as cool or forgiving as I sound.â Twelve such similar phrasings have been identified.
In 2006, the New York Times made similar claims about a Civil War era poetâs phrasings and Dylanâs 2006 record âModern Times.â
âIâm working within my art form,â the 71 year-old singer told Rolling Stone. âItâs that simple. ⦠Itâs called songwriting. It has to do with melody and rhythm, and then after that, anything goes. You make everything yours. We all do it.â
âThese are the same people that tried to pin the name Judas on me,â Dylan added, referring to bitter 1960s folk fans who decried his move into electric guitar blues and famously compared the singer to the Biblical apostle who betrayed Jesus.
âJudas â" the most hated name in human history!â he exclaimed. âIf you think youâve been called a bad name, try to work your way out from under that. Yeah, and for what? For playing an electric guitar? As if that is in some kind of way equitable to betraying our Lord and delivering him up to be crucified. All those evil ⦠can rot in hell,â he said. ART DIFFERENT FROM WRITING
Musical appropriation â" using familiar cultural references or language in a new context â" is different from non-fiction writing or journalism, said Sean Wilentz, a Princeton University professor of American history who has written extensively about Dylan.
âOf course itâs legitimate,â Wilentz told Reuters on Wednesday of Dylanâs use of othersâ material. âDylanâs frame of reference is so much larger than most songwritersâ â" more literary, historical and philosophical.â
Wilentz said crediting bits and pieces of anotherâs work is scholarly tradition, not an artistic tradition. âCreating art is different, and always has been, especially the kind Dylan creates,â he said.
Dylan, who released âTempest,â his 35th studio album this week, has been scrutinized throughout his 50-year career, at least in part because he has proven so unpredictable and defied convention at virtually every turn.
In 2006, he stunned fans when he appeared in a sensuous Victoriaâs Secret commercial.
In 1990, he released an album made up largely of childrenâs nursery rhymes. In the late 1970s, the Jewish-raised Dylan embraced Christianity and sang only religious-themed music for several years. In a 50-year career, he has won 11 Grammys, an Academy Award, a Pulitzer Prize, the U.S. Presidential Medal of Freedom and numerous other awards. âIâm not like you,â he told the Rolling Stone interviewer at one point. â" Reuters
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