Bob Dylan has rattled off a long list of artists he admires (Picture: Michael Kovac/WireImage)
In the bingo card combination we bet you weren’t expecting this year, Bob Dylan has shared his admiration for both Eminem and the Wu-Tang Clan.
The legendary singer-songwriter, 81, opened up about the artists he’s a fan of and the genres of music he vibes with, citing his admiration for anyone ‘with a feeling for words and language’ as well as songwriters ‘whose vision parallels mine’.
In sharing his love of the likes of Nick Cave and Leonard Cohen, he also went on to include rapper Eminem as well as hip-hop group Wu-Tang Clan on his list, saying he was ‘a fan of’ them.
He said: ‘I’ve seen Metallica twice. I’ve made special efforts to see Jack White and Alex Turner [of Arctic Monkeys]… I’m a fan of Royal Blood, Celeste, Rag and Bone Man, Wu-Tang, Eminem, Nick Cave, Leonard Cohen, anybody with a feeling for words and language, anybody whose vision parallels mine.’
It’s quite the change of tune for the singer, who previously told Time magazine he hadn’t really listened to Eminem and said at the time that when it came to modern music ‘the radio makes hideous sounds’.
Speaking to The Wall Street Journal now, the 81-year-old said of his favourite genre of music, that he consumed a ‘combination of genres,’ including ‘slow ballads, fast ballads [and] anything that moves’, saying: ‘Music historians would say when you mix it all up it’s called rock and roll. I guess that would be my favourite genre.’
He’s a ‘fan’ of Eminem (Picture: Amy Sussman/WireImage)
He’s also a fan of Wu-Tang Clan (Picture: Rick Kern/Getty Images)
Adding that the discovered new music today ‘by chance’ he did concede the impact of streaming on the music industry has created a ‘sameness’.
He said in the interview, which was posted in full on his website: ‘Everything’s too easy. Just one stroke of the ring finger, middle finger, one little click, that’s all it takes, and we’re there… It’s all too easy, too democratic.’
Oh and if you were also wondering, Dylan revealed, when naming other acts he enjoys or has seen live, that when it comes to warring Oasis brothers Liam and Noel Gallager, ‘I like them both’.
The interview came amid the release of his book The Philosophy of Modern Song, which has not avoided controversy over an ‘error’ over his signature.
The folk music legend was caught up in a furore after limited edition copies of his tome The Philosophy of Modern Song costing $600 each were advertised as ‘hand-signed’, but were later discovered to have been signed using an ‘autopen’ which replicated his scrawl.
Bosses at publishing company Simon and Schuster acknowledged the blunder and offered refunds, and Dylan himself explained how the situation came about and described it as an ‘error in judgement’.
In a lengthy Facebook post, he said: ‘I’ve been made aware that there’s some controversy about signatures on some of my recent artwork prints and on a limited-edition of Philosophy Of Modern Song.
‘I’ve hand-signed each and every art print over the years, and there’s never been a problem. However, in 2019 I had a bad case of vertigo and it continued into the pandemic years.
Dylan recently apologised for the ‘error’ (Picture: Michael Tran/FilmMagic)
‘It takes a crew of five working in close quarters with me to help enable these signing sessions, and we could not find a safe and workable way to complete what I needed to do while the virus was raging.
‘So, during the pandemic, it was impossible to sign anything and the vertigo didn’t help. With contractual deadlines looming, the idea of using an auto-pen was suggested to me, along with the assurance that this kind of thing is done “all the time” in the art and literary worlds.
‘Using a machine was an error in judgment and I want to rectify it immediately. I’m working with Simon & Schuster and my gallery partners to do just that.’
He signed the letter with his ‘deepest regrets’.
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He’s a fan of quite a few artists you may not expect.
