In a new interview, Bob Dylan talks about his interest in modern music, the streaming era, and the power of controversy.
The absolute icon of the American music scene has been around for over half a century but has never lost interest in it. He knows and listens to old classics like Ella Fitzgerald and Brenda Lee and then talks about Leonard Cohen, Rag N’ Bone Man, and Nick Cave in the same stream of thoughts.
While easily listing over 20 names of contemporary artists in whose music he is interested, Bob Dylan gives special recognition to Eminem and Wu-Tang Clan. He says he is a fan of both of them and praises their lyrical abilities and worldview based on their “feeling for words and language”.
In 2001, when Bob Dylan mentioned Em in his interview with “Time”, he admitted that he hadn’t listened to Shady much, but what he had heard was enough to get that Marshall was “doing something right.” The notoriety of Em’s alter ego only proved the point for Dylan: “I almost feel like if anything is controversial, the guy’s gotta be doing something right.”
Now, 20 years after that first praise, we can see that Dylan has not changed his mind but only grew to respect Eminem more.
The interview was published by the Wall Street Journal.
