The times in Norway definitely are a'changin'

Finally, a world body has recognized the genius of Bob Dylan and awarded him the Nobel Prize for literature.  Love him or hate him, he deserves it. 

Personally, I have always loved the guy, from the moment I first heard him.  I quickly rushed out and bought 1963's "The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan" album and played it to death -- much to the chagrin of my long-suffering parents who played 'The King and I' and 'Oklahoma' to the back teeth on the old living room cabinet stereo.  Remember those monstrosities?  I was 16 and thought Bob Dylan the coolest guy.  Ever.

He has been a troubadour and soothsayer for the times since he first sauntered onto the music scene in New York's Greenwich Village in the early sixties.  Sinatra (feature it!) was all the rage and yet in wandered a bedraggled guy of genius who schlepped around coffee shops and predicted the future in his wonderful songs and poetry.  Seriously.  Remember "The times they are a changin'"?  They were.  They still are.  He blew everyone away and continues to do so in his own perverse way. 

Starting out a folk singer, he pissed everyone off when he "plugged in".  Again, I rushed out and bought that latest album.  I still regard him as wonderful, unique and magical -- even though he may be an asshole in his personal life.  So many genii are.

Reading all the columnists chiming in about his prize, only two were negative:

Dave Bidini, singer for The Rheostatics.  Ever heard of them?  Yeah, me neither; and

Someone called "Russell Smith", a junior music review for The Globe and Mail. 

Yeah, me neither.

Boys, get your collective acts together and realize that Dylan is right up there with Keats and Byron when it comes to getting a finger on the societal pulse.