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Stoneage
Well, ....they still haven't heard from him. The academy has given up on him. They don't expect him to accept the prize any longer. Or show up at the ceremony.
Per Westberg (member of the Swedish Academy, chair 12) called Dylan arrogant and impolite today in Swedish media. Which is unheard of in these circles.
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Aquamarine
Somehow this is exactly the response I'd have expected from Dylan.
Reminds me of his performance at the White House:
Rolling Stone: You had Bob Dylan here. How did that go?
Obama: Here's what I love about Dylan: He was exactly as you'd expect he would be. He wouldn't come to the rehearsal; usually, all these guys are practicing before the set in the evening. He didn't want to take a picture with me; usually all the talent is dying to take a picture with me and Michelle before the show, but he didn't show up to that. He came in and played "The Times They Are A-Changin'." A beautiful rendition. The guy is so steeped in this stuff that he can just come up with some new arrangement, and the song sounds completely different. Finishes the song, steps off the stage — I'm sitting right in the front row — comes up, shakes my hand, sort of tips his head, gives me just a little grin, and then leaves. And that was it — then he left. That was our only interaction with him. And I thought: That's how you want Bob Dylan, right? You don't want him to be all cheesin' and grinnin' with you. You want him to be a little skeptical about the whole enterprise. So that was a real treat.
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/obama-in-command-br-the-rolling-stone-interview-20100928
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Stoneage
As far as I know the actual quote is, (my translation): " One can say that it's impolite and arrogant. He is who he is." My guess is that this is a personal thing for Sara Danius.
She seems to be an ardent Dylan fan. And prestige of course, as always in these circles. And I don't think Per Westberg voted for Dylan. He's a bit to old for that (83 in a month).
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DEmerson
I saw Bob also in Baton Rouge tonight. As usual, not even 2 words in between songs. But - it actually was one of the better Dylan shows I've seen in awhile. He doesn't rock out like he used to, but his voice was much better than its been of late, and he was animated and seemed really engaged (by Bob standards). A 2,000 seat pretty much sold out theater, very appreciative crowd-many there no doubt in part to the recent Nobel Prize news. Glad I saw him again - after being a bit burned out a couple years ago. Some older tunes back in the mix again also helped.
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GasLightStreet
THIS says enough:
To be a Nobel laureate, however, is to allow “people” to define who one is, to become an object and a public figure rather than a free individual. The Nobel Prize is in fact the ultimate example of bad faith: A small group of Swedish critics pretend to be the voice of God, and the public pretends that the Nobel winner is Literature incarnate. All this pretending is the opposite of the true spirit of literature, which lives only in personal encounters between reader and writer. Mr. Dylan may yet accept the prize, but so far, his refusal to accept the authority of the Swedish Academy has been a wonderful demonstration of what real artistic and philosophical freedom looks like.
[www.nytimes.com]