The wonderful world of rock

All right! Another awesome elderly gentleman is in the news, and this time it’s not for dying. The always-egotistical (and deservedly so) Bob Dylan lashed out at the new generation of rock bands in the program for his upcoming tour. "I know there are groups at the top of the charts that are hailed as the saviors of rock ‘n’ roll and all that, but they are amateurs," Dylan wrote. "They don’t know where the music comes from."

Although some people might dismiss his comments – and many I know indeed do not like Bob Dylan or his music – his words, like his good songs, are overflowing with bitter and cynical truth. But it forces the question: Why would someone not like Bob Dylan? How could anyone doubt such prophetic prose? So I thought to myself about all the people I know that dislike him, and there was a glaring consistency between them. They’re all a bunch of idiots. I can understand not liking his voice, for it is a little whiny, but he is a genius, after all. We can allow him some transgressions of aural taste.

And as far as originality goes, he was there in the beginning, in the folk trenches, and he wasn’t afraid to go over the top. Even when the cards were stacked against him, he bravely pressed on. And although he did make some pretty bad Jesus-oriented music, there are enough of the goods to make up for it. Like Hunter S. Thompson, he was on the scene, kickin’ ass and takin’ names, not apologizing to anyone. He even got the Beatles stoned for the first time. So when he slags on bands like Jet and stuff, which actually are pretty bad, I’m afraid I have to agree.

It looks like there’s another death in the news this week, but this one’s a much less bitter pill. As a matter of fact, it’s a super-delicious pill. Blink 182 is no more. The band – founders of the whole "word-number" band naming trend, scourge of the airwaves for the last decade, hit-makers of the suburbs, who successfully brought overly earnest delivery of excretory jokes into our musical lives forever – is on "indefinite hiatus," according to their web site. Stopping short of declaring a total breakup, the group cited suffering relationships and stress as the causes and added that there are no plans for them to work together again. Although they tried to mature toward the end, and actually managed to do so to a decent extent, these efforts were ultimately just the headstone on a mausoleum that immaturity built. Now that Green Day’s back in full force, there’s no need for pale imitations anymore. May Blink 182 stay in this grave forever, never again to assault an innocent eardrum with their gratingly saccharine ways.