Dylan and Cohen: Poets of Rock and Roll

(Paperback)

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Description

Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen are widely acknowledged as the great pop poets of the 1960s, transforming the popular song into a medium for questionng the personal, social, and political norms of their times. They emerged at a time when the music industry was transforming the revolutionary sound of black music into something bland, homogenous, and fit for mass consumption. For many members of their generation, Dylan and Cohen were able to articulate what they were feeling and could not express: anti-establishement anger, angst, and despondency. Dylan and Cohen is a fascinating political, psychological and artistic profile of these two iconic writers and performers. With reference to both biographical details and lyrics. David Boucher explores their similarities and differences, tracing the development of religious political, and social themes in their work and the ways in which those ideas engaged a new audience. A must-read for all serious fans of either Dylan or Cohen, this book will also engage anyone interested in the North America of the 1960s, or more generally in the relationship between music, identity and politics.

Reviews

Reviewed in Record Collector (UK) February 2005 issue by Patrick Humphries -- Patrick Humphries
"....If you think it's only right and proper that our finest songwriters are treated with the same academic respect as Shakespeare and Milton, then you're in for a fascinating read." -Uncut, September 2004
"Those researching the course of modern culture will no doubt find the heavily annotated work of use." - Kerry Dexter, Dirty Linen #114, October / November 2004
"...the dearth of Cohen interpretations makes this book valuable. Recommended." -Choice, November 2004 * Choice *

Author Bio

David Boucher is Professor of Political Philosophy and International Relations at Cardiff University, UK, and Distinguished Visiting Professor, University of Johannesburg, South Africa. He has written on a wide variety of subjects ranging from human rights to social justice. His books include Dylan and Cohen: Poets of Rock and Roll (2004), The Political Art of Bob Dylan (2009 ed. With Gary Browning), and Appropriating Hobbes (2018).