Top 10 Reasons Not to Goof With Bob Dylan Fans

Be careful for what you wish for.

Monday's post on Top 10 Reasons Why Neil Young is Better Than Bob Dylan caused a massive traffic spike and a torrent of angry comments and e-mail here at Thrasher's Wheat's Global Headquarters. The reaction was mainly driven from being a featured link on the Expecting Rain: Bob Dylan Forum.

Likewise over at the linked site Eight Track Mind's. Thrasher has been in touch with Eight Track Mind's Jaded Bitterman to apologize for the furious reaction -- mainly from Dylan fans -- who failed to grasp the humor.

Anyways, what's so cool about this is that Eight Track Mind is in a band that does Neil Young covers. Thrasher has been invited to their next gig at The Velvet Lounge in Washington DC and has been promised they will cover Neil's "Revolution Blues". Thrasher will be buying beers for the band. (See update: Eight Track Mind Covers "Revolution Blues": Velvet Lounge, Washington, D.C. with MP3's!)

As we wrote yesterday as the reaction rolled in: "Regular readers know that -- like Lynyrd Skynyrd vs. Neil -- Thrasher finds this kind of debate rather silly as well and besides, it's a really stupid question."

Here's a comment along the lines of what I hoped we would see from Karen:

I love Neil Young. I am a fanatic. First and foremost, A Rustie. But I also love Bob Dylan.

Neil has been very clear over the years on his own admiration and appreciation for Bob Dylan, he (Neil) has called Dylan the master on several occasions. Neil has said many times over that Dylan was an inspiration to him. One of the funniest, more recent comments was during a recent radio interview about Prairie Wind, Neil's latest album, the interviewer had apparently heard that Neil does a great impression of Bob Dylan (presumably Dylan's speaking voice, given the context of the interview.) Neil pauses, and as his manager literally breaks into the studio to make sure Neil is NOT going to impersonate Bob Dylan on air, Neil says, Impersonate Bob Dylan, huh? Hey, I've been doing that for forty years.

Haven't you been listening? Great comment. Makes it clear how Neil feels about Dylan. Neil Young is my mecca, no one loves the man and his music more than I do, but we all should bow down to Mr. Bob Dylan. Noooo question.

The Flop Eared Mule posts on "Shakey Ground" regarding the contretemps among Dylan supporters: "If you're that dull and humourless you should just stick to being a Beatles fan."

In the meantime, here's a few comments from Dylan's fans with a sense of humor.

Top Ten Reasons Dylan is Better Than Neil Young

1. Better songwriter...The best ever!
2. Played Farm Aid, We are the world and The concert for Bangladesh among others.
3. Praised Mr.Young in a recent song. "I'm listening to Neil Young gotta turn up the sound!"
4. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the poet laureate of rock 'n' roll. The voice of the promise of the '60s counterculture. The guy who forced folk into bed with rock, who donned makeup in the '70s and disappeared into a haze of substance abuse, who emerged to find Jesus, and who suddenly shifted gears, releasing some of the strongest music of his career beginning in the late '90s.
5. Never wrote a lyric about what "chris rock said"!
6. Underated guitar player.
7. Dylan is far more diverse! What are you talking about? Have you listened to Dylan?
8. Sold his song to womens undergarments!
9. Never stops touring!
10. Cause I said!

And Dylan fan Mikey spoofs:

More Top Ten Reasons Dylan is Better

1. Neil's tendency to make one-off right wing political statements (e.g. Let's Roll)
2. Everybody's Rockin'
3. Neil does not regularly tour with The Horse, his best band and he obviously knows this fact.
4. Neil Stopped selling "Greendale High" t-shirts on-line
5. Bob's influence allowed the Beatles to write and record Rubber Soul
6. Bob is an American and Neil is Canadian
7. If there is another CSNY reunion and I have to see Graham Nash on stage, I may off myself
8. More jawas on stage would have made Live Rust a better video
9. Neil has never been called Judas.
10. Neil hasn't invited me to the Broken Arrow yet.

Oh well. At least we have generated a lot of traffic in anticipation of a major Rustie announcement. Stay tuned!