Mick Hartley

Via Expecting Rain, here's an amusing interview with the recently knighted Christopher Ricks, professor of poetry and author, mostly on the subject of Dylan. The interviewer, Latvian writer Ieva Lesinska, professes to that common affliction; not liking the man's voice:

CR: One of the things that we may need to redefine may be what people mean by singing. You don't have to be locked into some old idea of singing. A lot of my friends may think that Marlon Brando is a great actor, yet my parents knew that Marlon Brando could not act. They knew that all the more because they would look at John Gielgud and say: "Well, there's a real actor." That is what they meant by acting. I find it wonderful what Gielgud does – but no matter what you think of Brando, he redefined what we mean by acting. That's one sign of genius. You simply have to think again. I am not accusing you of not willing to think again…[…]

I know that some people find his voice repugnant and others find that he's not doing what they understand by singing. But I would like to remind you of that old thought in Wordsworth that you have to create the taste by which you are to be enjoyed. What an artist does is understand people's tastes and – without selling out – accommodate to them. But every now and then there are people – and Picasso was one, Brando was another – who do have to create the taste by which they are enjoyed.

IL: But I don't love Leonard Cohen, I find him somewhat tedious.

CR: Well, good. That's the right answer, as you surely know.