One of the most annoying cliches in rock is "Bob Dylan, voice of a generation." Don't get me bloody started. Anyway, in the except of his book which accompanied the Newsweek piece, he talks about how ridiculous it was for him -- anyone -- to be dubbed "the voice of his generation" as if a lowly song and dance man was some kind of conduit for the conscience of society.
but the big bugs in the press kept promoting me as the mouthpiece, spokesman, or even conscience of a generation. That was funny. All I'd ever done was sing songs that were dead straight and expressed powerful new realities. I had very little in common with and knew even less about a generation that I was supposed to be the voice of. I'd left my hometown only ten years earlier, wasn't vociferating the opinions of anybody. My destiny lay down the road with whatever life invited, had nothing to do with representing any kind of civilization. Being true to yourself, that was the thing. I was more a cowpuncher than a Pied Piper.
And so how does the Herald advertise its story?
Exclusive interview with the voice of a generation.
Sigh.
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