A correction to the Wikipedia Paul Brady page…well at least one of the dozens of inaccuracies that need to be fixed…is the supposed quote from Bob Dylan saying I was “One of only five artists in the world worth getting out of bed for.” BOB DYLAN NEVER SAID THAT!!!! If anyone has any input to Wikipedia will they please remove that?
It was some jaded, jaundiced hack in some British music rag back in the 80s who thought he was being funny. He probably never even read the actual quote.
What Bob Dylan really said in the booklet accompanying his 1895 box set ‘Biograph’ was “..people get too famous too fast these days and it destroys them. Some guys got it down- Leonard Cohen, Paul Brady, Lou Reed, secret heroes,- John Prine, David Allen Coe,Tom Waits. I listen more to that kind of stuff than whatever is popular at the moment. They’re not just witchdoctoring up the planet, they don’t set up barriers…Gordon Lightfoot, every time I hear a song of is it’s, like, I wish it would last forever.”
I’m constantly amazed at how even reputable journalists continue to rely upon Wikipedia for their background information. Wikipedia is a joke and it brings the internet into disrepute. End of rant!
Paul – I agree with what you are saying wholeheartedly – but on the other hand, surely it doesn’t do you any harm if people create an aura / legend around you?!!
Bernard
I dont think Wikipedia is a joke and its not correct to blame the medium. Its the minority of people who put information on there which is distorted truth at best and before we know it, there is a chinese whispers syndrome matrix of lies.
As you say, lazy journalists exist whose main aim is to collect their pay cheque and go home of an evening without being conscious of what they are doing. However these amateurs also exist in traditional printed media too and always have done. Journalists have recycled incorrect information from many other sources in the past when Wikipedia wasn’t around. This has probably gone on since the printing press was created back in 1492. Its rather like a folk song that evolves and has numerous musical and lyrical changes applied to it. As the last writer puts it, in your case it has created a positive spin around you and your music, Bob is clearly taken with your creative powers which must be praise indeed!
This issue of lazy journalism does have serious implications however when writers, politicians and the like comment on pressing issues like scarcity of world resources without the possession of the full facts. The vast majority of people are then left ignorant of the truth. Doctor Albert A Bartlett who is a doctor of Physics at the University of Colorado gave an enlightening lecture on the real state of natural resources, do a search in youtube on “The Most IMPORTANT Video You’ll Ever See (part 8 of 8)” Its a pretty uncomfortable point of view and its about time we all woke up.
Paul,
I don’t agree with that put-down of Wikidpedia either. I read about poet Shelley this morning on Wiki and found it hugely informative, with plenty of links for further study. Quite the fellow was old Shelley, a new hero of mine. The Coof or any of those other priest-ridden, numbskull teachers in St Columb’s never did him justice, did they? Too scary by a long shot.
And anyway, Paul, why protest so much about the misquote? What Dylan really said was just as big a compliment, in fact; in my book, and even bigger one. You are better off not getting famous and spoiled for something you were clearly born with, a huge genetic advantage in musical talent. It makes you someone rare, genuine and worth having in this celebrity mad-world. The ultimate compliment. It may be a misquote but it paraphrases the real one quite eloquently.
Frank
Cracking rant!
I suppose the Wiki debate has pros and cons. It being a relatively unsupervised medium, not peer reviewed etc, there’s serious room for the manipulation of fact and the production of unbridled fiction. But on the other hand, it’s great in terms of having a free resource that can provide you with information on when certain albums, for example, were recoded and who the contributing artists were, as well as anything else you might possibly want some foundational info on.
Re Bob, fair enough, if I was in your shoes I wouldn’t be a fan of wanton fiction or legend that arises under the auspices of what you refer to as lazy journalism. This is just my opinion, but the point I think the lads above are missing is that praise, when its in a sense inaccurate, can be embarrassing to the point of infuriation.
Anyway, I robbed my parents vinyl copy of Hard Station there recently, cracking album, title track is quite suited to the times we find ourselves in, again.
Slan, Mise le meas,
Cathal O Currain.
The Box Set was released in 1985 not 1895!
Oops. agree. It’s been changed now I think.
It doesn’t matter what Bob said or didn’t say. The Biograph quote makes it clear though.
Paul Brady is an outstanding musician, songwriter who is comfortable in the genres
of rock music and traditional folk music. His shimmering voice turns Arthur McBride
into a classic, an old song sung passionately like a personal anecdote.
Thanks Ian. Blush icon please!