Standing by your convictions is one thing we've lost since Dylan's generation. Billy Joe Armstrong of pop-punk trio Green Day picked up pointers from Dylan's stylish vitriol. His lyrics could tear someone apart in four minutes. I wouldn't want to be at the other end of a song like that. Whiskeytown fell under Dylan's spell after finding lyrics his mother had jotted during college.
Nobody has that voice.
Even on our homogenized McDonald's planet, where cheerleaders are icons, anyone can do a Dylan impersonation. Young stars, whether weaned on grunge or rap or hair bands, eventually gravitate to the godfather of troubadours. There's no fat in his songs. Whether it's his own experience or a story he's telling, he puts it across in a way that moves people. He quickly changed his tune.