Misquoted Bob Dylan Book Taken Off Bookshelves

In every writing class I have taken, the number one rule has always been “do not plagiarize or fabricate material.” It seems as if even professional journalists sometimes neglect the most basic of ethics.

The New Yorker staff writer and best selling author Jonah Lehrer resigned yesterday after being rightfully accused of misconstruing quotes by Bob Dylan in his latest novel Imagine: How Creativity Works, which details how neuroscience explains creative genius.

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, Lehrer’s publisher, will pull the book from bookshelves worldwide, as well as on the e-book market.

“It’s a hard thing to describe. It’s just this sense that you have something to say,” was a concocted quote from the book, where Dylan was supposed to be explaining the writing process on hit song “Like a Rolling Stone.”

The misquoted information was brought to the attention of Michael Moynihan, editor of Tablet, an online magazine. After he publically questioned Lehrer, the plagiarizer was un-wittedly found in the limelight.  

“The quotes in question either did not exist, were unintentional misquotes or represented improper combinations of previously existing quotes,” explained Lehrer. “But I told Mr. Moynihan that they were from archival interview footage provided to me by Dylan’s representatives.” 

He claimed to have had publicly inaccessible archives from Martin Scorsese’s 2005 documentary No Direction Home, among other sources. This is not the first time Lehrer has been accused of writing fabrications.

Well, sucks to suck, Jonah Lehrer. My journalism teacher would be very disappointed in you. Until then, here are some Dylan songs to enjoy.

"Don't Think Twice, It's Alright"

"Tangled Up in Blue"

"The Times They Are A-Changing"

"Mr. Tambourine Man"

"Ballad of a Thin Man" with the Grateful Dead. Great lesser known hit.

Happy 71st Birthday, Bob Dylan!

“If I wasn’t Bob Dylan, I’d probably think that Bob Dylan has a lot of answers myself.” -Bob Dylan

Vintage Dylan Promotion Pic for Movie I'm Not There, a 2007 tribute movie to the star.

It must be cool being Bob Dylan. Imagine waking up every morning and getting to think, “Damn, it feels great to be Bob Dylan.”

His first album debuted 50 years ago (in 1962), and since then not only has Dylan skyrocketed to the top of the charts, but to the top of the bizarre world of the counterculture. Singlehandedly, he transformed his Minnestoa-smalltown-boy image to the face of the musical protest revolution of the 1960s and beyond.

With hits like “Blowing in the Wind” and “Times They Are A-Changin’,” Dylan cynically led the world away from its distorted delusions. He introduced a form of poetry that was so blunt and real, that the beatnik was more of a spectacle. He was almost like a trend that is so different and bizarre that everyone gets hooked on it. (I guess in a way like Nicki Minaj… can anyone decipher her songs for me? Or decipher her wardrobe, maybe?) Thankfully the Dylan craze stayed. 

Bob Dylan revolutionized folk music with his introduction of the electric guitar. How could that crowd at the 1965 Newport Folk Festival boo him off the stage? Was the first listen of “Like a Rolling Stone” really that bad?

Don't worry, the newly 71-year-old has calmed down a little since his "freewheelin'" days. Dylan will continue his Never Ending Tour (and we like it that way) well into the summer in Europe, and we are just waiting patiently for him to return to the states.

So, Bob, you are a hero to us all. On behalf of all your fans, we would like to wish you a happy birthday.

Oh, and congratulations on your upcoming Presidential Medal of Freedom (receiving May 29 at the White House- the highest award possible for an American civilian.)

Cheers!

Some Songs to Check Out:

Here is: “Subterranean Homesick Blues”

Circa 1967 from film Don't Look Back

Also:
“Visions of Johanna,” “Mr. Tambourine Man,” “It’s Alright, Ma (I’m Only Bleeding),” “I Shall Be Released,” “All Along the Watchtower” (Also check out Jimi Hendrix’s and Dave Matthew’s versions), “Just Like a Woman,” “Tangled Up in Blue,” “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall,” “Like a Rolling Stone,” “Highway 61 Revisited." 


Here is his first ever 1969 interview with Rolling Stone Magazine.