Page 75 - THE DO-IT-YOURSELF LOBOTOMY Open Your Mind to Greater Creative Thinking

66 CREATIVITY VERSUS TALENT

The artists* Creativity Talent

Van Morrison

The Shadows of Night

Patti Smith

Agency Guys Singing

The Creativity/Talent Scorecard
*Even the term artist is often confusing. Are all of these
talented people artists? Maybe. Are they all creative artists?
Well, no. Are they even all talents? Well, no again.

Patti Smith totally reinvented the song. She brought creativity to it.
Is Patti a brilliant singer? I think not. But Patti Smith is in what I call
the “Dylan strata.” I know that some of you are about to throw this
book at the wall, but I’ll say it anyway: “Bob Dylan has very little musi-
cal talent.”

ROCK ’N’ ROLL BLASPHEMY

“But I like the way Dylan sings,” some of you protest. Oh really? I will
tell you that I believe that Dylan is one of the greatest minds in the his-
tory of rock ’n’ roll—and maybe in contemporary art, period. He is
extremely creative and has written some amazing songs. But I’m not
convinced Dylan would have made it if he hadn’t created his own
songs. As much as you might say you like to hear Dylan sing, I’m not
sure you’d pay the cover charge at the local Marriott lounge to hear a
Bob Dylan who never wrote a song standing up there singing a Bee
Gees medley of disco tunes.
We respect Dylan for his amazing creativity. We tolerate his lack of
talent. He’s an adequate guitar player. On a good day, he hits some
notes with his voice. But, I’m sorry, he’s a pretty horrible harmonica