Bob Dylan is a big fan of Wu-Tang Clan and Eminem.
The legendary singer-songwriter revealed he discovers music new music “mostly be accident” through other recommendations and live gigs, as well as simply waking up to find a new artist.
Revealing some of his favourite acts, he told the Wall Street Journal: “The Oasis Brothers, I like them both, Julian Casablanca, the Klaxons, Grace Potter. I’ve seen Metallica twice.
“I’ve made special efforts to see Jack White and Alex Turner. Zac Deputy, I’ve discovered him lately. He’s a one man show like Ed Sheeran, but he sits down when he plays.
“I’m a fan of Royal Blood, Celeste, Rag and Bone Man, Wu-Tang, Eminem, Nick Cave, Leonard Cohen, anybody with a feeling for words and language, anybody whose vision parallels mine.”
However, the ‘Blowin’ In the End’ star questioned which contemporary artists were in a position to write a real “standard”.
He said: “Who is going to write standards today? A rap artist? A hip hop or rock star? A raver, a sampling expert, a pop singer?
“That’s music for the establishment. It’s easy listening. It just parodies real life, goes through the motions puts on an act. It’s a computer model.
“A standard is something else. It’s on another level. It’s a song to look up to, a role model for other songs, maybe one in a thousand.”
Meanwhile, Dylan is also keen to still listen to music on CD and radio, and he has a soft spot for the “powerful and miraculous” tone quality of old tube record players.
He explained: “I listen to CDs, satellite radio and streaming. I do love the sound of old vinyl though, especially on a tube record player from back in the day.
“I bought three of those in an antique store in Oregon about 30 years ago.
“They’re just little, but the tone quality is so powerful and miraculous, has so much depth, it always takes me back to the days when life was different and unpredictable.”