Bob Dylan lays into critics

In an unusually revealing speech at a pre-Grammys charity event, Bob Dylan revealed thoughts about his songwriting, musicians he values and the critics who annoyed him throughout his career.

The 35-minute speech was given by the Jewish singer-songwriter after he accepted the person of the year award from MusiCares, a Grammys-affiliated charity that supports musicians in a financial or health crisis.

In typical Dylan fashion, he spoke in a prose-like, singsong manner, reading from a thick pile of papers clutched in his hand.

“Critics say I can’t sing. I croak. Sound like a frog,” he said. “Why don’t critics say the same thing about Tom Waits?They say my voice is shot. That I have no voice. Why don’t they say those things about Leonard Cohen? Why do I get special treatment? Critics say I can’t carry a tune and I talk my way through a song. Really? I’ve never heard that said about Lou Reed. Why does he get to go scot-free? What have I done to deserve this special treatment? Why me, lord?”

Throughout the evening, Dylan’s songs were performed by his peers and those who came after him, including Bruce Springsteen, Neil Young, Norah Jones, Sheryl Crow, Willie Nelson, Jack White, Tom Jones, and Crosby, Stills and Nash.

The award to Dylan was presented by former president Jimmy Carter, who said that Dylan’s “words on peace and human rights are much more incisive, much more powerful and much more permanent than those of any president of the United States.”