Who’s This Guy Dylan Who’s Borrowing Lines From Henry Timrod? -- Check out this NYTimes article on Bob Dylan's "folk process" of borrowing lyrics, titles, and tunes from earlier blues musicians and obscure poets, like Mr. Timrod. His new album does not credit any of these influences, just notes "All songs written by Bob Dylan." Is he "excused" from copyright infringement because of his "genius" status, or does he just carefully pick things that are old enough to be in the public domain?

UPDATE -- Songwriter Suzanne Vega wrote an OpEd in the NYTimes yesterday on the Bob Dylan debate: "He’s never pretended to be an academic, or even a nice guy. He is more likely to present himself as, well, a thief." Any Dylan fans care to weigh in? Also, take a look at Vega's website -- her song "Tom's Diner" is a building block of some 30+ remixes, some authorized, some not.