I love that I'm defending Craig Finn against Springsteen, considering The Wild, The Innocent, The E Street Shuffle is easily my favorite album of all time, I just think that Craig Finn currently writes the best story songs in the world.

Also the first half of Nebraska is awesome, the second half, I don't like so much.

I forgot to add that I like Benoit Pioulard's music writing skills.

Oh on that airline, a silver-bottomed plus sign
Please sit keeping silent, a napkin a design
The air is ground unfortunately, slipped through the turbine
Oh pointed intently at smile blinding sunshine

quote:

Originally posted by Shadrach:
With the debate going on about Dylan vs. Cohen I've felt a little left out, since, although they are good, I don't think that either of them could justifiably be called "The Best Lyricist Ever".

However, I was unable to find a topic that actually discussed and compared other lyric writers.

John Foxx (from the original line up of Ultravox!)
Ian Dury
Joe Strummer
Conor Oberst
Al Joshua (Orphans and Vandals)


So, I'm curious. Who is your choice for favorite/most talented lyric writer.

I'll start with my top five, although I'm sure there are several I'm forgetting.

1. David Bazan (of Pedro the Lion)
2. John Linnell (aswell as John Flansburgh of They Might be Giants)
3. Isaac Brock (of Modest Mouse)
4. Andrew Bird
5. Doug Martsch (of Built to Spill)

Eric Clapton is really good. peter frampton too. but i really like pat friesen

**EDIT** This was supposed to be a thread and was re-appropriated. A lot for a little.


Who are your favorite young lyricists? When I ask, I don't mean to refer to words alone. Lyricism is an aspect of art that can apply to more than what poetry fits in a rock song. But I do mean to lean toward words. David Berman is a good example of a stellar lyricist who often fails to move me because of the music the words are packaged with. I've been stuck on some guys whose capacity for communicating the feelings of our fiery desperate youth is truly UM beyond words.

This isn't necessarily a thread for "underrated" lyricists, but I'm steering away from guys like Elvis Costello because they're a little too easy.

Bryan Webb of the Constantines is difficult to beat in terms of sheer majesty. When he's on, every verse is like great-american-novel-last-chapter-last-paragraph stuff.

In a town that was hung
By that old devil moon
I scaled a street called St. You

Will Sheff of Okkervil River - these guys hover somewhere between the obscurity of your average great "indie-folk/rock" outfit and the popularity of college radio darlings like the Arcade Fire - somewhat closer to the latter. So the "underrated" label might not seem to stick well at first. But in a lot of ways, I don't feel like they're properly appreciated or given their due. If you've ever really listened to his words, especially from songs dealing directly with the "Black Sheep Boy" saga - they're pretty much heart-stopping.

The black sheep boy dissolves
In hot cream and sweet moans
In each dead bed and empty home
In each seething bacterium

Bad-ass!

Mark Eitzel of American Music Club/Mark Eitzel.

In the world of sad songwriters, the man's lack of visibility is nothing less than perverse. If I had a sort of magical Shining-Time Station tiny-wise-uncle type oracle guy to consult, it would either be Tom Waits or Mark Eitzel. His wisdom is boundless, and yet he's just as bitter and lost as the kids who dig him. I can't figure out if that's hopeful or depressing as hell. For any who don't like AMC, listen to Everclear. If you've already heard it, I can't help you.

Your ex-girlfriend told me
You spent all yesterday cryin'
Yeah I didn't know
Things were goin' so bad for you
Maybe you're just trying to get her
To come back to you
Or work your way out of the cynical attitudes
That protect you
Bad habits make our decisions for us
You should try to remember
All you're holding is a handful of dust

Well it's not even closing time
And already the stars
Are fallin' out of the sky
You're all lit up
You gotta do something
I'll help you try

Had to include all that - too awesome. This passage works best with the music.


Charles Mexico [Bissell] and Kevin Whelan of the Wrens

If there had to be a choice made, it would be for the music. The composition and instrumentation these guys are capable of will make you cry. But the two lead songwriters provide words that are anything if not worthy of the songs. Charles is a bit more abstract and poetic, his stuff is often dominated by strange and alluring use of alliteration and imagery (often sung in such a way that makes the band sound like they're Japanese and trying to sing English lyrics). Kevin is more direct and confrontational - a bit less distinctive, but can be just as effective.

One song that inhabits a space somewhere between these two is "I've Made Enough Friends" (written by Charles)


Brush your shoulder with an offhand gesture
I'm holding your stare
Invite me upstairs
We look for reasons to stand closer, touching
We look at a book
Of pictures you took
See who's taller and then arm-wrestle a bet
I match your breathing our chins brush closer we get

It's not about your own life, but it seems to be. Also, wondrous and somewhat eccentric imagery abounds in the Meadowlands. "Shot-rock Splitter to God" is more lyricism in a song title than most bands could publish in a comprehensive bound volume.


Rick Froberg and John Reis of the Hot Snakes.

There really is no other band that's ever been quite as righteously savage as the Hot Snakes. But what about the lyrics from Suicide Invoice's title track?

You and I made a pact
Only you would keep
And now I answer to you
In my sleep

A suicide invoice
In pen and ink
Brings you to my bedside
In yellow, white, and pink

And when I dream
I keep my promises to you
I really do


Huh? Am I right? That shudder you just felt wasn't just a cloud-shadow passing over your grave. Don't fuck with the Snakes.

I'd try to do more but I'm real, real tired. Who else has ideas?

This message has been edited. Last edited by: ElliottSnitch,

My six all-time favorite lyricists:

Roger Waters (Pink Floyd, solo)
Morrissey (The Smiths. solo)
Edward Ka-Spel (Legendary Pink Dots, Tear Garden)
Michael Gira (Swans, Angels of Light)
Jello Biafra (Dead Kennedys, Lard, solo)
Nicole Blackman (Golden Palominos, Recoil)

S.M. ofc

Someone took in these pants
Somebody painted over paint
Painted wood
And where he stood, no one stands
It's been said he's sitting now
In the churning land

quote:

Originally posted by BlackGravel
Will Sheff of Okkervil River - these guys hover somewhere between the obscurity of your average great "indie-folk/rock" outfit and the popularity of college radio darlings like the Arcade Fire - somewhat closer to the latter. So the "underrated" label might not seem to stick well at first. But in a lot of ways, I don't feel like they're properly appreciated or given their due. If you've ever really listened to his words, especially from songs dealing directly with the "Black Sheep Boy" saga - they're pretty much heart-stopping.

he's exactly who i thought of when i read that other thread you started. the lyrics throughout 'the stage names' make me feel like i'm having a moral dilemma in my head and Will is both the devil and the angel.

Top 5 huh? Well, I'm giving a top 5 and 5 honorable mentions"

Top 5

1. Daniel Johnston
2. Ryan Adams
3. Will Oldham (Bonnie "Prince" Billy)
4. Doug Martsch (Built to Spill, Treepeople)
5. Andrew Kenny (American Analog Set, Woodenbirds)

Five Honorable Mentions

1. Bob Dylan
2. Conor Oberst (Bright Eyes)
3. Richie Lee (Acetone)
4. Elliot Smith
5. Jim James (MMJ)

I love the Hold Steady and Craig Finn's lyrics, but if you think Finn is at Bruce's level you, quite frankly, are wrong. Keep in mind that it's painfully obvious that Finn is writing these stories trying to sound like Bruce. Bruce was just sounding like himself. Go look at the lyrics for Lost in the Flood and not be blown away.
EDIT: I just realized that argument took place 2 years ago.

Anyway, other than Bruce, I'm gonna go with Cohen:
"Everybody knows that you love me baby
Everybody knows that you really do
Everybody knows that youve been faithful
Ah give or take a night or two
Everybody knows youve been discreet
But there were so many people you just had to meet
Without your clothes
And everybody knows"

And the criminally underrated Warren Zevon:
"And if California slides into the ocean
Like the mystics and statistics say it will
I predict this motel will be standing until I pay my bill

Don't the sun look angry through the trees
Don't the trees look like crucified thieves
Don't you feel like Desperados under the eaves
Heaven help the one who leaves"

Ghostface Killah (proof):

Scooby snack jurassic plastic gas boobie trap / Ten years workin' for me you wanna tap shit? / BUNG BUNG BUNG! / Ya bell went RUNG RUNG RUNG! / Stapleton's where the ambulence don't come

quote:

4. Elliot Smith

It's, EllioTT. Two T's.
grrrrr

There are so many great ones, but here are ten:

1. Bob Dylan (huge catalog, the most influential singer-songwriter of all time)
2. Leonard Cohen (poet and song-writer whose song "Hallelujah" has been covered about a million times, but check out "Chelsea Hotel #2" for his lyrical masterpiece)
3. John Darnielle from "The Mountain Goats" (brilliant story-teller, massive output with some fantastic albums like "The Sunset Tree" and "Tallahassee")
4. Red Hunter from Peter and the Wolf (Criminally underrated lo-fi songwriter, "Lightness" is my favorite album of all time)
5. Jason Molina from Songs:Ohia and Magnolia Electric Co. (dark, brooding songwriter who is at his best with little or no instrumentation to back him up)
6. Will Sheff from Okkervil River (Though "Black Sheep Boy" is their most critically acclaimed album, all of Sheff's songwriting is incredibly brilliant)
7. Will Oldham from Bonnie "Prince" Billy and Palace Music (I think the quality of his songwriting has slid in recent years, but from the late Palace Music stuff to "I See A Darkness" is some of the best written music ever)
8. Mark Kozelek from Red House Painters and Sun Kil Moon (The music can sound slow and samey, but the lyrical brilliance is what makes the Koz such an important act. "Lost Verses" was the best written song of 2008)
9. Tom Waits (sometimes the lyrics get lost in the sonic brilliance of his music, but albums like "Alice" and "Mule Variations" show off his lyrical skills)
10. Warren Zevon (An underrated legend. "Desperado's Under the Eaves" is one of the best written songs ever)

Alex Turner of Arctic Monkeys is criminally underrated. I mean, just listen to the first verse in "From the Ritz to the Rubble". Or the whole song. Or anything else by them.

I'm surprised by the lack o' Jo News love. She is, imo, the best contemporary songwriter out there by miles. Could anyone else write Only Skin and not come off as a douchebag?

I think Gillian Welch doesn't get enough credit as well. There's a little vein of nostalgia that runs through every one of her songs, which is endlessly fascinating.

Kudos on the M. Berninger, Conner Oberst and Sufjan mentions. They're all pretty great.

I'd have to say the best modern lyricists imho are the used. i love how they just say whatever they feel, like in this new vid: http://vids.myspace.com/index....ual&videoid=61130701

Ever? Definitely Elliott Smith.
But of contemporary artists, I like Annie Clark's writing style. I like Marissa Nadler too. Very few contemporary artists can write almost literary narratives like she does. Oh, and having said that, I can't not mention Joanna Newsom. She truly does have her own inimitable style.