qLife : Music : Favorite Lyricists

karismaklysm: April 16, 2008 - 04:20 PM PST

oh, colin. my boyfriend took me to see colin on his solo tour on friday for my birthday. musical ecstacy.

and now i know that i should apparently be listening to motion picture soundtrack...

ani difranco also topping my list of lyricists:
"but then what kind of scale
compares the weight of two beauties
the gravity of duties
or the ground speed of joy?
tell me what kind of gauge
can quantify elation?
what kind of equation
could i possibly employ?"

justfeelngtired: April 06, 2008 - 02:28 PM PST Kevin Devine.
Absolutely my favorite.

And I agree with John Lennon, Ben Gibbard, and Andrew Bird.

Also, after having recently re-purchased "Horrorscope", I totally have to give props to Eve 6's Max Collins for his way of twisting words.

Milkbagbrother: April 06, 2008 - 02:19 PM PST

Weird Al was my hero from age 10 until 15. Wow, Weird Al, I hope you are serious.
Mine are:
Prince
Beck
Kathleen Hanna
Anthony Kiedis
Cheryl Crow
Billy Corgan

AtimeArhyme: April 06, 2008 - 01:09 PM PST oh yes fantastic thread. naturally my favorite lyricist is the one..the only.. weird al yankovic.

lostandfound24: April 06, 2008 - 01:03 PM PST This is a good topic. Here's my list of favorite lyricists:

Emily Haines
Conor Oberst
Jenny Lewis
Tim Kasher
John K. Sampson
Jeff Mangum
Andrew Bird
Win Butler
Regina Spektor
Colin Meloy
Isaac Brock
Neko Case
Kimya Dawson
M.Ward
Blake Sennett

trenchael: April 01, 2008 - 05:45 AM PST

I would love to hear what you mean by "fraternity boy types."

iurobbie: March 31, 2008 - 11:21 PM PST I agree the Try album is in my top 5 and yes, John Mayer has some personality issues, I met him and it almost made me want to never hear his music again, but the music is amazing and the personality will improve and if not you still have the music.

brianbunnell: March 31, 2008 - 11:11 PM PST

sara bareilles is a great lyricist, and a great melodist, too.

john mayer is a great lyricist, and a great melodist, and a great improvisor, and a great arranger. this guy knows more about music than any of us, probably most music professionals, too. any perception that one may hold of mayer as a tool for dropping the panties of teenage girls (like maroon 5) is strictly image-based. the proof is in the music, and i have studied the music. this guy knows his stuff, and he ought to continue to be prolific for a long time to come. i think history will prove him to be the greatest musical mind of our generation.

and i think "say" is one of his weaker tracks .


ANOTHER KIND OF GREEN by john mayer

Sarah's friend, she lost her mind.
She left him and made it look sexy.
I fear you won't be far behind,
Thinking I'll be the next to leave.

I know I might be anxious,
But I'm still not crazy.
And I don't need ANOTHER KIND OF GREEN to know
I'm on the right side with you.

I used to be the one you saw
When crying along with sad songs.
But then we go and we hit a wall
When nothing has changed and nothing's wrong.

Your'e not the perfect hand,
But I don't hit on nineteen.
And I don't need ANOTHER KIND OF GREEN to know
I'm on the right side,
I'm on the right side with you.

So go and drift away from me.
Adapt some new philosophy
That doesn't hold the two of us in mind.
Move into someone else's place.
Stare into some other's eyes.
But slowly only come to realize...

That you didn't need ANOTHER KIND OF GREEN to know
I'm on the right side,
You're on the right side,
I'm on the right side with you.

You don't need to lose it to know that you had it good.

i don't know how you can argue with lyrics like those. i highly recommend the john mayer trio album, "try." just tonight in a conversation (in real life) i told someone that this was my favorite album of all time, and i meant it.

crimsonladybug: March 31, 2008 - 08:19 PM PST John Mayer and lyrics as a topic of conversation is precisely what defines my musical tastes. I can't stand John Mayer. As far as I am concerned, he is one of those fraternity boy types who figured out somewhere along the way that girls....or some girl....dug that sensitive singer/songwriter Dave Matthews type and so he decided he'd give it a go too. BUT I love Say. That is one of my current favorite songs ....probably because my life has been shaped by too many instances of not following the advice within the song.

iurobbie: March 31, 2008 - 07:58 PM PST john mayer, i don't know if room for squares and continuum were just amazing or if they just hit me at the right spot at the right time but those lyrics just were like an articulated form of my soul.

trenchael: March 31, 2008 - 07:51 PM PST just a tad surprised no one has mentioned Bruce Springsteen yet.

crimsonladybug: March 31, 2008 - 07:42 PM PST

Good call! The Faint never would have crossed my mind but they really do have great lyrics.

crimsonladybug: March 31, 2008 - 07:40 PM PST

What I adore about Colin Meloy's lyrics is that they are devastatingly heartbreaking and beautiful at the same time, but where the popular trend is to write songs from our diaries, his lyrics are "fictionalized" stories of romances gone horribly wrong. It's a close tie between We Both Go Down Together and The Bachelor and the Bride for my favorite Decemberists song.

MissJmeLee: March 31, 2008 - 07:39 PM PST Dustin Kensrue - Thrice

Ace Enders - The Early November

Chino Moreno - Deftones

Anthony Green - Circa Survive

Jesse Lacey - Brand New

Sara Lov - Devics

Jimmy Urine - MSI

Britt Daniel - Spoon

Tim Smith - Midlake

Joel Petersen - The Faint

jaked: March 31, 2008 - 06:14 PM PST Justin Pierre- Lead Singer/Lyricist for Motion City Soundtrack
Colin Meloy- Lead Singer/Song Writer for The Decemberists

both have extremely real meanings. Not in the way of, oh, i feel your pain; but in, hey, i felt that and now i'm telling you about how i got around/through it....and am now amazing you with music.

say-10: March 20, 2008 - 05:04 AM PST Jim Lindberg - Pennywise
Zach de la Rocha - Rage
Henry Rollins - Black Flag
Ian McKay - Minor Threat
Haley - Paramore
Katherine Whaline - Squirrel Nut Zippers
Louie Armstrong
Billie Holidae

^_^

iurobbie: March 19, 2008 - 11:50 PM PST Tony Lucca
Chan Marshall (Cat Power)
Fiona Apple
Lou Reed (Velvet Underground)
Jeff Tweedy (Wilco, Uncle Tupelo)
Chad Stokes (Dispatch, State Radio)
James Dewees (The Get Up Kids, Reggie and The Full Effect)
River Cuomo (Weezer)

and more that I can probably think of later.

crimsonladybug: March 19, 2008 - 10:20 PM PST

GASP I forgot Ben Gibbard.... I need to turn in my Postal Service shirt and hand over my Death Cab albums to the music authorities

_re: March 19, 2008 - 07:51 PM PST I LOVE LOVE LOVE alanis morissette’s lyrics… if you haven’t heard it her more recent stuff is softer than her old stuff… but she’s so creative in all her lyrics

cegm: March 19, 2008 - 07:46 PM PST zeppelin /page & plant, floyd / waters, bob marley, hendrix, bob dylan, joan baez....

yeah. nice list, ladybug. : )

-c-

concretegirl: March 19, 2008 - 07:42 PM PST Jon Foreman (Switchfoot)
Leonard Cohen
James Mercer (The Shins)
Matt Thiessen (Relient K)
Ben Gibbard

crimsonladybug: March 19, 2008 - 07:41 PM PST And I totally agree with you about Imagine. Few songs choke me up the way that one does - every single time I hear it. Maybe I have a bit of Lennon in my soul but I really believe that if we put a little effort into it we could achieve some of the things he imagined.

crimsonladybug: March 19, 2008 - 07:38 PM PST

No apologies necessary. Like I said...it's a long list.

Franchise: March 19, 2008 - 06:59 PM PST

I just glanced down there for a sec when I picked up on this thread and I totally missed it. Sorry. Great list by the way. I also put my recognition to Elliot Smith. Enthralled by his melodies and piano/guitar licks.

Franchise: March 19, 2008 - 06:57 PM PST

Oops. And I was thinking earlier today to mention Kurt Cobain. So there it is. Kurt Cobain.

crimsonladybug: March 19, 2008 - 06:57 PM PST

We? I realize I have a list as long as my arm (I kind of figured others would too ) but Lennon is on my list.

cegm: March 19, 2008 - 06:26 PM PST



-c-

loyalist42: March 19, 2008 - 06:24 PM PST John Prine
George Harrison

and mad props to TimothyDavid...I wouldn't have though of Marley, which is really a frickin' disgrace on my part

Franchise: March 19, 2008 - 06:24 PM PST