Best Lyricists

[Shaun Ponsonby]

Who do you think are the best lyricists of all time? (OTHER THAN DLR)

I like...

Roger Waters
Jim Steinman
Lemmy
Jon Anderson
Freddie Mercury (sometimes)

[guwapo_rocker]

Yoko Ono....

Iyieieiiiisssiifis screech ieeyayayaymmmrrrrr


Blech.

[Shaun Ponsonby]

:D

[Grant]

Jim Morrison

[joe son of DLR]

i think bob dylan and Robert Plant might come second to DLR.

[Shaun Ponsonby]

Ah, forgot about Morrison.

[Virgil Caine]

In no particular order:

Bob Dylan
Robbie Robertson
Robert Plant
Roger Waters
Pete Townsend
Neil Young
John Lennon
Sammy Hagar
Jim Morrison
Jeff Tweedy
Johnny Cash
Van Morrison

[blueturk]

Originally posted by Virgil Caine
In no particular order:

Bob Dylan
Robbie Robertson
Robert Plant
Roger Waters
Pete Townsend
Neil Young
John Lennon
Sammy Hagar
Jim Morrison
Jeff Tweedy
Johnny Cash
Van Morrison

The Sammy thing is a joke, right?

[bueno bob]

Paul O'Neill & Jim Steinman...wordy guys, but poets.

[Unchainme]

Tyler/Perry In their Heyday. 70-79'

(Sorry I LOVE AEROSMITH!)

David Bowie Is pretty good too.

[Big Fat Sammy]

I'll say Tom Waits...cause no one else will.


Who here digs Tom?

Dave was influenced by him on "Push Comes to Shove"

[Nickdfresh]

Bono, I'll dunk now.

[bueno bob]

Ronnie James Dio, without a doubt. There's some really grate stuff he's written lyrically.

[bueno bob]

Michael Akerfeldt, Opeth.

[guwapo_rocker]

The kid is into losing sleep,

and he don't come home for half a week.......


It's easy really....

[thome]

here

[thome]

I AM THE OWL
I am your plumber / No I never went away / I still bug your bedrooms / And pick up everything you say / It can be a boring job / To monitor all day your excess talk / I hear when you’re drinking / And cheating on your lonely wife / I play tape recordings / Of you to my friends at night / We’ve got a girl in bed with you / You’re on candid camera / We just un-elected you / Chorus: I am the owl / I seek out the foul / Wipe ’em away / Keep America free / For clean livin’ folks like me / If you demonstrate / Against somebody we like / I’ll slip on my wig / And see if I can start a riot / Transform you to an angry mob / All your leaders go to jail for my job / But we ain’t the Russians / Political trials are taboo / We’ve got our secret / Ways of getting rid of you / Fill you full of LSD / Turn you loose on a freeway / (Chorus) / Send you spinning / Send you spinning / Send you spinning all over the freeway / Spinning on the crowded freeway / Spinning on the freeway / Spinning on the freeway / Spin / Spin / Spin - lookout! / The press, they never even cared / Why a youth leader walked into a speeding car / In ten years we’ll leak the truth / By then it’s only so much paper / You know, Watergate hurt / But nothing really ever changed / A teeny bit quieter / But we still play our little games / We still play our little games / (repeat) / I am the owl

this was some pretty good writing no slakers over here

[monkeythe]

Geoff Tate from Queensryche

[Llama]

Izzy Stradlin from Guns N' Roses

[Handsome Dan]

Has no one remembered Bob Marley, and John Lennon. You may think he's a morose Mother f**ker, but Thom Yorke thinks up shit no one else can. Michael Stipe also has a way of talking about nothing and making it sound good. Anthony Kiedis is also good at stringin words together, look at Good Time Boys and Give It Away, then look at Scar Tissue and Easily etc.-that's how large his range is at writing about shit. Also, you gotta rate all the people everybody else has mentioned. But everyone has different life experiences and styles (i'm not trying to get too deep here or anything) so the stuff they write about is completely different, like i couldn't write about drug addiction like Anthony Kiedis could, or about repression like Bob Marley, or injustice like Bob Dylan etc. but i could write about being a little nerd at a computer talking about the best writers of all time.

[DrMaddVibe]

Some that haven't been mentioned.....



Neil Peart

John Anderson

Chris Isaak

Robert Smith

Jagger/Richards

Lennon/McCartney

Lou Reed

Elvis Costello

[canadiandlrgirl]

Originally posted by Virgil Caine
In no particular order:

Bob Dylan
Robbie Robertson
Robert Plant
Roger Waters
Pete Townsend
Neil Young
John Lennon
Sammy Hagar
Jim Morrison
Jeff Tweedy
Johnny Cash
Van Morrison

What the hell is hagar doing on that list?
better yet where is David Lee Roths name?
you do kno you are at a Roth site.....don't ya :confused:

[Shaun Ponsonby]

I said OTHER than DLR.

PS-I forgot to say Halford.

[FORD]

John Lennon
Bob Dylan
Bruce Springsteen
Bono
Michael Roe (The 77's)
Bon Scott
Mick Jagger
Tom Petty
Elvis Costello
Kurt Cobain
Eddie Vedder
Layne Staley
Mike Peters (The Alarm)
Pete Townsend
Jello Biafra
Henry Rollins
Robert Plant
John Lydon
Joe Strummer

[Golden AWe]

what, no mention of FRANK ZAPPA?

[bueno bob]

Frank Zappa. :)

[thome]

frank zappa

[rustoffa]

Carole Fucking King

[DLR_EngineRoom]

Originally posted by Shaun Ponsonby
Who do you think are the best lyricists of all time? (OTHER THAN DLR)

I like...

Roger Waters
Jim Steinman
Lemmy
Jon Anderson
Freddie Mercury (sometimes)

Rik Emmett
David Lee Roth
Steven Tyler
Larry Gowan
Gary Cherone (no, I'm not kidding)
Neil Peart

[FORD]

FUCK! How did I forget Neil Peart? :(

[Vinnie Velvet]

OPRAH "FUCKING" WINFRY!!

Yeah, that's right bitches!

Oprah Winfry!!

:cool:

Best lyricist EVA!

[FORD]

Originally posted by Vinnie Velvet
OPRAH "FUCKING" WINFRY!!

Yeah, that's right bitches!

Oprah Winfry!!

:cool:

Best lyricist EVA!

And what did she write? :confused:

[Vinnie Velvet]

Originally posted by FORD
And what did she write? :confused:

Here's some:

Fucking Wit Da Homies
Talk Show Bitch
A Night Wit Docta Phil
Fat Cunt

....just to name a few.


:D

[Shaun Ponsonby]

Cat

[thome]

Originally posted by Vinnie Velvet
Here's some:

Fucking Wit Da Homies
Talk Show Bitch
A Night Wit Docta Phil
Fat Cunt

....just to name a few.


:D
Don't forget,
Shaved head but wig ain't fallin off.
Like it in the bak.
My Homie in the back.
Pump my Hump.
Pink strap on love.

[Loons The Great]

sammy hagar has got mad skills with dem lyrics and melodies, y'all. He is the Shakespeare of the roarin' 80's. Dude can tell some stories. All props to the Red Rocka fo' writin' some of the greatest lyricisms of ALL TIME. Forget the bible(well, don't forget it), all the truth ya need is in Sambo's tunes. Whether or not yer telefaxin' or telefunkin'...dude is like the god of song lyrics...should be publishin' poetry books...first one should be,"Hey ray what you said is true." I totally agree with Mikey, Van Hagar took the music to a higher level. And Sammy, he's like William Blake or John Keats or Samuel Johnson or Mark Twain, mang, he took the lyrics of the band...and went all Bob Dylan and shit.

[Mr. Vengeance]

Ray Davies.

[mako_kimura]

Geoff Tate
Marq Torien
Lemmy
Paul Stanley
Steve Harris
Schenker brothers


And by the way, fuck Kurt Kobain! All he wrote was shit

[Last_Child]

uhm..

The man who won the Classic Rock songwriter award..

IAN HUNTER

[FORD]

Originally posted by Last_Child
uhm..

The man who won the Classic Rock songwriter award..

IAN HUNTER

If that's true, then why was his biggest hit written by David Bowie? ;)

[Terry]

Ronnie James Dio
Geezer Butler
Bob Daisley
Ian Gillan
Jim Morrison
David Lee Roth
Robert Plant
Mick Jagger (until about 1983 or so)
Pete Townshend
John Lennon
Captain Beefheart

[Terry]

And I can't forget Frank Zappa

[Mr. Vengeance]

I have to say...I'm amazed I'm the only one to say Ray Davies...Amazed.

[Last_Child]

Originally posted by FORD
If that's true, then why was his biggest hit written by David Bowie? ;)

uh huh huh huh

[Van Heflin]

not in order
heres a few more


glenn tipton (judas priest)
bernie taupin(elton john)
lennon/mccartney/HARRISON
alice cooper
adrian smith/steve harris (maiden)
simmons/stanley (kiss)
Ozzy(solo)
david bowie
neil young
whoever writes in ac/dc
jimi hendrix
etc...

[fe_lung]

Originally posted by Big Fat Sammy
I'll say Tom Waits...cause no one else will.


Who here digs Tom?

Dave was influenced by him on "Push Comes to Shove"

You beat me to it.

[fe_lung]

Bruce Springsteen
Lou Reed
Steve Harris
Nick Cave
Robert Smith
Grant Lee Phillips
Willie Nelson
CASH
Leonard Cohen
John Fogarty
Thom Yorke
Bowie
Morrissey
Queen (all four wrote hits, so I'll count them as one)
Rivers Cuomo
Townes Van Zandt
Steve Earle
Prince
Bono (kill me now)
Roth
Jagger/Richards

[fe_lung]

Of course, we can't forget everyone's favorite

Joey Thunder!

[Mr Grimsdale]

George Formby's definitely one of the greatest.

[DeadOrAlive]

Definately Iggy Pop and Stiv Bators. Those guys could write my life story.

[Dave's Bitch]

Izzy Stradlin

[amadeus]

Michael Been (The Call)
Mike Roe (77s)

[Mr Grimsdale]

Michael Bentine

[Jérôme Frenchise]

Originally posted by Mr. Vengeance
Ray Davies.

Yes!!

It's very tough to choose I presume, but, beyond the fact I always understand them (not the case with ZZ Top for instance...:D), his words are top stuff, either in the tongue-in-cheek or melancholic mode...

I would add Phil May (Pretty Things) as well.

[Mr Grimsdale]

Derek Nimmo

[DlocRoth]

Elliot Smith R.I.P.

[Mr Grimsdale]

Warren Mitchell

[dvogel1570]

No one mentioned Geezer Butler (Black Sabbath) yet.

[Mr Grimsdale]

You're right!

How about Michael Aspel too?

[Shaun Ponsonby]

Mr Grimsdale, this is your life...

[Shaun Ponsonby]

I'm bored of this thread...lets play hide and seek.

I'll count first.

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10...ready or not, I'm coming to fucking get you.

[Dave's Bitch]

Originally posted by Shaun Ponsonby
I'm bored of this thread...lets play hide and seek.

I'll count first.

1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10...ready or not, I'm coming to fucking get you.

*hides under desk* hehe ull never find me here

[Loons The Great]

Tim Buckley
Jeff Buckley
Screamin' Jay Hawkins
John Fogerty
Sammy Hagar
John Lee Hooker
Howlin' Wolf
Charley Patton
Son House
Blind Lemon Jefferson
Blind Willie McTell
Hank Williams I
Loretta Lynn
Jack White
Mark Lanegan
Kurt Cobain
Kurt Cobain
Kurt Cobain
Kurt Cobain
Eddie Vedder
Chris Cornell
Otis Blackwell
Larry Williams
Little Willie John
Dick Gozinya
Blind Willie Johnson
Blind Blake
Beck
Kurt Cobain
Lead Belly
Louis Armstrong
Junior Wells

[tjvhou812]

John Bush is pretty fuckin good

[Matt White]

ROBERT PLANT

BON SCOTT

LAYNE STALEY & JERRY CANTRELL

ROBERT JOHNSON

WILLIE DIXON

MERLE HAGGARD

HANK WILLIAMS

GEEZER BUTLER

[Jérôme Frenchise]

Bon Scott is often quoted, and I agree: his lyrics were always so masterfully built. His views were very accurate, and he had that unique, tongue-in-cheek, in-your-face humour...
After he passed away, the lyrics in AC/DC remained great IMO, but Bon had very impressive songwriter skills. There was always a plot in his lyrics, with those crafty tricks in the structure and language (puns, double meanings - which I'm still discovering here and there - and very articulate verses)... A master, certainly. A man of spirit (:D), too. :cool:

[Shaun Ponsonby]

Originally posted by Dave's Bitch
*hides under desk* hehe ull never find me here


HA! Got you. My turn to hide.

*covers face with hands* hehehehe

You can't see me cos I can't see you

[Soul Reaper]

Bob Dylan
Neil Young
Roger Waters
John Lennon
Jeff Buckley
Bob marley

etc. etc.

tie a yellow ribbon roudn the old oak tree....

[Dave's Bitch]

NODDY HOLDER (i dunno actualy if he wrote lyrics but fuck it i love slade,so whoever the slade guy is)

[Dave's Bitch]

Originally posted by Shaun Ponsonby
HA! Got you. My turn to hide.

*covers face with hands* hehehehe

You can't see me cos I can't see you

hmmm,where the hell did he..is that him there???,no....hmmm...I FOUND Y..DAMMIT...where the hell did he go?

[Mr Grimsdale]

tommy steele

[Shaun Ponsonby]

I don't trust Tommy Steele. Why is he always fucking smiling?

[Mr Grimsdale]

Because he's got a Little White Bull that he bought for Half a Six Pence.

[Casemeister]

Waylon Jennings
Ronnie Van Zant
Hank Williams
Tony Joe White
Johnny Cash
Gary Cherone
Kris Kristofferson (There are some great lines on his latest album!)

[floyd95]

Kevin Cronin

[Casemeister]

Argh. I forgot Pete Townshend. Awesome writer!

[Shaun Ponsonby]

Originally posted by Mr Grimsdale
Because he's got a Little White Bull that he bought for Half a Six Pence.


Wow-that is a great reason. I would be smiling in such circumstances.

[Mr Grimsdale]

i know i am

[25%moreCOWBELL]

This is totally off the charts of the classic mainstream shit everyone posted here but nobody ever gives this mofo any love probably because he has a big F&^$@# up head........ Todd Park Mohr from Big Head Todd & the Monsters can write some pretty good lyrics

He can't seem to get his big ass head on a real label but he can write some good lyrics.

[FORD]

Originally posted by Casemeister
Waylon Jennings
Ronnie Van Zant
Hank Williams
Tony Joe White
Johnny Cash
Gary Cherone
Kris Kristofferson (There are some great lines on his latest album!)

No offense, but the name Gary Cherone just stands out in that list like a sore thumb :D

[Jérôme Frenchise]

Originally posted by Casemeister
Argh. I forgot Pete Townshend. Awesome writer!

It's very surprising that none of us had mentioned him before, if I remember well.
I don't think anybody included Mick Jagger either...

Maybe it simply was too obvious.

[25%moreCOWBELL]

What the hell........ Bruce Dickerson and Iron Maiden get no respect?????????

Fucking Run to the Hills man
From the coast of gold across the seven seas.............

They even have a fucking mechanically robot named Eddie in the Band? It’s just like Van Halen…Plug him in, give him a drink, and watch him goooooooo…

[Shaun Ponsonby]

Who are you?

[mako_kimura]

Originally posted by Van Heflin

whoever writes in ac/dc

That would be the Young brothers(Angus and Malcom)

[Jérôme Frenchise]

Jacques Brel. Greatest French-speaking (Belgian) singer/songwriter ever. No equivalent anywhere else...

http://www.transformation.ca/brel/images/brel_intro.jpg

[Casemeister]

Originally posted by FORD
No offense, but the name Gary Cherone just stands out in that list like a sore thumb :D

LOL. Nah, I dig! :D

I think I was listening to Extreme when I posted that (big fan)... but yeah, he does kinda stand out, LOL!

:D

[Jérôme Frenchise]

Check this out... Live at the Olympia, Paris, 1966, first night. He sings "Amsterdam", a song that hadn't been released on record yet: no audience had ever heard it yet.
He opened with that song, and they all gave him a standing ovation; it was the first time ever that an artist was asked to play again a song that was new to anybody's ears.
Bowie kind of translated it in his 1973 cover, which was more of a tribute than a success.
A song about the port of Amsterdam of the mid 20th century, its cheap restaurants, its greasy fries, sailors, whores...
All of the song is documented from Brel's own experience, the nights he'd spent himself there - he was an awesome party-maker.
After a gig, as it was reported, he would tell his musicians and pals: "Come on, let's have a party!" And they would follow him more or less for a long time through the night as they would eventually "fall" one by one around sunset...
And "Grand Jacques", after carrying on by himself with whoever was ready to keep up with his own excess, would wind up at the hotel at the break of 8 am, wake them all up in an enthusiastic mood, yelling "Come on, buddies, let's go! We've got to rehearse now".
He really meant it, and though he was positively stoned, they would play, and he would be as ready as could be...
As far as songwriting, singing and personality, he was most outstanding.
Too bad that French isn't spoken just half as much as English...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=POGegLVKjdQ&search=Jacques%20Brel

[blueturk]

Fucking PHIL LYNOTT!

R.I.P.

[blueturk]

Originally posted by floyd95
Kevin Cronin

LMFAO! I still rememberrrrr the Poodle Rocker too...he was so full of sheeyut...


Don't Let Him Go

So you figure that you’ve got him all figured out
He’s a sweet talkin stud
Who can melt a girl’s heart with his pout
He’s the kind of lover that the ladies dream about

He’s got plenty of cash
He’s got plenty of friends
He drives women wild
Then he drives off in a mercedes-benz
He’s got a long wick with a flame at both ends
He’s hot

But don’t let him go
Just give him a chance to grow
Take it easy, take it slow
And don’t let him go

He makes you so angry
He makes you so sore
The wait may be worth it
But how can you wait anymore
When you’re wonderin what you’re waitin’ for
Baby I don’t know

But don’t let him go
He just needs a chance to grow
Take it easy, take it slow
And don’t let him go

[mako_kimura]

Another thing to add to my list:

Whoever writes in Babylon AD

[Dave's Bitch]

the guy who writes the lyrics for Blind Guardian

there lyrics are cool.power metal has cheesy nerd lyrics which make me laugh.

POWER METAL RULES

[Shaun Ponsonby]

Who said Kevin Cronin?

Thats fookin' stoopid. If you listen to "Can't Fight This Feeling" it sounds like he's trying to hard to rhyme.

"I can't fight this feeling anymore.
I've forgotten what I started fighting for.
It's time to bring this ship into the shore,
And throw away the oars, forever.
Cause I can't fight this feeling anymore.
I've forgotten what I started fighting for.
And if I have to crawl upon the floor,
Come crashing through your door,
Baby, I can't fight this feeling anymore."

Hmmm, great.

[Dave's Bitch]

Originally posted by Shaun Ponsonby
Who said Kevin Cronin?

Thats fookin' stoopid. If you listen to "Can't Fight This Feeling" it sounds like he's trying to hard to rhyme.

"I can't fight this feeling anymore.
I've forgotten what I started fighting for.
It's time to bring this ship into the shore,
And throw away the oars, forever.
Cause I can't fight this feeling anymore.
I've forgotten what I started fighting for.
And if I have to crawl upon the floor,
Come crashing through your door,
Baby, I can't fight this feeling anymore."

Hmmm, great.

hey

i like that song...

[blueturk]

Originally posted by Dave's Bitch
hey

i like that song...

Let's do it phonetically....


"I can't fight this feelin' anymorrrrr
I've forgotten what I started fighting forrrr.
It's time to bring this ship into the shorerrr,
And throw away the oars, foreverrrrrr.
Cause I can't fight this feelin' anymorerrrr
I've forgotten what I started fighting forrrrrr
And if I have to crawl upon the floorrrrr
Come crashin' through your doorrrrr
Baby, I can't fight this feeling anymorerrr"

[Unchainme]

Layne Staley was a kickass song writer, Wrote some of the darkest shit sometimes, But he has such a funny personality.

[floyd95]

I said Kevin Cronin. The orignal American Cheese lyric writer. He makes Sammy look like... well Sammy.

I remember REO being big in the midwest before Hi-Infidelity. Remember You Get What You Play For? 157 Riverside Avenue and Riding The Storm Out...

[floyd95]

I was just joking anyway. I thought his name would look funny mixed in with the serious contenders.

[Mr Grimsdale]

hurricane smith
top shite!

[Shaun Ponsonby]

Originally posted by Dave's Bitch
hey

i like that song...

Thats fine. A lot of girls do. The lyrics are still shite though.

[Shaun Ponsonby]

Bump.

Frank Turner

Well a teacher of mine once told me
That life was just a list of disappoints and defeats
And you could only do your best,
And I said "That's a fucking cop-out, you're just washed up and you're tired
And when I get to your age I won't be such a coward"
But these day I sit at home, known to shout at my TV
And Punk Rock didn't live up to what I hoped that it could be
And all the things that I believed with all my heart when I was young
Are just coasters for beers and clean surfaces for drugs
And I packed all my pamphlets with my Bibles at the back of the shelf

[Jesus Christ]

Michael Roe (The 77's)




Mike Roe (77s)

Verily, the Son of Man agrees with thee.....


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aAxgDX9ZrOA

[Dave's Bitch]

Axl Rose
Rob Halford

[tojoro]

Bob Daisley (on behalf of Ozzy)
Chris Robinson
Prince

[binnie]

Prince is a good call.

Bob Dylan is an obvious choice, as is Leonard Cohen.

I don't know about 'best', but I have some favourites: Phil Anselmo, Pepper Keenan, Dave Mustaine, Lemmy, Iggy Pop (admitedly patchy), Ginger and Ricky Warwick.

I've always loved Perry Farrell too......

[Shaun Ponsonby]

^^^

I think Prince has his moments, but he has some bloody awful moments too. I think a lot of his lines would sound bad if anyone else was delivering them, which says a lot about him as a performer.

David Johansen...brilliantly walks a tightrope between ridiculous and profound.

I remember someone mentioning Tom Waits all those years ago when I started this thread, and I started to check him out not long after. Safe to say...whoever said it was bang on. Never heard him right a bad line. Personal favourite;

"Boney's high on China White, Shorty found a punk
Don't you know there ain't no Devil, there's just God when he's drunk"

[binnie]

^^^


David Johansen...brilliantly walks a tightrope between ridiculous and profound.



That's a good call. The last album was shite, but the two before were excellent.

[SunisinuS]

Chris Cornell
Kerry Livgren
Yip Harburg
James Taylor
Ian Anderson
"the two Johns"

[fifth element]

Bob Dylan
John Fogerty
Kerry Livgren
Paul Simon
Dave Matthews
Ian Anderson
Eddie Vetter

and,
Billy Joel.

just my opinion

[Jérôme Frenchise]

Just re-posting Jacques Brel's "Amsterdam" at the Olympia (link was dead)...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yYcT2ftVr58

To the best lyricists list, I would add, if not already mentioned,

Randy Newman
Rod Stewart (with the Faces, stuff like "Every picture tells a story", "Maggie May")
Pete Townshend...

[Bob_R]

John Lennon

[Shaun Ponsonby]

That's a good call. The last album was shite, but the two before were excellent.

I actually really like "Dancing Backwards...". Can't help but notice most of the negative reviews are coming from a more rock-orientated perspective, whereas the more positive reviews are coming from generic publications. The consensus seems to be that it's not "ROOOOCK" enough. It is what it is, and outside of a few tracks, I really enjoy it. Definitely a grower, though. And I don't see the point of re-doing "Funky But Chic" other than for filler (on the next album, I'm looking forward to them re-visiting some of the Buster Poindexter stuff).

[sadaist]

I'm gonna throw Joe Elliot into the mix here. Basing this off some of his old great gems.

Die Hard The Hunter and Billys Got A Gun are examples of terrific tunes both musically & lyrically. Joe had a lot of great ones in his younger days.

[binnie]

There are plenty of things I'd like to throw Joe Ellliot into, but a 'best lyricists' thread wouldn't be one of them....

[binnie]

I actually really like "Dancing Backwards...". Can't help but notice most of the negative reviews are coming from a more rock-orientated perspective, whereas the more positive reviews are coming from generic publications. The consensus seems to be that it's not "ROOOOCK" enough. It is what it is, and outside of a few tracks, I really enjoy it. Definitely a grower, though. And I don't see the point of re-doing "Funky But Chic" other than for filler (on the next album, I'm looking forward to them re-visiting some of the Buster Poindexter stuff).

It's not that its not 'rock' enough for me, its just that it feels under-cooked.

[Seshmeister]

There are plenty of things I'd like to throw Joe Ellliot into, but a 'best lyricists' thread wouldn't be one of them....

JSC...

Y'better come inside when you're ready to...
But no chance if you don't wanna dance
You like four letter words when you're ready to...
But then you won't 'cos you know that you can

You got it, but are you gettin' it?

[ashstralia]

jeff buckley was a genius... can't believe he'll be 14 years gone in may r.i.p. buddy...

[binnie]

JSC...

Y'better come inside when you're ready to...
But no chance if you don't wanna dance
You like four letter words when you're ready to...
But then you won't 'cos you know that you can

You got it, but are you gettin' it?

The lyrics to 'Rocket' are comical as well.

[VAiN]

Wow, nothing like a 6-year old thread!

Recently I've gotten hip to Josh Homme from Queens of the Stone Age & Them Crooked Vultures. Very unique style and a solid songwriter. Worth checking out...

[Seshmeister]

The lyrics to 'Rocket' are comical as well.

'But then you won't 'cos you know that you can' is approaching Hagaresque idiothole levels.

[sadaist]

The lyrics to 'Rocket' are comical as well.


Alright, alright. I get it. You don't like my choice of Joe Elliot. Now please fuck off. (I asked nicely ;))


Let's welcome home the soldier boy from (far away, far away)
No angel of mercy just a need to destroy (fire away, fire away)
Let's toast the hero with blood in his eyes
The scars on his mind took so many lives
Die hard the hunter

[sadaist]

'But then you won't 'cos you know that you can' is approaching Hagaresque idiothole levels.


Well, thanks for at least saying "approaching" rather than flat out comparing Def Lepp to Tequila. And anyways, Hysteria shouldn't count, as that album was made for all of our 80's girlfriends to enjoy. That way we could all get laid after the show. We went for High n Dry...our girlfriends went for Hysteria. They get all wet when Joe looks in their direction when singing Women and we get to drive them somewhere to park afterward and get sweaty. THANKS JOE!

[binnie]

Then he wrote 'Two Steps Behind'.

I think we should end discussion of Joe Elliot there.

[sadaist]

Then he wrote 'Two Steps Behind'.

I think we should end discussion of Joe Elliot there.


Agreed.



My favorite lyricist is James Hetfield. He's written some really great stuff. I actually prefer his writing to that of Mustaine, but I like Mustaines music better. Oh what could have been. Mustaine is no slouch, just at times he falls into the cliche traps of heavy metal lyrics.

How many great songs must a person have written to qualify for this list? More than 50% of their work? Or does 1 great masterpiece qualify them? Reason I ask is I'm thinking of Colin Hay. His writing with Men At Work was just typical pop lyrics. But his solo efforts from the last ten years have some great writing. It's unfortunate that so very few people actually listen to anything after 'Cargo'.

And then there's Sting. For every great song he has written, he writes 3 pieces of crap cheeseball lyrics.

Lastly, would George Thorogood qualify? I mean, when writing about alcohol the guy is genius. Booze is his muse. :)

[binnie]

Sting is a really, really interesting choice.

'Fields of Gold' (genius); 'Englishman in New York' (dogshit.)

[Shaun Ponsonby]

It's not that its not 'rock' enough for me, its just that it feels under-cooked.

Didn't mean that directed at you, I was mainly referring to professional reviews.

I'll point out the new songs kicked more "ass" live last week too.

[Shaun Ponsonby]

Lastly, would George Thorogood qualify? I mean, when writing about alcohol the guy is genius. Booze is his muse. :)

Problem with Thorogood is that about 85.46836% of his stuff are covers.