Top 40 Worst Lyricists

[bueno bob]

Here's the countdown:

40. Anthony Kiedis
39. Billy Corgan
38. Paul McCartney
37. Bryan Adams
36. Common
35. Dashboard Confessional
34. Henry Rollins
33. Diddy
32. Matisyahu
31. Carly Simon
30. Kevin Federline
29. Timbaland
28. Greg Graffin
27. Will Jennings
26. Simon Le Bon
25. KRS-One
24. Fred Durst
23. Robert Plant
22. Jon Bon Jovi
21. Alanis Morissette
20. Ryan Ross
19. Queensryche
18. Ian Anderson
17. Jon Anderson
16. Ben Gibbard
15. Bernie Taupin
14. Will.I.Am
13. Peter Gabriel, Mike Rutherford, Tony Banks, Steve Hackett & Phil Collins
12. David Crosby
11. Larry Henley & Jeff Silbar
10. Jim Morrison
09. Donovan
08. Diane Warren
07. Paul Stanley
06. Tom Marshall
05. Dan Fogelberg
04. Noel Gallagher
03. Scott Stapp
02. Neil Peart

and #1

...STING

Discuss.

[Hummarstra]

Is it a joke?

[bueno bob]

Apparently not. I just read the article in this month's magazine and it's pretty inflamatory towards all of them...there are quite a few good points to be made with some of the names in there...for example, I'm still trying to figure out what it is that Phil Collins wants me to turn on again...?

[FORD]

I know that list is a fucking joke, because Hagar's not in the top 5, and Neil Peart is.

[FORD]

And with Paul McCartney, they should at least include the qualifier "after 1976".

[Nickdfresh]

And Fred Durst is actually behind Robert Plant...

Gimme a fuckin' break!

[Seshmeister]

Originally posted by FORD
I know that list is a fucking joke, because Hagar's not in the top 5, and Neil Peart is.

The argument against Peart seems to be based on his lyrics from over 25 years ago.

It's just a stupid list which worked because it got the shitty article all over the internet publicising the magazine.

[bueno bob]

Well, there's a few folks in there that I'd certainly agree with...Kevin Federline, Fred Durst, Jon Bon Jovi, Alanis Morissette, and Scott Stapp jump into mind really quick.

I was wondering myself where Hagar was (but also thankful they weren't "enlightened" enough to include David...)

Sorry about the misplace earlier this morning...

[Nickdfresh]

Maybe Hagar wasn't relevant enough?

I do agree with a lot of that list - but I also think it reeks of the smirky, elitist and intellectually pretentious alternative wankers that claim some sort of "enlightenment" and musical scholarship over what they see as the over-hyped and overrated. This whilst they often celebrate shit, half-assed musicianship as some statement on legitimacy ala' the punk rock ethic...

But I bet if you you went through some of that favs of these writers, you'd find some real shit lyrics...

Music critics. Can't live with them, can't torture them to death with a chainsaw (legally)...

[Shaun Ponsonby]

There seems to be a prejudice against certain KINDS of bands here. See if you can spot it.

Anthony Kiedis
Robert Plant
Queensryche
Ian Anderson
Jon Anderson
Peter Gabriel, Mike Rutherford, Tony Banks, Steve Hackett & Phil Collins
David Crosby
Jim Morrison
Neil Peart

[binnie]

I'm sorry:

Henry Rollins?

Robert Plant?

Ok then, whatever.......(Rolins is one of the best lyricists I can think of)

[Mr Badguy]

Robert Plant?

He nicked most of his lyrics.

Jon Anderson?

That`s an insult to anyone who ever wondered what a "total mass retain" is/was.

And what the hell is wrong with Geoff Tate`s lyrics?

Neil Peart should be nowhere near this list.

[Redballjets88]

that list is bullshit, billy corgan is good.

with the exception of federline if you showed this list to a person and said "Is this the 40 best or worst lyricists?"

they will probably say best

[WACF]

Lists are pretty much fucked...


What would be interesting...regardless of where these people are on the list...would be to see how much Cash their song writting has made them.

The one that really stands out for me is Peart...

[jay_are]

Who made up this list? It's funny how some of these guys on the list are on tour right now. If you're gonna put Sting, McCartney, Plant, and Peart on the list then where is Elvis, Barry Gibb, Prince or even Ringo for that matter!

Btw, The "Duke" album by Genesis for which "Turn it On Again" appears, deals with being alone and isolation. The opening line is "All I need is a TV show, that and the radio" He's by himself and she's gone. His only friend is the TV and the radio. So turn it on again!

Been there, done that many times. Was it really that hard to figure out?

[WARF]

That bitch from the COCTEAU TWINS should be #1.

[MAPRamone]

Originally posted by jay_are
Who made up this list? It's funny how some of these guys on the list are on tour right now. If you're gonna put Sting, McCartney, Plant, and Peart on the list then where is Elvis, Barry Gibb, Prince or even Ringo for that matter!



And Lennon

[MERRYKISSMASS2U]

Originally posted by Mr Badguy

And what the hell is wrong with Geoff Tate's lyrics?


Exactly.

[Shaun Ponsonby]

I'm sorry...but anybody who wrote...

All this machinery
Making modern music
Can still be open-hearted
Not so coldly charted
Its really just a question
Of your honesty

One likes to believe
In the freedom of music
But glittering prizes
And endless compromises
Shatter the illusion
Of integrity

...shouldn't be on the list

[Warham]

Ringo and Elvis only wrote a handful of tunes. They don't have a big enough body of work to even qualify. Barry Gibb's OK.

Really, you could put Joe Elliott, Steve Perry, Huey Lewis, and a few others from the late 80s on that list very easily.

[WACF]

Originally posted by Shaun Ponsonby
I'm sorry...but anybody who wrote...

All this machinery
Making modern music
Can still be open-hearted
Not so coldly charted
Its really just a question
Of your honesty

One likes to believe
In the freedom of music
But glittering prizes
And endless compromises
Shatter the illusion
Of integrity

...shouldn't be on the list

Exactly!

For the words of the profits
Are written on the studio wall,
Concert hall ---
Echoes with the sounds...
Of salesmen.

[FORD]

Originally posted by jay_are
Who made up this list? It's funny how some of these guys on the list are on tour right now. If you're gonna put Sting, McCartney, Plant, and Peart on the list then where is Elvis, Barry Gibb, Prince or even Ringo for that matter!



Elvis wrote few if any of his hits, and Ringo wrote none of his. As for Barry Gibb, his problem wasn't his lyrics, it was his "balls caught in a mousetrap" singing voice.

[FORD]

Originally posted by Shaun Ponsonby
I'm sorry...but anybody who wrote...

All this machinery
Making modern music
Can still be open-hearted
Not so coldly charted
Its really just a question
Of your honesty

One likes to believe
In the freedom of music
But glittering prizes
And endless compromises
Shatter the illusion
Of integrity

...shouldn't be on the list

Ah, but those lyrics deplore the very state of corporate controlled "music" that keeps this alleged magazine in business, which is probably why he made #1 on this fucking ridiculous list.

And when Neil Peart wrote those words in 1979, music was still in reasonably good shape (aside from the disco shit)

[Shaun Ponsonby]

Point taken and put in a little cardboard box so that I can look at it some time in the future

[Mr Badguy]

Originally posted by WAR
Really, you could put Joe Elliott, Steve Perry, Huey Lewis, and a few others from the late 80s on that list very easily.

Hell yeah!

"Step inside, walk this way
You n me, Babe, HEY! HEY!"

or

"I`m hot, sticky sweet
From my head to my feet"

or

"Do you take sugar?
One lump or two?"

And they all come from the same song.

[binnie]

Originally posted by Mr Badguy
Hell yeah!

"Step inside, walk this way
You n me, Babe, HEY! HEY!"

or

"I`m hot, sticky sweet
From my head to my feet"

or

"Do you take sugar?
One lump or two?"

And they all come from the same song.

Yep. The lyrics for Rocket are even worse.....

[Terry]

Originally posted by WAR
Ringo and Elvis only wrote a handful of tunes. They don't have a big enough body of work to even qualify. Barry Gibb's OK.

Really, you could put Joe Elliott, Steve Perry, Huey Lewis, and a few others from the late 80s on that list very easily.

Agreed.

Shame of it was (or is) that Perry could actually sing, but chose to waste his voice and career on that pop-forty schmaltz. Everyone in Journey could play their instruments well ('cept for Jonathan Cain, who was always a bit weak); the level of musicianship doesn't quite match up with the eventual (mostly) schmaltzy output.

[binnie]

Originally posted by chan_bkny
HR's lyrics about anger, alienation, loneliness, depression, betrayal, and self-preservation mean a lot to me.

You and me both.

What they don't like about them is beyond me...

[stringfelowhawk]

Well, if you add McCartney, Plant, and Crosby how do you leave off Bob Dillon?

So Dianne Warren but not Desmond Childs or Glen Ballard?

[Warham]

Bob Dylan is one of the better lyricists of all time, it's just his voice that can grate on people's nerves.

[FORD]

Originally posted by stringfelowhawk


So Dianne Warren but not Desmond Childs or Glen Ballard?

All of those corporate cheese peddlers should be on the list.

Definitely not Dylan though.

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[stringfelowhawk]

No, No! You guys misunderstood me. I'm not saying Dylan should be on the list. I'm saying how can you put people like Jim Morrison and Paul McCartney on a list of worst lyricists without adding him because all of those guys are often referred to as the best lyricists in music history along with Lennon etc. It doesn't make sense to me. You're right about his voice just like Tom Waits. I just realized I mispelled Bob Dylan's name in my other post. Shame on me I can't believe I did that.