Best Lyricists? - Page 3

Dodfather · #31 08-31-2009, 05:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cornflake Girl

Point taken.

I think I've listened to that album a total of two times. I think some of 'Intuition' is pretty amusing though; 'you learned cool from magazines, you learned love from Charlie Sheen.'

Those you posted are the kind of lyrics 'Perfectly Clear' is filled with. I don't know what it is with Jewel, her lyrics can be wonderfully insightful but also sickeningly insipid.

Did you know that she wrote U+Me+LOVE for Holly Valance and she ended up doing it herself becase a) she liked how it turned out or b) Holly Valance turned it down?!

Can you believe that?! Jesus, if Holly Valance is turning your songs down you're in trouble. Then again, if you think songs like that should be on your own album instead then you're in trouble too!

Ghost_Tracker · #32 08-31-2009, 05:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by daniellaaarisen

Well I'll pretend to not be embarassed and simply say that I am flattered-- thank you

It is honestly really nice to hear.

Dampier? Anderson? Are these recommendations that I have forgotten?

The Dampier book is. It's "History of Science" by Sir William Cecil Dampier;
published by Cambridge University Press.
I think it's still in-print and it's REALLY good as far as that sort of thing goes;
and it's sorta considered to be *the* book for science history.
The REALLY "famous" one is History of Science by Rene Taton, but that just goes
on and on - like ME right NOW lol! - It's 4 volumes and thousands of pages. But it
all goes back to this guy named Sarton, he's the biggie.

But anyway long story short, yeah, I recommend the science history book by Dampier very highly. It's got a pretty good summary of what's gone down, in the past few hundred years.

Poul Anderson is my favorite science fiction author - he's just stunning in his abilities. The "big three" were "smarter" - Asimov had like a 180 I.Q. compared to Anderson's 160 or so - - - But Anderson LOVED learning SO much and he was learning ALL the time. His prose isn't necessarily top-rate in a "flowery" kind of way but he's just SO much fun to read and he gets a lot of ideas across without being preachy. He uses "gentle persuasion" in a fun, exciting way, and i.m.o. he was a master writer - BEST of the best!

Good books by him that are fairly short are "Fire Time" and "Ensign Flandry."
His "biggies" are the "Harvest of Stars" series (top-rate!) and "Boat of a Million Years."
Oh, and his really famous one is "Tau Zero," that got a lot of attention.
"Fire Time" was probably my favorite short novel by him. If I had to pick one,
that'd be the one I'd recommend.

carrie721 · #33 08-31-2009, 05:34 PM

oh lord, i do not get the tori love. i have yet to hear a song from her that actually means anything. stringing together words that sound pretty doesn't equal good songwriting to me.

my list ...

rosanne cash
annie lennox
ABBA (not kidding)
peter gabriel
emmylou
patty griffin
tom mother****ing petty
nikki sixx
miranda lambert
sheryl crow
melissa etheridge (like 20 years ago)
chrissie hynde
dolly parton

... that's all i can think of right now.

David · #34 08-31-2009, 05:40 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by carrie721

chrissie hynde

If she wrote Talk of the Town, she wrote one of the most artful songs I've ever heard. Stevie Nicks could only dream of writing something with such complex craftsmanship. It's perfect: there isn't a flaw anywhere in it -- music, lyric, melding of the two, &c. It's as marvelous as anything by Lennon & McCartney.

trackaghost · #35 08-31-2009, 05:43 PM

David I'm not sure you've convinced me about Christine, but her lyrics are very pretty for sure.

Cornflake Girl · #36 08-31-2009, 05:48 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by carrie721

oh lord, i do not get the tori love. i have yet to hear a song from her that actually means anything. stringing together words that sound pretty doesn't equal good songwriting to me.

miranda lambert
.

I can't believe someone mentioned her! I'm a really big fan. She's got the gift of rhyme for sure. I love 'Dead Flowers', can't wait to hear the rest of the new album. I also agree about Patty Griffin, she can just nail complicated feelings with one phrase. The song she wrote for Miranda, 'Getting Ready' is brilliant.

Oh, and I won't take you up on Tori. She's Marmite music, love it or hate it.

David · #37 08-31-2009, 05:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by trackaghost

David I'm not sure you've convinced me about Christine, but her lyrics are very pretty for sure.

Well, that's all right. She may yet be appreciated for the galvanizing craftsman she is. Austen had to wait. Dickinson had to wait. McVie can wait too.

Ghost_Tracker · #38 08-31-2009, 06:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by David

Well, that's all right. She may yet be appreciated for the galvanizing craftsman she is. Austen had to wait. Dickinson had to wait. McVie can wait too.

I'm sincerely hoping that the last words ever spoken in Nicksfix Chat will be,

"Yeah, but CHRISTINE wrote SONGBIRD!"

carrie721 · #39 08-31-2009, 06:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cornflake Girl

I can't believe someone mentioned her! I'm a really big fan. She's got the gift of rhyme for sure. I love 'Dead Flowers', can't wait to hear the rest of the new album. I also agree about Patty Griffin, she can just nail complicated feelings with one phrase. The song she wrote for Miranda, 'Getting Ready' is brilliant.

miranda's music is so quick and clever. i think she's fantastic. dry town? desperation? down? new strings? i wanna die?

i could go on.

Quote:

Oh, and I won't take you up on Tori. She's Marmite music, love it or hate it.

hate it.

Quote:

Originally Posted by David

If she wrote Talk of the Town, she wrote one of the most artful songs I've ever heard. Stevie Nicks could only dream of writing something with such complex craftsmanship. It's perfect: there isn't a flaw anywhere in it -- music, lyric, melding of the two, &c. It's as marvelous as anything by Lennon & McCartney.

chrissie hynde is a goddamned genius.

that one-two punch on last of the independents of "hollywood perfume" and "night in my veins" is ****ing brilliant.

oh and yes, she did write talk of the town.

CreepingDeath · #40 08-31-2009, 06:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Peestie

Just to be picky, Iommi never actually wrote any of the lyrics. Geezer wrote almost all of them in the 70's until Dio took over and after that it was (largely) the lead singer at the time who wrote them, even when Geezer was back. However, I do agree that his lyrics are great.

My bad. I must admit I wasn't in the best frame of mind when I wrote that list last night. Of course Iommi didn't write the lyrics. One of my all-time favorite guitarist, though.

Ghost_Tracker · #41 08-31-2009, 08:54 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by carrie721

chrissie hynde is a goddamned genius.

.

The thing I respect about Chrissie Hynde is her brutal honesty.
They asked her once if she hopes that her music will inspire someone
or somehow make their lives better, and she goes,
"*I* don't give a sh*t, I'm doing this to make money!"

. . . . Rude, I know - - - But 100% honest.

CreepingDeath · #42 09-01-2009, 01:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by carrie721

my list ...

rosanne cash
annie lennox
chrissie hynde

These three definitely should have made my list. Especially Rosanne Cash. Greatness.

Zombie · #43 09-01-2009, 08:30 AM

Many of the ones that came to mind first for me have been listed already (like Tori Amos, Nick Cave, Warren Zevon, Bernie Taupin, Leonard Cohen, Tom Waits, etc) but here's some of mine that weren't:

Dax Riggs (Have my babies, Dax. Please.)
Andrew Eldritch
Maynard James Keenan
Jim Morrison (might be a little cliche, but "I'll tell you this: no eternal reward will forgive us now for wasting the dawn" is just brilliant/words to live by)

Just a few more to add.

skcin · #44 09-01-2009, 10:11 AM

Patty Griffin for sure.