Favorite Lyricists

[Rick Hunter]

Okay I will echo a few...
I really dig Jason Lyte, and Thom York...

Also Phil from the Microphones...esspesially the Glow Part 2.

Troy Balthazar from Chokebore rules...

Rob Crow --Pinback/Thingy/Heavy Vegtable is pretty cool

and the dude from Engine Down.

more later...

[inverseroom]

RICHARD BUCKNER!!!! (evocative and odd)

Robert Pollard (clever)

Graeme Downes of the Verlaines (intelligent, erudite)

Steve Malkmus (charming nonsense)

Franklin Bruno of Nothing Painted Blue (hilarious rhyme gags and constant enjambment at the ends of lines)

[w_]

Lou Reed

David Bowie

Michael Gira (specifically early Swans... as minimal and brutal as it gets)

[black mariah]

Rivers Cuomo (Weezer):
They don't make stationery like this where I'm from, so fragile, so refined
So I smell and I lick your envelope and fall to little pieces every time I wonder what clothes you wear to school, I wonder how you decorate your room, I wonder how you touch yourself and curse myself for being across the sea.

Matt Pike (High on Fire):
The candle has burned through the wax that once covered my eyes.
The Pharises told you, but you knew of the black serpent lies.
Come all ye losers, don't you know you're the children of life?
Follow me now and we'll burn down the pillars of time.

I'll also toss in another vote for Tom Waits. I got into his stuff last year working with a dude that had every one of his albums. He's double cool for writing my theme song (Big Black Mariah) years before I needed it.

[apropos of nothing]

Bump on Elton John (I mean, the early stuff). Bump on Bowie.

Gang of Four. "To Hell With Poverty -- Lets get drunk on cheap wine!" They don't just write a song about something, they write the hell out of it.

In a goth vein: Ian Curtis of Joy Division, Andrew Eldritch IS Dolemi-- I mean Sisters of Mercy. Roz and Valor of Christian Death (again, earlier is better). The Church. Elizabeth Frasier of Cocteau Twins (can I say that?) David J. of Bauhaus.

Chris Bell. Tom Paxton. Robert Hunter. Woodie Guthrie. Syd Barrett. Paul Simon when he was with Art Garfunkel. Cat Stevens. David Byrne with the Talking Heads. Chuck D. Mark Mothersbaugh.

I could keep going all night, but I'll stop here.

[pscottm]

mark e. smith

dolly pardon

snoop dogg

[wrenhunter]

Elvis Costello (bitter)
Jonathan Richman (8 year old kid)
Woody Guthrie (this machine kills fascists)
Cole Porter (class)
Lou Reed (vicious)
Lucinda Williams (steamy)
Willie Dixon (oh yeah)

ditto:

Jeff Tweedy (beautiful)
Paul Westerberg (pretty sharp for someone that drunk)
Stephen Malkmus (crazy)
Tom Waits (roosevelt dime)

[Eric Rottmayer]

Ray Davies of Kinks

Dean Wareham of Galaxie 500/Luna

David Berman of Silver Jews

Elliott Smith. his new songs have some brilliant lyrics, hopefully they will
see the light of day soon.

[ckeene]

Joel RL Phelps has some really good lyrics ("I'm as thin as the dress that you've got on" - and dozens more)

I think Gillian Welch writes very good lyrics, too.

But it's true that lyrics have a LOT to do with making a good song great. It's also true that a bad lyricist like Jimmy Buffett or solo Bob Seger can make a mediocre song utterly reprehensible.

IME (if I may, uh, tie this back to the recording process), time is usually better spent (if you have to make a choice) refining lyrics and getting really good vocal takes than, say, editing drum takes and double-tracking guitars. People crave understandable vocals that speak to them about something tangible, whether it's a good story, a shared personal emotion, or maybe a voyeuristic peek into the singer's soul.

Ok, none of this is true in EVERY case, sure, and songs can be great without great lyrics, per se. And great songs can have no lyrics at all, or maybe even made-up gibberish like Magma, Sleep or Stereolab.

I guess I agree that it's nearly always worth it to spend time on your lyrics, is all I'm saying.

-ck

[Eric Rottmayer]

i forgot Conor Oberst of Bright Eyes.
probably one of the youngest and more intelligent song and wordsman today.

[SLAG]

Maynard (tool)

LOL! Yeah he's right up there with GG Allen.

[black mariah]

ckeene: Scary thing is, Sleep's lyrics weren't gibberish. I mean, they meant nothing for the most part, but they were SOMETHING, you know?

[omegatr0n]

Nobody has mentioned Nick Drake yet...so yeah, Nick Drake!

When I was younger, younger than before
I never saw the truth hanging from the door
And now I'm older see it face to face
And now I'm older gotta get up clean the place.

And I was green, greener than the hill
Where the flowers grew and the sun shone still
Now I'm darker than the deepest sea
Just hand me down, give me a place to be.

And I was strong, strong in the sun
I thought I'd see when day is done
Now I'm weaker than the palest blue
Oh, so weak in this need for you. - "Place to Be"

Oh, and I really like Sam Coomes' lyrics on "California"...

Life is dull, life is gray
At it's best it's just ok
But I'm happy to report
Life is also short

-omegatr0n

[AstroDan]

So many already mentioned, plus...

Shane MacGowan

Tom T. Hall

Frank Black

Ira Gershwin

Oscar Hammerstein (Seriously. The Sound of Fucking Music? Hello! )

[axial]

I could go on and on with older ones so I will pick the ones I currently listen to.

maynard

thom

conner

beck

wayne coyne

lou barlow