Another thought about the OP's post. Writing in 2004 and bemoaning the paucity of "insightful and intelligent lyrics" also translates into not being able or willing to branch out into other genres. The artists mentioned in the OP were all comfortable, safe, white Boomer artists firmly entrenched in that cultural paradigm of lyrical, non-confrontational poetry which, compared to the world of the first decade of the 21st century, was analogous to the mushy comfort of mashed potatoes and stuffing.
And yet in 2004 you had Nas and KRS-1 perpetuating and redefining intelligent, insightful lyrics; you had Lady Gaga and Prince penning masterful lyrics for themselves and other artists; you had "conventional" singer-songwriters like Josh Rouse, Neko Case, and even Tori Amos all writing powerful, poetic lyrics.
I realize my dinosaur comment was condescending, but anyone who bemoans the lack of anything in contemporary music and then proceeds to reel off artists from decades ago is simply confessing a static perspective.
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"Anyone still do insightful or intelligent lyrics?" Not for a bit over a month now. |
Actually no, that is not a translation, that is a completely different thing altogether! What the OP actually said was,
Is anyone writing intelligent, insightful lyrics anymore?
How do you "translate" that into "lost touch with modern music"????!!! But hey, you're the expert. Translate these monster hits for me- into something intelligent and insightful:
I feel stupid and contagiousHere we are now, entertain us
A mulatto, an albino, a mosquito, my libido
A denial, a denial, a denial, a denial, a denial and that was an "oldie" compared to this NUMBER ONE from TODAY'S Billboard Top 100:
Once upon a time, man, I heard that I was ugly
Came from a bitch who nigga wanna fuck on me! said my face bomb, ass tight
Racks stack up Shaq height
Jewelry on me, flashlight
I been lit since last night
Hit him with that good-good
Make a nigga act right
Broke boys don't deserve no pussy (I know that's right!)Big bag bussin' out the Bentley Bentayga
Man, Balenciaga Bardi back and all these bitches fucked
It's big bags bussin' out the Bentley Bentayga, man
Birkin bag, Bardi back and all you bitches fucked Intelligent. Insightful. ROTFLMAO! |
Even the the OP's OP was from 17 years ago, it still translates into: "I've lost touch with modern music and am hanging onto music I grew up with."
It's a shame to become a musical dinosaur surrounded by beautiful fossils.
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Great lyrics.
lemmy kilmister
dave mustaine
thin lizzy (Gary Moore)
onslaught
Mercyful fate (king diamond)
Paul samson
paul di’anno
Bathory
several others!
Metal!
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This was particularly meaningful to me from Sarah Jarosz' album World on the Ground from this past year. What makes a life complete?
Roads traveled and the people you meet?
Or is just the silence of the times in between?
Written by a 28 year old, but the feeling is so completely right for me with many more years of life experience. |
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Like stated, Byrne. He is a prototypical intelligent lyricist. It may be tucked in somewhere on this thread, but I'm a little surprised I did not read "Ani DiFranco". |
I have to third or fourth-Aimee Mann. I don't think she has any peers in the lyrics/poetry department... along with excellent arrangements. |
Albert, you're right.
Now that I think of it, GW's thoughts at the time he was sitting in that classroom were probably as barren as an Afghani desert. I'm sure Slick Willy's mind was filled with multi-colored, booty-licious, intern explosions while Monica was a bobbin' away. Whoa, that last part sounded like a Paul Simon song.
Thanks, UncleJeff! I guess many of my posts are inspired by a delirious confusion caused by staring at 1280 x 1024 pixel resolution boobs at work.
I love my job! |
Regiolanthe - thanks for the tip. Will look into it. Anyone for something more lyrically obscure? How about Robyn Hitchcock & the Egyptians 'Element of Light' ?
CD |
Evanesence...new, fresh, and dark!
Always Zimmer.
Fra Lippi Lippo.
Tanita Tikaram. |
Steve Earle, Steve Forbert, Rosanne Cash, Bob Mould, Shelby Lynne, to name a few, IMHO of course. For my money though, John Lennon (both as a Beatle and solo artist) was probably the first (and best) "insightful" lyricist in popular music. The guy totally exposed himself from his Beatle days (Help!, Norwegion Wood, In My Life, etc.) through his solo work (Mother, Imagine, Mind Games, etc.). Whoa! |
Gumbei: wow; many of your posts are always worth checking out. You, and Sean and TWl and a few others are a great way to start a thread mid-way through it.
Considering the thread's topic, well done!....again.
Oh yeah, Sting still and has always written some of the best lyrics since Paul Simon>>>>>now if someone with a decent voice and music producer would just do a decent cover of Sting's music......alas...... |
Gunbei, all this time I though that was what was going through Bill Clinton's head when Monica was under his desk. |
Modern poet and master of jazz vocals, check out Kurt Elling.
The lyrics on Lizz Wright's Salt are also worht more than
one listening. |
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Clarification RE M Newell ...
Um, non-dyslexically, that would be GLE for Greatest Living Englishman |
To CDelplato RE XTC, If you enjoy XTC (and looking at your threads, I can see that they are one of your favorites), I highly recommend that you pick up Martin Newell's "Greatest Living Englishman" (unless you already have it). He's a bit of an eccentric (also in a group called "The Cleaners from Venus"), who has produced quite a bit of low-fi (recorded in the basement type) CDs over the years. I - admittedly - only have "GEL", so I can't vouch for the rest of his stuff - but I'm sure it's smashing. GEL was actually produced by Andy Partridge (and he does a lot of back-up drumming/guitars as well). It is definitely in the same mold (British pastoral pop, with social commentary thrown in for good measure), with great tunes. See this all music write-up. |
I'll second Regiolanthe's :
>> " XTC continue to be some of the wittiest lyricists around (okay - so they've been around for close to 30 years, but they're still going)" <<
For starters, grab XTC's "Skylarking" - you will not be disappointed.
CD |
Definitely Dylan, as someone else mentioned. "Love and Theft" is, like most of Dylan's songs, full of intelligent, challenging, and imaginative lyrics.
The only other person, IMHO, who writes intelligently (and emotionally) is the much unheraled Tom Ovans. |
Although C&W is not my first choice, I totally enjoy Nanci
Griffith, her lyrics, voice and sound! "Other Voices/Other Rooms" got a lot of attention some years back. |
Marco,
You catch my mind with Byrne, Eno. Somehow whenever one speaks of Laurie Anderson, William Burroughs one's always thinking of Byrne, Eno, Fripp, Manzanera...
It seems that this group dictated one of the best and most "clever" janre(s) throughout the whole "song" history. |
For a modern poet and good musician also, check out Jason Mraz. You will not be disappointed. Young and up and comer.
Good Listening,
Steve |
Have you guys been to www.EnoShop.co.uk? Neat stuff.
Marco,
Those aren't lyrics I posted. Remember when GW Bush was sitting in that classroom of kids and the guy came in and whispered in his ear that a second jet had hit the Twin Towers? Remember the stunned look on his face? What I posted is what was going through his head at the time. |
Excellent point Marakanetz!! That's one I wish I'd articulated myself. That's one of the things I enjoy about the "Bright Eyes" disc I mentioned.
It also brings to mind a whole different category of "intelligent" use of lyrics: This could be exemplified by the work of Byrne and Eno on My Life in the Bush of Ghosts, and the likes of Gavin Bryars on Jesus Blood's Never Failed me Yet, and others who've combined "found" lyrics and music together....then there's The Rachel's who produced a disc using actual sounds and recorded voice tracks sent to them from all over the world. Great stuff IMO.
Yeah, so Gumby fill us naive folks in on the lyrics you printed?
Marakanetz, you brought one of my favorites to mind:
"You know, I can see two tiny pictures of myself
and there's one in each of your eyes.
And they're doin' everything I do.
Every time I light a cigarette,
they light up theirs.
I take a drink and I look in
and they're drinkin' too.
It's drivin' me crazy. It's drivin' me nuts."
From 'Sharkey's night' Laurie Anderson/William Burroughs
Marco |
You can also read clever lyrics just from the paper or the book, but the presence of a song or let's say "synergy" between lyrics and music can be defined different ways. You can feel the "clever" presence from the song that has minimal or even no lyrics, just use your imagination! Contrary, you can hear spoken word chat under tunes and recognize powerfull lyrics for example William Burroughs sought in Material and Laurie Anderson projects. |
Ryan Adam's prior band, Whiskeytown, is basically his lyrics--Faithless Street is a great album. I'll also nominate Townes van Zandt and Gram Parsons (Rtn of the Grievous Angel in particular) and, in a completely different vein, Bad Religion and Sugar--at least Copper Blue ("standing on the edge of the Hoover Dam, I'm on the centerline, right between two states of mind"). |
Never heard the song, but is that where the name came from? |
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Sometimes I try to do things, and it just don't turn out the way I wanted to
and I get real frustrated, it's like, I take my time and I try real hard, but
no matter what I do and no matter what I try it never works out, it's like I
concentrate on it real hard, but it never works out, it's like I need some
time to figure these things out, but there's always someone there going:
- Hey Mike, you know, we been noticing you've been having alot of problems
lately, you know, and like maybe you should talk about it, you'd feel alot
better.
And I go:
- No, it's ok, I know I have some problems, I'll figure it out myself, just
leave me alone I'll figure it out.
And they go:
- Why don't you talk about it, you'll feel alot better?
And I go:
- No, I don't want to, just leave me alone, I'll figure it out myself!
And they keep on bugging me and it builds up inside, it builds up inside...
So you're gonna be institutionalized
You'll come out brainwashed with bloodshot eyes
You won't have any say
They'll brainwash you until you see their way
I'm not crazy - institutionalized
You're the one who's crazy - institutionalized
You're driving me crazy - institutionalized
They stuck me in an institution
Said it was the only solution
To give me the needed professional help
To protect me from the enemy, myself
I was sitting in my room, and I was like staring at the walls thinking about
everything but then again I was thinking about nothing, and then my mom came
in and I didn't notice she was there and she calls my name and I didn't hear
her and then she started screaming:
- SLAPPY, SLAPPY!
And I go:
- What, what's the matter?
She goes:
- What's the matter with you?
I say:
- Nothing mom.
She goes:
- Don't tell me nothing, you're on drugs!
I go:
- No mom, I'm not on drugs, I'm ok, I'm just thinking, you know, why don't
you get me a Pepsi?
She goes:
- No, you're on drugs, you're crazy, normal people won't be acting that way!
I go:
- Mom, I'm all right, I'm just thinking, you know, so why don't you, like
give me a Pepsi?
And she goes:
- No, you're crazy!
All I wanted was a Pepsi, just one Pepsi, and she wouldn't give it to me,
just one Pepsi...
They give you a white shirt with long sleeves
Tied around you're back, you're treated like thieves
Drug you up because they're lazy
It's too much work to help a crazy
I'm not crazy - institutionalized
You're the one who's crazy - institutionalized
You're driving me crazy - institutionalized
They stuck me in an institution
Said it was the only solution
To give me the needed professional help
To protect me from the enemy, myself
I was sitting in my room and my mom and my dad came in and they pulled up a
chair and they sat down, they go:
- Mike, we need to talk to you.
And I said:
- Okay, what's the matter?
They go:
- Well me and your mom, we been noticing lately you've been having alot of
problems, and you haven't been acting like yourself, and we're afraid that
you're going to hurt somebody, and we're afraid that you're gonna hurt
yourself, so we decided that it would be in your best interest if we put
you somewhere where you could get the help that you need...
And I said:
- Wait, what are we talking about?! We decided?! My best interest?! How can
you know, how can you say what my best interest is? What are you trying to
say? I'm crazy? When I went to your schools, I went to your churches, I
went to your institutional learning facilities. So how can you say that I'm
crazy?
They say they're gonna fix my brain
Alleviate my suffering and my pain
But by the time they fix my head
Mentally I'll be dead
I'm not crazy - institutionalized
You're the one who's crazy - institutionalized
You're driving me crazy - institutionalized
They stuck me in an institution
Said it was the only solution
To give me the needed professional help
To protect me from the enemy, myself
It doesn't matter I'll probably get hit by a car anyway. |
The most clever lyrics that I have heard in a long time= Everclear - Songs From An American Movie, Vol. 1: Learning How To Smile. Check it out. |
In this day and age, the lyrics of VNV Nation's Ronan Harris seem to really speak to the disillusionment and frustration that a existentialist feels while looking back into the society that surrounds us. They are as intelligent and timely at this point in my life as was Bad Religion's when I was a kid, hearing Against the Grain for the first time and realizing that their were others who don't take what it spoonfed to us at face value but rather form their own opinions. |
All i wanted was a damn pepsi. |
In general I don't listen to lyrics, because for me the music is where it's at.
"Institutionalized" by Suicidal Tendencies on the other hand is an entirely different story. The words to that song are unforgettable...that is, if you can decipher them. |
Narchy and all: You can check out a couple tracks of Chris Smither here. A little like the folks you mentioned. Blues-folk in lighting Hopkins-John Hurt line. Pretty decent writer and a great live show if you ever get the chance. I remain, |
I'm a big fan of lyrics. I don't know about qualifying that with the word "intelligent" as there are some really silly lyrics I enjoy.....I guess those are also really witty as well, so "intelligence" does come into play there.
In no particular order here are a few I enjoy for one reason or another:
Tom Waits (a master of the word!)
Tori Amos
Gillian Welch
Tresspassers William
Patty Griffin
Rickie Lee Jones
Joni Mitchell
Dar Williams
Laurie Anderson
Patricial Barber
Jim White
Patti Smith
16 Horsepower
Just yesterday was enjoying some pretty fresh new music from a group called "Bright Eyes". Not for everyone (and VERY polarizing in that respect I'd bet), but the lyrics were great. The album is called "Lifted or The Story is in the Soil, Keep Your Ear to the Ground ". Again, not an overall recommendation, but appropriate to this thread IMO.
Marco |
I agree with many of the previous posts. Amy Mann and Ryan Adams are two of my favorites. Heartbreaker by Adams and Bachelor Number Two by Mann are, in my opinion, classic albums. I would add Jay Farrar to the list. His work with Uncle Tupelo, particularly the March 16-22 album with former bandmate Jeff Tweedy, is very good. I prefer his first two Son Volt albums, Trace and Straightaways, to his great work in Tupelo. A great songwriter. |
As Brooks mentioned: Aimee Mann (Lost in space;
Bachelor No 2; Soundtrack to Magnolia.)
Brad Day
Atlanta, GA |
Nrchy-I think the quality of lyrics today are still very good amongst the best artists.
Here's a few that spring to mind that haven't been mentioned above.
Nick Cave-a true master craftsman when it comes to lyrics.
Thom Yorke-Radiohead-post modern at times but relates his world view in a fragmented fashion that fits the times.
Ryan Adams-admits he spends a long time over his lyrics,again an excellent craftsman-check out the Love Is Hell eps.
Steven Merrit/Magnetic Fields-extremely funny,insighful and playful-check out some of 69 Love Songs-a triple CD set with believe it or not 69 love songs.
Of course there is the more intelligent side of rap which I don't specialise but Michael Franti of Spearhead is a superb lyricist.
There's hardly been a generation of popular music that hasn't thrown a classic lyricist. |
Seems that folk music is where many of the
best (and worst) poets are these days.
Some of the best IMHO are
Iris DeMent
Guy Clark
Darrel Scott
Tom Russell
Greg Brown
Rodney Crowell
Loudon Wainwright III
Susan Werner
If you're more into rock or pop
Dave Alvin
Steve Earle
Richard Thompson
John Hiatt
Fountain of Waynes |
Nrchy, taking into account the artists you mention, you may want to check out Joshua Kadison. While my musical tastes tend to usually lean in a much harder direction, it's the lyrics from this singer/songwriter that keep me coming back. Unless sugary sweet is your thing, I would suggest to stay away from "Painted Desert Serenade" even though this album is viewed by many as his best and has gotten the most acclaim. "Delilah Blue" is, however, a much better album, in my opinion. Darker lyrics with the same sincerity and a little gravel thrown in the ol' voicebox to make it all the more real. His best album, however, is the one that the fewest people have heard..."Vanishing America". It's a blend of the character of the first two albums with a loose theme of things that are fondly remembered, may be uniquely American and are or soon will be completely gone. |
Britney Spears is very inSIGHTful : ) |
Clive Gregson! Check out the 1995 release People and Places on Compass Records. |
Sorry, one more- Mark Knopfler. |
Ian Anderson of Jethro Tull.Regards. |
Lost in space
Bachelor No 2
Soundtrack to Magnolia
I don't know about anything prevoius to the above |
There is plenty of new groups with insightful lyrics coming out, however, unfortunatly they are ushered to the back of the prodcution line to make way for the "pop" artists with your deaded 1 line chorus.
Nine inch nails, Reznor had some very insightful and thoughful lyrics. (on his first few albums, i cant vouch for his more recent stuff, i kinda fell out of it) So does the group P.O.D.
Henry Rollings did as well, but i dont know if he is still producing music. I kind of lost track with him after a certain album.
There is a Group called Rehab, they had real good lyrics. It is rap, but he doesent sing about Bitches and Big Screen TVs, his lyrics all derived from his time at rehab and it was a part of his "Rehabilitation". They never made it far, but it is one of my favorite rap groups.
Alice in chains has some real good thoughtful lyrics. Too bad Lane Staley the singer is dead. I guess they found his corpse in his Humidor 2 weeks after he OD'd. He decomposed so fast they had to do a DNA test to indentify him.
Alot of the "Seattle grunge" movement groups had some very good lyrics. Too bad the music sucked on alot of them. SoundGarden has some real good stuff. It also has some crap too.
Eminem has some pretty good lyrics, they are very angry, but they are rather well thought out. I will probably be beaten up for that one, so let me also state that some of his crap is just pure crap.
It seems like anything written from the soul is just ignored for catchy beats and catchy rhymes.
Too bad. |
Forgot to nominate Billy Bragg (speaking of Wilco) |
Bob Dylan, as if he required mention in this context. "Love and Theft' is as good, lyrically, as popular music gets. And that's about as good lyrically as music gets, period.
They Might be Giants are very smart and very clever, though insightful would perhaps be going a bit too far. Ani Difranco, when she isn't being too preachy, can write a moving, wise lyric -- check out some of the songs from Dilate.
Tom Waits, of course.
Wilco, Freakwater as well.
Almost certaily some of the best work in "song" writing is being done in rap and hip hop. But I am totally ignorant of that stuff, so can't say. Anyway, that's where most of teh creative, young talent is going, as well as the hacks.
By the way, I think the "they just don't write 'em like they used to" line is probably nonsense. Really top drawer work is always rare. We think there used to me more of it, because it made a lasting impression then, while the vast majority of the past's crap faded away; on the other hand, we are bombarded constantly with all of what's out there now, good and (mostly) bad. And also because we are not in a position to appreiate something genuinely new and good immediately, so it may go under the radar until we learn to hear it well.
RM |
