Jump to content

Greatest rock lyricist in rock?


Bugaha

Recommended Posts

Guest Len B'stard

Lennon

Ray Davies

Bob Dylan

Woody Guthrie (hey, if Bob Dylans rock then so's Woody Guthrie)

Kurt Cobain

Joe Strummer

Johnny Rotten

Jagger/Richards (indivisible)

Jim Morrison

Noel Gallagher (don't give a fuck what anyone says)

Chuck Berry

Morrissey

Tom Waits

Ian Curtis

Iggy Pop (massively underrated writer, as snug doing the most blatant say what you mean lyrics as he is doing clever satire...and apparently, at least in his early days, he jus reeled the shit off)

Holland/Dozier/Holland

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest Len B'stard

The thing about Uncle Noel is, alright, he makes some questionable lyrical choices but...they work, they fit, they serve the song and they do the job. By his own admission, Don't Look Back in Anger is totally meaningless but thats not really the point, the point is they sound like they mean something, they effect people and thats the whole point of music. Most times i think, i mean, a pure lyricist in the textbook sense of the word, people like Lennon/McCartney, a lot of the times, they wrote songs that didn't have any meaning, they were made to order i.e. need a song here, need a song there, need a love song here, for example, what the fuck is Michelle by The Beatles about? Nothing but it's fucking wonderful.

Noel writes beautiful songs and...lyrics for rock music ain't meant to be taken in the way poetry is, they're not a standalone thing, if you write em down loads of em sound shit but it's the music and the mood or feeling that the music suggests that enhances the meaning or possible interpretation of the lyrics. Loads of rock lyricists by their own admission write absolute nonsense for songs and hide behind or stand by the whole "it's about the audiences interpretation" and i think they're right.

Noels songs are...they're like profundity for the man on the street who don't wanna listen to Late Night Maudlin Street by Morrissey, Noel taps into something in all of us, in the common man that is drawn to the profound without being too complex or even precise about it, it's about feel, he's like a pub philosopher :lol:

There was a huge cross-section of music fans that got really eggy about "pissed up lads with their arms on each others shoulders bawling out the lyrics to Wonderwall at Oasis gigs" and it's like...why? The whole criticism that your more alternativey/indie-y type people have against your loutish lad type is that they're thick-headed and not asthetically-inclined but...y'know, people appreciate these things in different ways. it makes you wonder whether the people that rally against the mainstream are actually doing it to affect change or they just want some sort of social segregation or think that they're better than or above the man on the street.

Noel suffers from this, the whole cool Britannia britpop crowd have never forgiven him for sharing a glass of champers with Tony Booths son in law i think.

I love Noel Gallagher, i think he's fantastic and he writes fantastic songs and he's up there with the best of em, always has been. No, he's not John Lennon or Paul McCartney and he never could be, no one can, not in this day and age...even Lennon and McCartney themselves by which i mean a lot of why Lennon and McCartney are so rated is cuz they were among the best and among the first, if someone came about with their level of lyricism in this day and age i don't think they'd be rated as highly as Lennon and McCartney are, it was as much to do with timing as it was with talent and thats not to take anything away from Lennon and McCartney cuz they were super talented but at the same time, they didn't have much history to compete with, they were among the first to take rock n roll forward and no one can ever take that away from them or be fairly compared against them because of that very fact. They had the good fortune to not really be working under anyones shadow. Elvis i suppose but Elvis wasn't a writer or anything, he didn't really take rock n roll forward, he just embodied it.

Noels cool, always will be :) High Flying Birds is the best thing i've heard in ages.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

1- John Lennon

2- Bono Vox & Bob Dylan

3- Neil Peart

4- Elton John

5- George Harrison

6- Paul McCartney

7- Eddie Vedder

8- Freddie Mercury

9- Zack De La Rocha

10- Noel Gallagher

EDIT: Forgot Bob Dylan LOL.

Edited by It Don't Really Matter
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Guest Len B'stard
You can easily make a case for Bob Dylan being a rock musician.

Oh most definitely, i was just grasping for a way to lump Woody Guthrie in there :lol: Begs an interesting question though, what the fuck is Bob Dylan category-wise? I mean, you could easily make a case for it, yes but i think it'd be a disservice to Dylan to just call him a rock musician and leave it at that, i mean, blues, folk, country, bluegrass, etc etc. I suppose rock musicians sort of a broad umbrella these days but...i dunno, i'd be hard pushed to categorise Dylan and suspect that perhaps to attempt to would be missing the point somewhat. Speaking in terms of myself here.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

The thing about Uncle Noel is, alright, he makes some questionable lyrical choices but...they work, they fit, they serve the song and they do the job.

Noels cool, always will be :) High Flying Birds is the best thing i've heard in ages.

Noel writes the best melodies and choruses, but his verses can be a bit daft, although I love all his lyrics on Definitely Maybe.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

You can easily make a case for Bob Dylan being a rock musician.

Oh most definitely, i was just grasping for a way to lump Woody Guthrie in there :lol: Begs an interesting question though, what the fuck is Bob Dylan category-wise? I mean, you could easily make a case for it, yes but i think it'd be a disservice to Dylan to just call him a rock musician and leave it at that, i mean, blues, folk, country, bluegrass, etc etc. I suppose rock musicians sort of a broad umbrella these days but...i dunno, i'd be hard pushed to categorise Dylan and suspect that perhaps to attempt to would be missing the point somewhat. Speaking in terms of myself here.

The best way, I think, is to judge that song by song. Or maybe album by album, but even that breaks down later in his career, with more eclectic albums. He's one of those people who excel at a number of different genres.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...