Okay, opinion time. Give me your favourite songwriters. Not necessarily your favourite artists, but the folks who writes the words to the songs that speak to you the most. Provide examples. Win me over--I need to expand my musical horizons!
Since this is my own little patch of the interworld, I'll go first. Hands down (and Jeremy, I'm sure you won't be surprised)--Ron Sexsmith. He's a Canadian artist who isn't nearly as well-known as he should be, in my humble opinion.
Exhibit A: Hands of Time (from Time Being)
"From the moment we are born,
We’re in the hands of time
As drunk on life as death is sober
When we say goodbye.
Though it hurts to lose a friend,
May it help remembering
For every door that closes in
One’ll open to the other side,
Opened by the hands of time"
(I find comfort in these words. Might need that comfort soon. Wishing and hoping that I don't.)
Exhibit B: Gold In Them Hills (Cobblestone Runway)
"But if we'd only open our eyes
We'd see the blessings in disguise:
That all the rain clouds are fountains.
Though our troubles seem like mountains,
There's gold in them hills"
(All sweet and optimistic, and kind of clever to boot.)
Exhibit C: Ship of Fools (Time Being)
"Life is not a parlour trick;
There’s no slight of hand.
Just tryin’ to save this sinking ship
And there’s no sight of land "
(What can I say? I'm just a sucker for wordplay.)
Okay, so that's my vote. People, please weigh in! Who rocks your world with their words?
Controversial, anyone?
11 years ago
10 comments:
You really love you Ron Sexsmith, huh? Anyways, I'm going for Emily Haines.
Exhibit A: Doctor Blind
all your pain
will end here
let the doctor
soothe your brain, dear
My baby’s got the lonesome lows
don’t quite go away overnight
doctor blind just prescribe the blue ones
Exhibit B: Winning
What's bad, What's wrong, make it alright, alright
It's gone, so long
We've got time, all the time
All the time
Exhibit C: The Lottery
I only wanted what everyone wanted
since bras started burning up ribs in the 60's.
Favors are flying, faces are falling,
all I desire is to never be waiting.
That is all.
I've always loved Tracy Thorn and Ben Watt (Everything But The Girl).
We Walk The Same Line
Now I don't have to tell you
how slow the night can go,
I know you've watched for the light.
And I bet you could tell me
how slowly four follows three,
and you're most forlorn just before dawn.
So if you loose your faith babe,
you can have mine,
and if you're lost, I'm right behind,
cause we walk the same line.
Tears All Over Town
Don't be unkind, for once be untrue -
can't pretend I care for her, only you
Just be on time, spare me your shame,
for once don't mention her name.
Now I cannot claim angel's wings,
but mention her name and I'll wreck everything
I can't let this moment pass without also calling out Karin Bergquist (God, what a voice) and Linford Detweiler, better known as Over The Rhine.
Drunkard's Prayer
You're my water
You're my wine
You're my whiskey
From time to time
You're the hunger
On my bones
All the nights
I sleep alone
Sweet intoxication
When your words
Wash over me
Whether or not
Your lips move
You speak to me
Like an ocean
Without waves
You're the movement
That I crave
And in that motion
I long to drown
And be lost not to be found
You're my water
You're my wine
You're my whiskey
From time to time
This was quite the insidious plot of yours, eh, meaux? Like the "which 5 CDs/albums/books would you want with you if you were stranded on a desert island" query, I'm having an extraordinarily difficult time narrowing down the list. Thus, I have to include Chris Trapper (formerly of The Push Stars):
Time to Forgive
There’s man who keeps his hopes held
high up in a paper cup
He’s got that ripped down at the bottom,
Spills down on the floor bad luck
So, It’s that which makes you desperate
That which drives you to your knees
Makes you steal from your own brother
and run endlessly
It’s time to forgive these sins
Annnnnddd...my all-time favorite driving song -- particularly with the top down (when that option is available):
Waiting, Watching, Wishing
Well here we go again
Looking for a ride
Got a smile to hide
All the rain in my eyes
And your bags are full with loving goodbyes
I don't care if I never grow up
Don't want to shrink in a suit
Don't want live just to suck someones bones dry
I'd rather die
Each time I think back to my home town
And my sad skinny self standing around
Waiting, watching, wishing for something to happen
I used to dream about a girl like you
Hair dyed black and eyes jet blue
Desperately trying and searching for something fantastic
We've been here before
Stood up at the door
Holding secrets we'd never say
Hey, don't hang your head
Feel the breeze instead
Fear no shadow, don't feel no shame
All it took was one punch in the face
To make me want to steal the guys car in the first place
The grass on the suburban lawns never looked so black
Crack in the window
Slip in through the door
Hand me your hair-pin
Your knees to the floor
Head to the highway
Never turning back
We're never turning back
We're never turning back
We're never turning back
We're never turning back
Car by car
And line by line
One day you'll find your place
And I'll find mine
In a new time
In a strange new place
Get up, get up, get down
On and on and on we go
We got no radio
Singing songs we know
For miles and miles on open road
Get up, get up, let's go
We've been here before
Stood up at the door
Holding secrets we'd never say
Hey, don't hang your head
Feel the breeze instead
Fear no shadow, don't feel no shame
Waiting, watching, wishing for something
Get up, get up, get down
I couldn't decide on which snippet to use, so I just copied the whole thing. Antigone Rising did an interesting acoustic cover of this song, but for me it really needs electrification to achieve full effect.
Finally, Mrs. G forever endeared herself to me when, early in our relationship, she arranged for me to meet Chris Trapper after a show in Chicago a few years ago. She exploited her status as a radio show host to contact his record company (who put her directly in touch with him) and then arrange for a backstage meeting. I was early in recovery at the time, and it turns out Chris Trapper has a brother who is a recovering addict. He was ridiculously nice and open and just a generous soul, and we talked for about 20 minutes. Best gift ever...
Huh, good stuff, guys. Everything But The Girl sounds particularly intriguing. Also, I really think I have to check out Broken Social Scene. Yep, I will have to investigate some of these folks and expand my pitiful music collection--many albums, but too few artists. Hard to get exposed to new good artists when all the radio stations in town are top 40 or country; it's one of the disadvantages of living in a relatively rural area.
Damn, that Groverette sounds like a keeper! Nice present!
Ooh, ooh, meaux! If you're going for EBTG, start with Amplified Heart. That's the album that has We Walk the Same Line...and so much more. Also be sure to get Acoustic; it's them (Ben on achingly beautiful piano and Tracy on vocals) doing acoustic covers of some of their favorite songs and one of the best cover albums I've ever heard (e.g., Tom Waits, Elvis Costello, Buddy Holly). They had some minor radio hits later in the '90s where they went electronic-dance (which is how most people know them) and that's okay, but start with their earlier material.
Thanks for the recommendations! (a Tom Waits cover not by Scarlet Johansson? Sold!)
Hey Jeremy, if you check back in here, tell me where to start with Feist. Give me an album, or at least a couple of tracks, to knock my socks off (anything but the ones in the damned Mac ads...)
alright, well if you're gonna start off, best to go with her debut, Let It Die. A lil jazzy, a lil bossa nova. It's like a more polished version of Cat Power. After that, move on the Broken Social Scene's self titled album. You can find her on 7/4 Shoreline and Almost Crimes. After that, if you're hooked (and at this point you should be) move on to The Reminder. Although I would highly recomend checking up on her BSS sister Emily Haines' solo album, Knives Don't Have Your Back. Wonderfully heartfelt stuff there too, with a darkly dreamo piano draped throughout.
Hey meaux, I've stumbled over from pajiba-land.
My fav lyricist has always been Fiona Apple. The line "full is not as heavy as empty, my love, not nearly" still resonates with me during so many varied scenarios. Chilling.
It's from the song First Taste on her album Tidal:
"I lie in an early bed, thinking late thoughts
Waiting for the black to replace my blue
I do not struggle in your web, because it was my aim to get caught
But daddy longlegs, I feel that I'm finally growing weary
Of waiting to be consumed by you...
Give me the first taste, let it begin, heaven cannot wait forever
Darling, just start the chase - Ill let you win but you must make the endeavor
Oh, your love give me a heart contusion
Adagio breezes fill my skin with sudden red
Your hungry flirt borders intrusion
I'm building memories on things we have not said
Full is not heavy as empty, not nearly my love, not nearly my love, not Nearly
Give me the first taste, let it begin heaven cannot wait forever
Darling, just start the chase - Ill let you win, but you must make the endeavor"
Likewise, on her newer album, the song Limp has such a potent metaphor (the image of a red bull and a gun trigger), it still comes to mind when I think about a woman's rage. From the end of the song:
"You feed the beast I have within me
You wave the red flag, baby you make it run run run
Standing on the sidelines, waving and grinning
You fondle my trigger, then you blame my gun
And when I think of it, my fingers turn to fists
I never did anything to you, man
But no matter what I try
You'll beat me with your bitter lies
So call me crazy, hold me down
Make me cry; get off now, baby-
It wont be long till you'll be
Lying limp in your own hand"
I know it's indicative that my music collection is gleaned entirely from artists popular from 1995-2000, but there you go - I still play those CDs on a regular basis years after she (and my teenage angst) have subsided from the limelight.
Anyway, check out my blog and ring if you ever come down to the Fax. Cheers!
i realize it exposes my hipster douchebagginess in this, but my favorite lyricist is probably conor oberst...my favorite:
(No Lies, Just Love)
i wrote this for a baby
that's yet to be born
my brother's first child
i hope that womb's not too warm
cuz it's cold out here
and it will be quite a shock
to breathe this air
to discover loss
so i'd like to make some changes
before he arrives
so when his new eyes meet mine
he won't see no lies, just love.
James Mercer of Shins fame.
Exhibit A: Pink Bullets
Since then it's been a book
You read in reverse
So you understand less
As the pages turn
Or a movie so crass
And awkwardly cast
That even I could be the star.
Exhibit B: Just listen to Phantom Limb.
Daniel Johnston in all of his glorious insanity.
Exhibit A: Living Life
Hold me like a mother would
Like I always knew somebody should
Although tomorrow
Don't look that good
Well, it just goes to show
Though people say we're an unlikely couple
I'm seeing double of you.
He's just awesome... Kathy McCarty did a cover album of his best songs.
And a bunch of Spanish-speaking dudes, like Silvio Rodriguez and Àlvaro Henríquez from "Los Tres."
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