smoe.org mailing lists
ivan@stellysee.de
| From | "Lawrence Dunn" <thedunns@capecod.net> |
| Subject | Re: Lyrics |
| Date | Sat, 21 May 2005 12:46:59 -0400 |
[Part 1 text/plain iso-8859-1 (3.2 kilobytes)]
(View Text in a separate window)
Must respectfully disagree with respect to "Don't Worry Baby." I might concede
the goopiness of some of the lyrics during the builds to the choruses. But the
verses proper perfectly encapsulate that particular ache.
Oh, no, I've said too much.......
----- Original Message -----
From: "Huseman, Matt" <Matt.Huseman@phh.com>
To: <audities@smoe.org>
Sent: Friday, May 20, 2005 11:57 AM
Subject: Lyrics
> Rob says: Not to mention "Atmosphere", which should slay any human who has
> ever been in contact with another. That ain't no Jellyfish.
>
> While I agree with you regarding 'Atmosphere', I think the choice of
> Jellyfish might be off base. What struck me the first time that I heard
> Jellyfish's 'Bellybutton' is that - for the most part - they avoided cliche'
> in their lyrics. Sure, the topics were standard power pop, but I thought
> they navigated less traveled waters lyrically. Doesn't excuse 'Baby's Coming
> Back'.
>
> Greg brought up a great topic (at least I think it was Greg... regardless,
> he made good points) but Stewart put it best: I don't expect "great" lyrics,
> I just prefer that they not be boring cliches.
>
> A lot of the music mentioned on this list is unlistenable to me for that
> very reason... not to mention that so many bands in the 'power pop' (and I
> use that term loosely) genre revisit the same mid-60's jangly guitar sound
> over and over again. Exhibit A would be the otherwise beautiful 'Don't Worry
> Baby' by the Beach Boys. The lyrics are godawful. I don't mind simplistic
> (see: Marshall Crenshaw's 'MaryAnn' from his first album - love that song)
> but pedantic I can't stomach. Still, I can mostly forgive bad lyrics written
> prior to the 80's. I don't know why that's my cutoff, but it is. However, I
> can't forgive bad lyrics written now. Exhibit B: Weezer's new album. Love
> the band, and some of the songs on 'Make Believe' are as hooky as Rivers'
> best stuff. But the lyricist from the Blue Album has been replaced with
> someone I play the 'guess the next line of the song' game with. Not fun.
>
> Mea Culpa time... I certainly have been known to throw some pretty
> simplistic lyrics together. But I'm passionate about growing lyrically, and
> I wish others in this community would challenge themselves to do so as well.
> IMHO Neil Finn is the master of pop songwriting with almost universally
> great lyrics. And I'd much rather hear Thom Yorke sing a hauntingly
> beautiful melody with brutally nasty lyrics than hear the equivalent of 'I
> Want to Hold Your Hand' rewritten. Try not to go for the obvious rhyme, and
> challenge yourself to eliminate certain words yet convey the same meaning.
>
> Now, Rob, I think that John Bonham is a MUCH better drummer than Keith Moon.
> Rebuttal?
>
>
>
>
> "The sender believes that this E-mail and any attachments were free of any
> harmful and malicious code or defects when sent. This message and its
> attachments could have been infected during transmission. By reading the
> message and opening any attachments, the recipient accepts full
> responsibility for taking protective and remedial action regarding the code
> or such defects. The sender is not liable for any loss or damage arising in
> any way from this message or its attachments."
For assistance, please contact
the smoe.org administrators.