Lyrically speaking.
Aug 17th, 2006 by B.
Ok, at the request of Adam of That Queer Expatriate fame, I’m attempting to list my 10 favorite musical artists. I’m also supposed to include the first song I heard of theirs, the song I fell in love with & current favorite. I probably won’t do well with this because I love a lot of musicians & have a short attention span… so obviously there will be lots of cheating, and I’m predicting a loss of momentum early on.
I’ll also start by saying that, yes, most of the musicians I love are fond of curse words & creative phrasing. It doesn’t mean I’m immature. The fact that I’m immature means I’m immature. Anyway, for me the first criteria for a great artist is great lyrics. The music & phrasing can be all over the place, but the lyrics have to hit home. For instance, some of my favorite love songs are: Mess/Ben Folds, Black/Pearl Jam, Romeo & Juliet/Dire Straits, Closer/Nine Inch Nails, Creep/Radiohead, The Final Cut/Pink Floyd… they’re diverse musically, but the lyrics are all strong. Wow, interesting… I figured I’d go back and link in lyrics for each of the songs and for the first time I realized that not a single one of them is actually a positive lovey-love, love song. They’re all about twisted relationships & regrets… maybe a little redemption, but is that a proper love song? I don’t know. I should probably delve into that at some point in the future. Heh, ok, I just read this list to Jim and his first response was “we’re doomed”.
Anyhow, for now I’ll do the first four because they’re really easy to identify…
1. Ben Folds. I’ve long said Ben’s my soul-mate… and he’s yet to take out a restraining order, so I figure he must agree. What do I love about Ben… he’s funny, he’s a great musician, he’s a good singer (not the best, but still very good), he’s innovative and he’s got this unique way of looking at situations. At least musically he does. Then there’s the fact that if I were to try to put my thoughts/feelings to music, I’ve no doubt in my mind I could save myself the trouble and use a Ben Folds song instead. My all-time favorite song of his is Evaporated… there’s just a primal connection to this song that I feel. But for every serious song he has, there’s also something funny or unique. There are the two albums he’s produced with William Shatner (aka cpt. kirk) both are funny as hell. There are completely off-the-wall songs like his redux of ‘Bitches Ain’t Shit (click here to listen)‘ (accompanied by snoop dog & sung tongue-in-cheek in a ‘piano man’ kind of style) and a great song called One Down written about getting out of the contract he was in at the time:
People tell me-
“Ben just make up junk and turn it in”
But I never could quite bring myself
To write a bunch of shit.
I don’t like wasting time on music
That won’t make me proud
But now I’ve found a reason
To sit right down and shit some out.
One down and 3.6
Tomorrow and I’m out of here
One down and 3.6
Tomorrow and I’m out of here.
Anyway, suffice it to say he’s my favorite musician… and soul-mate. (sorry Jim!)
2. Pink Floyd. I don’t even need mind-altering drug to appreciate the genius that is Pink Floyd. It’s just a timeless brilliance where they’re concerned. Sure Roger Waters may have been a perfectionist dick, but look at the payoff. And David Gilmour was just so pretty and talented. In my mind this is the best band that ever was, and probably ever will be. I think it would be impossible for me to pick a favorite Floyd song… some of my favorites are: One Of My Turns, Time, Comfortably Numb, Wish You Were Here, Brain Damage, Young Lust (a sexy, sexy song)… I could probably go on all day. I’ll just end this by saying that Dark Side Of The Moon & The Wall are two albums that get as close to perfect as it’s ever going to.
3. Pearl Jam. Eddie Vedder has the sexiest, best voice known to man. Oh the naughty, naughty things I’d love to do to this man. His lyrics are nothing short of brillant, too. The first PJ song I heard that made me stop in my tracks and pay attention was Alive … I think for anyone who’s had a crappy upbringing this song will touch a cord. Ditto for Daughter, the first time I heard it I cried… and it’s still on of my favorite of theirs to this day. I’m also crazy about Black, Jeremy, Elderly Woman(…), Wish List, Given To Fly, and a bunch of others I’ll be kicking myself later for not mentioning. Oh, All Those Yesterdays is a song that I use to remind myself that I need to let go & relax every once in awhile… something I have a difficult time doing. Anyway, we’ll be seeing Pearl Jam for the third time next month… our first concert in Deutschland!
4. Radiohead. I love this group… Karma Police might very well be my all-time favorite song. And Creep is probably the sexiest song going. And after seeing Thom sing it live, Motion Picture Soundtrack is also a favorite. I love how innovative their music is… Thom Yorke is brilliant.
The other 6 I’ll have to mull over. Music’s so subjective… for every Pearl Jam lover there’s an opposite & equally enthusiastic Dave Matthews band lover other there. Weird, but true.
I’d actually be really interested in knowing what all of your favorites are. Let me know if you feel like it…
On this day..
- Effing Facebook... - 2007
I would find this so hard to do also because i love so much music and when i list my favourite artists people give me strange looks because others seem to think that group of people shouldn’t belong in the same lists. I think i would have trouble limiting it to ten actually….
The song part is even harder. I am not sure if i remember the first song i ever heard from most of my favourite musicians. Look forward to hearing your next six.
Also congratulations on your six month anniversary in Dresden.
Great list you have B, no surprise there at all, for me, I’m a die hard Neil Finn fan, for me, his music & lyrics are amazing to me, he’s produced some of the most gorgeous melodies & harmonies I’ve ever heard in my life…..He’s blown my mind a lot….He’s completely brilliant in my humble estimation
Also, because of the fact I’m so obssessed with Australia lately, I’ve become completely addicted to everything Aussie, to name just a few bands that sadly no longer are around, Midnight Oil- who for the most part were so political on many occations in their songs, there are many gems amongs those songs that were non political, Hunters & Collectors also no longer around, but Mark Seymour continues to thrive, his voice deep & powerful……and damn sexy to boot, lol
And then, there are the newcomers to hold my attention, The Cat Empire, who I saw play live for the fist time last month in Toronto, were excellent, they currently have a very “latin-y” sound to their music, it’s impossible to stand still w/o wanting to dance like mad, there are a lot of different musical influences in their sound…..And then there’s Ben Lee, not your kind of music I realize B, & that’s okay but, I got to see him last night in my hometown of Hamilton, & he put on a really great show…….He really banters & plays w/to his audience, which largely was made up of college age kids, but I didn’t care, I had the best time anyway & I got to meet himi & have a picture taken w/ him-woo!
Crowded House- Were so amazing to me, I even saw them play, regrettably only once, but I had front row centre seats, & was another memorable experience years ago…..To me, their music was incredible, largely due of course to Neil Finn, but beyond the commercial stuff they’d put out, they had many many gems of songs that never got/get airplay, which is a terrible shame…….The last album they put out, Together Alone, was their their crowning achievement, (probably only in my own mind), a completely brilliant piece of work
Interesting–I only know the names of your groups, I can’t say any of them have songs stuck in my head. With the Ben Folds as your favorite artist and soul mate, you might want to read about his last night in town….
Hi.
8. Warren Zevon
7. Aimee Mann
6. Neil Young
5. Bare Naked Ladies
4. Crowded House (yes, I’m another New Zealander)
3. Patty Smith
2. White Stripes
1. Radiohead