Topic: Best lyrics. (Read 14459 times)

LightThievesAll · « **on:** 22 Apr 2005, 16:20 »

What bands have the best lyrics overall, in your opinion. You may add why, if so inclined.

For me, all of these bands/artists are relatable and have music that is moving, without being wussy. That's my main criteria, catharsis without pretention.
Sheer Terror
Joe Coffee
Life of Agony
The Bruisers
Johnny Cash
Aesop Rock
Darkbuster

And I firmly believe that if you can't identify with Black Flag, you're probably not human.

For live life to the fullest lyrics:
Motorhead

And just cos they're evil:
Slayer

24_hour_revenge_therapy · « **Reply #1 on:** 22 Apr 2005, 16:27 »

pretty much every band you just said. here's a few more:

tom waits
most precious blood
ramallah (my favorite hardcore band, period)
bane
snapcase
alkaline trio (trite, but fun)
jawbreaker, earthcrisis, and embrace today are my DUH choices
there's lots more. i tend to choose bands whose lyrics really mean something to me.

Praeserpium Machinarum · « **Reply #2 on:** 22 Apr 2005, 16:30 »

tough one, but a few would be:

Tom Waits
Nick Cave
Tori Amos
Radiohead
Will Oldham(alias Bonnie 'prince' Billy)
and of course The Decemberists

KharBevNor · « **Reply #3 on:** 22 Apr 2005, 16:57 »

Old-Mid Cradle of Filth
Skyclad
Edge of Sanity
Cryptic Wintermoon
King Diamond
Inkubus Sukkubus
Ancient Rites
Mid-Late Opeth
Bathory
KMFDM
Acid Bath

Probably a good few more as well.

Jolouie · « **Reply #4 on:** 22 Apr 2005, 17:44 »

Lamb of God and At The Gates.

Tom Waits is awesome.

Cocteau Twins.

IronOxide · « **Reply #5 on:** 22 Apr 2005, 18:42 »

They Might be Giants, hands down.

They're just so damned awesome.

Amsterdarn · « **Reply #6 on:** 22 Apr 2005, 18:47 »

I second Señor Oldham, Aesop Rock and the Decemberists, and add:

Aimee Mann
Weakerthans
Mountain Goats
Lucksmiths
Okkervil River

And mostly because I just listened to "Shit Luck," Modest Mouse. That song has the best lyrics EVER.

mooface · « **Reply #7 on:** 22 Apr 2005, 19:44 »

The Decemberists
Bright Eyes
Jason Mraz (?!)

That's from the top of my head. I may add more.

WonkoTehSane · « **Reply #8 on:** 22 Apr 2005, 23:02 »

Honestly, how the hell has no one mentioned Neutral Milk Hotel?

The only girl I've ever loved
Was born with roses in her eyes
But then they buried her alive
One evening 1945
With just her sister at her side
And only weeks before the guns
All came and rained on everyone
Now she's a little boy in Spain
Playing pianos filled with flames
On empty rings around the sun
All seem to say my dream has come

But now we must pick up every piece
Of the life we used to love
Just to keep ourselves
At least enough to carry on

And now we ride the circus wheel
With your dark brother wrapped in white
Says it was good to be alive
But now he rides a comet's flame
And won't be coming back again
The Earth looks better from a star
That's right above from where you are
He didn't mean to make you cry
With sparks that ring and bullets fly
On empty rings around your heart
The world just screams and falls apart

But now we must pick up every piece
Of the life we used to love
Just to keep ourselves
At least enough to carry on

And here's where your mother sleeps
And here is the room where your brothers were born
Indentions in the sheets
Where their bodies once moved but don't move anymore
And it's so sad to see the world agree
That they'd rather see their faces fill with flies
All when I'd want to keep white roses in their eyes

Freezey · « **Reply #9 on:** 22 Apr 2005, 23:09 »

-obligatory "anal cunt" post.-

Okay, now that that's done...

I've been in love with any lyrics penned by Jason Shevchuk ( kid dynamite, none more black, and to a much lesser extend, bound...) for years. They might be more straightforward but songs like "Bookworm" and "Pause" still get me each time. They might not be the best out there, but they mean a lot to me personally.

ASturge · « **Reply #10 on:** 23 Apr 2005, 03:53 »

Jeff Mangum (of NMH)

Colin Meloy (of the decemberists)

KharBevNor · « **Reply #11 on:** 23 Apr 2005, 04:25 »

If we're going to qoute lyrics, I'd like to see anyone top this, especially for social commentary:

Quote

Skyclad - Womb Of The Worm

Black hat stranger - affluent as effluent
Hides behind his mirror shades and crocodile smile
Preying on the weak, the vulnerable and innocent
All things pure and virginal he will defile.

Shepherd of a flock of black sheep - he knows his charges well
Their thirst for life is drowning, down in his snow filled hell...

They never die - in "the Womb of the Worm" they lie
They never die - in "the Womb of the Worm" they lie.

Slaves to the only god they know,
Drawn by the song of the cosmic diva
The lord of the flies is a dandy beau
King of the hill in the new Bohemia...
Where does he come from, their redeemer?
Where does he dwell? (they never learn)
What is the prize for the true believer?
Rotting away in the "Womb of the Worm"?

Death is the hand of a handsome stranger - (he speaks, heads turn)
Babes unaware of impending danger - quickening dead in the "Womb of the Worm"!

They never die - in "the Womb of the Worm" they lie
They never die - in "the Womb of the Worm" they lie.

At the gravesides of sad lonely children
Reason sits with a tear in her eye
Killed in their prime - tell me why were they taken?
It's not them but "the Worm" that should die.
"Stabat Mater Dolorosa" - a grieving mother's sad refrain
Chasing dragons in the subway, to kill the time and ease the pain.

Words of "the Worm":
"Don't be afraid - just take my hand
'cause life's too short to be a bore
Try it once, you'll understand
Why they keep coming back for more."
Form an orderly line outside death's door
If you want to taste his sweet amnesia
He's never short of clientele
Though most of them die from a fatal seizure
Another mother cries to a chat-show host
(she speaks - my stomach churns)
I hear how a young kid - now a young ghost
Died a sickening death in "the Womb of the Worm."

They never die - in "the Womb of the Worm" they lie
They never die - in "the Womb of the Worm" they lie.

Pretty much all of Martin Walkyiers songs are to this standard

http://www.darklyrics.com/s/skyclad.html

StrikeThePostman · « **Reply #12 on:** 23 Apr 2005, 06:11 »

Bob Dylan
Neutral Milk Hotel
Elliott Smith
Devendra Banhart
The Mountain Goats

StrikeThePostman · « **Reply #13 on:** 23 Apr 2005, 06:47 »

I forgot Beck. That was stupid of me.

blindsuperhero · « **Reply #14 on:** 23 Apr 2005, 06:53 »

Leonard Cohen, AGAIN!

StrikeThePostman · « **Reply #15 on:** 23 Apr 2005, 06:55 »

^Yes, yes, yes indeed.

Robbo · « **Reply #16 on:** 23 Apr 2005, 07:06 »

Pig Destroyer
Ayreon
Type O Negative

KharBevNor · « **Reply #17 on:** 23 Apr 2005, 08:09 »

I'll back up all those three. I actually considered Ayreon for my list but didn't put them down for some reason. PxDx are very good, and having listened to ToN's 'Black #1' on the way to the shops earlier I can definitely back them up. Very clever lyrics some of them. Any of you who know early Black Sabbath should check out 'Black Sabbath (From the Satanic Perspective)'. Wonderful.

ASturge · « **Reply #18 on:** 23 Apr 2005, 08:31 »

I don't 'get' metal lyrics.

They just don't seem honest enough to me.

kikanjuuneko · « **Reply #19 on:** 23 Apr 2005, 08:37 »

Right now, for political lyrics, I like Unearth and Lamb of God. If I want something personal, I go to Norma Jean.

...I like a little pretension.

Robbo · « **Reply #20 on:** 23 Apr 2005, 08:46 »

Quote from: ASturge

I don't 'get' metal lyrics.

They just don't seem honest enough to me.

That might have something to do with a large chunk of them being fictional. Trying to listen to most Metal for "honest" lyrics is stupid. But there's nothing much to get at times. There are bands with deep, intelligent and insightful lyrics...but "honest"...the hell?. It's the music you need to get mainly anyway.

ASturge · « **Reply #21 on:** 23 Apr 2005, 09:00 »

nono, i like fictional lyrics (colin meloy is my fave lyrisist for gods sake)

i just dont like big beardy men lamenting about his big motor cycle of social commentary.
But each to his own i suppose...

KharBevNor · « **Reply #22 on:** 23 Apr 2005, 09:03 »

Anyway, that Skyclad lyric I posted a bit up is metal. I don't think you can get much more honest than Skyclad.

Most modern metal musicians neither have beards nor particularly large size

Robbo · « **Reply #23 on:** 23 Apr 2005, 09:04 »

I think Dark Tranquillity lyrics would probably make your head explode. They're horrible but I love them, so much over the top metaphysical commentry on tripped out ideas. It's great.

EDIT: Nor do they sing about motor cycles.

KharBevNor · « **Reply #24 on:** 23 Apr 2005, 09:14 »

Indeed, far few people sing about motorcycles nowadays, it's all 'treason wall' this and 'the sadistic motives behind bereavment letters' that. Not enough bikes!

ASturge · « **Reply #25 on:** 23 Apr 2005, 09:30 »

motorbikes!
motorbikes!
motorbikes are so cool!
they make noises like NURR!
which is so hardCURR!

heheheh, i rule

KharBevNor · « **Reply #26 on:** 23 Apr 2005, 09:39 »

Doesn't scan.

YOU LOSE.

Sturge · « **Reply #27 on:** 23 Apr 2005, 10:49 »

Woah, Alex, you're an embarrasment...

Akbar · « **Reply #28 on:** 23 Apr 2005, 11:29 »

Most music you are into tends to have great lyrics, from your own perspective of course. But I must agree that there are always certain artists who still manage to hit the tone a few bars over the rest.

Some of my favourites include (not surprisingly, these bands would propably be the same ones as on some sort of 'Akbar's list of the best bands ever'):

In English

Moneybrother
Monster (same singer and songwriter as the above band, but a whole different experience. More 'fuck you, I won't do what you tell me!' than 'You broke my heart, please come back', if you get the general idea)
Bob Dylan
Bruce Springsteen
In Flames (woot? Metal? Yes, fuck off.)
Broder Daniel (You think you're emo? Well... are you, punk? Seriously though, give this a try if you're thinking of putting together a dark and melancholic band. There's really no need for that, you see.)

In Swedish

Håkan Hellström (supposedly steals a lot from Mr. Dylan, but I couldn't care less. Bloody awesome lyrics in any case.)
Kent (duh!)
EBBA GRÖN
Thåström (from the above, an old swedish punk band)

zekterellium · « **Reply #29 on:** 23 Apr 2005, 13:13 »

converge and alexisonfire write wonderful, poetic lyrics, but the first band scream them in such a way you can hardly tell what they are saying, and the second band stick them in pretty average songs, so it's an awful shame.

Praeserpium Machinarum · « **Reply #30 on:** 23 Apr 2005, 13:23 »

I like Kent, Dom Andra and Kärleken Ventar are ace songs, but sadly overall Vapen og Ammunition was a bit anemic. I haven't hear the new one, so I wouldn't know if it's better...

KharBevNor · « **Reply #31 on:** 23 Apr 2005, 13:28 »

In Flames lyrics have never really impressed me. The thing is that the ideas are good, but the writing has so obviously been done with a weighty Swedish-English dictionary in one hand that it detracts somewhat, the bad grammar and malapropisms going beyond charming and into silly. I remember in one song they mention 'Squirrel wheel' when they mean Hamster wheel...

24_hour_revenge_therapy · « **Reply #32 on:** 23 Apr 2005, 13:31 »

Quote from: zekterellium

converge and alexisonfire write wonderful, poetic lyrics, but the first band scream them in such a way you can hardly tell what they are saying, and the second band stick them in pretty average songs, so it's an awful shame.

i was completely shocked the first time i actually sat down and read converge lyrics. jacob banon writes the most poetic lyrics i've ever read. the songs on their split with agoraphobic nosebleed are some of my favorites, musically and lyrically.

Poke · « **Reply #33 on:** 23 Apr 2005, 13:58 »

Dispatch (previously One Fell Swoop) have some of my favorite lyrics. Their music otherwise isn't very impressive, but they are probably one of my top 5 favorite bands just because I like their song lyrics so much!

They Might Be Giants have really amusing lyrics and their songs are fun to sing, but just being clever and silly doens't make them qualifity as the best in my opinion.

I'm sure there are more, but these are two more of my favorite lyricists (sp?):

Simon & Garfunkel
Bright Eyes

muffy · « **Reply #34 on:** 23 Apr 2005, 14:47 »

Leonard Cohen yet again, because he is that cool,
Bright Eyes, too, for obvious reasons,
Bob Dylan, also,

but as no one's mentioned them yet, I think a bigger prop should go to Cursive and The Good Life, as Tim Kasher is an utter genius.

mikemike · « **Reply #35 on:** 24 Apr 2005, 02:15 »

For me it's The Shins. The line "just a glimpse of an ankle and I react like it's 1805" always makes me smile.

And Dylan, Beck, Elliott Smith, British Sea Power and Neutral Milk Hotel

StrikeThePostman · « **Reply #36 on:** 24 Apr 2005, 13:23 »

Ah yes, mikemike, that Shins line is great.

I like these lines from the Arcade Fire:

"It’s not a lover I want no more
and it’s not heaven I’m pining for.
but there’s some spirit I used to know
that’s been drowned out by the radio.

They say a watched pot won’t ever boil
you can’t raise a baby on motor oil.
just like a seed down in the soil, you gotta give it time."

I was actually meaning to transcribe Neighborhood #4 for piano but once again, laziness prevailed.

cacahuate · « **Reply #37 on:** 24 Apr 2005, 14:30 »

The Decembrists might have a vote from me. Most entertaining.

daviesmatt · « **Reply #38 on:** 24 Apr 2005, 16:27 »

I have two lines for you.

"All of your friends are cunts,
Your mother is a ball point pen thief."

Mods, end this thread. The contest is over.

muffy · « **Reply #39 on:** 24 Apr 2005, 17:24 »

Quote from: daviesmatt

"All of your friends are cunts,
Your mother is a ball point pen thief."

Where does that come from? It's been bugging me ever sine you had it as your signature!

daviesmatt · « **Reply #40 on:** 24 Apr 2005, 18:43 »

Mclusky - Gareth Brown says. Awesome song.

Come to think of it, I could do with a signature change.

devils_daughter · « **Reply #41 on:** 24 Apr 2005, 18:59 »

Staind - Epiphany. Very few will agree with that but it you've ever suffered from clinical depression, you will understand why this is an emotive song

KharBevNor · « **Reply #42 on:** 24 Apr 2005, 19:45 »

...I made this post in the wrong thread >_<

tangen · « **Reply #43 on:** 24 Apr 2005, 20:10 »

Ani Difranco

madame psychosis · « **Reply #44 on:** 25 Apr 2005, 02:35 »

Quote from: tangen

Ani Difranco

thankyou! i was scrolling down thinking 'where's ani??' her lyrics are incredible, i loove 'dilate' every line is like being punched in the stomach, in a good way though (is that possible?). her lyrics are like poetry, well obviously her spoken word stuff is poetry, eh you know what i mean

and of course tom waits is brilliant, 'alice' in particular, the lyrics are just so surreal and beautiful...

Quote

And so a secret kiss
Brings madness with the bliss
And I will think of this
When I'm dead in my grave
Set me adrift and I'm lost over there
And I must be insane
To go skating on your name
And by tracing it twice
I fell through the ice
Of Alice

Akbar · « **Reply #45 on:** 25 Apr 2005, 04:28 »

Quote from: KharBevNor

In Flames lyrics have never really impressed me. The thing is that the ideas are good, but the writing has so obviously been done with a weighty Swedish-English dictionary in one hand that it detracts somewhat, the bad grammar and malapropisms going beyond charming and into silly. I remember in one song they mention 'Squirrel wheel' when they mean Hamster wheel...

Hmm, you have a point there I guess. Even so, I can't help feeling some songs hits it spot on in terms of feel and ambiance. And although I have noticed some of these flaws I guess they seem less odd to me, not being a native speaker, and thus they don't really annoy me or take the edge out of the music.

Quote

I like Kent, Dom Andra and Kärleken Ventar are ace songs, but sadly overall Vapen og Ammunition was a bit anemic. I haven't hear the new one, so I wouldn't know if it's better...

Try some of their earlier stuff, they have quite an extensive back-catalogue. Kevlarsjäl, 747, Kräm, Blåjeans, etc are all great songs.

Han Shan · « **Reply #46 on:** 25 Apr 2005, 07:00 »

I would have to say Iron and Wine and Sufjan Stevens.

Also as already mentioned many times, Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen.

hooligan · « **Reply #47 on:** 26 Apr 2005, 03:46 »

Quote from: LightThievesAll

What bands have the best lyrics overall, in your opinion.

Sheer Terror

Buddy, you put Sheer Terror up for everything. I mean they're cool and all and Paul Bearer is a good guy etc. But come on. You're not one of those fanboys who used to follow Paul around like sheep at Local 186 are you?

Just screwing with you.

I'm obligied to list the Clash here. Anyone who can use truncheon in a song just wins this contest (i.e. London Calling).

zekterellium · « **Reply #48 on:** 26 Apr 2005, 04:42 »

Quote

i was completely shocked the first time i actually sat down and read converge lyrics. jacob banon writes the most poetic lyrics i've ever read. the songs on their split with agoraphobic nosebleed are some of my favorites, musically and lyrically.

seriously, he could quit that band and make a living writing poems. i think that on jane doe, given the concept and everything, those are the best lyrics in human history. and dagger through the heart of saint angeles, by alexis, the 'i'm trying hard to forget that cold october day, when love challenged freedom to a fist fight" section is the most fucking beautiful lyric i've ever heard. what is it with equal vision records and great lyricists?[/quote]

Snapman · « **Reply #49 on:** 26 Apr 2005, 10:38 »

Jeff Mangum of Neutral Milk Hotel is my favourite lyricist.

Jarvis Cocker of Pulp has the ability to knock out some very good lyrics now and then. British Sea Power also write some nice lyrics every now and then.

THESE FORUMS NOW CLOSED (read only)

Author Topic: Best lyrics. (Read 14459 times)

24_hour_revenge_therapy

Praeserpium Machinarum

Jolouie

Amsterdarn

mooface

WonkoTehSane

Freezey

ASturge

StrikeThePostman

StrikeThePostman

blindsuperhero

StrikeThePostman

Robbo

ASturge

kikanjuuneko

Robbo

ASturge

Robbo

ASturge

Sturge

Akbar

zekterellium

Praeserpium Machinarum

24_hour_revenge_therapy

Poke

mikemike

StrikeThePostman

cacahuate

daviesmatt

daviesmatt

devils_daughter

tangen

madame psychosis

Akbar

Han Shan

hooligan

zekterellium

Snapman