I read an interesting article in the Toronto Star today about how Canada is a nation of songwriters.
Now, no song can I write, but I have to say that songwriting is probably my most appreciated art form, and the article got me to thinking about *who* are my favourite songwriters. Here are my personal top 5 in no particular order. Three of them are Canadian and two of them are American.
1) Ben Folds - I don't know what I like better about Ben Folds: his piano skills or his songs. Put them together, and you've got some of my favourite music of all time. Ben Folds' songs have many different sides: clever tongue-in-cheek (Rockin' the Suburbs, There's Always Someone Cooler Than You), amazing storytelling (Annie Waits, Boxing, Fred Jones Pt. 2), reflections on personal life (Gracie, Brick, Late) and wonderful ballads.
I have to mention that the Ben Folds Five song that means the most to me is not even written by Ben Folds; it's written by Darren Jessee, BFF's drummer. The song is Magic and it helped me cope with the death of my Nana, with whom I had a very close relationship. She died of cancer when I was 19 and I spent a lot of time listening to that song the last summer when she was alive. It's about coping with the death of a loved one, and it's a happy song for me now, because I smile and think about her whenever I hear it.
2) John K Samson/The Weakerthans - The lyrics of Weakerthans' songs, written by John K Samson, are quite simply poetic. I could write a dissertation on my favourite lines from Weakerthans' songs. I love the song Pamphleteer; it paints such a vivid picture in my mind; and then at the end of the song I can actually hear pamphlets fluttering to the ground. One line that always sticks in my mind is from Elegy For Elsabet: "As the sky tries on its uniform of turned-off tv grey". Turned-off TV grey! Brilliance!
3) Hawksley Workman - I love eccentricity. I love when every single song by an artist is very different from the rest. I love how Hawksley is able to make everyday things seem magical in his songs. And, I totally agree with him that "modern music could be the healing sound."
4) Sarah Harmer - All of Our Names is just such a wintery album for me. It makes me want to move out to a deserted farmhouse and walk through the snow. The song Lodestar makes me want to go canoeing at night. Her songs are so descriptive and paint such vivid pictures in my head. Each of them is like looking at a painting.
5) Tori Amos - Tori Amos was such an aquired taste for me. I had a summer job at an art gallery and "Under the Pink" was left in a drawer by a coworker. I would listen to it for the last hour of my shift when there was no one in the gallery. I didn't like it at first, but then one day I realized that I loved it and I had to get it. I love how a lot of her songs are like puzzles that I have to listen to a lot to figure out. And I'm pretty sure that what I take from the song is probably different than what others take from the song.
So who are your favourite songwriters?
7 comments:
Neil Young and Joni Mitchell are Canadians and probably some of the best ever songwriters of all time.
Some of my favorites:
Lennon/McCartney
Bob Dylan
Townes Van Zant
Daniel Johnston
Ray Davies
Neil Young
Prince
Pete Townsend
Bill Oldham
Woody Guthrie
Bob Marley
Alex Chilton/Chris Bell
Carol King
Geezer Butler
Steve Harris
Neil Peart
This was a long list.
hrmm most of my favourites have been touched on here already. Of course Dylan and Neil Young stand out..plenty of others on Grunt's list as well.
I'd have to add Cobain, Matt Good, Roger Waters and (although I'm sure they'd both face argument) Trent Reznor and Maynard James Keenan. Oh and that Chad Kroeger guy is pretty talented too!
I agree with a lot that has been said so far, and I second the Cobain and Matt Good mentions. I would also add Ben Gibbard/Death Cab, you knew that one was coming. I don't think anyone can write a story and put it to music like him. As because I am such a fan, I think Billy Corgan is a great writer, but also seems to have this talent of knowing exactly how to make the song sound so that it fits the lyrics. For a little Canadian flavour, I would have to go with Amy and Torquil and their band Stars. The stories and lyrics in their songs are beautiful and enchanting.
The best way to tell if they are a good song writer is just read the lyrics with no music. Just from that reading you should get a good sense of a story and what they are trying to get across. I think its this that separates good song writers from the bad ones. The bad ones just write lyrics that sound good, and don't necessarily make any sense. :)
to some people songwriting means strictly lyrics, and the melody serves as the background. to others the lyrics are an addition to the melody. i think sarah mclachlan does both well... captures the overall feeling in her lyrics, instrumentals, and just the odd sounds that she throws in at times. david usher does this well too.
for just strength in lyrics over sound... i'd go with joni mitchell. though i'm not saying that her sound is bad... i just think that the sound adds another element which makes her lyrics that much better.
I'm a bit of a music nut...so I find it really hard to narrow down. Have been a songwritter once in my my life (ah the wonderful days of preforming in a band!) I know how much time and effort it takes to write something truly great...so I like different people for different things. All that babble to say....there are a lot of them out there for different reasons. Sometimes I listen to the lyrics, other times I listen to the melody, other times the entire composition.
I was just looking at Matt's blog and he's posted picture of the Rockstar Supernova concert him and Tash went to last week, you should check it out...
Tash has some on her site too http://huladreams.blogspot.com/
i think hers are better but don't tell matt
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