ark@rabbit.UUCP (Andrew Koenig) (10/11/84)
This may be tougher -- what are the BEST lyrics you've ever heard? How many of your best will be other peoples' worst? Did Paul Simon really coin the phrase 'mind-bending'? Stay tuned!
ark@rabbit.UUCP (Andrew Koenig) (10/18/84)
I know a lot of people in this country like to glorify mediocrity, but this is absurd: I posted a suggestion that people post (or mail) the BEST lyrics they have heard and so far I have not seen a single response! Surely there are better reasons for posting something than that it's not worth posting.
marno@ihuxm.UUCP (Marilyn Ashley) (10/20/84)
Andrew, I think the reason that you haven't received any replies to your article requesting nominations for the best lyrics is because it would be embarrassing to post a song you really liked and everybody else hated. Also, it's pretty hard to define "best"; does it mean best tongue-in-cheek lyrics or best social commentary or best lyrics to decipher (i.e. American Pie)? However, I think I'll take the plunge and nominate something timely and something not-so-timely: Leave It - Yes Middle of the Road - The Pretenders Eleventh Earl of Mar - Genesis In My Life - Beatles Silent Night/The 11 O'Clock News - Simon and Garfunkel Although the Simon and Garfunkel entry doesn't really have lyrics, it's a vivid reminder of what was going on 15 years ago. A lot of the stuff going on I had forgotten. I hope I haven't offended anybody. Everybody has his/her own musical tastes and his/her own idea of what he/she wants to hear. As you can see, mine are a little eclectic.
adler@aecom.UUCP (Elliott Adler) (10/25/84)
> I know a lot of people in this country like to glorify > mediocrity, but this is absurd: I posted a suggestion > that people post (or mail) the BEST lyrics they have > heard and so far I have not seen a single response! > > Surely there are better reasons for posting something > than that it's not worth posting. Well, I'll open the runnings with a lyrical favorite of mine... Wonderful Tonight by Eric Clapton. I first heard it a couple of years ago, and wow! The words are nothing special, but the generate such a feeling. Really hard to explain... they just paint a really nice picture. Elliott
gregbo@houxm.UUCP (Greg Skinner) (10/25/84)
<one down, one to go> > However, I think I'll take the plunge and nominate something timely and > something not-so-timely: > Leave It - Yes Personally, I thought the do-do-do-do-do-do part of that song was pretty silly. -- Baby tie your hair back in a long white bow ... Meet me in the field, behind the dynamo ... Greg Skinner (gregbo) {allegra,cbosgd,ihnp4}!houxm!gregbo
ted@usceast.UUCP (Ted Nolan) (10/28/84)
In article <885@aecom.UUCP> adler@aecom.UUCP (Elliott Adler) writes: > I know a lot of people in this country like to glorify > mediocrity, but this is absurd: I posted a suggestion > that people post (or mail) the BEST lyrics they have > heard and so far I have not seen a single response! > > Surely there are better reasons for posting something > than that it's not worth posting. > You may have gotten few responses to this because the answer is always changing, I know I react differently to my favorite songs depending on my mood, what I'm doing, etc. Really bad songs on the other hand stay with you regardless and it is much easier to pick you current or all time worst choice than your best. Also as has been pointed out it is rather daunting to think of all the followups saying "You like that piece of trash..." Be that as it may ( and admitting that I might say something different another time) , right now I would probably pick "Flying Sorcery" from Al Stewart's _Year_of_the_Cat_ album . I think it is a brilliant evocation of time and place with just the right touch of poignence (sp?) and sense of loss. The album ,by the way, is always on my top 10 no matter what my mood. Ted Nolan ..usceast!ted PS : did you know that Faith, Hope and Charity were the names of the only 3 airplanes on Malta at the start of WWII? -- ------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ted Nolan ...decvax!mcnc!ncsu!ncrcae!usceast!ted 6536 Brookside Circle ...akgua!usceast!ted Columbia, SC 29206 ("Deep space is my dwelling place, the stars my destination") -------------------------------------------------------------------------------
wombat@ccvaxa.UUCP (11/02/84)
ok, i'll brave the arrows, but I suspect part of the problem is that you can't send the music or the tone of voice out with the words. Leaving out "Falling Through Time", I usually pick something from Don McLean's third album (gray cover, untitled) as having the best lyrics I know. All incurable romantics with a dark and bitter side should have it. This month, "If We Try" is the favorite: "I don't want you to pledge your future The future's not yours to give. Just stand there a little longer And let me watch while you live. ... Well, you've got me standing deaf and blind 'cause I see love as just a state of mind And who knows what it is that we might find If we try." Wombat "I am not, nor have I ever been, Jan Howard Finder" ihnp4!uiucdcs!ccvaxa!wombat
tankus@hsi.UUCP (11/02/84)
>> Munch Here <<
I understand your concern about not receiving any responses. But first, let me
quickly deal with Clapton's 'Wonderful Tonight'. The lyrics may be good but it'sa very wimpy song. Clapton stopped making good music after he completed 451
Ocean Boulevard. His best coming with the Derek and the Dominoes Live in ConcertLP.
As for just plain lyrics, I think someone here on this net hit the nail on the
head: most of todays singers are so unintelligible as to make a perfectly good
song meaningless. The only way you can tell what is being said is by looking at
the song sheet. Even then, the singer may have changed the words during the
recording. I'm a lyricist and I know how important it is to convey the right
emotions or message through verse. But if the singer louses it up my hard
work and that of many, many others is right down the tubes.
"She's a beauty, one in a million girls ..." < Tubes
"Reasons, Reasons ... " < Earth, Wind & Fire
"Urgent, urgent, emergency ... " < Foreigner
--
" For every word there is a song upon which inspiration lies ..."
Ed Tankus
{noao, ihnp4, yale}!hsi!tankus
Health Systems International
New Haven, CT 06511
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