OT: Have things really dumbed down that much?

[William]

:confused:





.

[J.Greene]

IIRC Brian May wrote the music for Bohemian and he is not a normal musician.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Brian_May

[soulspinner]

Yes

[thwart]

yes.

[zandrrr]

Meh. Pop culture is and has always been dumb. You're comparing a song that has stood the test of time to a song that is popular now, but is unlikely to have any serious legacy. There was a ton of crap on the radio when Bohemian Rhapsody was popular, but no one remembers it because it was vacuous and uninspired. Just the way it goes.

[goonster]

Yes, but the new dumbness is faster, there is more of it, and we have access to it everywhere!

[thenewguy11]

Its funny comparing the lyrics side by side and the number of writers and producers. Did it really take all those folks to come up with that song? I think there are a lot more credits given for songwriting/producing than necessary. Does Britney Spears or Lady Gaga or (insert name of pop star) really have a ton on input into the electronica which drives Top 20 radio these days?

[Fixed]

Keep the sheep dumb and it is easy to lead them
IMHO cheers :)

[torquer]

This is how they make sausages:

"Most of the songs played on Top Forty radio are collaborations between producers like Stargate and “top line” writers like Ester Dean. The producers compose the chord progressions, program the beats, and arrange the “synths,” or computer-made instrumental sounds; the top-liners come up with primary melodies, lyrics, and the all-important hooks, the ear-friendly musical phrases that lock you into the song. “It’s not enough to have one hook anymore,” Jay Brown, the president of Roc Nation, and Dean’s manager, told me recently. “You’ve got to have a hook in the intro, a hook in the pre-chorus, a hook in the chorus, and a hook in the bridge.” The reason, he explained, is that “people on average give a song seven seconds on the radio before they change the channel, and you got to hook them.”



Read more http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2012/03/26/120326fa_fact_seabrook#ixzz20QsSKwZG

[54ny77]

"She loves you, yeah, yeah, yeah
She loves you, yeah, yeah, yeah
She loves you, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah"


Ummm.......:rolleyes:

[parris]

Maybe it's 1 writer and 5 to spell check?

[William]

"She loves you, yeah, yeah, yeah
She loves you, yeah, yeah, yeah
She loves you, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah"


Ummm.......:rolleyes:


I see where you're going, but it's still a bit more complex than '"Girls".

She loves you, yeah, yeah, yeah
She loves you, yeah, yeah, yeah
She loves you, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah

You think you lost your love,
Well, I saw her yesterday.
It's you she's thinking of
And she told me what to say.

She says she loves you
And you know that can't be bad.
Yes, she loves you
And you know you should be glad.

She said you hurt her so
She almost lost her mind.
But now she said she knows
You're not the hurting kind.

She says she loves you
And you know that can't be bad.
Yes, she loves you
And you know you should be glad. Ooh!

She loves you, yeah, yeah, yeah
She loves you, yeah, yeah, yeah
And with a love like that
You know you should be glad.

You know it's up to you,
I think it's only fair,
Pride can hurt you, too,
Apologize to her

Because she loves you
And you know that can't be bad.
Yes, she loves you
And you know you should be glad. Ooh!

She loves you, yeah, yeah, yeah
She loves you, yeah, yeah, yeah

with a love like that
You know you should
Be Glad!

with a love like that
You know you should
Be Glad!

With a love like that
You know you should
be glad!

Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Yeah, yeah, yeah Ye-ah.



William

[maxdog]

Or maybe one writer per lyric.

[54ny77]

pick any rap song and there's your answer. :bike:

[monkeybanana86]

pick any rap song and there's your answer. :bike:

rap is poetry

http://semprul.net/wp-content/uploads/2012/01/12_13_4-Flowers-in-a-Garden-Border_web.jpg

[Chance]

"She loves you, yeah, yeah, yeah
She loves you, yeah, yeah, yeah
She loves you, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah"


Ummm.......:rolleyes:

Wasn't that one of their earlier songs? Seems their writing matured and improved much as they got a little older.

Bubble gum music on the other hand was comparable. How about Yummy Yummy Yummy. A classic for sure.:rolleyes:

[ergott]

Still an awesome song.

SURFIN' BIRD
(Frazier - White - Harris - Wilson)
THE TRASHMEN (GARRETT 4002, 1963)

A-well-a everybody's heard about the bird
B-b-b-bird, bird, bird, b-bird's the word
A-well-a bird, bird, bird, the bird is the word
A-well-a bird, bird, bird, well the bird is the word
A-well-a bird, bird, bird, b-bird's the word
A-well-a bird, bird, bird, well the bird is the word
A-well-a bird, bird, b-bird's the word
A-well-a bird, bird, bird, b-bird's the word
A-well-a bird, bird, bird, well the bird is the word
A-well-a bird, bird, b-bird's the word
A-well-a don't you know about the bird?
Well, everybody knows that the bird is the word!
A-well-a bird, bird, b-bird's the word
A-well-a...

A-well-a everybody's heard about the bird
Bird, bird, bird, b-bird's the word
A-well-a bird, bird, bird, b-bird's the word
A-well-a bird, bird, bird, b-bird's the word
A-well-a bird, bird, b-bird's the word
A-well-a bird, bird, bird, b-bird's the word
A-well-a bird, bird, bird, b-bird's the word
A-well-a bird, bird, bird, b-bird's the word
A-well-a bird, bird, bird, b-bird's the word
A-well-a don't you know about the bird?
Well, everybody's talking about the bird!
A-well-a bird, bird, b-bird's the word
A-well-a bird...

Surfin' bird
Bbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbb... [retching noises]... aaah!

Pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-
Pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-ooma-mow-mow
Papa-ooma-mow-mow

Papa-ooma-mow-mow, papa-ooma-mow-mow
Papa-ooma-mow-mow, papa-ooma-mow-mow
Ooma-mow-mow, papa-ooma-mow-mow
Papa-ooma-mow-mow, papa-ooma-mow-mow
Papa-ooma-mow-mow, papa-ooma-mow-mow
Oom-oom-oom-oom-ooma-mow-mow
Papa-ooma-mow-mow, papa-oom-oom-oom
Oom-ooma-mow-mow, papa-ooma-mow-mow
Ooma-mow-mow, papa-ooma-mow-mow
Papa-a-mow-mow, papa-ooma-mow-mow
Papa-ooma-mow-mow, ooma-mow-mow
Papa-ooma-mow-mow, ooma-mow-mow
Papa-oom-oom-oom-oom-ooma-mow-mow
Oom-oom-oom-oom-ooma-mow-mow
Ooma-mow-mow, papa-ooma-mow-mow
Papa-ooma-mow-mow, ooma-mow-mow
Well don't you know about the bird?
Well, everybody knows that the bird is the word!
A-well-a bird, bird, b-bird's the word

Papa-ooma-mow-mow, papa-ooma-mow-mow
[repeat to fade]

[Fixed]

COTTAGE FOR SALE, A LYRICSFrank Sinatra


A little dream castle
With every dream gone
Is lonely and silent
The shades are all drawn
And my heart is heavy
As I gaze upon
A cottage for sale
The lawn we were proud of
Is waving in hay
A beautiful garden
Has withered away
Where you planted roses
The weeds seem to say
A cottage for sale
From every single window
I see your face
But when I reach the window
There's empty space
The key's in the mailbox
The same as before
But no one is waiting
For me anymore
The end of our story
Is there on the door
A cottage for sale





------ Performed by Frank

[FlashUNC]

pick any rap song and there's your answer. :bike:

Then the answer, if I'm picking any rap song, is unequivocally "no."

[Fixed]

If you don't know the difference between a half note and an eighth note ,can't tell 3\4 time from 4/4 then I don't think one is able to judge music
IMHO
Cheers

[William]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=387ZDGSKVSg

Let's do it.

Workin' all week 9 to 5 for my money
So when the weekend comes I go get live with the honey
Rollin' down the street I saw this girl and she was pumpin'
I winked my eye she got into the ride went to a club was jumpin'
Introduce myself as Loc she said "You're a liar"
I said "I got it goin' on baby doll and I'm on fire"
Took her to the hotel she said "You're the king"
I said "Be my queen if you know what I mean and let us do the wild thing

Wild thing (x2)

Shoppin' at the mall looking for some gear to buy
I saw this girl she cool rocked my world and I had to adjust my fly
She looked at me and smiled and said "You have plans for the night"
I said "Hopefully if things go well I'll be with you tonight"
So we journeyed to her house one thing led to an other
I keyed the door we cold hit the floor looked up and it was her mother
I didn't know what to say I was hanging by a string
She said "Hey you two I was once like you and I liked to do the wild thing"

Wild thing
She loved to do the wild thing
Wild thing
Please baby baby please

Posse in effect hangin' out is always hype
And when me and the crew leave the shindig I want a girl who's just my type
Saw this luscious little frame I ain't lyin' fellas she was fine
The sweet young miss go gave me a kiss and I knew that she was mine
Took her to the limousine still parked outside
I tipped the chauffeur when it was over and I gave her my own ride
Couldn't get her off my jack she was like static cling
But that's what happens when body start slappin' from doin' the wild thing

Wild thing
She wanna do the wild thing
Please baby baby please

Wild thing

Doin' a little show at the local discotheque
This fine youg chick was on my jack so I say what the heck
She want to come on stage and do her little dance
So I said chill for now but maybe later you'll get your chance
So when the show was finished I took her around the way
And what do you know she was good to go without a word to say
We was all alone and she said "Tone let me tell you one thing
I need $50 to make you holler I get paid to do the wild thing"

Say what
Yo love you must be kidding
You're walkin' babe
Just break out of here
Hasta la vista baby

Wild thing

[false_Aest]

pick any rap song and there's your answer. :bike:

brah really?

RATM

The microphone explodes, shattering the molds
Ya either drop tha hits like de la O or get the **** off the commode
With the sure shot, sure to make the bodies drop
Drop and don't copy yo, don't call this a co-opt
Terror rains drenchin', quenchin' the thirst of the power drones
That five sided fist-a-gon
The rotten sore on the face of mother earth gets bigger
Tha triggers cold empty your purse

Weapons not food, not homes, not shoes
Not need, just feed the war cannibal animal
I walk the corner to the rubble that used to be a library
Line up to the mind cemetary, now
What we don't know keeps the contracts alive an movin'
They don't gotta burn tha books they just remove 'em
While arms warehouses fill as quick as the cells
Rally round tha family, pocket full of shells

______
Immortal Technique
(worker)
I'm on the border of Bolivia, working for pennies
Treated like a slave, the coke fields have to be ready
The spirit of my people is starving, broken and sweaty
Dreaming about revolution (REVOLUTION!) looking at my machete
But the workload is too heavy to rise up in arms
And if I ran away, I know they'd probably murder my moms
So I pray to "jesu cristo" when I go to the mission
Process the cocaine, paced and play my position

(fieldboss)
Ok, listen while I'm out there, just give me my product
Before we chop off ya hands for worker's misconduct
I got the power to shoot a copper, and not get charged
And it would be sad to see your family in front of a firing squad
So to feed your kids, I need these bricks
40 tons in total, let me test it, indeed I (*sniff*)
****, this is good, pass me a tissue
And don't worry about them, I paid off the officials

(Peruvian Leader)
Yo, it don't come as a challenge, I'm the son of some of the foulest
Elected by my people...the only one on the ballot
Born and bred to consult with feds, I laugh at fate
And assassinate my predecessor to have his place
In a third-world fashion state, lock the nation
With 90% of the wealth in 10% of the population
The Central Intelligence Agency takes weight faithfully
The finest type of China white and cocaine you'll see
____

Public Enemy

Bass! How low can you go?
Death row. What a brother knows.
Once again, back is the incredible
The rhyme animal
The incredible D, Public Enemy Number One
"Five-O" said, "Freeze!" and I got numb
Can I tell 'em that I really never had a gun?
But it's the wax that the Terminator X spun
Now they got me in a cell 'cause my records, they sell
'Cause a brother like me said, "Well...
...farrakhan's a prophet and I think you ought to listen to
What he can say to you, what you ought to do."
Follow for now, power of the people, say,
"Make a miracle, D, pump the lyrical"
Black is back, all in, we're gonna win
Check it out, yeah y'all c'mon, here we go again



In regard to OP: the internets, space phones and myFacebook have made it hard for younginz to decipher lyrics. communication now looks like this: TOTS BF 4EVE FMLTWIA 2NTE PLZ. With college being the new high school its probably best to keep things simple and outsource the hardstuff to asia.

[thenewguy11]

Read more http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2012/03/26/120326fa_fact_seabrook#ixzz20QsSKwZG

Thanks for sharing that link - informative read.

Kind of sad too. ". . . today’s Top Forty is almost always machine-made: lush sonic landscapes of beats, loops, and synths in which all the sounds have square edges and shiny surfaces, the voices are Auto-Tuned for pitch, and there are no mistakes."

[Germany_chris]

TUPAC

"Words Of Wisdom"

Killing us one by one
In one way or another
America will find a way to eliminate the problem
One by one
The problem is
The troubles in the black youth of the ghettos
And one by one
We are being wiped off the face of this earth
At an extremely alarming rate
And even more alarming is the fact
That we are not fighting back
Brothers, sisters, niggas
When I say niggas it is not the nigga we are grown to fear
It is not the nigga we say as if it has no meaning
But to me
It means Never Ignorant Getting Goals Accomplished, nigga
Niggas what are we going to do?
Walk blind into a line? Or fight?
Fight and die if we must like niggas

This is for the masses, the lower classes
The ones you left out, jobs were givin', better livin'
But we were kept out
Made to feel inferior, but we're superior
Break the chains in our brains that made us fear yah
Pledge allegiance to a flag that neglects us
Honour a man that who refuses to respect us
Emancipation, proclamation, Please!
Lincoln just said that to save the nation
These are lies that we all accepted
Say no to drugs but the government’s kept it
Running through our community, killing the unity
The war on drugs is a war on you and me
And yet they say this is the Home of The Free
But if you ask me it's all about hypocrisy
The constitution, Yo, it don't apply to me
And Lady Liberty still the bitch lied to me
Steady strong nobody's gonna like what I pumpin'
But it's wrong to keeping someone from learning something
So get up, it's time to start nation building
I'm fed up, we gotta start teaching children
That they can be all that they want to be
There's much more to life than just poverty

This is definitely ahhh words of wisdom
AMERIKA, AMERIKA, AMERIKKKA
I charge you with the crime of rape, murder, and assault
For suppressing and punishing my people
I charge you with robbery for robbing me of my history
I charge you with false imprisonment for keeping me
Trapped in the projects
And the jury finds you guilty on all accounts
And you are to serve the consequences of your evil schemes
Prosecutor do you have any more evidence?

Words of Wisdom
They shine upon the strength of a nation
Conquer the enemy on with education
Protect yourself, reach for what you wanna do
Know thy self, teach what we been through
On with the knowledge of the place, then
No one will ever oppress this race again
No Malcolm X in my history text
Why is that?
‘Cause he tried to educate and liberate all blacks
Why is Martin Luther King in my book each week?
He told blacks, if they get smacked, turn the other cheek
I don't get it, so many questions went through my mind
I get sweated, They act as if asking questions is a crime
But forget it, one day I'm gonna prove them wrong
Now every brother had to smother on the welfare line
The American dream, though it like it's attainable
They're pulling your sleeve, don't believe
‘Cause it will strangle yah
Pulling the life of your brain, I can't explain
Beg as you can obtain from which you came
Swear that your mother is living in equality
Forgetting your brother that's living her apology
Thought they had us beaten when they took out King
But the battle ain't over till the black man sings
Words of Wisdom
But the battle ain't over till the black man sings
Words of Wisdom

NIGHTMARE that's what I am
America's nightmare
I am what you made me
The hate and evil that you gave me
I shine of a reminder of what you have done to my people
For Four hundred plus years
You should be scared
You should be running
You should be trying to silence me
Ha ha
But you cannot escape fate
Well it is my turn to come
Just as you rose you shall fall
By my hands
Amerika, You reap what you sow
2pacalypse America's Nightmare
Ice Cube and Da Lench Mob America's Nightmare
Above the Law America's Nightmare
Paris America's Nightmare
Public Enemy America's Nightmare
Krs-One America's Nightmare
Mutulu Shakur America's Nightmare
Geronimo Pratt America's Nightmare
Assada Shakur America's Nightmare

[dustyrider]

pick any rap song and there's your answer. :bike:
I think most people have it figured out that there is "dumb" music out there, but there certainly is a lot of good modern music out there too.

Maybe some would argue that this is not strictly rap, and certainly a few years old by now, but I wonder if you think Sage Francis is really "dumb."

Narcissist

I don't look at myself in the mirror because I'm a narcissist
I simply like to watch myself exist...
Now I'm in a fog and mist...
Now my reflection is anonymous
Ponder this!

I've seen a reflection of my soul in the store window
Caught in limbo 'cause I was dressed all in Timbo's
Having fantasies of playing Polo with Ralph Lauren on a Tommy Hill
And my paper thin spirit was still grieving from the Versace kill in Florida
Opened the door to the store and I walked down the corridor
to see they had a blow out sale on Nautica
I've always been a Lord of the button down Flies?
Being they were half-priced, I pass 'em on by looking for Levis
But Guess what? All my favorite clothing lines and hip designs
Were being liquidized and it made me sick to my eyes
I don't understand...when I had no ends...the price was quick to rise
I'd buy a pair of trends even if they didn't fit my size
Purchase a surplus of fads from merchants whose ads
Made these cheap ass fabrics that were so worthless and sad
Just look priceless, they used unethical devices to attack my sense of
self-worth during my prepubescent crisis
It fed into my insecurities, so instead of being righteous
I want everyone to see me like this
It's all about who looks the nicest
Ice is falling off my Rolie onto my body shoot!
I hope to hell it doesn't melt and ruin my Armani suit
While I'm sweatin' this,some kid who doesn't got any loot
Is buying my necklace along with my same exact khakis and army boots
What?! This is blasphemous!
Since Adidas tried changing its logo
there ain't been nothing as wack as this
It's probably a stunt being pulled by Animal Rights activists
Because of all that Third World country garbage
So while these monkeys sweat over my name brands that exchange hands
From enslaved lands, I wonder if I'm the same man
Without reward...for what I bought but CAN'T still afford
This is the type of self-realization that might have killed the Lord
I didn't mind working free as a walking billboard
But now I want my money back...as my ice spilled and poured
Onto the floor I did see a distorted reflection of my Nike hat
I don't know how others might react
For me it was an unsightly act that helped me get my psyche back
I stood 5 feet back, afraid that it might strike me like Shaclack clack!
Ya'll think I'm kidding? It's not big thing
What I seen made my heart hurt, stomach turn, throat burn, teeth cringe
spine tingle, and ribs sting
I noticed that the swoosh symbol was nothing but a whip in mid-swing..

Sage Francis
You can listen on you tube if you want, I really thought of using Makeshift Patriot, but given the audience I figured Narcissist would go over better.

[sandyrs]

I don't know that there are many people who both listen primarily to Top 40 radio and take contemporary music seriously. There are very popular bands (The National comes to mind as the best example) whose output is, both lyrically and aurally, really compelling. These artists may not be on Z100 or its equivalents, but that doesn't mean there aren't thousands of people still listening to and appreciating serious songwriting (The National's 2010 album High Violet debuted at #3 on Billboard).

[Germany_chris]

NOFX

"We Called It America"


"The leads are weak."
"The leads are weak; f***ing leads are weak? You're weak."

Remember when America had a middle class and an upper class?
That was way before the exodus.
That was the America that we thought was number one,
thought would overcome, thought would never die.
That was just our pride and faith: two sh***y deadly sins;
I know faith isn't one of 'em but it should have been,
'Cause when things were crumbling, we had no camaraderie,
just a faith someone would save us from despondence.

We called it America, whoa.
We called it America, whoa.

"Number one America" was a slogan used
to keep morale up when we knew we were already cooked,
Then the richer western states
succeeded in secession and the eastern ones followed right behind.
Mexi-Can-America was the perfect name
that epitomized the order of significance, authority and affluence.
We had turned it all around, went from number one, straight to number two (****).

We called it America, whoa.
We called it America, whoa.

National bankruptcy, circumcised society.
USA, dined and ditched;
Fox reports "poor is the new rich".

We called it America, whoa.
We called it America, whoa.
We called it America, whoa.
We called it America, whoa.
We called it America.


"Blasphemy (The Victimless Crime)"


I’ll throw a pie in the face of piety
I’ll torch a torah right off a bridge
I am a reverend of irreverence
I’m a shill for any sacrilege
I understand that faith in a deity
Helps the masses who are having hard times
But blasphemy like prostitution
Are clearly victimless crimes
Blasphemy, blasphe-you, Jesus Christ the blackest Jew
Blasphe-you, blasphemy, poisonous pedagogy
I’m an unbeliever, I’m a heretic
I’m gonna projectile puke off a pew
I’m a trouble making immature imp
I’m gonna turn your other cheek for you
I understand we all need something to believe in
I believe I’ll never be given wings and
I’m sorry if it’s up there cuz I didn’t think
A song was gonna hurt its feelings
Blasphemy, speaking deadpan
Apparently this god has got a master plan
Now they call foul, pure heresy
But ya gotta wonder, does he have a plan B?
Horus similar to Mithra, Attis analogous to Krishna
Jesus, different name same story
All based on ancient Egyptian allegory
My position hasn’t been occulted
It can never be more overstated
My intelligence has been insulted
So my tongue lashes out in defense
Anything that is your holy or sacred
I’m gonna desecrate and use in jest
But you’ll never hear a crack about Mohammed
Cuz I don’t wanna get shot in the chest
Blasphemy, isn’t this fun
Rob a rabbi, bugger a nun
Blasphemy, want some more?
Mother Mary, the virgin whore

[killacks]

Bohemian Rhapsody is awesome. Btw, the first time I heard was in the movie, "Wayne's World."

And, girls are dumb.

So there!

[ergott]

If you don't know the difference between a half note and an eighth note ,can't tell 3\4 time from 4/4 then I don't think one is able to judge music
IMHO
Cheers

Paul McCartney can't read music. True story.

[biker72]

Rain rain oh rain rain
Oh Rain rain la da da da da
Oh rain rain la da da da da
Oh rain rain since you went away
Oh rain rain beating down all day
Oh rain rain never seen such rain
Oh rain rain everything is rain

Lovers often fight but that’s not a quarrel
Making up will put it right, that’s the moral
When we parted that night you were mine
Did our hearts bring goodbye
So lovers separate and hurt one another
I leave it all to fate and then they discover
They were alone and they still love the same
So they must start again

Oh rain rain since my love has gone
Oh rain rain sun has never shone
Oh rain rain hear it beating down
Oh rain rain feel I’m gonna jump
Oh rain rain wonder where you are
Oh rain rain never seen a star
Oh rain rain get a stump of string
Oh rain rain life is only rain

(Oh rain rain la la la la la)
They will meet again I can’t live without you
Every dream I ever dream is about you
I shall know when I see your eyes shine
You will always be mine

Oh rain rain since you went away
Oh rain rain beating down all day
Oh rain rain flooding through my brain
Oh rain rain driving me insane insane insane insane insane insane

Insane is right.....:p

[rugbysecondrow]

Bunch of old farts here...Damn kids these days.

[charliedid]

Same as it ever was

[Ti Designs]

Three pages about lyrics and nobody has said a word about Bob Dylan...

The music often brings lyrics to mind, a little game of "I can name that tune in...". When I play piano I'll use this to say things without speaking a word. The intro to Celo Green's "F*&$k You" is a good one to know...

[dustyrider]

Three pages about lyrics and nobody has said a word about Bob Dylan...

The music often brings lyrics to mind, a little game of "I can name that tune in...". When I play piano I'll use this to say things without speaking a word. The intro to Celo Green's "F*&$k You" is a good one to know...

A lot of the lyrics were in response to the modern "rap" is made for dumb people comment. I love Bob Dylan, as a lyricist there isn't anyone better, in my mind.

I've recently started to listen to Listener it's more a spoken word type of genre, but heady lyrics and a very interesting delivery combines for something pretty special, I think.

Here's a youtube video for you:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8k9rD7lx9c

[William]

A lot of the lyrics were in response to the modern "rap" is made for dumb people comment. I love Bob Dylan, as a lyricist there isn't anyone better, in my mind.

I've recently started to listen to Listener it's more a spoken word type of genre, but heady lyrics and a very interesting delivery combines for something pretty special, I think.

Here's a youtube video for you:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K8k9rD7lx9c


Thanks for the link! I'm digging it.:cool:

We only have what we remember....

We’re all born to broken people on their most honest day of living
and since that first breath... We’ll need grace that we’ve never given
I've been haunted by standard red devils and white ghosts
and it's not only when these eyes are closed
these lies are ropes that I tie down in my stomach,
but they hold this ship together tossed like leaves in this weather
and my dreams are sails that I point towards my true north,
stretched thin over my rib bones, and pray that it gets better
but it won’t won’t, at least I don’t believe it will...
so I've built a wooden heart inside this iron ship,
to sail these blood red seas and find your coasts.
don’t let these waves wash away your hopes
this war-ship is sinking, and I still believe in anchors
pulling fist fulls of rotten wood from my heart, I still believe in saviors
but I know that we are all made out of shipwrecks, every single board
washed and bound like crooked teeth on these rocky shores
so come on and let’s wash each other with tears of joy and tears of grief
and fold our lives like crashing waves and run up on this beach
come on and sew us together, tattered rags stained forever
we only have what we remember

I am the barely living son of a woman and man who barely made it
but we’re making it taped together on borrowed crutches and new starts
we all have the same holes in our hearts...
everything falls apart at the exact same time
that it all comes together perfectly for the next step
but my fear is this prison... that I keep locked below the main deck
I keep a key under my pillow, it’s quiet and it’s hidden
and my hopes are weapons that I’m still learning how to use right
but they’re heavy and I’m awkward...always running out of fight
so I’ve carved a wooden heart, put it in this sinking ship
hoping it would help me float for just a few more weeks
because I am made out of shipwrecks, every twisted beam
lost and found like you and me scattered out on the sea
so come on let’s wash each other with tears of joy and tears of grief
and fold our lives like crashing waves and run up on this beach
come on and sew us together, just some tattered rags stained forever
we only have what we remember

My throat it still tastes like house fire and salt water
I wear this tide like loose skin, rock me to sea
if we hold on tight we’ll hold each other together
and not just be some fools rushing to die in our sleep
all these machines will rust I promise, but we'll still be electric
shocking each other back to life
Your hand in mine, my fingers in your veins connected
our bones grown together inside
our hands entwined, your fingers in my veins braided
our spines grown stronger in time
because are church is made out of shipwrecks
from every hull these rocks have claimed
but we pick ourselves up, and try and grow better through the change
so come on yall and let’s wash each other with tears of joy and tears of grief
and fold our lives like crashing waves and run up on this beach
come on and sew us together, were just tattered rags stained forever
we only have what we remember



William

[dustyrider]

I'm glad you like it, William. I thought if anyone would be interested it would be you.

The funny thing about Dan Smith the lead singer of Listener, in relation to this thread, and the controversial comment about rap, is that in one of his interviews he says; that rap had a big influence on him, and that he wrote a lot of rap songs prior to this current musical en devour.

[PQJ]

Wasn't that one of their earlier songs? Seems their writing matured and improved much as they got a little older.


It was and it/they did. However, I think you need to put in in the context of the time and the revolution that the Beatles were.

Three pages about lyrics and nobody has said a word about Bob Dylan...

The music often brings lyrics to mind, a little game of "I can name that tune in...". When I play piano I'll use this to say things without speaking a word. The intro to Celo Green's "F*&$k You" is a good one to know...

Here's why: Dylan, being the greatest songwriter of all time, doesn't belong in a thread about things being dumbed down.

[Germany_chris]

nor really about modern music popular music..

(I can't stand Dylan)

[Tom]

pick any rap song and there's your answer. :bike:

Hell, no. There's at least one exception.

The Message

Songwriters: MARTIN/SHAPIRO/NESLER

It's like a jungle sometimes it makes me wonder
How I keep from going under
It's like a jungle sometimes it makes me wonder
How I keep from going under

Broken glass everywhere
People pissing on the stairs, you know they just don't care
I can't take the smell, I can't take the noise
Got no money to move out, I guess I got no choice
Rats in the front room, roaches in the back
Junkies in the alley with the baseball bat
I tried to get away, but I couldn't get far
Cause a man with a tow-truck repossessed my car

Chorus:
Don't push me cause I'm close to the edge
I'm trying not to lose my head, ah huh-huh-huh
[2nd and 5th: ah huh-huh-huh]
[4th: say what?]
It's like a jungle sometimes it makes me wonder
How I keep from going under
It's like a jungle sometimes it makes me wonder
How I keep from going under

Standing on the front stoop, hangin' out the window
Watching all the cars go by, roaring as the breezes blow
Crazy lady livin' in a bag
Eating out of garbage pails, used to be a fag-hag
Said she danced the tango, skipped the light fandango
The Zircon Princess seemed to lost her senses
Down at the peepshow, watching all the creeps
So she can tell the stories to the girls back home
She went to the city and got social security
She had to get a pimp, she couldn't make it on her own

[2nd Chorus]

My brother's doing bad on my mother's TV
She says: "You watch it too much, it's just not healthy!"
"All My Children" in the daytime, "Dallas" at night
Can't even see the game or the Sugar Ray fight
The bill collectors they ring my phone
And scare my wife when I'm not home
Got a bum education, double-digit inflation
I can't take the train to the job, there's a strike at the station
Neon King Kong standin' on my back
Can't stop to turn around, broke my sacrophiliac
A mid-ranged migraine, cancered membrane
Sometimes I think I'm going insane, I swear I might hijack a plane

My son said: "Daddy I don't wonna go to school
Cause the teacher's a jerk!", he must think I'm a fool
And all the kids smoke reefer, I think it'd be cheaper
If I just got a job, learned to be a street sweeper
I'll dance to the beat, shuffle my feet
Wear a shirt and tie and run with the creeps
Cause it's all about money, ain't a damn thing funny
You got to have a con in this land of milk and honey
They pushed that girl in front of the train
Took her to the doctor, sewed her arm on again
Stabbed that man right in his heart
Gave him a transplant for a brand new start
I can't walk through the park, cause it's crazy after dark
Keep my hand on my gun, cause they got me on the run
I feel like a outlaw, broke my last glass jar
Hear them say: "You want some more livin' on a seesaw?"

[4th Chorus]

A child is born with no state of mind
Blind to the ways of mankind
God is smiling on you but he's frowning too
Because only God knows what you'll go through
You'll grow in the ghetto, living second rate
And your eyes will sing a song of deep hate
The places you're playin', where you stay
Looks like one great big alley way
You'll admire all the number book takers
Thugs, pimps, pushers and the big money makers
Driving big cars, spending twenties and tens
And you wanna grow up to be just like them, huh,
Smugglers, scrambles, burglars, gamblers
Pickpockets, peddlers even panhandlers
You say: "I'm cool, I'm no fool!"
But then you wind up dropping out of high school
Now you're unemployed, all non-void
Walking 'round like you're Pretty Boy Floyd
Turned stickup kid, look what you've done did
Got sent up for a eight year bid
Now your manhood is took and you're a may tag
Spend the next two years as a undercover fag
Being used and abused to serve like hell
Till one day you was found hung dead in a cell
It was plain to see that your life was lost
You was cold and your body swung back and forth
But now your eyes sing the sad, sad song
Of how you lived so fast and died so young

Don't push me 'cause I'm close to the edge
I'm trying not to lose my head
It's like a jungle sometimes it makes me wonder how I keep from going under
It's like a jungle sometimes it makes me wonder how I keep from going under

Yo Mell, you see that girl there?
Yo, that sounded like Cowboy man
Cool
Yo, what's up Money?
Yo, where's Cooly an Raheim?
They is downstairs coooling out
So what's up for tonight y'all?
We could go down to Phoenix
We could go check out "Junebug" man
Hey yo, you know that girl Betty?
Yeah man
Come on, come all man
Not like it
That's what I heard man
What's this happening, what's this?
What's goin' on?
Freeze
Don't nobody move or nothin'
Y'all know what this is (What's happend?)
Get 'em up, get 'em up (What?)
Oh man, we're (Right in there) Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five
What is that, a gang?
No
Shut up
I don't wanna hear your mouth
Shut up
Officer, officer, what is the problem?
You the problem
Hey, you ain't gotta push me man
Get in the car, get in the car
Get in the god...
I said, "Get in the car"
Why is he?

[Elefantino]

Still an awesome song.

SURFIN' BIRD
(Frazier - White - Harris - Wilson)
THE TRASHMEN (GARRETT 4002, 1963)

A-well-a everybody's heard about the bird
B-b-b-bird, bird, bird, b-bird's the word
A-well-a bird, bird, bird, the bird is the word
A-well-a bird, bird, bird, well the bird is the word
A-well-a bird, bird, bird, b-bird's the word
A-well-a bird, bird, bird, well the bird is the word
A-well-a bird, bird, b-bird's the word
A-well-a bird, bird, bird, b-bird's the word
A-well-a bird, bird, bird, well the bird is the word
A-well-a bird, bird, b-bird's the word
A-well-a don't you know about the bird?
Well, everybody knows that the bird is the word!
A-well-a bird, bird, b-bird's the word
A-well-a...

A-well-a everybody's heard about the bird
Bird, bird, bird, b-bird's the word
A-well-a bird, bird, bird, b-bird's the word
A-well-a bird, bird, bird, b-bird's the word
A-well-a bird, bird, b-bird's the word
A-well-a bird, bird, bird, b-bird's the word
A-well-a bird, bird, bird, b-bird's the word
A-well-a bird, bird, bird, b-bird's the word
A-well-a bird, bird, bird, b-bird's the word
A-well-a don't you know about the bird?
Well, everybody's talking about the bird!
A-well-a bird, bird, b-bird's the word
A-well-a bird...

Surfin' bird
Bbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbbb... [retching noises]... aaah!

Pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-
Pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-pa-ooma-mow-mow
Papa-ooma-mow-mow

Papa-ooma-mow-mow, papa-ooma-mow-mow
Papa-ooma-mow-mow, papa-ooma-mow-mow
Ooma-mow-mow, papa-ooma-mow-mow
Papa-ooma-mow-mow, papa-ooma-mow-mow
Papa-ooma-mow-mow, papa-ooma-mow-mow
Oom-oom-oom-oom-ooma-mow-mow
Papa-ooma-mow-mow, papa-oom-oom-oom
Oom-ooma-mow-mow, papa-ooma-mow-mow
Ooma-mow-mow, papa-ooma-mow-mow
Papa-a-mow-mow, papa-ooma-mow-mow
Papa-ooma-mow-mow, ooma-mow-mow
Papa-ooma-mow-mow, ooma-mow-mow
Papa-oom-oom-oom-oom-ooma-mow-mow
Oom-oom-oom-oom-ooma-mow-mow
Ooma-mow-mow, papa-ooma-mow-mow
Papa-ooma-mow-mow, ooma-mow-mow
Well don't you know about the bird?
Well, everybody knows that the bird is the word!
A-well-a bird, bird, b-bird's the word

Papa-ooma-mow-mow, papa-ooma-mow-mow
[repeat to fade]
I have that album in vinyl! I was hoping it would put my kids through college, but alas...

No one has mentioned this classic from 1970:

The bigger the cushion, the sweeter the pushin
That's what I said.
The looser the waistband, the deeper the quicksand
Or so I have read.
My baby fits me like a flesh tuxedo.
I love to sink her with my pink torpedo.
Big bottom
Big bottom
Talk about bum cakes,
My gal's got 'em.

[PQJ]

To edumacate the sometimes (or willfully) ignorant:

Legacy
Bob Dylan is one of the most influential figures of the 20th century, musically and culturally. Dylan was included in the Time 100: The Most Important People of the Century where he was called "master poet, caustic social critic and intrepid, guiding spirit of the counterculture generation".[2] President Barack Obama said of Dylan in 2012, "There is not a bigger giant in the history of American music."[13] Biographer Howard Sounes placed him among the most exalted company when he said, "There are giant figures in art who are sublimely good—Mozart, Picasso, Frank Lloyd Wright, Shakespeare, Dickens. Dylan ranks alongside these artists."[341] Colin Larkin ranked Dylan at number two in his 'Top 50 Artists Of All Time', a ranking based on the cumulative votes for each artist’s albums that appear in Larkin's All Time Top 1000 Albums.[342]

Initially modeling his writing style on the songs of Woody Guthrie,[6] and lessons learned from the blues of Robert Johnson,[7] Dylan added increasingly sophisticated lyrical techniques to the folk music of the early 1960s, infusing it "with the intellectualism of classic literature and poetry".[343] Paul Simon suggested that Dylan's early compositions virtually took over the folk genre: "[Dylan's] early songs were very rich ... with strong melodies. 'Blowin' in the Wind' has a really strong melody. He so enlarged himself through the folk background that he incorporated it for a while. He defined the genre for a while."[344]

When Dylan made his move from acoustic music to a rock backing, the mix became more complex. For many critics, Dylan's greatest achievement was the cultural synthesis exemplified by his mid-1960s trilogy of albums—Bringing It All Back Home, Highway 61 Revisited and Blonde on Blonde. In Mike Marqusee's words: "Between late 1964 and the summer of 1966, Dylan created a body of work that remains unique. Drawing on folk, blues, country, R&B, rock'n'roll, gospel, British beat, symbolist, modernist and Beat poetry, surrealism and Dada, advertising jargon and social commentary, Fellini and Mad magazine, he forged a coherent and original artistic voice and vision. The beauty of these albums retains the power to shock and console."[345]

One legacy of Dylan's verbal sophistication was the increasing attention paid by literary critics to his lyrics. Professor Christopher Ricks published a 500-page analysis of Dylan's work, placing him in the context of Eliot, Keats and Tennyson,[346] and claiming that Dylan was a poet worthy of the same close analysis.[347] Former British poet laureate, Sir Andrew Motion, argued that Dylan's lyrics should be studied in schools.[348] Since 1996, academics have lobbied the Swedish Academy to award Dylan the Nobel Prize in Literature.[349][350][351][352]

Dylan's voice was, in some ways, as startling as his lyrics. New York Times critic Robert Shelton described Dylan's early vocal style as "a rusty voice suggesting Guthrie's old performances, etched in gravel like Dave Van Ronk's."[353] David Bowie, in his tribute, "Song for Bob Dylan", described Dylan's singing as "a voice like sand and glue". Dylan's voice continued to develop as he began to work with rock'n'roll backing bands; critic Michael Gray described the sound of Dylan's vocal on his hit single, "Like a Rolling Stone", as "at once young and jeeringly cynical".[354] As Dylan's voice aged during the 1980s, for some critics, it became more expressive. Christophe Lebold writes in the journal Oral Tradition, "Dylan's more recent broken voice enables him to present a world view at the sonic surface of the songs—this voice carries us across the landscape of a broken, fallen world. The anatomy of a broken world in "Everything is Broken" (on the album Oh Mercy) is but an example of how the thematic concern with all things broken is grounded in a concrete sonic reality."[355]

Dylan's influence has been felt in several musical genres. As Edna Gundersen stated in USA Today: "Dylan's musical DNA has informed nearly every simple twist of pop since 1962."[356] Many musicians have testified to Dylan's influence, such as Joe Strummer, who praised Dylan as having "laid down the template for lyric, tune, seriousness, spirituality, depth of rock music."[357] Other major musicians to have acknowledged Dylan's importance include John Lennon,[358] Paul McCartney,[359] Pete Townshend,[360] Neil Young,[361] Bruce Springsteen,[95] David Bowie,[362] Bryan Ferry,[363] Nick Cave,[364][365] Patti Smith,[366] Syd Barrett,[367] Cat Stevens,[368]Joni Mitchell,[369] and Tom Waits.[370] More directly, both The Byrds and The Band, two 1960s contemporary groups with some measure of influence on popular music themselves, largely owed their initial success to Dylan: the Byrds with their hit of "Mr. Tambourine Man" and subsequent album; and The Band for their association with him on tour in 1966, on retreat in Woodstock, and on their debut album featuring three previously unreleased Dylan songs.

Some critics have dissented from the view of Dylan as a visionary figure in popular music. In his book Awopbopaloobop Alopbamboom, Nik Cohn objected: "I can't take the vision of Dylan as seer, as teenage messiah, as everything else he's been worshipped as. The way I see him, he's a minor talent with a major gift for self-hype."[371] Similarly, Australian critic Jack Marx credited Dylan with changing the persona of the rock star: "What cannot be disputed is that Dylan invented the arrogant, faux-cerebral posturing that has been the dominant style in rock since, with everyone from Mick Jagger to Eminem educating themselves from the Dylan handbook."[372] Joni Mitchell described Dylan as a "plagiarist" and his voice as "fake" in a 2010 interview in the Los Angeles Times, in response to a suggestion that she and Dylan were similar since they had both changed their birthnames.[373][374] Mitchell's comment led to discussions of Dylan's use of other people's material, both supporting and criticizing Dylan.[375]

If Bob Dylan's legacy in the 1960s was seen as bringing intellectual ambition to popular music, now that he has passed the age of 70, he has been described as a figure who has greatly expanded the folk culture from which he initially emerged. As J. Hoberman wrote in The Village Voice, "Elvis might never have been born, but someone else would surely have brought the world rock 'n' roll. No such logic accounts for Bob Dylan. No iron law of history demanded that a would-be Elvis from Hibbing, Minnesota, would swerve through the Greenwich Village folk revival to become the world's first and greatest rock 'n' roll beatnik bard and then—having achieved fame and adoration beyond reckoning—vanish into a folk tradition of his own making."[376]

From: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bob_Dylan#Legacy

[FlashUNC]

I always thought Lieber & Stoller had a greater influence on the course of rock n' roll.

But that's just one man's opinion.

[vav]

:confused:





.


Apparently so: http://news.yahoo.com/pop-music-sounds-same-nowadays-171714762.html