Musicians Who Can Sing—and Write
Beards, they're good.
Whenever I listen to music, I can’t help focusing on lyrics. Sure, I love guitar riffs and drums and the occasional accordion, but when it comes to music, I tend to favor writing and lyrics.
There are all sorts of exceptions to this—bad lyrics aren’t a death knell, not everything has to be deep—it’s just that the bands that I associate most strongly with tend to feature lyrics that I consider well-wrought.
This means that there are certain bands I hate. Top 40 hits aren’t exactly rife with fine writing, and for the record, I despise you, Timbaland, and your idiotic “The Way I Are.”
Anyway, so for your consideration, here’s my list of musicians that I think can write. Most of the folks I’ll mention are pretty recent:
Iron and Wine (the lead singer is pictured above). A damn fine writer, and in my opinion, the best singer/songwriter of his generation. See also, everything he’s every done.
Elliott Smith. Yes, he’s depressing. God, is he depressing. But he’s talented, and his voice is so airy and the writing’s so good, it’s worth it. He’s one of the few singers I can listen any day of the year for hours on end. (In a lot of respects, he reminds me of Plath.) My favorites: Between the Bars and St. Ides Heaven.
Midlake. I don’t know what to make of Midlake’s oddly old-school narrative lyrics, but I love them. (It feels like their lyrics are straight out of the pioneer days.) Their last two albums (The Trials of Von Occupanther and The Courage of Others) remind me of Faulkner, in that they invented this whole weird world and have stuck with it. My favorites: Roscoe and Children of the Ground.
Built to Spill. Their writing isn’t complicated, but it’s good. I’m particularly fond of their latest effort, There is No Enemy and my favorite track, Things Fall Apart. (I love the Yeats shout-out, but I’ve got to say I hate Yeats rips-offs otherwise. Chinua Achebe, I’m looking at you.)
Kristin Hersh. Her voice takes getting used to (she sounds like a cartoon character at first), but her writing is weird and totally unexpected. My favorites: Gazebo Tree and Me and My Charms.
A.A. Bondy. His writing stumbles at times, but he’s got great songs—Mercy Wheel and A Slow Parade both come to mind.
Atmosphere. He was my first exposure to indie rap—and Running with Scissors and Hungry Fuck are still two of my favorites.
David Bazan. I don’t know if it’s the lapsed-Catholic in me, but I love his new solo album, Curse Your Branches. My favorite song—at my favorite bar, the Turf Club in St. Paul!—Hard to Be.
Hack writers/musicians that I love:
Peter Gabriel (I know, I know…)
The National (I’m sorry, but some of the writing is godawful. The band still wins, however. Then again, I like Peter Gabriel, so like I should talk about good writing.)
Hacks writers that I hate:
Tom Waits (I’ve tried, but no dice.)
OK, so do lyrics matter to you as much as they do to me? Or am I just a crazy person? If you’re looking for good writing, which musicians do you listen to?
Jonathan Coulton. I saw him opening at a They Might Be Giants concert and became an instant fan. A few years ago, he did a project called Thing a Week, where he wrote and recorded a song a week (with an occasional cover) for over a year.
http://www.jonathancoulton.com/
A Talk With George – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tf_x-80gJ6Q
Skullcrusher Mountain – http://blip.tv/file/913262/
First of May – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5aN1MczurSc (Bonus! Sweet Caroline cover)
Tom Waits and Peter Gabriel are the only people on this list I’ve knowingly heard even a single song by. That’s how old I am.
And Tom Waits writes good lyrics, Brett. You’ll see. When you get older.
I like Elliott Smith, too. Line’s like, “Don’t be cross; it’s sick I want,” from “Christian Brothers” or “You’re a crisis, you’re an icicle, you’re a tongueless talker,” from “Last Call” feel like great lines to me — but only within the context of the music. They’re not as strong on the page. I love the Bongwater line, “You fill me with inertia,” from “Bedazzled.” I think Stephen Malkmus from Pavement is a good writer. What about Dylan? Beck can be really funny. Kim Deal writes good lines for The Breeders. Lou Reed’s written good stuff. I especially like his album New York. I like some of Perry Farrell’s stuff with Jane’s Addiction. Sonic Youth lines often seem strong to me, or wrenching, like when Kim Gordon’s sort of moaning, “All the money’s gone,” in “Massage the History,” but whenever I see lyrics printed out, they just don’t do much for me. And they don’t have to. They’re not really for the page. The words are doing something within the sound of the music that’s different from words on a page. I sort of hate finding out actual lyrics. The way I mishear them is almost always more interesting.
Yeah, I love Dylan, but I left him out on purpose as I wanted to focus on newer stuff.
I know what you’re saying about finding out the actual lyrics; sometimes it can be a real disappointment. But when they stand up on their own it’s a nice feeling too.
Ducks,
b
Great picks, man. And seriously, when I listen to Midlake, I always see thatch-roofed huts and ox-driven carts; I’m glad I’m not the only one. Their lyrics are incredible.
Neutral Milk Hotel, Cursive, Mineral, and Mountain Goats would make my list as well. Probably The Decemberists, too.
I love love love Neutral Milk Hotel and the Mountain Goats. John Darnielle and Jeff Magnum win, hands-down.
Iron & Wine is a big one for me. That new cd that just came out, Around the Well, is a really good example of his awesome song writing.
I also like Sufjan Stevens. And Neko Case. She’s got some pretty twisted stories in her songs, but they sound so tame and pretty when she sings them.
Let’s not forget Eminem.