Worst prog lyricists |
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Hrychu
Forum Senior Member Joined: November 03 2013 Location: poland? Status: Online Points: 5348 |
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Posted: November 11 2024 at 08:23 |
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Hey! There have been a couple of "best" or "favorite" prog lyricist thread. But now, let's talk about our least favorite lyricists in progressive rock for a change. List your picks and include 'samples' of their worst lyric writing. Alright. I'll go first.
5. Jon Anderson Cast off your garments of fear, replace them with love Most of all play with the game of the age Highest of places remain all as one with you Giving us light and the freedom of the day And if that firelight, I could match the inner flame Sacred ships do sail the seventh age 4. Neal Morse No, no - no corporate ladder No hometown parade The fat cats just keep getting fatter What does it matter 3. Ronald Brand Noise replaces calmness now Cramed is the tube Sweet smells of industry Breathe the society 2. Patrick Dubuis At king, at king together now ! Death to, death to, the tyrant ! We'll kill the king and his thieves with him ! No chance, no one will escape. Come on against the tyrant ! We'll kill the king and his thieves with him ! 1. Roine Stolt Here she comes again, smiling like a horse |
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“On the day of my creation, I fell in love with education. And overcoming all frustration, a teacher I became.”
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moshkito
Forum Senior Member Joined: January 04 2007 Location: Grok City Status: Offline Points: 17487 |
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Hi,
This is really tough ... I tend to the odd stuff and more experimental, and in that material, the "lyrics" are often a joke, and just a bunch of letters and reminds me of Eno/DBowie way back when putting up what we call 52 pickup ... throwing the card deck up in the air and where it lands, so it is!!! ... and there were a lot of lyrics done by many folks that defy any ideas. I always loved that stuff, because we were all way too inclined to follow the religiosity in the book for its "meaning" ... with total disregard to the fact that these were translations that had been corrupted for years to create an imaginary world for us to believe in ... and guess what is happening here? I'm not sure that there is/are enough "poets" out there that write stuff and all of it is special ... I'm partial to folks like Roy Harper, where the wording is special a lot of the time ... but that is not something that is appreciated by people that think "meaning" is important ... in the end, it isn't, I never thought ... but a well placed lyric or set of words will always stand up ... and it all kinda becomes a sort of Prufrock ... women, come and go thinking of Michelangelo ... and we do the same thing! Some think that Peter Hammill is another one way out there ... but his ability is endless and his images are well done, however personal ... genuflection in church ... so to speak ... and some folks don't like it and don't think of it as poetry, or lyrics. Bob Dylan is another ... I think he cares more for the poetry side of it than he does the meaning, knowing that tomorrow he is going to say and sing it differently ... the same song! Likewise, how do we explain that folks loved Can with Damo, and he had no lyrics ... he was not about lyrics per se ... but the sounds and feelings that came through added something to the music that was neat. BUT, we forget that at the time, there was a HUGE theatrical element experimenting with sound and voice in the theater, and how far to take it ... to make it "real", if possible. But for that to happen we had to throw away the ideas about "meaning", and that is something that we feel we need, and in reality, we don't. We have enough for ourselves in our lives as it is.
Edited by moshkito - November 11 2024 at 18:54 |
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Hrychu
Forum Senior Member Joined: November 03 2013 Location: poland? Status: Online Points: 5348 |
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I mean. It's not the first time you COMPLETELY ignore the general idea of a forum topic and instead write some vanilla commentary semi-realated to it. http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=133744 http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=133761 Edited by Hrychu - November 12 2024 at 02:59 |
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“On the day of my creation, I fell in love with education. And overcoming all frustration, a teacher I became.”
— Ernest Vong |
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moshkito
Forum Senior Member Joined: January 04 2007 Location: Grok City Status: Offline Points: 17487 |
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Hi, I'm not sure that you are getting the gist of what I'm saying. There is no such thing as good or bad in lyrics, though we might think that some things don't seem right ... any actor KNOWS that one word can be said in 100 different ways, and something written this way or that would likely sound great sung this way, and horrible that way and we would say the lyrics were bad. And these days, with the Internet, it is even "worse" ... in earlier days we had what was thought of as education, and then literature, and since then it's like ... it doesn't matter ... it's just weird to think that Neal Morse or anyone listed is about bad prog lyrics ... they would not be doing their work if they did not believe in what they do and how. And "prog" is not the worst offender, if there is such a thing ... I would imagine that yummy yummy I got love in my tummy is really bad ... and almost 60 years old, too! Heck some folks find Chuck Berry lyrics offensive, though you're going to say it's not prog.
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Music is not just for listening ... it is for LIVING ... you got to feel it to know what's it about! Not being told!
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richardh
Prog Reviewer Joined: February 18 2004 Location: United Kingdom Status: Offline Points: 27956 |
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Lyricists in prog often just stick in a bunch of interesting words that scan well with the music. I have no problem with that at all. Peter Nicholls of IQ is a good example of that and I'm sure you could put a whole bunch of his stuff on this thread. Greg Lake has often been criticised as well. The silly lyrics of Karn Evil 9 Part One might not go down well for many. For me though the music itself is much more important.
BTW In general I'm against negative threads. They are divisive and hopefully this will be shut down.
Edited by richardh - November 11 2024 at 21:47 |
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The Dark Elf
Forum Senior Member VIP Member Joined: February 01 2011 Location: Michigan Status: Offline Points: 13049 |
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Come on, Mosh -- whatever your "gist" is, I would suggest that you don't even believe in this simplistic notion. There are certainly good and bad lyrics (hell, even horrifically awful lyrics), just as there are good, great and utterly trash novels -- or plays, for that matter. Given your dilettantish adherence to high-art principles, I find your statement at odds with your constant bashing of music you deem inferior. It seems to be downright hypocritical. |
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Hrychu
Forum Senior Member Joined: November 03 2013 Location: poland? Status: Online Points: 5348 |
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Peter Nicholls is very polarizing. I personally consider him one of the greatest lyricists in prog. He normally avoids the cringeworthy "moon in June" (heart/apart) rhymes, and uses linguistic surrealism to his advantage. I see the complaints about his lyrics being too "word salad-y" and "not making sense" as absolutely valid though. It's a bit like expressionist art. Also, to me, what sets Nicholls' lyrics way higher than Jon Anderson's in terms of quality is the style. Jon Anderson's lyrics just look so obviously random and 'disguised amateurish' in contrast. It's a bit like comparing Pablo Picasso's abstract pieces to a 5 year old's scribbles.
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“On the day of my creation, I fell in love with education. And overcoming all frustration, a teacher I became.”
— Ernest Vong |
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Saperlipopette!
Forum Senior Member Joined: December 20 2010 Location: Tomorrowland Status: Offline Points: 11589 |
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Ok, while I'm here: I listen to everything and even check out newer popular music (even songs in the actual charts), so my impression is that there's far more awful lyrics written than good nowadays. None of the worst offenders create anything resembling Prog though. -on topic: the short period I was getting into - or rather trying to get into Porcupine Tree, I often found Steven Wilsons lyrics very on the nose and sometimes genuinely cringeworthy. But he also has his moments where music and lyrics go perfectly together. So I guess I find him uneven and not plain bad as such. I never became the biggest fan, but I still enjoy some of PT's music nevertheless. If the lyricist isn't a native speaker of english - like myself, I'm usually very forgiving. I don't mind a little clumsiness - or vocalists like Damo Suzuki - who seem to be mainly just playing with words. Vocalists that rub me the wrong way are much worse than bad lyricism. |
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Hrychu
Forum Senior Member Joined: November 03 2013 Location: poland? Status: Online Points: 5348 |
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Moshkito. You need to practice Logorrhea management real bad. It's not really criticism, more like a friendly advice.
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“On the day of my creation, I fell in love with education. And overcoming all frustration, a teacher I became.”
— Ernest Vong |
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moshkito
Forum Senior Member Joined: January 04 2007 Location: Grok City Status: Offline Points: 17487 |
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Hi,
It's a real shame that some of you can only imagine that this is all some idealistic concept of mine about high-art, or better yet ... internet art! For the longest time, up until the Internet age not everything was "known" and there seemed to be a distinction between the artistic stuff (as defined by academia more or less) and the rest ... today, there is no such thing, and honestly, I'm glad of it ... but some folks still go around thinking that the "high art" stuff is not as important as some of the other crap ... I'm don't think of it that way ... what might be considered "high art" by some of the folks here, is not me! Lyrics, like a lot of literature, are gloriously illusive ... and folks here are not happy with someone saying something they do not agree with because it is not the popular ash kissing sentiment ... not to mention that tomorrow's expression will be totally different and a new "art" form. One could even suggest some of these folks are experimenting with words to add to their music in some cases.
Edited by moshkito - November 12 2024 at 04:34 |
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Music is not just for listening ... it is for LIVING ... you got to feel it to know what's it about! Not being told!
www.pedrosena.com |
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Cristi
Special Collaborator Crossover / Prog Metal Teams Joined: July 27 2006 Location: wonderland Status: Offline Points: 43510 |
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You are the most illusive though, despite your long posts. Can you be on topic for once and be on point?!
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Starshiper
Forum Senior Member Joined: September 08 2024 Location: Englantic Status: Offline Points: 407 |
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Cristi
Special Collaborator Crossover / Prog Metal Teams Joined: July 27 2006 Location: wonderland Status: Offline Points: 43510 |
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Foolish?! Bad lyrics can ruin the listening experience no matter the genre. it's no different with prog. And Yes lyrics are problematic, half of the time people don't know what they mean . Even the lyrics above fall in this category.
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Starshiper
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octopus-4
Special Collaborator RIO/Avant/Zeuhl,Neo & Post/Math Teams Joined: October 31 2006 Location: Italy Status: Offline Points: 14069 |
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A movement is accomplished in six stages and the seventh brings return seven is the number of the young light it falls when darkness is increased by one It might be as uncomprehensible as some of Jon's lyrics, until you realize that Syd is talking about the "I Ching"
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I stand with Roger Waters, I stand with Joan Baez, I stand with Victor Jara, I stand with Woody Guthrie. Music is revolution
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Cristi
Special Collaborator Crossover / Prog Metal Teams Joined: July 27 2006 Location: wonderland Status: Offline Points: 43510 |
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You don't have to get all sarcastic and rude because someone disagrees with you. I agree with hrychu here, i think the Madrigal lyrics are not good. |
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Hrychu
Forum Senior Member Joined: November 03 2013 Location: poland? Status: Online Points: 5348 |
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For the record, Madrigal is my #1 favorite track on Tormato. Except for the nonsense lyrics. I mean, "seventh age"? Like, why is that specific era significant for those "sacred ships" to sail? Is it the same thing as the "Golden Age" mentioned earlier in the song? Is it something else? Man, Jon Anderson must've been tripping hard.
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“On the day of my creation, I fell in love with education. And overcoming all frustration, a teacher I became.”
— Ernest Vong |
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Saperlipopette!
Forum Senior Member Joined: December 20 2010 Location: Tomorrowland Status: Offline Points: 11589 |
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Think you the sh*t, bitch? You not even the fart (Grrah) I be goin' hard (Grrah) I'm breakin' they hearts, like Bitches be quick, but I'm quicker (Like) Bitches be thick, but I'm thicker (Like) She could be rich, but I'm richer (Damn) -I know we all look very small from up there on your high horse. But maybe you should try and get down from it. |
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Hrychu
Forum Senior Member Joined: November 03 2013 Location: poland? Status: Online Points: 5348 |
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Old pop in an oak, pop in an oak Once you could hear the older sucker lingo show Thought I ever gonna see my old pop in an oak Ever gonna see his old pipe in a smoke |
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“On the day of my creation, I fell in love with education. And overcoming all frustration, a teacher I became.”
— Ernest Vong |
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Grumpyprogfan
Forum Senior Member Joined: July 09 2019 Location: Kansas City Status: Offline Points: 11553 |
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^^In the PA forum rules it states personal insults are not allowed. Or does that apply to only certain members?
Edited by Grumpyprogfan - November 12 2024 at 06:50 |
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