posted
I must concur that Lennon and McCartney were the best composers of contemporary songs of our time. The Beatle's music collection is almost 40 years old and it still has a significant impact on current music trends. Their songs have been covered more than any other. Their songs were both experimental and accessable, and timeless. My grandparents (who are 80) enjoy most of the same Beatle tunes that my 10 year old son does. No body of work of any other pair of contemporary song writers have maintained such broad appeal for such a long period of time.
Posts: 157 | Registered: Apr 2005
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posted
I'm glad Alcon said it, so I won't feel like such a dork but I do adore the Barenaked Ladies. I've always been a sucker for good lyrical writing and their use of imagery and irony is perfect for my tastes.
To answer Alcon though, with most Barenaked Ladies songs whoever sings lead vocal is usually the original writer though there's alot of collaboration with other members of the band when fine-tuning the song. There are some exceptions, for example, on the latest album the song "Sound of Your Voice" was written by keyboardist Kevin Hearn who did sing it originally before it was passed to Steven Page to provide vocals. Steven and Ed Robertson are the biggest contributors when it comes to song-writing, followed by Kevin Hearn (who has such an unusual style), followed by bassist Jim Creegan who recently wrote the beautiful "Peterbourough and the Kwarthas." Tyler Stewart the drummer brings up the back providing beats for wayward songs.
posted
I am surprised Leonard Cohen is not here yet..... He is now. "Suzanne" and "Hallelujah" are masterpieces. John Stewart is more obscure than Cohen, but also more talented. Don Mclean has only written a few good songs, but how good they were!
Posts: 1332 | Registered: Apr 2005
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posted
Umm Primal, very few of the people nominated have been obscure at all. Perhaps you're unfamiliar with the names of the song writers that go with the famous bands they hail from, or the hits they have written?
Nas, I have to dispute. I mean, the quality of the songs aren't in doubt, but the actual quality of the songs doesn't hail from his songwriting ability (which is IMHO, relatively generic), but rather from his absurdly skilful flow. Perhaps a better candidate would be The Fugees, or The Roots?
Posts: 122 | Registered: Feb 2003
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