Just a little post here. Does anyone feel that the level of songwriting in general is falling? I was kind of thinking of the music scene in Singapore these days and i find a huge disappointment in the listening habits of many musicians. Honestly, from reading the forums and from meeting many musicians in Singapore, i hear many comments like "**** is the best band. The drummer's double bass non-stop, the guitar playing double tapping, notes going like 240 bpm, bassist harmonics all over and the singer's range is amazing." How many posts have you all seen on soft.com which says something like all those (or begs for people to teach them all that)!
Personally, i feel little for such bands. If a song says nothing, i feel nothing towards the music or song. And definitely, the songwriting does a lot. These days lyrics are so direct, they might as well spell out every letter for you. (yup. just like the children's song a-b-c-d....)
Here's a little comparison of three great bands which i like and three contrasting lyrics.
e.g of a good love song lyric
Yellow - Coldplay
"You're skin, oh yeah you're skin and bones,
turned into something beautiful.
You know, you know i love you so"
Not too indirect, but lovely all the same.
e.g. bad love song lyric
Southern Girl - Incubus
"We'll behave like animals
Swing from tree to tree
We can do anything
That turns you up and sets you free"
Not very VERY bad but the line "We'll behave like animals swing from tree to tree" makes me want to puke... or at least not listen to this song! The rhyme also seems forced... tree and free... *suppressed smile*
and here's another
Miss you love - silverchair
"I'm not, not sure. Not to sure how it feels
to handle everyday. And i miss you love"
Sounds like another typical love song? But no. Actually its an anti-love song. For further description of the song... goto www.silverchair.nu. This would probably be an example of a very subtle lyric which has a great feel when read in context.
Of course, not every musician is out to send a message or is as admittedly uptight about songs have meaning like me. But i always feel that songs were written to tell people a story or message and i personally set this standard for myself... else, why would i want to listen to a song which tells me nothing but teaches me technique? Shouldn't i just go to a teacher if i wanted that? or a jam track? I've also heard comments that there's no market for such music anymore cos everyone just wants to sing a long and no one actually wants to analyse lyrics... comments?
Just wondering if there's any like minded musicians in Singapore out there. I've heard Tiramisu, and i think they are one of the bands in Singapore who are actually trying to say something with a subtle message (e.g. take over the world). Ronin... alright. But i consider them trying a little too hard. (I'm not bashing them) I feel Electrico is really one band which managed to mix the two together, and create pop friendly yet sophisticated lyrics (e.g. fabled angst machine) though not all their songs do that.
Personally, i feel annoyed with lousy songwriting these days. The worse thing is everyone seems to be accepting this! For example, i'll never listen to something like dreamtheatre for a long time cos i can't feel anything! Except maybe for the great musicianship involved.
Therefore to sum up this mini-article of mine. Here's some great bands, with great lyrics and great songs.
1. Nirvana
2. Silverchair (neon ballroom onward is more sophisticated and the better of the lot. Diorama especially!)
3. Coldplay (friendly... X n Y was a bit disappointing. Chris Martin really forced many lines together)
4. Radiohead (psychedelic stuff)
5. Smashing Pumpkins (very difficult stuff here!)
6. Rage Against the Machine or System of the Down (political messages)
Well... i think Kurt Cobain (one of the greatest songwriters and i would say musicians of all time) summed it up best in "In Bloom"
"Here's a world who likes all our pretty songs
and they like to sing a long and they like to shoot his guns
but they dont' know what it means when i sing"
My two cents. I look forward to hearing all the views from the softees!
Personally, i feel little for such bands. If a song says nothing, i feel nothing towards the music or song. And definitely, the songwriting does a lot. These days lyrics are so direct, they might as well spell out every letter for you. (yup. just like the children's song a-b-c-d....)
Here's a little comparison of three great bands which i like and three contrasting lyrics.
e.g of a good love song lyric
Yellow - Coldplay
"You're skin, oh yeah you're skin and bones,
turned into something beautiful.
You know, you know i love you so"
Not too indirect, but lovely all the same.
e.g. bad love song lyric
Southern Girl - Incubus
"We'll behave like animals
Swing from tree to tree
We can do anything
That turns you up and sets you free"
Not very VERY bad but the line "We'll behave like animals swing from tree to tree" makes me want to puke... or at least not listen to this song! The rhyme also seems forced... tree and free... *suppressed smile*
and here's another
Miss you love - silverchair
"I'm not, not sure. Not to sure how it feels
to handle everyday. And i miss you love"
Sounds like another typical love song? But no. Actually its an anti-love song. For further description of the song... goto www.silverchair.nu. This would probably be an example of a very subtle lyric which has a great feel when read in context.
Of course, not every musician is out to send a message or is as admittedly uptight about songs have meaning like me. But i always feel that songs were written to tell people a story or message and i personally set this standard for myself... else, why would i want to listen to a song which tells me nothing but teaches me technique? Shouldn't i just go to a teacher if i wanted that? or a jam track? I've also heard comments that there's no market for such music anymore cos everyone just wants to sing a long and no one actually wants to analyse lyrics... comments?
Just wondering if there's any like minded musicians in Singapore out there. I've heard Tiramisu, and i think they are one of the bands in Singapore who are actually trying to say something with a subtle message (e.g. take over the world). Ronin... alright. But i consider them trying a little too hard. (I'm not bashing them) I feel Electrico is really one band which managed to mix the two together, and create pop friendly yet sophisticated lyrics (e.g. fabled angst machine) though not all their songs do that.
Personally, i feel annoyed with lousy songwriting these days. The worse thing is everyone seems to be accepting this! For example, i'll never listen to something like dreamtheatre for a long time cos i can't feel anything! Except maybe for the great musicianship involved.
Therefore to sum up this mini-article of mine. Here's some great bands, with great lyrics and great songs.
1. Nirvana
2. Silverchair (neon ballroom onward is more sophisticated and the better of the lot. Diorama especially!)
3. Coldplay (friendly... X n Y was a bit disappointing. Chris Martin really forced many lines together)
4. Radiohead (psychedelic stuff)
5. Smashing Pumpkins (very difficult stuff here!)
6. Rage Against the Machine or System of the Down (political messages)
Well... i think Kurt Cobain (one of the greatest songwriters and i would say musicians of all time) summed it up best in "In Bloom"
"Here's a world who likes all our pretty songs
and they like to sing a long and they like to shoot his guns
but they dont' know what it means when i sing"
My two cents. I look forward to hearing all the views from the softees!
it's not easy to write a good song. and song lyrics very often can be meaningful if you don't limit your scope just to rock songs and alt rock like GnR and Coldplay. Michelle Branch and Dido songs are good too, for example. Drops of Jupiter by Train is not bad. The Beatles had plenty of meaning to their songs. The only band I've ever come across whose songs have close to no meaning is Simple Plan and certain other pop-punk bands.