Paste's 100 Best Living Songwriters
Another list to argue about! But this one should result in a heck of a lot less eye-rolling. Paste Magazine invited fifty journalists and musicians to compile...
100 Best Living SongwritersNice to see a "best of" list that salutes P.E. and John Darnielle (and not Noel Gallagher!). Perhaps the first time Tom Waits has ever been ranked at #4? I'm sure you'll let us know who they missed. The annual Songwriter's Hall Of Fame takes place 6/15.
1. Bob Dylan
2. Neil Young
3. Bruce Springsteen
4. Waits/Brennan
5. Paul McCartney
6. Leonard Cohen
7. Brian Wilson
8. Elvis Costello
9. Joni Mitchell
10. Prince
11. Randy Newman
12. Jagger/Richards
13. Paul Simon
14. Stevie Wonder
15. Willie Nelson
16. David Bowie
17. Holland/Dozier/Holland
18. U2
19. Patty Griffin
20. Van Morrison
21. Lou Reed
22. Lucinda Williams
23. John/Taupin
24. Jeff Tweedy
25. Chuck Berry
26. R.E.M.
27. Radiohead
28. Robbie Robertson
29. Tom Petty
30. John Prine
31. Carole King
32. Leiber/Stoller
33. Pete Townshend
34. John Fogerty
35. Steve Earle
36. Beck
37. Smokey Robinson
38. Kris Kristofferson
39. Led Zeppelin
40. Bacharach/David
41. Ray Davies
42. Loretta Lynn
43. Ryan Adams
44. Al Green
45. Jackson Browne
46. David Byrne
47. Sufjan Stevens
48. Welch/Rawlings
49. Cat Stevens
50. Public Enemy
51. Penn/Oldham
52. Paul Westerberg
53. James Taylor
54. Aimee Mann
55. Dolly Parton
56. James Brown
57. Morrissey
58. Sly Stone
59. Jack White
60. Jimmy Webb
61. John Hiatt
62. Sting
63. Richard Thompson
64. Andy Partridge
65. Bill Mallonee
66. Charles Thompson
67. Conor Oberst
68. Allen Toussaint
69. Merle Haggard
70. Alex Chilton
71. Vic Chesnutt
72. Michael Jackson
73. Julie Miller
74. Over the Rhine
75. Ron Sexsmith
76. Will Oldham
77. Bruce Cockburn
78. Robert Pollard
79. Stephen Malkmus
80. Pink Floyd
81. The Flaming Lips
82. John Darnielle
83. Fleetwood Mac
84. They Might Be Giants
85. David Bazan
86. Sam Beam
87. Lyle Lovett
88. Parliament
89. Victoria Williams
90. Nick Cave
91. Drive-By Truckers
92. Alejandro Escovedo
93. Joseph Arthur
94. Sam Phillips
95. Patti Smith
96. Jimmy Cliff
97. Josh Ritter
98. Jay Farrar
99. Outkast
100. T. Bone Burnett
Posted at 4:59 PM
Tags: Bob Dylan
No Robert Smith? Not even on Friday?
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randy newman is the 11th best songwriter in the ninth circle of hell
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....accepting the award for Bob Dylan (circa 1990's) is Dan Bern.
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yeah, sam. Robert Smith is a pretty glaring omission. And Connor Oberst over Pink Floyd and Nick Cave??? Good list though.
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sufjan at 47!
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Sam Beam needs to be a higher. And I love The Band (hence my name), but Robbie Robertson was good for about 3 records before his songwriting became a total joke. He should be on the list, but definitely not at #28. Richard Manuel was just as good as Robbie, for the songs he wrote... it's just a shame he gave up writing.
I'm glad Bob and Neil are at the top.
No Nick Drake though? No George Harrison??
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nick drake is dead.
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i was happy to see robbie robertson on there (and at a pretty good position).
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Drake and Harrison are dead. Tool.
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No John Lennon???
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Oh, whoops.
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I am shocked! I can't believe that they neglected to include blahblahblahblah snooooozzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz...
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Outkast made the list but rufus wainwright didn't???? I'm appalled!
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this list sucks balls!! where is Noel Gallagher!?!!
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billy corgan is still alive right?
hopefully he would be #101
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No Aphex Twin?!
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And why is Pink Floyd #80?!
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not that im a big fan, but where's Bacharach? They got Kristoffersson in but not Burt?
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RAKIM
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People who only know Randy Newman from "Short People," "I Love L.A." and his Pixar soundtracks really need to listen to Good Old Boys and Sail Away.
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Burt's at #40, which I think is too late. As lame as the Idol finale was ... I'm always floored by being reminded of all his great songs.
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Sufjan beat out Cat by 2 spots. Hah!
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List has no Billy Bragg. Thus, list is no good.
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There is no way that Sufjan is a better writer than Patti Smith, who should have been put up higher.
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no eddie vedder or noel gallagher?
who have written some of the greatest tunes of our generation............
paul weller?
tim burgees, (charlatans) has amazing lyrics?
billy bragg?
shite list.
flaming lips blow...
beck overrated,
they might be giants.....
jesus, catch them is some dodgy club infront of maybe 200 old indie kids.....
ya... there lyrics have really got them somewhere!
oasis and pearl jam can fill a stadium anywhere in the world..... and there lyrics mean something to people!
shite.
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morrissey at 57? as i write this he's on jools holland, performing with a sampled backing track. boo hiss.
what no jimmy pursey etc etc
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Based on career output, it's really hard to argue with anything on this list (but if we're going Brill Building, where's Neil Diamond?) My problem is that the majority of these guys/gals are WAAAAAAAAAAY past their prime. By like 20 years.
Honestly, when was the last time anyone in the Top 10 (or 20) wrote a truly compelling song?
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What about Willie Nelson? He wrote "Crazy" for pete's sake! Burt Bacharach was robbed, too. And Neil Diamond. As big as a Cure-head as I was in high school, I would let Robert continue to be robbed in favor of Willie or Burt.
Yay for Loretta and Dolly getting their propers.
Pretty good and genre-diverse list overall, though.
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whither mike skinner?
he just mashed up pussycat dolls live on top of the pops.....
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#1 and #2 make sense. the rest is utter garbage.
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BILLY JOEL?
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"no eddie vedder or noel gallagher?
who have written some of the greatest tunes of our generation............"
Is that true?
. . . Christ, our generation sucks.
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Jeff Mangum's not on this list, and Connor Oberst and is? That makes a lot of sense.
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This list is immediately invalidated by the exclusion of Brian Eno
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MICHAEL JACKSON = YES
BILLY BRAGG = NO
FUCK YOU!
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Did Michael Jackson even write his signature tunes?
And Sufjan Stevens above Cat Stevens?
Have we gone mad?
And Steven Malkmus over Pink Floyd!?!?!?!
I mean seriously... Cut Your Hair vs. Money ... Come on now!
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no difford/tillbrook? what is this world coming to?
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No Nick Lowe?? Is Fleetwood Mac or Led Zep a songwriter? It's impressive that pseudo-hipsters would even know who Bruce Cockburn (#77) is.
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Where's Ian McCulloch (Echo & the Bunnymen?)
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how did ani difranco not make the list??? i was expecting her to be in the top ten.
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Paul The ex-beatle, Brian Wilson and Dylan should all be top three, i don't know what order, but those 3 should occupy it.
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Uh........
Stuart Murdoch!
WTF.
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NO EDDIE VEDDER or PEARL JAM???
That list blows...Vedder IS the best rock songwriter alive today...
Drive by truckers???
Morrissey????
The Flaming Lips????
Jack White????
WTF
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I thought Rhett Miller belonged on there.
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Wow, it's like re-living our conference room arguments of two months ago...
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how do they define songwriter? lyrics? melody? unless it's clearly defined, the list is bullshit.
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Where is Rufus Wainwright ?! That is what this list is missing !
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everyone will jump on me for this, but i'm glad to see ryan adams in the top 50. i think he deserves it. not everything he puts out is ace, but from a songwriter perspective - i assume that means a complete song: lyrics, melody, instrumentation, all working together to form a cohesive, singular unit - his best work ranks among the best pop songs out there. 'love is hell' and 'heartbreaker' are two of the best americana records ever.
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Although I am not an editor or contributor to Paste magazine, and while I acknowledge that this list is the subjective work of those who are, I still can't understand why ________ was not included. Also ______!!! And why was #7 not #12, and vice versa? And why in the name of God was # 42.5 not Billy Joel or, at the very least, David Nichtern?? I mean, isn't David Nichtern still alive? Could it be that my individual personal preferences were not taken into account when this list was made by other people?
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Bah! I throw in a third for "Where's Rufus Wainwright?!" Elton John said he's "the best songwrighter on the planet at the moment!" That has to mean SOMETHING!
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oh shit... i just noted bruce cockburn on there. great to see him get some props. canucks rejoice!
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"And Stephen Malkmus over Pink Floyd?!"
Yes. Because he's a better songwriter. I mean his solo career's shit, and so were the last 2 Pavement albums, but he wrote "Here" and "Fillmore Jive" and "Conduit For Sale!" and "In the Mouth a Desert" and "Kennel District" and "Half a Canyon" and "Silence Kit" and "Stop Breathing" and also, Pink Floyd was not really any good, if you think about it. Malkmus on the other hand deserves to be in the top 10. At least higher than fucking Bright Eyes.
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STEELY DAN
STEELY DAN
STEELY DAN
STEELY DAN
Fagen/Becker should be in the Top 50, easy
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Anyone else bothered that Pink Floyd is so low? And why isn't Roger Waters on his own?
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conor oberst should have been alot farther up the list as well as pink floyd and beck. and why is michel jaskson on there. michel may have a great voice but his lyrics are digustingly cliche.
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rufus wainwright easily rounds out the top 100.
easily.
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sigh, richard ashcroft gets shafted again.
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i didn't know richard ashcroft was gay.
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That list is as there is no mention of Stephin Merritt whatsoever.
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yeah i think it should have been paul mcartney and then mcartney/lennon somewhere on their too.
im glad the boss is that high up. and anybody think don mclean deserved a shot, maybe?
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John Lennon is not "living." (See title)
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So where the fuck is Max Martin?
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Ian Curtis?
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All in all, this list seems to be very good if you just look at it as the 100 greatest living songwriters....no rankings. It appears to be glaringly inconsistent when dealing with songwriters whose prime was long ago, Pink Floyd being the biggest example. The list would've been so much easier to argue over if they'd just done a 100 best of all-time. At least picking Lennon/McCartney as #1 would have been easy for them.
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where's is Jesse Gloyd?
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leslie feist is pretty fucking great
but outkast?
what the fuck
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No Craig Finn, no cred.
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no noel gallagher / lennon ? shit list . whothef*ck drive by truckers ?? cmon kids . u can do better than that
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who reads paste anyway ?
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I'm still astonished to see Morrissey at #57. I mean who in their right mind thinks that Aimee Mann and Ryan Adams are better songwriters than Morrissey?
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lists are definitive
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I can't believe I'm the first to mention it, but come on - where's Mason Jennings? What about Ben Harper? He's done some pretty incredible stuff. But really, where's Mason? He's one of the best in the past 10 years in my mind...
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Yes, "Cut Your Hair" over "Money". And I don't agree with burnwash that the last two Pavement albums and Malkmus' solo career are shit. Less cohesive, but other than the chorus to "Billie" I can't find any complaints. Sure I'll take Crooked Rain over Face the Truth but I like both.
And Pink Floyd? Other than Dark Side and Animals, I don't give a shit. 2 great albums vs. 2 great albums + 6 really good albums? I take Stephen Malkmus.
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I'm sorry, but Malkmus' entire career is an exercise in hipster-generated shit. It's like Beck being voted onto this list - there's a huge difference between writing songs and merely swiping them. It's all relative, I know, but jeez - that's like saying Rivers Cuomo is a good songwriter. Feh.
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No James Mercer? The hell?
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Yes I also think that Eddie Vedder is a glaring ommision here. I mean if U2, Radiohead and REM find themselves in the top 30, I don't see why Pearl Jam could'nt at least make this top 100 list.
When will this great rock band receive their due credit???
I would argue that that pearl Jam's songcraft is far superior than U2.
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Jeff Mangum definitely belongs on this list, I'm sorry. Besides that... I guess it's ok.
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what about Ani DiFranco? when will be start respecting her as a musician and not just a person with crazy amazing guitar skills who started her own label. Her lyrics are amazing.
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People slamming the Drive-By Truckers inclusion obviously don't know anything about them. They have *three* extremely talented songwriters in the band. Might not be your cup of tea but there's a hell of lot a talent there. Richard Thompson at 63 is a joke, he should be way higher. And no Mark Linkous/Sparklehorse? One of the most innovative, creative and talented people in the business...
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I'm with jb and Ike: no Billy Bragg, no Becker / Fagen, no good.
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No B.B. King? He can be one of the most influential blues men ever, let alone living, but he can't make a top 100 song writers list?
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Nobody's mentioned that, by an admittedly liberal count, at least one-third of the artists on this list fall into the "Americana" category (ie. they've been covered in "No Depression" magazine at some point). Perhaps that's the Paste bias at work. . . in terms of the folks they invited to submit lists. And that would help explain some pretty obvious omissions in favour of a few lightweights.
Lists are fun! Got any more, Scott?
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Pink Floyd had more than 2 really great albums. Just because you only give a shit about Dark Side and Animals doesn't mean that Wish You Were Here and The Wall aren't also great albums. Most everything else they put out can atleast be deamed 'good' as well.
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And I'm still waiting for some chump to cry, "How come Frank Black ain't on it?"
But I guess, despite their love for Pink Floyd and Pearl Jam, Stereogum readers are smarter than that.
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Make this list in another 20 years, and Jeff Tweedy jumps from #24 (where he belongs now) to the top 10. I really think Wilco will come to be recognized as one of the most important bands of our generation.
Also, Carrie Newcomer should be on this list.
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Also, the inclusion of Joseph Arthur is confusing. I'm a fan, and I'd still have difficulty justifying his place on this list. As an artist? Sure, he's good. But just as a songwriter? There are better choices...
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Jeff Mangum, Isaac Brock, Doug Martsch.
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Robyn Hitchcock, for feg's sake!
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Not perfect grammar, always perfect timing,
The Mike stands for money and the D. is for diamonds.
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reid/reid (jesus and mary chain)
gord downie (tragically hip)
husker du (mould and hart)
bob marley
there's some really embarrassing picks on there. And Morrissey without Marr? C'mon Morrissey on his own is really just a 14 year old girl's diary.
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You can argue order, but I think this list pretty much covers what it was intended to. I could do without Oberst or Malkmus. Contrary to come of the posters here, I'm glad OutKast gets a nod over pap like Ani Defranco and a list of other fanboy/girl favourites.
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Okay
Jeff Mangnum and Issac Brock definitely deserve to be on here. Also, I think Rivers Cuomo should be on there. Much more so then Outkast or Jack White.
And to all asking for John Lennon, George Harrison, etc. Remeber that this list is for the best LIVING songwriter. In otherwords, it doesn't include dead people.
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what i meant to say was that any songwriter list that has michael jackson -- but not billy bragg -- is bunk!
and i like paste magazine...
most of the time....
until this list came out!
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Outkast and Public Enemy but no Jay-Z?!? For shame.
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not too shabby. glad to see darnielle on there, could live without oberst, would change a couple but overall, nice.
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weller
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ISAAC BROCK!!!
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ISAAC BROCK!!! where is he?
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Burnwash.
I'm sorry, but even Stephen himself would candidly admit that Waters blows him away in the songwriting department. He would then go on to say, and wtf? my shit isn't better than Fleetwood Mac's!
Listen to these songs: Money, Wish You Were Here, Have a Cigar, Time, Another Brick in the Wall (pt 2), Comfortably Numb, Shine On You Crazy Diamond, Breathe, Echoes, Careful With that Axe, Eugene, Wots uh the deal, Young Lust, Mother....etc.
Pink Floyds songs themselves are simply better than Stephen Malkmus'.
The songs of his that are truly classics...
Summer Babe, Loretta's Scars, Cut Yr Hair, We Dance, Gold Soundz, Range Life, Stereo, Shady Lane, Carrot Rope, Major Leagues, Spit on a stranger...etc...are great songs...but they just can't compete with the Pink Floyd songs.
The Pink Floyd songs are timeless, and EVERYONE knows them for a reason. It's because they are great songs.
I love pavement a lot, but the ranking makes absolutely no sense.
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Jesus Christ, it's just a list! Everyone doesn't have to agree with you!!!!!!
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MADONNA?? Bitch wrote some of the greatest pop music lyrics ever... did they forget "like a virgin" & "like a prayer"??
also... where is fuck is John Lennon?? Shouldnt it be Lennon/Mcartney?
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OLD JERRY is better than any Pink Floyd song ever written.....MALKMUS = #1
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What about Neko Case? Better than Lucinda Williams in my opinion...
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Glad to see Patty Griffin and Joni Mitchell high up, so why not Ricky Lee Jones? As others have noted, Rufus Wainwright and Becker and Fagen are unfairly MIA. Additionally, how about Mark Eitzel, Joe Henry, John Martyn, Joe Ely, Jimmie Dale Gimore (hell, Thea Gilmore), John Cale, Joe Pernice, Peter Gabriel, Marshall Crenshaw, Sinead O'Connor, Neil Finn, Matthew Sweet, Grant McClennan and Robert Forster, and Neil Tennant and Chris Lowe? Slot any of those in place of Oberst, Pollard, Michael Jackson or Jack White. And go Wilco and all, but, uh, Jeff Tweedy above Berry, Fogerty, Townshend and Prine? He'd be the first to say no to that.
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Oh, and Chrissie fuckin' Hynde. Jesus.
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And I meant Rickie Lee Jones, not Rickie. And not in the top 50. You get the idea.
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And I meant Rickie Lee Jones, not Ricky. And not in the top 50. You get the idea.
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One more and then I'm throwing away my computer and moving to the desert, I promise: I know poor Grant McLennan is dead, but he was alive when the poll was taken, and he and Forster should have been on there.
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1) Billy Corgan... HUGE omission.
2) I can see Isaac Brock and Vedder as snubs, as well.
3) I don't understand Vic Chestnutt being higher than Jay Farrar.
4) Stephen Malkmus I GUESS should be on the list but only because he has been overinflated by hipster culture to be the iconic figure he "is." He had great timing.
5) I'll say it on the dare of David: Where IS Frank Black Francis? Pixies, Catholics, & solo? Influential!!!
6) Despite the fact that I can hear your laughter in St. Louis, where is Gibbard/Walla?
7) Finally, where is Rob Crow? His diversity and prolific output combined with the strength of Pinback alone should have cemented him a spot.
8) PS: David Bazan over Billy Corgan? THINK ABOUT IT.
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the fact that conor fuckin' oberst is on there and not michael stipe -- who oberst LOVES -- just goes to show what kind of list this is. history what?
and second on the go-betweens. i dare anyone to find a better song that encapsulates the loss of youth than 'cattle and cane.'
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ok, so REM is on there (my bad). but hello:
PJ FUCKIN' HARVEY?
where?
and for better or for worse, kathleen hanna. and sleater-kinney. where? they're the most influential group on countless indie rockers today.
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tori amos.
leaving the house. really.
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I don't have many problems with the list, except fot the fact that M Ward is not on it. He is totally one of the best living song-writers
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you know what i hate? hip-hop! hip-hop is the kind of thing that just makes me roll my eyes!
so i was really glad to see that this list was keen enough to come out and acknowledge that out of every single living songwriter, only two of the top 100 work in hip hop.
might have over-represented the genre if you ask me!
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Look, I liked Pink Floyd too. Then I stopped taking hella drugs. Their songs are just so badly written. The imagery is incredibly simplistic, there's no poetry to it at all. The Wall (the movie, the album) is just embarassing. Malkmus was able to write songs that were great on their own, he didn't have to add a bunch of pointless sound effects and noises to distract the listener from his lack of songwriting ability.
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Isaac Brock > Billy Corgan
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Ben Folds!
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Stephen Merrit should be there.
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Pete Seeger anyone?
Steve Perry?
Tom Marshall/Trey Anastasio?
John "Cougar" Mellencamp?
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Not only no Jason Molina, but no one even mentioned him in the comments yet! That, my friends, is a crime.
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wow look at all the white men! Where are all rappers, B&B, or hip-hop artists? What about female singer song writers? stooooopid list...
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And whats up with names of bands or groups being songwriters? Certain people write songs within bands and differences are quite noticable. :)
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And whats up with names of bands or groups being songwriters? Certain people write songs within bands and differences are quite noticable. :) I love B&B ha
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this is stupid. pretty sure that morrisey doesnt write his own songs.
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and, oh yeah...
i think OUTKAST deserve the props....
some of the best lyrics ever put down.....
i even catch some dylan references about not needing a weatherman to know which way the wind blows....and the times they are a changing.....blah blah blah...
check it:
The weatherman tellin' us
it ain't gon' rain.
So now we sittin in a droptop,
soaking wet.
In a silk suit trying
not to sweat.
Hittin' somersaults with-
out the net.
But this'll be the year that we
wont forget.
1-9-9-9!
Anno Domini,
anything goes!
Be what you want to be,
long as you know
consequences
are given for liv-
ing the fence is,
too high to jump in jail.
Too low to dig,
I might just touch hell.
HOT!
Get a life,
now they on sale.
Then I might cast you a spell.
Look at what came in the mail,
a scale and some Arm & Hammer.
Soul gold grill, and a baby mamma.
Black Cadillac and a pack of pampers.
Stack of questions,
with no answers.
Cure for cancer,
cure for AIDS.
Make a nigga want to stay on tour for days.
Get back home,
thangs are wrong.
Well not
really it was bad all along.
Before your left adds up to a
ball of power.
Thoughts at a thousand miles per hour.
Hello, ghetto,
let your brain breathe.
Believe there's always mo'
(Owwww!)
Hook:
Don't pull the thang out,
unless you plan to bang.
(Bombs over Baghdad, yeah!)
Don't even bang,
unless you plan to hit something.
(Bombs over Baghdad, yeah!)
i'm just sayin'......
love,
maya lucia
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they should do a list that's "5,000 living songwriters who are AT LEAST average (in our opinion)."
maybe that would cut back the complaints to just 50 or so.
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Issac Brock!!! Jeff Magnum!! Rivers Cuomo !!
All amazing songwriters.
And stop being idiots and saying dead people like lennon should be on the list. This list is for the BEST LIVING SONGWRITERS !!!
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Corgan and Vedder should be on here. Unfortunately, they'll both be dead before anyone starts to recognize their songwriting.
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Corgan and Vedder should be on here. Unfortunately, they'll both be dead before anyone starts to recognize their songwriting.
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Corgan and Vedder should be on here. Unfortunately, they'll both be dead before anyone starts to recognize their songwriting.
And seriously, no Billy Joel here means this list is flawed. I cannot see how anyone would disagree that someone simply FORGOT Bill Joel.
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Regina Spektor, anyone? I digs her. Nellie McKay, too. Too bad they're not more noticed; they might've made it.
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WHERE IS COURTNEY LOVE? nutrageous.
and where is kurt cobain for that matter? he's still alive... just watching and waiting to make his return as the savor of ROCK.
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Dunno about Prince being no. 10, and I'd probably separate Outkast, and just leave Andre Benjamin in there - the other guy isn't great. Good to see Sufjan in there, though I'd probably put him slightly higher.
http://www.musictimes.com.au
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NEIL FINN!
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let's see where the list went wrong. um um.
absentees like BILLY JOEL? INTERPOL? JAMES MERCER?
ANTHONY KIEDIS? JOHN FRUSCIANTE? THE DECEMBERISTS?
ah the world.
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you totally forgot robert smith.
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No Fat Bob!!!! And how the FUCK is Sufjan motherfukcin Stevens above Paul Westerberg!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Paul Westerberg is a fuckin genius and Sufjan is a twat.
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That's a pretty good list - but Cat Stevens shouldn't be on it, Brian Eno and Stephen Malkmus should be in the top 20, and Patti Smith needs to be way higher.
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My god the Unicorns! Where are the Unicorns?! Robbbbbbbbbed!
"We're more than horses..."
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Eddie Vedder must be dead because if he was alive he'd be there surely;)
Seriously, who actually sits down and intelligently comes up with these lists???
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The Long Winters' John Roderick
Gibbard/Walla/Harmer/McGerr
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- Too bad Morrissey is to be found only at 57, but he definately deserves to be in here. (Understatement. My firstborn will probably be called Morris. I am one of those scary Morrissey people.)
- I agree with the comment about Outkast. Andre Benjamin is the best half of the duo by far. The Love Below was fresh and charming, whereas Big Boi's Speakerboxx failed to deliver. We heard it all before.
- Prince on 10. Nice. :)
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wow, this list is terrible.
some of you have mentioned names that are due to be included.
a list entitled "best living songwriters" should also include people who are important/influential now, not just withering old fogeys who haven't done any good work in 20 or 30(!) years.
folds and wainwright are glaring absences that betray this list for what it is...
the exclusion of jeff mangum is absolutely unpardonable, however.
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Well, have you ever heard about John Lennon ? Bob Marley ? Shane Mc Gowan ? Obscure songwriters, you may say ? What's a good songwriter ? that's the question.
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Hmmm...John Lennon...Bob Marley...hmmm...lemme see here...uh...oh, yeah, just like I thought. THEY'RE DEAD, YOU FUCKING ASS!!!! I'm sorry, but I got really tired of people having to point out that the list is titled 100 BEST LIVING SONGWRITERS.
I'll be brave and agree with QBus. I'm not into his solo stuff, but because of The Pixies first three albums alone (since this list is clearly based on back catalogue), Black Francis should be included. And hell, why not Kim Deal while we're at it?
And I'll also agree with QBus in saying that I'm laughing at him for his nod to Death Cab. I'm sorry, but have you noticed how innoffensive and blandly universal Death Cab has progressively become since Something About Airplanes?
Jeff Mangum has written an entire album that can move me to fucking tears. Hell yes he should be on there.
As for other Jeff's, Tweedy? Again, I could apply my comment about Death Cab only substituting band names and Something About Airplanes with Yankee Hotel Foxtrot. Had that been the last album that Wilco put out then I would say Top 10, easily. But the lyrics on A Ghost Is Born are way more watered down and quite frankly, I don't want to listen to Jeff's headache for fifteen minutes, especially when the payoff is "Late Greats." And have you heard that new song, "Is that the Thanks I Get?" I pray that Wilco stop becoming progressively M.O.R. He deserves to be on the list though.
Also, since I'm the first to pick a bone about it, I think Will Oldham should be way higher. If we're talking LP's, you'd be hard-pressed to find as consistent an artist in the indie fold (despite Master and Everyone).
And yeah, some times whole groups write songs. Radiohead, for example. They all collaborate on EVERYTHING, words and music. It's actually quite rare that a band that isn't named after the frontman just writes all of the words and all of the music and just says "Play this, exactly as I wrote it and nothing different."
Pearl Jam? Last I checked, Ten and VS were released over ten years ago. But then again, I guess this is based on back catalogue.
Colin Meloy is one of the Top 100 greatest and best living songwriters, but I think his ommision from *this* list is understandable.
That's another thing. The title of the list should be 100 GREATEST Living Songwriters. Best means quality, greatest means legend and influence. Big difference.
I'd also vouch for Mirah, but that's because I have a crush on her.
And what, no Captain Beefheart? (kidding).
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No Adam Schlesinger? Then this list blows...
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I'm a PASTE subscriber (thanks to STEREOGUM advertising it last year, no less), and even I'm a tad pissed at who's NOT on this list, surprised at who made it, and mystified by where some ranked.
First of all, there's only one female songwriter in the top ten, but i'm sorry, joni mitchell doesn't belong that high. Carole King does - did more for music and other musicians than Joni, as good as she is/was.
Second, what is Willie Nelson, Randy Newman, Patty Griffin, Leonard Cohen, Prince, Holland/Dozier, (Joni) and Tom Waits all doing in the TOP 20?
Pink Floyd, Pete Townshend, and Jimmy Page/Robert Plant belong in the Top 10, let alone top 20.
And who the heck is Julie Miller? What is Over the Rhine doing on this list? What about Pearl Jam (Vedder/McCready/Gossard/Ament/Cameron), since Radiohead is on there as a band?
And the always underappreciated singer/songwriter/producer BILLY CORGAN is missing as well (he should've made it right behind Radiohead).
And if you're gonna have a good ole southern rock band on here, Drive-By Truckers is the best voters could do? I like them, but My Morning Jacket should've been on the list too, then. And what about the Allman Brothers band (the remaining members are still touring and rocking).
Overall, good list, but it could've been much better, and better listed.
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Hee hee - I'm glad somebody took my bait. Frank Black is on the list, albeit it took me a couple minutes to realize it.
Almost 150 comments gone by, and since nobody else has, I guess I'll make my case for Moore/Gordon/Ranaldo/Shelley. While you might argue they haven't produced a career's worth of catchy and hummable songs (I'd disagree), they are indeed songs - carefully crafted, immensely influential songs - and 25 years into it, they're still creating vital and interesting ones - unlike, um, more than half the people on this list.
The old college rocker in me also bemoans the omission of Mould/Hart.
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For the record, Neko Case, up until recently, has heavily relied on musical collaborators. So it's hard to determine what she really wrote.
And Morrissey? Yeah, doesn't he usually relie heavily on collaborators for the music?
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What I meant to say was, "This list is bunk as there is no mention of Stephin Merritt whatsoever."
Also, there's no Phil Spector.
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And, Holy Moly, there's no Jeff Mangum.
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no robert smith?
no stephen merritt?
no MARK F'IN EITZEL??
and i love morrissey to death but he's a wordsmith, not a songwriter
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This list is crap for the simple reason Ray LaMontagne did not make the list. Brilliant songwriter in my opinion
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With lists like this one, there's usually a failure to distinguish between "great" (as in historically important and influential, even if for work done many decades ago, cf. Chuck Berry, Joni Mitchell, Bob Dylan, Jimmy Webb and Holland/Dozier/Holland) and "best" (currently producing work of high quality, like Stephin Merritt, Stuart Murdoch, Mark Eitzel, Joe Pernice, Colin Meloy, Dan Bejar and Stuart Staples, all of whom failed to make the cut).
Other random notes:
1. If you skimmed the list, and wondered where Frank Black was, look again at no. 66.
2. Any list of songwriters that can make room for Carole King and the Burt Bacharach/Hal David duo (deservedly so, based on past contributions) can certainly include Neil Diamond. The success of Diane Warren and her ilk -- not to mention the cult of the singer/songwriter that Dylan helped spawn -- shouldn't obscure the honorable role that professional songwriters of the Brill Building era played in pop music history. Speaking of which, where are the teams of Jeff Barry/Ellie Greenwich ("Be My Baby," "River Deep, Mountain High") and Barry Mann/Cynthia Weil ("You've Lost That Lovin' Feeling")?
3. Nice to see Dan Penn and Spooner Oldham make the cut (51).
4. Grant McLennan passed away recently, but must have been alive when the poll was taken. Both he and Robert Forster deserved recognition, both for their 1980's output and their more recent work in the reunited Go-Be's.
5. Both Pete Townshend and Ray Davies merited higher placement, particularly when compared with other elder statesmen, still living off compositional capital of the 1960's and '70's (Brian Wilson, Paul McCartney, Stevie Wonder, Robbie Robertson).
6. Morrissey is a tough call: an important and often brilliant lyricist, who's influenced whole generations (for better and worse), but one who needs collaborators to generate melodies. The Morrissey/Marr team would certainly have ranked higher than 57, but the Moz by himself? Pass.
7. Other inexplicable omissions: Scott Walker; Lee Hazlewood; Robyn Hitchcock; Donald Fagen/ Walter Becker. The list itself seems weighted towards Rock Legends and Recent Indie-Rock Group Faves. And I'm sure that any poll of musicians and other songwriters would have placed Richard Thompson far closer to the top than 63.
Again, I don't know what the standards were supposed to be here (and should bands like Led Zeppelin, Fleetwood Mac and Radiohead -- which have individual songwriters in them -- be listed as groups?), but I think two separate lists (one for influence and historical accomplishment, the other for current output) would have been the better way to go. Not that two lists wouldn't have provoked twice as much disagreement...
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I love that Patty Griffin is in the top 20.... Patti Smith, on the other hand, should be higher! And no PJ just breaks my heart. Bjork - doesn't she write most of her own songs?? Tori Amos??
ok. Good thing for the Canadians on the list. Otherwise you'd be reading about my one woman riot in tomorrow's paper.
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btw there was a reader's list in the magazine as well. It probably reflects stereogum reader's tastes a little better. And I know I'll get flamed but I'm gonna say it-no Chris Martin? At least he was #98 on the reader's list though.
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Brendan Benson
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How many Canadians on the list: 5? I'd trade 'em all for Carl Newman. Thank goodness Sarah Maclaughlin, Alanis, and that guy from the Tea Party didn't make the list.
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Whoops. Yeah Frank Black is there.
And I was going to mention SY, but look at that rant up there. Big enough as it is.
Chris Martin? Don't make me laugh.
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YO WHAT ABOUT MIKE JONES THOUGH???
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PASTE costs like $10/issue so you'd have to be on the fooking list to afford the thing anyway. I mean, Conor fcking Oberst and Ryan cunting Adams? And yet...
No PADDY McALOON (PREFAB SPROUT)?
MARTIN PHILLIPS (THE CHILLS)?
LLOYD COLE?
LIZ PHAIR?
SHAUN RYDER?
DAMON ALBARN?
KATE BUSH?
GRANT LEE PHILLIPS?
BJORK?
NEIL FINN?
PAUL HEATON?
IAN McCULLOCH?
RODDY FRAME?
JARVIS COCKER?
C*nts.
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bowie should be in the top 5
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one more thing... Aimee Mann and Jack White? If you made a mixtape based on this list it would be the most boring fooking mix. ever.
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If any rap artists, or groups, should be listed on there, Wu-Tang Clan is a must.
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Has Paste jumped the shark--resorting to the old "list" fallback already? Those silly hicks.
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wheres John Ashcroft? it says best song writer...thats singular...
has everyone already forgotten the eagle soaring song...thats better then Weens "Fancypants"
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This is the weirdest-ass, white-man-driven, lame list. I can hardly even engage in an argument about it, it's so stupid. S-T-O-O-P-I-D. Rather than generate healthy debate (although it's true, most of the above comments ARE exactly that), the glaring omissions and ranking misplacements render the list a total waste of time. That Paste "legitimizes" this list with it's name, but without outing, explicitly, its own effing racist, sexist, classist point of view is just a sorry-ass drag.
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Yes, this was done in an effort to generate discussion/debate, and it's been fun to see that happen on a lot of different blogs. So far, I've just quieltly read. But since Stereogum is one of the few places I go to regularly, I had to chime in and give a little more context. We at Paste came up with this list by polling 50 folks--staff members, rock writers (should have thought to include you, Scott), and a handful of musicians themselves. They're all people we trust, so I'm pretty pleased with the list that we came up with, though quite a few of my favorites didn't make the list either. Here's the editorial that lead off this issue:
100 Best Living Songwriters
Dear Paste,
Looking through the issue for which I’m currently writing this editorial, I noticed several omissions from the 100 Best Living Songwriters list. I realize I organized this feature, gathered the voters and cast a ballot myself, but apparently that wasn’t enough. I mean, how could you ignore Rodney Crowell? With songs like “She’s Crazy for Leaving,” Crowell was the master cartographer of those dark places of loss where once lived “love that runs through your heart with a pleasure so close to pain.” Decades after his biggest hits, he’s given us some of the best ruminations on aging ever penned.
And Mike Scott? Number 30 on my list, but apparently not good enough for you. The Waterboys’ Fisherman’s Blues alone should have secured him a spot in the Top 100, but he also put out two solo albums filled with gems. And then there’s Mark Knopfler, proving himself yet again with his new duets album with Emmylou Harris (p. 22). Our readers were smart enough to put them on their list (p. 96), but he’s conspicuously absent from ours. Robert Smith, Jim James, Billy Joe Shaver, Todd Snider, David Hidalgo, Fiona Apple, Matthew Ryan, De La Soul, Taj Mahal, Ben Gibbard, Neil Finn, Jeff Mangum, The Cowboy Junkies, Rufus Wainwright, Peter Gabriel, Guy Clark, Greg Brown, Isaac Hayes—they all got the shaft.
I’d consider canceling my subscription if I wasn’t the editor of this damn thing, so instead, just let me say that this was an amazing experience. The hours spent arguing the merits of Leonard Cohen versus Neil Young (an arbitrary and academic exercise, no doubt, but an always entertaining one). Dueling our managing editor, Reid Davis, in computer volume as we searched out the best R.E.M. songs (and impossibly tried to narrow it down to three). The late, late nights matching 100 different writers to 100 songwriter essays and hunting for just the right lyrics. It’s all been worth it to more fully appreciate the merits of Carole King, Chuck Berry and Jimmy Webb; to read Clyde Edgerton on John Prine, Paul Hemphill on Merle Haggard and Jack Pendarvis on Berry; and to see the parade of greats and remember the songs that have had the biggest impact on my life.
I had 3,088 songs from these 100 songwriters on my iPod, and I put them all into a playlist and set it to random. One of the most striking things was how seldom I had an urge to press the skip button and how often I wanted to stop what I was doing and just listen. Much like Hollywood thrusting star-power and jaw-dropping special effects upon shallow, unbelievable scripts, the record industry has been pouring money into beautiful people with beautiful voices (or at least beautiful people with Auto-Tune) without giving them songs with any kind of lasting impact. But I’ll take a Leonard Cohen album (despite not loving either his voice or the production on most his songs) over just about anything getting Top 40 airplay today.
So I know that everyone reading Paste will have his or her own opinion of who should’ve made the list and that this is just the first letter I’ll receive. I certainly hope this feature sparks much debate, but I hope even more that it leads people to check out the songs from these 100 gifted songwriters, reconnecting with old standbys and discovering many new favorites along the way.
Yours Truly,
Josh Jackson (Decatur, Ga.)
Editor-in-Chief, Paste
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Considering some of the folks included (and just because all the good jamaican songwriters are dead doesn't mean you had to include Jimmy Cliff as a token), the following certainly deserve consideration before Oberst and White et al:
Freedy Johnston (a top 20 in my book)
Joe Jackson
Graham Parker
Robert Wyatt
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No David Berman?
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While I appreciate your editorial, Josh, I still think these so-called debates participate in the continued erasure of the roots of rock and roll, which are undeniably black American. There is an implicit politics of exclusion that this list engages in, rendering bickering about the virtues of Leonard Cohen vs. Neil Young hardly meaningful, or worthy of being called "debate." And you're editors! You should know these things and at least "out" your context, make clear your perspective, as I wrote in my earlier comment, above. I really don't often get up on this kind of high horse (a fact that's apparent on my blog), but the absolute omission of historical prevelance, even for a list of living songwriters, is disturbing. Or at least, a major turn-off. And once respect is lost, it's hard to get it back again. So I guess I just don't "respect" the list, or Paste's choice of editors, or its editors' level of thoughtful engagement with the making of the list.
best,
Charlotte
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what about cassie berman? gosh.
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I heard that anyone not on this list was going to be immediately euthanized and their entire back catalog pulled from shelves, so it's a good thing you're all taking it so seriously.
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List is OK. Some good additions would have been:
Tool. Wu Tang Clan. Cornell and/or any of the Seattle Grunge (PJ, AIC, MLB). Ani Difranco if she stopped making albums after Little Pink Castles (n?). Primus?
Good showing PE, Waits, and Willie.
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Yea sure Patty Griffin above Van Morrisson, I can't read anymore. Oh yeah brown eyed girl, Tupelo Honey, etc. influenced a generation. Patty Griffin influence is seen where?
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Why is Scott Walker not on this list?!
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dylan yes tom waits ahead of bowie .townsend ,jagger richards???wtf,, oh yeah i didnt get the news that fagen and becker had died!! what a shocking omission,,,why no morrisey or ani di-franco???quite simple ..they're both whining, wanking fag/muffmuncher non talents oh and burt should have been way higher especially given the lofty place afforded to mr pretentious melancholy himself elvis (boring) costello. michael stipes sucks.
what about charles manson ...and the shaggs
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I second Ray Lamontagne
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why were dead people discriminated against in this poll???dont their songs count anymore??? so in honour of the dead "the ten greatsest dead songwriters"
1 schubert 4 bob marley 7 buddy holly
2 john lennon 5 gram parsons 8 george harrison
3 frank zappa 6 warren zevon 9 hank williams
10 g g allin
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No Paul Simon ?
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Whoops...found him at #13
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Glen Phillips. (!)
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Though I stopped reading after about 30 comments complaining about who should or shouldn't have been on the list, it seems like most everyone isn't thinking about songwriting in particular and more about the music. Really liking a song doesn't necessarily mean it's well written. And song writing isn't entirely about lyrics either. There are plenty of musicians that I love, and songs who's lyrics I relate to so well, but that doesn't mean they belong on this list.
That said, Nick Lowe absolutely belongs on this list. Poor guy - most people don't even know that he was behind some of his best songs because he wrote them for other artists, or other people's versions became most popular. "What's So Funny About Peace, Love, and Understanding?" anyone?
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...and what about Jeff Lynne? He wrote some of the chewiest pop songs I've ever heard with ELO, worked with the Traveling Wilburry's, and co-wrote many of the songs on Tom Petty's Full Moon Fever. I'd put him higher that Jack White atleast.
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Michael Stipe/REM is/are one the greatest songwriters of all time, and should be much higher. If it wasn't for the past 10 years, he/they probably would be. And if "songwriter" actually composing and arranging instrumental music and the quality of said music, Brian Wilson is number one. Bar none. Is Bernie Taupin still alive?
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And yes, Billly Joel should be among the best.
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DONT KNOW WHY I BOTHER WITH THESE FORUMS.. BUT I HAVE TO HAVE ONE LAST CRACK ILL PRESENT 3 LISTS
1.OMMISIONS PUNISHIBLE BY DEATH..,BECKER AND FAGAN,,
WHO WERE THE BOZOS WHO CONTRIBUTED TO THIS LIST?
I WOULD GLADLY TAKE ONE STEELY ALBUM OVER THE ENTIRE CATALOGUE OF LEIBER AND STOLLER!!
2PETER GABRIEL .. THE GUYS A JERK IMHO..BUT HELL HE WROTE SOME GREAT STUFF WITH GENESIS AND SOLO
3 STEVIE WINWOOD ,,SHOULD'VE QUALIFIED ON THE STRENGTH OF GIMME SOME LOVIN AND 'LOW SPARK' ALONE
4 TONY HATCH "THE BRITISH BACHARACH" UNFORTUNATELY ONE OF HIS SONGS WON EUROVISION..MEANING IT WAS TOTALL FLUFF BUT HE WROTE A LOT OF BRILLIANT POP
SONGS AS WELL,,,MAYBE HE'S DEAD
THE OVER RATED PATTY GRIFFIN,, GIVE US A BREAK
PRINCE...LEONARD COHEN ()LOVE LEONARD BUT HE WASNT THAT GOOD)TOM PETTY..REM!!OH DID I FORGET TO MENTION MICHAEL STIPES SUCKS SHIT!!
UNDERRATED BURT.PETE TOWNSHEND LOU REED ,VAN CAROL KING JACKSON BROWNE ANYWAY FUCK THESE STUPID POLLS,, I SUGGEST A POLL OF THE WORST POLLS EVER CONJURED UP BY THESE MAGS AND THE JERKS THAT CONTRIBUTE TO THEM .OH JUST ONE LAST THING CAN I REJOYCE IN BELIEVING THAT "STOCKSTANDARD AND WATEREDDOWN" ARE ALL DEAD
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Ok, now granted that everyone is going to dislike alot of this list, that's a given. But before you say Lennon or Marley, remember that they have to be leaving. How awesome is it that Andy Partridge is on there? XTC is one of the most underrated bands of all time. Anyone who thinks that Rivers Cuomoshould not be on there is daft. The Blue Album and Pinkerton are the soundtrack to every teenaged music nerd. You cannot take a list seriously that puts Pete Townsend at 33, or Ray Davies at 46 or whatever. Why are these British invasion bands getting snubbed? Are people forgetting what the Who and the Kinks did in their prime? I mean jesus. Stevie Wonder is ahead of Prince. Sorry. His 70's albums are some of the greatesst albums of all time. While his recent output is awful, Prince will never write "Innervisions." That is all.
Oh and Bright Eyes blows.
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*living
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A couple more quick things...anyone who thinks that Elvis Costello should not be on there does not know anything about music and is living a lie, pretending to be all knowledgeable about music and shit.
Also, while I don't know if he deserves to be on the Top 100, Ryan Adams work with Whiskeytown and his first solo album really are amazing. Adams in his prime melded hook-filled, honest country-pop better than he had any right to for someone so young and inexperienced.
Steely Dan rules. People who mistake them for elevator music instead of immaculate polished-to-perfection jazz pop are also living a lie. Fagen writes some of the most cryptic, cynical lyrics around.
And lastly...please don't mistake me for thet Evan who agrees with Billy Joel's placement on the list. While we're at it...why isn't Phil Collins on this list?
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I realize that most people on this list have put out several albums that are great or at least decent, so I wouldn't expect most people here to agree that Chris Martin should be on there. But he certainly ranks above some of the other artists on here such as: Outkast, Jack White, Oberst(all of whom I like). It's clear that the dislike of Coldplay has really less to to with the actual music than it does with hipsters trying to be too-cool-for-school. Whoever made the comment about Martin above has likely not even bothered to listen to his albums, or if he did, he had already decided his opinion before even listening. That seems to be an attitude towards Coldplay that exists throughout the indie music world.
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How in the hell is Sufjan Stevens and Conor Oberst above Pink Floyd, Fleetwood Mac, and Will Oldham? Pa-lease. Is this how old writers try to stay hip with the kids?
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How in the hell is Sufjan Stevens and Conor Oberst above Pink Floyd, Fleetwood Mac, and Will Oldham? Pa-lease.
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Here's a few more glaring omissions that haven't been mentioned yet:
BUTCH HANCOCK
PETER CASE
RICHARD BUCKNER
TERRY ALLEN
NANCI GRIFFITH
ARTHUR LEE
LLOYD COLE
DAVE ALVIN
BILL WITHERS
TOM RUSSELL
JOHN SEBASTIAN
KURT WAGNER
CURT KIRKWOOD
GANG OF FOUR
ROXY MUSIC (WHICH WOULD AT LEAST TAKEN CARE OF
PART OF THE ENO-BEING-OMITTED PROBLEM)
ROBIN AND BARRY GIBB
MOSE ALLISON
JOHN DOE/EXENE
MICK JONES (OF THE CLASH)
And yet they included ELTON FUCKING JOHN!!!
Glaring omissions that made me tear up my already-filled-out subscription order besides the above:
NEIL DIAMOND
SHANE MCGOWAN
GUY CLARK
ISAAC HAYES
I could go on forever and therein would lie their (the rag's) excuse, "too many talented people out there", etc but then you winnow away the weak, the unproven, we're talking the 100 greatest living songwriters and I'm not even going to get into (well, yeah I am...) how whathisname Hymes talks about Springsteen "speaking" to the working class (fucking dumbass, don't you get it?? He never appealed to the working class, Reagan thought he did though! Were you writing speeches for him back then??). At the risk of sounding like a snobbish asshole, Springsteen was way too arty for the common man. When he was force fed to them with Born in the USA, they misunderstood him and quickly forgot about him after that. He's a great artist and definitely makes my top 5 but talk about what makes him great, not what fleeting public perception he enjoyed at a particular time in his career where Columbia needed the "big" album and was willing to market him with that in mind. And this joker actually used "The River" to make his point which is even more wrong...the characters in that album may have, some of them, been "working class" but that album did not appeal to that sector of society. That's like saying Capote's "In Cold Blood" appealed to murderers.
Same issue of said rag leads off with one of these advert. geeks who admits being responsible for placing music in commercials and tries to champion the 'cause likening it to 70's era DJs who worked (seemingly) independent of program directors...what a bunch of horseshit. There used to be a whole bunch of people that actually wrote songs for product ads who are now out of work and their fun, innocuous "songs" were a helluva lot more palatable than hearing Iggy Pop's Lust for Life censored/edited so they can use it to hawk cruises. I can't listen to Spoon anymore either because of these same scumbags. Anyone who thinks this kinda stuff "helps" an artist other than in immediate royalties needs to examine their heads. It turns a bunch of people off and in the long run makes the artist/band a lot less attractive to their audience.
I've bought two issues of this rag off the newstand and was about to subscribe until I read the second one...
It has brought out a good point, David Byrne said it best: "Writing about music is like dancing about architecture". Long live the artist but fuck the barnacles in the media.
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I can't honestly believe that 95% of the people making comments here have any clue about the music of half the writers on this list. And with each comment I read, I'm just that much more convinced of it. I actually tracked down music from a couple of the artists I wasn't already familiar with. Guess what? I wasn't all that disappointed.
I also can't believe someone actually took the bait of asking why Frank Black wasn't on the list.
The people who helped compile the list were a very diverse group, not limited to Paste editorial staff or the magazine's regular contributors. But you'd only know that if you actually read the magazine, including the opening pages where they mention the people who helped pick the list.
Oh, and in case I haven't said anything truly stupid yet:
I know this was a list of "living" songwriters, but Jeez, where are the ghosts of Elliott Smith and Jeff Buckley?
The list isn't nearly as off-the-mark as half of these comments are.
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No offense to last poster, but "if you had read the magazine" you would see "eulogies/tributes" to messrs. Smith and Buckley among others.
To quote the Jerky Boys: "Open your ears [actually eyes] jackass!!"
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Why no Willie Nile. Even Bono and Lucinda Williams, who both made the list, say he is one of the best song writers around today.
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Bruce is a little high up there, Lucinda a little low, but all and all, a fine list. Only real changes I would make is putting Westerberg in the top 40. I'd also probably put Lucinda above Bruuuuucce. But given the task at hand and the subjectivity involved, very well done. Bob should, of course by number one, it's not even close.
I'm glad to see Aimee Mann made it on there as well. I'm even more pleased that Eliot received some attention in the print mag - very classy.
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addendum:
JONATHAN RICHMAN
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Where's Jarvis Cocker????
Hold on!!!!!
WHERE'S WILL OLDHAM??????????
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Bob Marley
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Marley's unfortunately no longer with us...
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This is a list of the most successfully marketed or presumably marketable artists from the marketing vantage of Paste. Any further input will only go to further such marketing strategies. But if some artist makes the list that you've been watching closely - hey, happy shopping.
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Gillian Welch should be very high in this list surely.
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A lazy, unthinking and heavily compromisd attempt. The absence of Neil Finn consigns this list to my bin.
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Willy DeVille
Van Morrison
Paul Simon
Francesco De Gregori
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Again, confused...Gillian Welch, Will Oldham, Paul Simon and Van Morrison all appear on the list. Are people just commenting without reading the list?
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GREAT N.1: HIS ROYAL BOBNESS BELONGS IN THERE.
BUT THERE ARE STAND OUT OMISSIONS. I DON'T BELIEVE THERE ARE MANY GUYS "ALIVE" OUT THERE WHO CAN WRITE SONGS LIKE THESE:
BOB SEGER: "NIGHT MOVES", "BRAVE STRANGERS", "TURN THE PAGE", "ROLL ME AWAY", "THE FAMOUS FINAL SCENE".
IAN ANDERSON (JETHRO TULL): "LOCOMOTIVE BREATH", "HEAVY HORSES", "SONGS FROM THE WOOD".
BILLY JOEL: "PIANO MAN", "GOODNIGHT SAIGON", "HONESTY".
OTHERS MISSING: JOHN MELLENCAMP, EDDI VEDDER.
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Credit has to go to Paste Magazine for compiling a list of the Top 100 Living Songwriters and leaving Billy Joel off the list. I'm not going to waste any pejoratives on that guy, he's not worth the effort.
So good for Paste Magazine.
Now, let me tell you why Paste Magazine can kiss my ass:
Chuck Berry right below Jeff Tweedy? Surely you've received hate mail from Tweedy on this concern? It would only be the right thing for him to do: "Why the FUCK did you embarrass me like that? I've got a nice little career going with this Wilco thing, yeah, but I'm better than Chuck Berry? Thanks for making me a living joke, asswipes! Next time you want to do me a favor, shoot me in the fucking head with an elephant tranquilizer, I'll squeeze out a double album for you, ya goddam twerps!"
And who the fuck is Joseph Arthur? Am I really missing out on something not having heard of that dude because maybe I've spent more time listening to the chick who wrote "Rock And Roll Nigger", one of the most brave songs a human could write in the 20th Century? I'm gonna guess that last time Joseph Arthur did something he felt was so brave, it was followed by the words "Mommy I just did a potty...." Little Joe was so cute back then, what a lil' tyke, and his parents were probably fucking to Easter or something and damned right- it was a great album!
You know, nothing against Joseph Arthur, he's probably an okay guy, but damned, now I hate him because he's supposed to be two notches better than Patti Freakin' Smith?
And where the hell is Richard Buckner? You can't even get your list of the contemporary/cool songwriters in order!
I shouldn't look at lists like these. They're just too contrived for my patience.
But anyways, I gotta give you props on leaving Billy Joel off the list. Anybody who's giving you grief about that deserves a subscription to your stupid magazine.
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And oh my God...I just noticed you put precious little construct Conor Oberst two slots ahead of Merle Haggard? I'm making sick all over my computer monitor. You owe me a new monitor.
Seriously, send me a new monitor.
Oh wait, I don't need a monitor now, 'cuz I just RIPPED MY EYEBALLS OUT FROM HAVING TO LOOK AT YOUR STUPID LIST!!!!
Thank God that even though I am now blind I can still masturbate, and by that I mean play Conor Oberst songs around the campfire on my National guitar! (Right after "Camptown Races", natch!) The glories of masturbating while blind! The Pope has no idea! It's like I've stumbled onto the Da Vinci Code or something here! Paste Magazine has revealed the road to truth, and it's paved through ripping your eyes out because you can't cognitively deal with the fact that Conor Oberst is better than Merle Haggard!
And what did Richard Thompson do to merit four places ahead of Conor Oberst? Did he record a Conor Oberst cover album or something? "Hey, Richard Thompson, you who helped build Fairport Convention and thus the DNA of English Folk/Rock, you who gave Sandy Denny some soulful songs to work out her heaven-sent singing voice, you who wrote "Shoot Out The LIghts" and "Beeswing" and all those new and great albums you pumped out in 2005....that kid is gaining on you! Stick a couple Conor songs at the end of your 1000 Years of Popular Music Project, maybe Paste will give you a little bit of a jumpstart on the kid with their STUPID FREAKIN' LIST!"
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How can you omit Gordon Lightfoot from the list? No Early Morning Rain or any of the other classic songs he wrote which even Elvis covered...
Gordon may not be as diverse as Neil Young but he's right up there with Joni Mitchell, yet he's not on the list. Yeah right...
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By no means a perfect list, but any list that puts Tom Waits in the Top 5 is okay by me.
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I know it says this list was voted by journalists and musicians. So, how many times did Conner Oberst vote for himself?
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There's no point in arguing over it. If you really wanna argue, make your own list. Sure, you probably don't own a magazine as popular as "Paste," but if you're not satisfied, have a ball.
All I have to say is I'm happy Bazan's in.
I wish people would stop overrating Conor Oberst.
And the list is a little bit too focused to living songwriters who are in their prime or not as past it as Young or Dylan (Sufjan Stevens, Ryan Adams, Jack White).
But it's not my list.
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John R. you are an idiot. You know nothing about music. Billy Joel will be remembered 25, 50, 100 500 years from now, he is not only of the greatest living songwriters but but one of the greatest of last and current centuries. If you are faceless, talented, and melodic in these times (Steely Dan, Billy Joel) the critics will hate you. Get a life man...
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Two Words.....JOE JACKSON!
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Where's frank black?
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jeff mangum?!
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Tool
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But it's not my list.
Never thought about it 'til now, but that could be the problem!
John R. you are an idiot. You know nothing about music. Billy Joel will be remembered 25, 50, 100 500 years from now, he is not only of the greatest living songwriters but but one of the greatest of last and current centuries.
Free subscription to Paste heading your way, Adamski! You've earned it!
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John Mellencamp: Have you all forgotten about the song writing brilliance of this man, i would have him in the top 10.....Yes Dylan #1.
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WHAT A PLEASURE (well for just a few minutes of investment anyway) TO POINT OUT THIS NASTY NO NO...
NO list of contemporary gifted songwriters is complete without the name of this individual, who SNEEZES more memorable popular music than 98% of the people on this list take the trouble to compose.
RIC OCASEK
Besides which DONALD FAGEN and BILLY JOEL are GLORIOUSLY OBVIOUS omissions.
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Neil Diamond is top 10. It's hard to take this list seriously with such a glaring omission. Forget Diamond's output since the mid 70's. The man was a songwriting genius from 1966-72. He didn't need to tip his hat to anyone.
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Ha! John Lennon is missing! Whats this? Some joke?
And U2? How come? With lines like
"Freedom has a scent like the top of a new born baby's head"
Wierd!!!!
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To the idiot who complained John Lennon wasn't on here, this is a list of the 100 best living songwriters.
I'm sorry to inform you that John Lennon is dead.
He was, however, a fantastic songwriter while he was alive.
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The problem with this list is that it doesn't have either Ben Gibbard or Tori Amos.
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Agreed
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Nick Cave number 90!?!?!?!?
Must be a joke! If he aint among the top ten living writers, no one is!
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>No Aphex Twin?!
"I wish the Milkman would deliver my milk..."
I have to admit, that's pretty classic, right there.
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My major qualm with this list, the 100 Best Living Songwriters, is that it includes James Brown who is, in fact, non-living (i.e., dead)!
Also, Ryan Adams, but no Joanna Newsom? What a joke!
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this list is stupid because townes van zandt is dead. Why not make a list of the 100 best left handed songwriters, who cares when you put arbitrary limits like 'life'
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Jesus, I was going to have a fucking coniption fit it Bob Pollard didn't make that list.
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Also, I find it kind of dumb that music mags always feel the need to over-pepper such lists with of bunch of contemporary people just to show that they're not Rollling Stone- although Rolling Stone does the samee thing. I seriously doubt Conor Oberst's material will stand the test of time like a Dylan or a McCartney or, to make it more personal, a Bob Pollard, Stephin Merrit, or Stuart Murdoch will for me. Oberst makes singer-songwriter music, the aformentioned write songs. The distinction is actually quite easy to explain in a rational and relatively objective way.
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Jeff Tweedy is incredible.
But as many have noted, the list-makers did a pretty big blunder in forgetting to include Jeff Mangum (surely they just forgot)...
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Just to answer the question of WHY NO LENNON? Check the title. 100 best LIVING songwriters. That's why.
Otherwise, he would obviously have been on it.
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WERE IS JIM STEINMAN??????????
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This is an outrage, Neil diamond should be in the top ten, But he is not even on the list, holy shit. And no richard marx, He is a very talented song writer.
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Wow you people that say Sufjan Stevens and Conor Oberst shouldnt be on her are seriously stupid considering they are twwo of the best songwriters today.
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Nick Cave could out-write the shit out of most of the people on this list... like, for example, Joni Mitchell. Yeah, put Cave at #9 and round out the top 10 with Ray Davies (#41?! Disgrace! Elvis Costello probably wouldn't have a career if it weren't for Davies). Get Townshend in at #11 and we'll call it a deal.
And let's get Mangum and Meloy on the list. Somewhere. I don't care where. Maybe Stephin Merritt too, but I won't be greedy.
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Im pretty sure Ryan Adams should have been over Jeff Tweedy... Everyone should have... Tweedy doesnt write the good songs by himself... Wilco should be on there, but not Tweedy... Plus Ryan Adams is better than anyone else you can name... dead or alive
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why no Dave Grohl. just listen to his songs, they are moving he should be on it. im not saying at the top, he should just be on it somewhere
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Umm....okay, I know this is just a list and all, but Prince was not nor will ever be a better songwriter than Lou Reed. If any of you listen to a song like Venus in Furs, it's as if it's going through your body, you can almost feel the music.....and I believe that makes a good song.
Also, Leonard Cohen was better than Paul mc Cartney, Lennon made the Beatles.
And Jack White also deserves a higher place.
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Where's Glen Campbell, Neil Diamond, Elton John and Barry Manilow?
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Neil Diamond is one the greatest living songwriters and should be in the top 10. Sorry -I cannot take the list seriously. Diamond is HUGELY under-rated as a songwriter.
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What about Noel Gallagher? That guy could write the paint off of a wall, even if he was a complete tosser. You can't just get a broom and sweep Wonderwall, Don't Look Back in Anger and Cast No Shadow under the rug because of the fact that Gallagher was a tad bit opinionated. Why the hell is Morrissey on his own? Johnny Marr wrote equally amazing music for Morrisseys lyrics, as if you could listen to the compositions of This Charming Man, How Soon Is Now and Back to the Old House, and yet leave him off this list. And if it was listed as just Morrissey then why the hell isn't he top twenty? This list is a joke. What the hell is Beck doing on there? WTF? You ranked Jack White infront of Pink Floyd and Fleetwood Mac? What is wrong with you you retards thats like murdering the music industry. Jack White shouldn't even be on here for god's sakes.
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WTF?!?! NO Trent Reznor? He should be in the top 5, along with Kurt Cobbain. This list is ridiculous...
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1. John Darnielle
2. Blake Schwarzenbach
3-100 everybody else.
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if a tree falls in a forest and no one is there-it still makes a sound. This might tree, "Grant Lee Phillips of Grant lee Buffalo should be in the top 10. Better voice than all these guys including Jeff Buckley , and lyrics that implement American folklore -more intense and invoke more then a LSD Beatles song
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CSN, Stevie Winwood, Band, black Crowes have a perfect song and song writing that supports their sound, the Drive by Truckers over the Black Crowes? Cat Stevens should be in the top, Simon Garfunkle should be in the top 5
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just turned on my 6 years from now radio " Sam Baker " is burn'n the air waves , then we'll turn on- the way back machine to 2009 , when everybody knew they new .
gerry
the wood butcher
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