Korean Job Discussion Forums

[Alyallen]

According to blender magazine the dubious honor goes to Sting but who's your #1?

Me: Puff Daddy, P. Diddy, Sean Combs...Whatever name he uses, his lyrics are tragic garbage.

Sting tops list of worst lyricists Mon Oct 8, 6:20 PM ET

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Maybe Sting should start writing more instrumentals.

The school teacher-turned-rock star topped Blender's list of the worst lyricists, thanks to lines that betray "mountainous pomposity (and) cloying spirituality," the music magazine said.

The survey, contained in the November issue that hits newsstands next week, placed Rush drummer Neil Peart at No. 2, Creed frontman Scott Stapp at No. 3, Oasis guitarist Noel Gallagher at No. 4, and soft-rocker Dan Fogelberg at No. 5.

Blender assailed Sting for such alleged sins as name-dropping Russian novelist Vladimir Nabokov in the Police tune "Don't Stand So Close to Me," quoting a Volvo bumper sticker ("If You Love Someone Set Them Free"), and co-opting the works of Chaucer, St. Augustine and Shakespeare.

A spokeswoman for the English rocker, who is currently in Belgium on the Police's reunion world tour, did not respond to a request for comment.

Blender described Canadian rocker Peart's lyrics as "richly awful tapestries of fantasy and science," and said Gallagher "seemed incapable of following a metaphor through a single line, let alone a whole verse."

Further down the ranks, Led Zeppelin frontman Robert Plant (No. 23) was derided for his Tolkienesque musings on Gollum and Mordor in "Ramble On."

Carly Simon (No. 31) was mocked for rhyming "yacht," "apricot" and "gavotte" in "You're So Vain."

Paul McCartney made No. 38, thanks in part to "Ebony and Ivory," his socially conscious duet with Stevie Wonder.

[jinju]

That loser from radiohead

[SPINOZA]

Sting has written a lot of exceptional music. Maybe those journalist w@nkers should stop raping Mother Nature with their rancorous flatulence!

Worst lyricist: Noel Gallagher, no question.

[ernie]

the guy from RCHP is pretty bad, too... they would be one of my fave bands if not for his embarrasing lyrics

[robot]

These days I've been getting irritated with Win Butler of Arcade Fire for using phrases like "mirror, mirror, on the wall..."

Though many regard Billy Corgan as a poet, I've always thought he was pretentious and overrated.

Michael Stipe's lyrics are famously obtuse. Beck, on the other hand, does the stream-of-consciousness thing well.

Jinju: Yeh, Thom Yorke does have an irritating penchant to repeat the same word or phrase over and over ad nauseum, but otherwise I think he's a fine lyricist. We'll have to start up that old Radiohead Sucks thread to continue that debate, though... ^^

[indytrucks]

James Taylor. God, how I loathe that shite. I've seen fire, I've seen rain, well cockadoodledeedoo, I love to see you on fire, James Taylor.

[tiger fancini]

[igotthisguitar]

Bob Dylan.

But then again, he's likely one of the very best

btw - Sting writes great lyrics.

[endofthewor1d]

whoever wrote that 'what if god was one of us' song.

she wins the honor for the lines:

'Just trying to make his way home
Nobody calling on the phone
Except for the pope maybe in rome'


that one's always bothered me.
if these are the best rhymes you can come up with, don't write the song. i've seen words forced together less horribly in the 'alliterated sentences' thread.

[billybrobby]

Paul McCartney has produced some truly sh*t lyrics. Maxwell's Sliver Hammer, my ass.

[Czarjorge]

First off, Jinju, you take a lot of hits on this board. Now I see they are justified. Radiohead is the best band on the planet.

Sting is pretty awful, but he could write a melody.

What about Eddie Vedder. "Evenflow" was crap. Let alone understanding what he was saying.

The worst EVER should be Cher. She probably only sang those songs, didn't write them, somehow that's even worse. I say "Gypsys, Tramps..." and crap.

[kermo]

Isn't it ironic?
Don't you think?
A little too ironic,
And I really do think...

[cbclark4]

Those that can do, those that can't criticize.

[oneofthesarahs]

Whoever writes the lyrics for Jethro Tull. Ye olde timey Ren fairre lyrics + rock + flute = crap

[flakfizer]

Not sure about worst lyricist, but I tought about starting a thread about bad lyrics. When I think bad lyrics, I always think of these from KISS: