Uh oh. Blender's "The 40 Worst Lyricists In Rock".

[paologregorio]

If it weren't for Sci Fi, and Star Trek in particular, no one whould have been inspired to invent flip phones.

I don't mean to bag on Pert by stating this, and I don't think my comment does, but I don't know how Pert came up with those lyrics after reading Rand's Anthem I've read a lot of Rand and she was definitely not into "oracles" or anything else with even a hint of mysticism. that being said, it's a freakin' song, and to make any song work lyrically, the lyricist often has to use rhyming symbolic language, as I'm sure you all know. I don't know how that's any worse or any better than any song of that era, prog or otherwise. Here's another one from the 70s that surely isn't much, if any, better; "Midnight at the Oasis, put your camel to bed".

The list is probably all in good fun, but the guy who wrote it is probably a dork anyway.

[nattiep]

Ok, that was an example, and I realize it was about chess, but used as a metaphor as something else. What is that something else?
Perhaps I should pick a different song.
Ok, Heart Of The Sunrise. Please explain this song to me.

"Straight light moving and removing
SHARPNESS of the colour sun shine
Straight light searching all the meanings
Of the song
Long last treatment of the telling that
Relates to all the words sung Dreamer easy in the chair that really fits
You"

Yeeeeah. The meanings of the song. Please, enlighten me.

Had to read the rest of the lyrics, but it seems to be about finding moments of clarity or peace in life, whether being in nature (or somewhere peaceful) or lost in a daydream.

You're trying waaaay too hard John. See, even you don't know what it's about! Yer just guessin.

19 • Queensÿche
Operation: Rhymecrime.

The bulk of Queensrÿche’s awful oeuvre is high school poetry at its most pseudo-profound—the prog-metal band’s lone hit was guitarist Chris DeGarmo’s nonsensically titled “Silent Lucidity” (“I am smiling next to you, in silent lucidity”). Singer Geoff Tate’s most accomplished work, the 1988 concept album Operation: Mindcrime, is execrable: The plot—a villain named Dr. X brainwashes a junkie into assassinating politicians—strives for sociopolitical importance but plays like something you’d catch on the Sci Fi Channel at 3 a.m.
Worst Lyric: “Unfortunate son ­cornered, cowering in the pit/Of circling panes of glass/That surround and reveal/The ever-present ‘It’” (“I Am I”)
bonus Worser Lyric: “Remember making love in the rain?/Strange how laughter looks like ­crying with no sound/Raindrops taste like tears without the pain” (“Another Rainy Night [Without You]”)"

BULL$HIT! All lies, this list is sooo stupid. The Another Rainy Night line is great! And I Am I is an awesome song, c'mon. If they're gonna make fun of something, how bout the vampire lyrics on Rage For Order!
Nobody mentions the overlaping verses of Suite Sister Mary.

The Priest is cold and dead/on his knees he fed/from my barrel of death he turned/the holy water red/as he died he said/thank you/I just watched him bleed.

That's clever $hit.
How about the lyrics for "Someone Else?"
http://www.queensryche.com/releases/pro ... index.html

15 • Bernie Taupin
Would probably have sucked as a sculptor too.

Elton John almost never communicates with his lifelong lyricist. Would you want the guy who wrote “If I was a sculptor—then again, no” (“Your Song”) and “It’s quite peculiar in a funny sort of way” (“Madman Across the Water”) coming round for tea? Taupin’s many works of sublime badness include Starship’s 1985 hit “We Built This City,” a rebellious anthem about how hard it is for an aging hippie band to keep a record deal and, more recently, Lestat, a 2006 musical based on the novels of Anne Rice.
Worst lyric: “Someone always playing corporation games/Who cares—they’re always changing corporation names/We just want to dance here, someone stole the stage/They call us irresponsible, write us off the page” (“We Built This City”) "

Ok, the Starship song sucks anyway, but making fun of Madman Across The Water? I'm gonna go get a gun and find the lil ******* that wrote this. And what else should redeem this man? How bout "The Greatest Discovery", "60 Years On", "Mona Lisa's And Mad Hatters". Please. Not to mention "Inmates (we're all crazy) from Alice Cooper's "From The Inside".

07. Paul Stanley... well that's what KISS is, so tough! Just cuz Gene Simmons lyrics are hilarious doesn't mean they don't suck more than Paul's. Please. "I want to put my log in your fireplace" WOW.

Along those lines, here a guy they missed. Robin Zander. (Cheap Trick)

I didn't know what to think
She seemed to know what to drink
I was stunned by her gun
Couldn't walk, couldn't run
Connie likes candy, every bite
All day sucker, connie might
Swallow that thing 'cause she does it right
She just wants affection
My soldier's at attention

WTF?! And those lyrics don't suck?!! Gene Simmons eat yer heart out.. woooooow.

I'm sorry, but if you're goin to qualify someone as a bad lyricist then you have to take into account everything the person has ever done. Not just pick a couple of song that suck. Think about the good songs, the amazing songs, the memorable songs. Songs you can sing to. Rock And Roll All Nite may have sucky lyrics, but you remember them, right? And not cuz they suck, cuz the song they're in is good. I'm glad they didn't put Roger Waters on this list or I'd be raising even more hell, putting lyrics from The Final Cut, Pros and Cons, and Animals on here. He's brilliant. I like that they put rappers on the list, but if it's about bad lyricists then the whole list should be filled with new music. It's all awful.

[phlemmy]

I love it. The author of that list got you folks all riled up. Mission accomplished.

[bitzerguy]

I think Lennon once told some guy camping on his property "They're just words. They sound good to me when I sing them. They don't mean anything." Michael Snipes also took that to heart.

For someone who is as relevant as his writing, Blender sure made an impression.

[charlyg]

I doubt getting us riled up was the authors(plural) intent. The names even sound young!

By Jon Dolan, Josh Eells, Tim Grierson, Andrew Harrison, Ben Mitchell, Tony Power and Mark Yarm

Blender, November 2007

[sloop_john_b]

You're trying waaaay too hard John. See, even you don't know what it's about! Yer just guessin.

Nonsense. It took me no more than three minutes to come to that interpretation - and I do stress the word "interpretation". Of course I don't know what it's about. Nobody does except Jon Anderson, and perhaps the meaning is lost on even him by now. And no, i'm not just "guessing" - I read the lyrics and that was what I gathered from them. Isn't that what interpretation is?!

I love it. The author of that list got you folks all riled up. Mission accomplished.

Not sure why you phrased this so condescendingly, Sean. It has, at the very least, fueled some healthy discussion about lyrics, inspiration, and interpretation, and has helped me to reflect on some of my own work.

[phlemmy]

[sloop_john_b]

Well, surely if Phil were on the list (which I don't think he deserves to be), you might be up for some discussion about it!

[wj350]

I thought the list and comments were pretty amusing. I've never even heard of some of these folks, and of those whose work I've heard, I'd say it's about 50-50 on my agreement.

I thought the self-quiz they include at the end of the "Worst Artists" list was pretty funny....

Bill

[phlemmy]

Well, surely if Phil were on the list (which I don't think he deserves to be), you might be up for some discussion about it!

It honestly would not have phased me a bit.

[woodyng]

(to the tune of "don't fear the reaper") "don't read the blender"

[winston]

(to the tune of "don't fear the reaper") "don't read the blender"

Good one Woody!

[lyle_from_minneapolis]

Okay, please read this preface: I love YES.

That said, Jon Anderson really does write some wiggy, weird stuff sometimes... Some of his lyrics have not dated as well as the music. On the flipside, what he sings meshes perfectly as musical sounds, and his vagueness is purposeful, I think. And there are a lot of exquisite songs, lyric-wise. "Turn of the Century" springs to mind.

And now that I'm wearing my plastic tarp, let the mudslinging begin!

[charlyg]

Neil was on that list but I would have a hard time saying anything bad about these lyrics.

Living on a lighted stage
Approaches the unreal
For those who think and feel
In touch with some reality
Beyond the gilded cage

Cast in this unlikely role,
Ill-equipped to act
With insufficient tact
One must put up barriers
To keep oneself intact

Living in the limelight
The universal dream
For those who wish to seem

Those who wish to be
Must put aside the alienation
Get on with the fascination
The real relation
The underlying theme

Living in a fisheye lens
Caught in the camera eye
I have no heart to lie
I cant pretend a stranger
Is a long-awaited friend

All the worlds indeed a stage
And we are merely players
Performers and portrayers
Each anothers audience
Outside the gilded cage

[leftybass]

Neil was on that list but I would have a hard time saying anything bad about these lyrics.

Living on a lighted stage
Approaches the unreal
For those who think and feel
In touch with some reality
Beyond the gilded cage

Cast in this unlikely role,
Ill-equipped to act
With insufficient tact
One must put up barriers
To keep oneself intact

Living in the limelight
The universal dream
For those who wish to seem

Those who wish to be
Must put aside the alienation
Get on with the fascination
The real relation
The underlying theme

Living in a fisheye lens
Caught in the camera eye
I have no heart to lie
I cant pretend a stranger
Is a long-awaited friend

All the worlds indeed a stage
And we are merely players
Performers and portrayers
Each anothers audience
Outside the gilded cage

From my point of view, possibly my favorite Rush song ever, and a joy to play/sing.