1999n3121 said:

Janet Jackson? You're kidding, aren't you?

I'll give you Lennon, but not JJ and not Sheila either WTF!

1999n3121 said:

D'Angelo is my boy; I like Sheila E; Janet is cool and I can listen to Lenny and rock out a little...But come on???? They are not making this list...I'll give you Trent Reznor...By the way, John Lennon is not on the list because he's no longer with us...The list says Best "Living" songwriters....
[Edited 6/7/06 12:59pm]

So where's Madonna?????

4 Tom Waits, Kathleen Brennan

miguelbulcao said:

I know Joni Mitchell is still alive but didn't she stop writing songs?

I wonder if a list like this means anything to her?

kisscamille said:

I'll go head to head with you on both of these artists. They can craft some awesome lyrics when they want to. Take these lyrics from each:

Sheila E., from the song River God, album Heaven:

Sometimes raging wild
Sometimes swollen high
Never once I've known this river dry
The deepest part of you
Is where I want to stay
And feel the sharpest edges wash away

Janet Jackson, from the song Rhythm Nation, album same name:

With music by our side
We'll break the color lines
Work together to improve our way of life
Join voices in protest
To social injustice
A generation full of courage, come join with me

So bring it on - I DARE YOU!

Well the more important question is...

who the fuck reads PASTE? who has heard of it?

and why are we getting in a snit over some nknown group of editors giving their opinion?

its like a bunch of us lunkheads arguing over the opinions of another bunch of lunkheads here and that's just down right...

oh wait, I forgot where I was

CapedCrusader said:

People who like real music tend to read it which probably excludes you. It's concerned with substance over style, has never featured Britney, and tends to ignore the whims of fashion. It's low profile is what gives it more credibility than more commercially oriented rags like Rolling Stone.

blumer said:

Actually Ingrid Chavez and Lenny Wrote it! Madonna only changed a verse

hey thanks for the judgement call on my taste, that was really called for. i didnt make a personal attack or assumption on you.

the fact of the matter is i was making fun of any person or publication who organizes their opinions in a numerical order and proclaims a best of to sell a magazine. regardless of how low or high brow it is, they want to sell something.

i havent heard of it. am i not a real music fan? quite the opposite. is it so low profile only music snobs have access to it? then i dont want to be that either.

do i read rolling stone and like britney? i dont recall saying that, but obviously such a well read music fan such as yourself is soarticulate in your literary fashion to make me believe i do now.

all you could have said was, hey you havent heard of it? heres what it is. but you had to assume im not a real music fan

thanks

score one for Paste readers.




[Edited 6/9/06 13:59pm]

and Madonna?????

CapedCrusader said:

I accept my tone was rude but the point I was making was that it's low profile is not a reason to dismiss the list. I mention RS because presumably you'd think their list should be taken more seriously because they're better known. Their popularity actually compromises them because like politicians they've got to pander to the masses. If that means calling Alicia Keys the "new Aretha Franklin" then they'll do it with no qualms. You've got to be a pussy and an ass kisser to get and keep a job on one of those rags and whatever you do, don't tell the truth. I'm not a snob. I just don't like being lied to. Every major entertainment or music magazine lies to you. Just read some of their album reviews and you'll see what I mean

No Hall & Oates, or Jam & Lewis, probably the most successful songwriting duos since Lennon & McCartney or the Glimmer Twins? No Kenneth "Babyface" Edmonds or Mariah Carey? Paul McCartney only at 5 and Smokey Robinson not even in the top 10?

Please.

butter4yourmuffin said:

The Smokey Robinson omission from the top ten is enough to make this list total crap. Motown (Holland,Dozier and Holland), James Brown, Isaac Hayes, Gamble and Huff, Stevie Wonder should all be in the top ten. These lists are always made by a core group of white male elitists who perpetuate a cultural bias in their critiques. James Brown's song structures are the basic blueprint for funk, rap and contemporary pop and dance music. The reader's list is even worse. It's funny to see all the writers at the top of the list who have stolen from the writers at the bottom.

jdcxc said:

Do you really think JB should be in the top ten? Top ten songwriters. I mean sure he has contributed a shitload to music but I don't think he is that great a lyricist

And how can Chuck Berry be so low. Brian Wilson and Paul McCartney have made careers out of stealing from him.

The reason James Brown is 'so low' on this list (to some of you) is an easy thing to explain: James was great at producing funky riffs (one of the best in my opinion), but the list is talking about songwriters, and that also includes verses, chorusses and lyrics, in my honest opinion, when it comes to those, there are a lot of artists above James...

Of course these kind of lists are all subjective, but i am SERIOUSLY missing:
- Neil Finn (Split Enz, Crowded House, Finn Brothers, solo)
- Matthew Sweet
- Paddy McLoon (Prefab Sprout)

Paste Magazine's Top 100 Living Songwriters
96 Jimmy Cliff