Your Favorite Songwriter?

[Swingfinger]

at first I thought you wrote Ryan Cabrera... someone was going to get a slap

[thenakedarab]

That's like asking me who my favorite child or dog is man, just can't narrow it down far enough to even be worth notating. I can't even come down to favorite songwriters within different genre.

Then there's Zappa.

[harrisbquinn]

Anton Newcombe....he was the lead singer of The Brian Jonestown Massacre...prob not my favorite of ALL time but he's up there...right now anyway...Ian Curtis from Joy Division was a badass as well.

[Geno_xl]

My 2 favorite songwriters are:

Mitch Allan from SR-71(never heard of him have you)

and

John Reznik from the Goo Goo Dolls ( you can laugh if you want but they have a pretty extensive collection of music that covers everything from strait up punk to power ballads).

[Geno_xl]

I really can't believe Johnny Rzeznik hasn't been mentioned yet. Songs like "We Are the Normal", "Name", "Naked", and "On the Lie" are brilliant if you ask me. SERIOUSLY underrated because of the Dolls' later work, but Rzeznik's early writing not only lyrically but melody wise is on par with many of the greats.

 

 

I agree

 

Also, I'd like to add Joe Satriani. Technically he doesn't typically use words in his songs but he can really make the guitar sound as if it is singing.

[MattSkibaIsGOD]

John Denver
Paul Simon
Neil Diamond
Leonard Cohen


I learned everything I claim to know about songwriting from these four.

and of course all the traditional music I love so much.

[stbernard4]

I'm going to say:
Jeff Buckley
Damien Rice
The Silent Comedy
Regina Spektor
. . . and the rest escape me.

[geki]

Neil Young
Radiohead
Eddie Vedder

[Swingfinger]

I'm going to say: Jeff Buckley Damien Rice The Silent Comedy Regina Spektor . . . and the rest escape me.

 

 

Love Jeff, Damien, and Regina but I am not familiar with the other one.

[dannyrajan]

the funk brothers.

[yenerich]

Freddy mercury. the best one (also the best singer) for me.

[zuben]

Hey all. Pretty new here, but I thought I'd offer some thoughts:

For overall songwriting (music/lyrics), I think Roger Waters resonated most with me growing up. From the abstract (Cirrus Minor, Julia Dream), to the poignant (Cymbaline, If, Pigs on the Wing, Nobody Home), across the iconic tour de force 'concept' albums (DSotM, Wish You Were Here, Animals, The Wall), to what basically amounted to his first solo album, The Final Cut. A truly gifted artist. I thought the title track to Amused to Death was brilliant as well. A nod here to Syd as well, if only for the watershed Jugband Blues, the melancholy of his solo works, and all the songs he inspired Roger to write.

For singer/songwriter, Leonard Cohen was already an impassioned novelist and poet, and one who's spirituality didn't seem to be infected with religious dogma. His songs were at once a graceful prayer in service to love, as they were a plea for suicidal mercy from the wretched human condition. I just don't know of any others at his level. He's still working his way up the Tower of Song. Honorable mention to Conor Oberst who's just a few floors down yet.

Solely for lyrics, I'm surprised no one has mentioned Robert Hunter. A great storyteller and wordsmith. I couldn't make a succinct list of his best work. Most in his canon are worthy of note.

[kwakatak]

I have various favorites, some folk, some pop, some even country. It doesn't matter to me what genre it is as long as the lyrics grab my soul. Here's a partial list that I could only come up with offhand:

Ray LaMontagne
Don Henley
Sarah McLachlan
Bill Deasy
Cat Stevens
Neil Diamond
Bruce Springsteen

[LucianoFigallo]

Pete Townshend
Jimmy Page / Robert Plant
John Lennon / Paul McCartney
Mark Farner
Kurt Cobain

[Matximus]

My Favs:
-Noel Gallagher, back when he still had it from 1994-1999.
-Rhett Miller, before he kind of lost it with those last two Old 97's records.
-Beck, even though he blew a gasket after that sad break-up album he wrote a few years back.
-Shel Silverstein, who only really had it for two great songs - Boy Named Sue and Cover of the Rolling Stones. But man, those are great songs.
-And Bob Dylan, who had it, found it first, lost it, really lost it, and then been finding and losing it every other night for the last ten years.

[Sunsetcarcrash]

Ryan Adams, Neil Young, Jerry Garcia, Hank Williams, Jack White

[AeaeA]

That would be me, simply because i have read everything i have ever written, and i always seem to write what i like the most.

[Rudolf von Hagenwil]

Franz Schubert

[Enzan]

The songwriter of Turisas songs. Whoever he is, this guy is a genius!

[YOUTUBE]CmlNFlfrpWw[/YOUTUBE]

[NeverTheMachine]

Definitely Chris Cornell, Eddie Vedder, Jeff Buckley are my main influences as far as vocal style and lyrics.

 

Musically, my favorites are (since I'm not good enough to be directly influenced by them) probably the same three guys plus, Jimi Hendrix, JImmy Page, Tom Morello, Stone Gossard.

[Swingfinger]

really? Morello? did you hear his solo album? that was some really really weak song writing.

[NeverTheMachine]

really? Morello? did you hear his solo album? that was some really really weak song writing.

 

 

I'm talking about his riffs and penchant for weird sounds with Rage and Audioslave specifically, definitely not The NIghtwatchman, kind of obvious no?

 

Although they (the riffs) did get repetitive quick, they stick with you.