drinking my vodka and lime...
---
The nation's favourite lyrics of all time are:
1. U2 - One. "One life, with each other, sisters, brothers."
2. The Smiths - How Soon is Now? "So you go, and you stand on your own, and you leave on your own, and you go home, and you cry, and you want to die."
3. Nirvana - Smells Like Teen Spirit. "I feel stupid and contagious, here we are now, entertain us."
4. Bob Marley - Redemption Song. "Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery, none but ourselves can free our minds, have no fear for atomic energy, 'cause none of them can stop the time."
5. Coldplay - Yellow. "Look at the stars, look how they shine for you."
Well, according to VH1 they are anyway - and it was decided by public vote from a shortlist, so it must be true, right?
You'd think I'd approve of a top 5 that included both Coldplay and The Smiths, wouldn't you? Well I don't. For starters I bet I could think of better lyrics by all of the top 5.... in some cases, better lyrics from the same song.
It's silly AND it just gives everyone an excuse to play that pointless, shockingly poor version of "One" featuring Mary J. Blige. What on earth are U2 hoping to achieve by releasing that? It's a good song, it's true, and there is some real emotional power in those lyrics - but the more I hear that ridiculous woman warbling over the top of it, the more I realise that Johnny Cash's stripped-down version has so much more power and is probably definitive. Has *any* song ever been enhanced by all that pointless vocal showboating that people like Blige, Mariah Carey, Sealion Dion and the like have made their stock in trade? I seriously doubt it.
I'm sure we've played this game before, but what's your favourite lyric?
I like loads, but for this evening I think I'll choose REM's "A simple prop to occupy my time" (from "the one I love"). Has there ever been a crueller and more concise dismissal of a relationship? People smooch to that when they play it live. They should listen more carefully.
(I hope you all had a good Easter break, by the way)
The nation's favourite lyrics of all time are:
1. U2 - One. "One life, with each other, sisters, brothers."
2. The Smiths - How Soon is Now? "So you go, and you stand on your own, and you leave on your own, and you go home, and you cry, and you want to die."
3. Nirvana - Smells Like Teen Spirit. "I feel stupid and contagious, here we are now, entertain us."
4. Bob Marley - Redemption Song. "Emancipate yourselves from mental slavery, none but ourselves can free our minds, have no fear for atomic energy, 'cause none of them can stop the time."
5. Coldplay - Yellow. "Look at the stars, look how they shine for you."
Well, according to VH1 they are anyway - and it was decided by public vote from a shortlist, so it must be true, right?
You'd think I'd approve of a top 5 that included both Coldplay and The Smiths, wouldn't you? Well I don't. For starters I bet I could think of better lyrics by all of the top 5.... in some cases, better lyrics from the same song.
It's silly AND it just gives everyone an excuse to play that pointless, shockingly poor version of "One" featuring Mary J. Blige. What on earth are U2 hoping to achieve by releasing that? It's a good song, it's true, and there is some real emotional power in those lyrics - but the more I hear that ridiculous woman warbling over the top of it, the more I realise that Johnny Cash's stripped-down version has so much more power and is probably definitive. Has *any* song ever been enhanced by all that pointless vocal showboating that people like Blige, Mariah Carey, Sealion Dion and the like have made their stock in trade? I seriously doubt it.
I'm sure we've played this game before, but what's your favourite lyric?
I like loads, but for this evening I think I'll choose REM's "A simple prop to occupy my time" (from "the one I love"). Has there ever been a crueller and more concise dismissal of a relationship? People smooch to that when they play it live. They should listen more carefully.
(I hope you all had a good Easter break, by the way)
posted by swisslet @ 19:46
8 Comments:
At 9:29 pm,
Mark said…
this reminds me of that old clssic quote by Bobby Gillespie when "Rocks" only got to number 2..
"Whitney Houston doesn't count, so we're Number 1"
At 10:58 pm,
Hyde said…
"A simple prop to occupy my time..." I can think of someone who thinks of relationships that way... :(
Will have to get back to you on the favorite lyrics though... Probably something Leonard Cohen.
At 11:38 pm,
bytheseashore said…
I'd always assumed that 'a simple prop to occupy my time' referred to the act of writing the song to take Stipe's mind off the fact that he was missing somebody. I've always found that incredibly romantic so will try to keep fooling myself.
Wasn't Gillespie's response to River Phoenix's death 'Lightweight?'
Favourite lyric (for now): 'Everybody's falling on me, and I'm as dead as a Christmas tree' (The Jesus And Mary Chain).
At 1:17 am,
Alecya G said…
Favorite quote, hmmm. A tie. Old favorite and a new favorite.
Old favorite: "You know, taken out of context I must seem so strange" Fire Door, Ani DiFranco
New Favorite [here's a shock] "Then a strange fear gripped me and I just couldn't ask." There is a light that never goes out, The Smiths
At 6:21 am,
Stef said…
Now there's an odd coincidence. For the first time in years I listened to REM yesterday and that track earwormed me!
The poll is rubbish and confirms everything I thought about VH1 viewers!
Favourite lyric? Ooh, too many to chose from! I'll ponder and return.
At 9:09 am,
Michael said…
I will openly admit that One by U2 does have some of my favorite lyrics ever written. I haven't heard the Mary J Blige version, nor do I desire to, although I also love the Cash version.
The smiths... good lyrics, not in my top ten though, same with Bob Marley and Coldplay. Those Nirvana lyrics might not make it into my top 1000.
Now, my top 5. (music fanatics like myself can't leave it to one, and would do 100's if we had the time.)
1. River of Deceit by Mad Season. "My pain is self-chosen
At least I believe it to be
I could either drown
Or pull off my skin and swim to shore
Now I can grow a beautiful shell for all to see"
2. Walk by Pantera. "You can't be something you're not."
3. Stinkfist by Tool. "Something kinda sad about,
the way that things have come to be.
Desensitized to everything.
What became of subtlety?
How can it mean anything to me,
if I really don't feel a thing at all?
I'll, keep, digging
till I, feel, something"
4. Doesn't Remind Me by Audioslave. "The things that I've loved the things that I've lost
The things I've held sacred that I've dropped"
5. Black by Pearl Jam. "Some day you'll have a beautiful life, some day you'll be a star. In somebody elses sky but why, why, why, can't it be mine?"
At 8:47 pm,
bedshaped said…
"This bed is on fire
With passionate love
The neighbors complain about the noises above
But she only cums when she's on top."
I think Tim Boothe and co pinned that one right down!
At 5:29 pm,
Mandy said…
The girl who sits next to me at work is in her early 20s, and she has never heard the original version of "One." She likes the MJB version. I wanted to cry when I heard that.
Favorite lyrics, favorite lyrics... Hmmmm. Well, it's probably the entire lyrics to "Red Right Ankle" by the Decemberists, particularly this part:
This is the story of the boys who loved you
Who loved you now and loved you then
And some were sweet, some were cold and snuffed you
And some just laid around in bed.
Some had crumbled you straight to your knees
Did it cruel, did it tenderly
Some had crawled their way into your heart
To rend your ventricles apart
This is the story of the boys who loved you
This is the story of your red right ankle
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