Many songwriters, while excellent, do not require the "Every Single Song" treatment, as their works are fairly straightforward and easily understood. Dozens of great songwriters spring to mind from Tin Pan Alley, Broadway, pop, blues, folk, R&B, and country.
Some do not require such treatment, yet such a blog would still be enlightening and entertaining. I would read one about Springsteen's songs, or Bob Marley's, for instance. While their songs are fairly easy to grasp (once you get past, in Bruce's case, the Asbury Park album, learning to understand their references-- historical, cultural, biblical, and autobiographical (not to mention, in Bruce's case, automotive)-- would prove educational and fun... and greatly enhance the experience of listening to their songs. Certainly, they have the fame and quality necessary. I would also place Bono, Donovan, John Fogerty, Billy Joel, Carole King, Don Henley, Carly Simon, James Taylor, Stevie Wonder, and Dar Williams in this subset of songwriters.
That said, here are some performers whose works I believe both warrant the Every Single Song treatment-- in that they are songs of depth that need some spelunking to be plumbed-- and merit it, in that they are major enough artists for many people to even want to spend time understanding their lyrics in the first place:
David Bowie
Jackson Browne
Lindsey Buckingham (Fleetwood Mac/ solo)
David Byrne (Talking Heads/ solo)
Leonard Cohen
Elvis Costello
Ray Davies (The Kinks)
Bob Dylan
Donald Fagen & Walter Becker (Steely Dan)
Peter Gabriel (Genesis/ solo)
John Lennon (The Beatles/ solo)
Freddie Mercury (Queen)
Joni Mitchell
Jim Morrison (The Doors)
Van Morrison
Randy Newman
Prince
Lou Reed (Velvet Underground/ solo)
Sting (The Police/ solo)
Michael Stipe (REM)
Joe Strummer (The Clash)
Patti Smith
Bernie Taupin (Elton John's songwriter)
Pete Townshend (The Who/ solo)
Tom Waits
Neil Young
Frank Zappa
I would add Suzanne Vega, except for the fact that I already have done an Every Single Song blog on her work.
As you can see, my personal interests and knowledge run toward singer-songwriters of a certain genre and era. Please let me know if there are other artists you feel should be "Every Single Song-ed" in other genres or eras-- for instance, hip-hop or alt-rock; if I agree, I will add them to the list.
This is a great list! Lindsey Buckingham would be my first choice, followed by Pete Townshend. Love your insights on this blog!
ReplyDeleteAlicia-- Thanks so much! I have seen Buckingham perform solo, and I have several of his solo albums as well as Fleetwood Mac's, so I am glad you agree with me that he is usually unfairly overlooked when listing "great" songwriters.
ReplyDeleteAs for Townshend, he always makes such lists, and deservedly so. But I added him to THIS list because I think he makes a lot of references-- both to books and philosophy and history, but also to his own life-- in his songs, and understanding them would enhance the appreciation of his work. And someone with more familiarity with his work is better qualified to write that blog.
I am really, really tempted to do one of these for Mark Knopfler, a songwriter whom I consider the British equivalent to Bruce Springsteen and whose work has unfairly become associated with bland 80s middle-of-the-road rock because of the fame his band enjoyed in the mid-80s with Brothers in Arms (ironically their worst album).
ReplyDeleteThe issue is that his songs are so variable in what they try to achieve. One could easily spend 2000 words analysing everything that's going on (musically and lyrically) in On Every Street (the song not the album), and then you have other tracks on the same album that are pieces of throwaway fluff and don't really bear any analysis.
Anyway, I thought I'd take this opportunity to say that this blog is amazing, as is the Suzanne Vega one, and that they are invaluable companions for me when I listen to the albums of both these artists. I first found this blog when I was looking up exactly what's going on in Me and Julio Down by the Schoolyard (which isn't even a song I like all that much, but it definitely deserved analysing) and have had it bookmarked on my PC ever since. It is a delight to read the thoughts of someone who clearly loves these songs and has given each one the thought and care it deserves.
Dear Oracle: Thank you very much! I have been listening to the albums of Dire Straits, in release order, and I agree his work is very poetic and worth discussion (I also love his guitar work on Randy Newman's "It's Money That Matters").
ReplyDeletePlease go ahead and create your Mark Knopfler blog-- just because I went and did every Simon song does not obligate you to follow that pattern yourself. Believe me, there were a few Simon songs for which I struggled to come up with something to say-- they are not the same caliber, and how could they be. Even some Shakespeare plays are not regularly performed.
So comment on the songs you feel could benefit from it, and leave the rest.
It only took me an hour or so a week, so the time commitment is not huge.
Also, for what it's worth, even Simon has admitted he doesn't know what Julio and the others were up to.