DaveC
Blue Crack Addict
i'm not, but your taste in music is fucking shit so it's not surprising you would think that.
American Soul.
- Thread starter super fly guy
- Start date
The friendliest place on the web for anyone that follows U2.
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If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.
Iggy Fizz
War Child
American Soul is terrible. And yes the lyrics are a big part of that. The re-use of Volcano is absurd. And I say that as someone who really like Volcano (I get why some hate it, whatever).
BVS
Blue Crack Supplier
Well I’m by no means a Kendrick expert and I know that rap lyrics have to be judged differently, but I’ve heard some clunkers in the exposure I’ve had. Think I’m a terrorist eat my asparagus, and there’s something about a grown man that likes to use the word ‘dookie’ that makes me cringe, but like I said, I’ll leave it up to the experts in here to see if they agree with that assessment.
Though I don't quite have a hate-on for the song, I was surprised to find out that Flood also co-produced and played on "Song for Someone" from their last album.
LemonMelon
More 5G Than Man
I'm not sure what lyric you're referring to and a google search doesn't bring anything up.
LemonMelon
More 5G Than Man
Also, John Darnielle of the Mountain Goats is probably the best lyricist alive and he's released roughly 16 albums, as well as countless other tapes.
the tourist
Blue Crack Addict
- Joined
- Dec 25, 2003
- Messages
- 27,919
Regarding Native Son v. Vertigo, I'll take 90% of Vertigo over Native Son - but Vertigo could have really benefitted from the backing vocals on the chorus of Native Son. Obviously the lyrics would have had to change from "On the run... Native son... Native son... It's so hard" to something that fit Vertigo better. But the same notes and whatnot. Would have been better than the "Hola... donde esta..."
BVS
Blue Crack Supplier
Nevermind... Most of my exposure to Kendrick, with the exception of the last 2 albums was through my friend and his playlists. I just text him and he said a lot of that was freestyle early stuff he was playing.
Ohhh snap
DaveC
Blue Crack Addict
"hol' up" is easily the worst track on all four of those albums (and it's from the first one).
the only possible thing you could mean with that "dookie" bit is a line from "training day" which is on a mixtape recorded a full 5 years before any of those albums when he was still a 17 year old called k-dot. it's the only time he ever used that word in any of his verses. i have no idea how you would have randomly heard that and nothing off TPAB or DAMN.
and in any case it's not like he's talking about shit, the line is talking about things that were in style in the 80s and no longer are, and he's specifically referring to dookie ropes, which is a kind of chain i'm sure you've seen before:
i'm not trying to suggest he's 100% clunker-free but loads of his lines that sound odd at first listen have an actual meaning if you know the context or think carefully about them.
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BVS
Blue Crack Supplier
Where do you suggest I start, because I YouTubed 2 of his songs and wasn’t impressed. Best lyricist alive is quite a title to live up to, and I found No Children and This Year(?) kinda juvenile.
BVS
Blue Crack Supplier
"hol' up" is easily the worst track on all four of those albums (and it's from the first one).
the only possible thing you could mean with that "dookie" bit is a line from "training day" which is on a mixtape recorded a full 5 years before any of those albums when he was still a 17 year old called k-dot. it's the only time he ever used that word in any of his verses. i have no idea how you would have randomly heard that and nothing off TPAB or DAMN.
and in any case it's not like he's talking about shit, the line is talking about things that were in style in the 80s and no longer are, and he's specifically referring to dookie ropes, which is a kind of chain i'm sure you've seen before:
i'm not trying to suggest he's 100% clunker-free but loads of his lines that sound odd at first listen have an actual meaning if you know the context or think carefully about them.
No, I know the dookie ropes song.
But yeah, I know what you’re saying.
LemonMelon
More 5G Than Man
Depends on what you want to hear, I suppose. We Shall All Be Healed is a harrowing look at addiction, Tallahassee (where No Children comes from) is an analysis of a troubled relationship fueled by alcohol, The Sunset Tree is about his childhood and the struggles that he had coping with his stepfather's abuse and domineering presence. All of them are fairly equal in sound, though each one is a little cleaner and more crisp than the next.
It's a matter of both consistent quality across 20 years and the wide arrange of topics that he writes about that gives him that title, for me. He's written about abusive step parents, marriage (and divorce), travel, meth addiction, wrestling, goth culture, the Bible, you name it, and in extremely minute detail.
What one calls juvenile, another calls personable and real. Dylan's surrealist phase could probably earn the title of juvenile to some as well, but certainly we all know there's greater to depth to what he's saying than the occasional amusing turn of phrase. Darnielle is the kind of guy that can express a sour relationship as "Our love is like the border between Greece and Albania/Trucks loaded down with weapons/Crossing over every night/Moon yellow and bright" and get away with it.
The top comment here also does a great job of describing what makes his writing so special: https://www.reddit.com/r/indieheads/comments/2q1m5y/why_is_john_darnielle_such_a_highly_regarded/
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kiwilad
Refugee
Best lyrisist conversations need to at least include Guy Garvey of Elbow. He can paint entire lives in one or two lines.
mikal
Blue Crack Addict
This song is actually becoming my favorite of the 4 new ones. FWIW, it's the only one of the four that my 8 year old likes too.
BVS
Blue Crack Supplier
I’ll give it a listen. And ‘juvenile’ wasn’t meant to be offensive, I was just genuinely surprised to find out how old he was after hearing those songs.
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LemonMelon
More 5G Than Man
Cool, I hope you get a lot of enjoyment out of what you here. Also bear in mind, he was writing in character on those songs (literally from the perspective of a teenager on This Year), so that impacts the voice. Verbal sophistication should go up and down depending on who's talking.
BVS
Blue Crack Supplier
Popmartijn
Blue Crack Supplier
I just discovered him with his/their last album Ghosts, so I'd say that's also a good starting point (though the song Andrew Eldritch Is Moving Back To Leeds might not have the most sophisticated topic, it is an interesting angle, but I'd first recommend Rain In Soho).
BTW, their show last month here was very good. Surprised by the setting (just 2 people and including guitars whereas Goths is a band effort with no guitars at all).
BVS
Blue Crack Supplier
CosmoKramer
Rock n' Roll Doggie
- Joined
- Aug 19, 2004
- Messages
- 3,325
I much prefer Vertigo to Native son. I also prefer the ABOY single(not Alternate version) to the album cut due to a crisper sounding solo(I also like the yell before the solo) and a corrected chorus where Bono has proper timing.
That is all
That is all
I could see maybe saying his lyrics on the first album were something special, but since then? Come on. I’d say he’s barely competent at this point, and most of his lyrics are ridiculous and derivative. But I guess it’s “cool” to like him, so a lot of people jump on the bandwagon.
LemonMelon
More 5G Than Man
You're right. Look at this garbage.
From this year:
When I was 27, I grew accustomed to more fear
Accumulated 10 times over throughout the years
My newfound life made all of me magnified
How many accolades do I need to block denial?
The shock value of my success put bolts in me
All this money, is God playin' a joke on me?
Is it for the moment, and will he see me as Job?
Take it from me and leave me worse than I was before?
At 27, my biggest fear was losin' it all
Scared to spend money, had me sleepin' from hall to hall
Wow, how derivative. Hip hop is nothing if not loaded with rappers terrified to spend money and opening up about it on record. Way to pile on, Kendrick.
From 2016:
I got 100 on my dash, got 200 in my trunk
Name in the grab bags, put my Bible in the trunk
Taaka vodka on the top of my binocular I'm drunk
How come I can make them popular, then pop em' when I want?
See I'm living with anxiety, ducking the sobriety
Fuckin' up the system and I ain't fuckin' with society
Justice ain't free, therefore justice ain't me
So I justify his name in an obituary
Why you want to see a good man with a broken heart?
Once upon a time I used to go to church and talk to God
Now I'm thinking to myself, hollow tips is all I got
Now I'm drinking by myself, at the intersection, parked
Ridiculous lyricism! What a caricature of a human being.
2015:
I've been dealing with depression ever since an adolescent
Duckin' every other blessin' I can never see the message
I could never take the lead, I could never bob and weave
From a negative and letting them annihilate me
And it's evident I'm moving at a meteor speed
Gonna run into a building, lay my body in the street
Keep my money in the ceiling, let my mama know I'm free
Give my story to the children and a lesson they can read
And the glory to the feeling of the holy unseen
Seen enough to make a motherfucker scream "I love myself!"
2012:
Sometimes I look in the mirror and ask myself:
Am I really scared of passing away?
If it's today, I hope I hear a cry out from Heaven so loud
It can water down a demon
With the Holy Ghost until it drown in the blood of Jesus
I wrote some raps that made sure that my lifeline's reeking
With the scent of a reaper, ensuring that my allegiance
With the other side may come soon
And if I'm doomed
May the womb of my mother be blessed for many moons
I suffer a lot
And every day that glass mirror get tougher to watch
I tie my stomach in knots
And I'm not sure why I'm infatuated with death
My imagination is surely an aggravation of threats
That can come about
’Cause the tongue is mighty powerful
And I can name a list of your favorites that probably vouch
Maybe 'cause I'm a dreamer and sleep is the cousin of death
Really stuck in the schema of wondering when I'm gonna rest
Man, who could legitimately like this guy? No substance. Just ripping off hip hop cliches (he even stole a line from Nas!!) Thanks for pointing me to the error of my ways. I can stop pretending to be cool now.
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Sit down.
lazarus
Blue Crack Supplier
Congrats, you've only been a member for 2 months and you're quickly becoming one of the most unpopular people here.
Stop being a judgmental ass.
camiloj
War Child
Personally, I find U2 is so much more enjoyable without the over analysis.
I like the song, not love it. I like everything I have heard from SOE more than anything on SOI so far. And I never thought of Volcano (probably because I usually skip it on SOI)...that being said, I like it better than Volcano, Boots, and Joey Ramone and actually what it reminds me of in a way is Vertigo....
I like the song, not love it. I like everything I have heard from SOE more than anything on SOI so far. And I never thought of Volcano (probably because I usually skip it on SOI)...that being said, I like it better than Volcano, Boots, and Joey Ramone and actually what it reminds me of in a way is Vertigo....
Wow. I'm sorry, but if you can't see how most of that is laughable garbage, then I can't help you.
LemonMelon
More 5G Than Man
It's a good thing that we have the unstoppable songwriting team of 2017 Bono and Ryan Tedder to show us what real lyricism looks like!
Yeah I'm sorry you hate U2 so much.
BVS
Blue Crack Supplier
Haywa, I know this is unsolicited but I think you’d enjoy this place if you didn’t take every criticism of U2 or praise of someone non-U2 so personally.
That’s just going to stress you out. And at the end of the day, who cares? You enjoy it, most in here enjoy it, so why not just bask in that?
Not everyone needs to like the color red, or understand Seinfeld, speak your language, share your religion, enjoy pizza, or like every U2 song.
It doesn’t always have to be about hate or personal attacks.
That’s just going to stress you out. And at the end of the day, who cares? You enjoy it, most in here enjoy it, so why not just bask in that?
Not everyone needs to like the color red, or understand Seinfeld, speak your language, share your religion, enjoy pizza, or like every U2 song.
It doesn’t always have to be about hate or personal attacks.
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