Blasphemous Poll

taz · Post by **taz** » Fri Mar 12, 2004 3:54 pm

I think this might have been done before...and with the nature of this site I'm pretty sure how it'll turn out, but at least I get to cast my vote for Tom...by a hair...

And yes, I know there are others you might vote for...but tough, this is my poll/my rules, no 'other' option...

(sorry, just kidding, odd mood...and I haven't even been drinking!)

Gillibeanz · Post by **Gillibeanz** » Fri Mar 12, 2004 4:07 pm

No contest!- Elvis wins hands down!

mood swung · Post by **mood swung** » Fri Mar 12, 2004 4:14 pm

QUIT CALLING ME ODD!!!!!!!!!

and I voted for me.

Jackson Doofster · Post by **Jackson Doofster** » Fri Mar 12, 2004 5:19 pm

Chris Difford and Randy Newman

taz · Post by **taz** » Fri Mar 12, 2004 5:42 pm

JD,

Have you ever seen the show Family Guy? There's one episode in the 2nd season (I got the DVD) where they have a parody of Randy Newman, funniest thing I've ever seen...should check it out.

Jackson Doofster · Post by **Jackson Doofster** » Fri Mar 12, 2004 5:50 pm

NOW THAT IS BLASPHEMY!!

laughingcrow · Post by **laughingcrow** » Fri Mar 12, 2004 6:32 pm

...that's like comparing Betjeman and Thomas - tough! Both great, both totally different in styles though!

Waits is much more obtuse, very gritty, almost sickeningly graphic in his descriptions...Costello is very careful, very witty and decisive.

Both are really misanthropic, and very good at capturing/conveying emotion in their lyrics...but at a push Id say EC, because their's just something about his turn of phrase I like. Very tight though.

This could really turn into a 'name a great lyricist' thread...so I'll hasten to add some more brits...Billy Bragg, Paul Heaton and Richard Thompson.

Mr. Average · Post by **Mr. Average** » Fri Mar 12, 2004 6:54 pm

Richard Thompson is the only lyricist that I consider in same league with Elvis. Graham Parker is a favorite but for an entirely different reason...his lyrics have the sharpness and accuity as Elvis, and he can turn a phrase inside out, but his lyrics seem to be designed to cut and paste into the music more than Elvis'. The Parker lyrics seem to seamlessly merge with the music. While not as challenging (overall) as Elvis' work, there is a beauty in the overall fit. Sometime, I feel as if Elvis is using a crowbar or a shoehorn to wedge the occasional challenging lyric into and/or around the music.

Square Peg, Round Hole.

Big Kick. Plain Scrap.

I voted for Elvis but my vote is so incredibly biased because my Tom Waits record collection is at one...and counting. So mentally disqualify one elvis vote if it is close...which it won't be.

Pov · Post by **Pov** » Sat Mar 13, 2004 9:20 am

It's a good thing the other choice wasn't Bob Dylan.

bambooneedle · Post by **bambooneedle** » Sat Mar 13, 2004 6:29 pm

I don't sense misanthropy or real vitriol in Waits. Ultimately I think he's always empathetic in portraying the often unsavoury characters' pathos.

Probably Elvis, by a nose

... but I can't vote.

What I like about Waits' style is the awesome beauty of lines like:

"..and some Bonneville* is screaming its way wildly down the street.", with "way wildly" bringing the sound of that to mind.

*a type of motorcycle (from Drunk On The Moon, The Heart Of Saturday Night).

lapinsjolis · Post by **lapinsjolis** » Mon Mar 15, 2004 3:57 pm

Why can't you vote Bambooneedle, aren't you a citizen?

Goody2Shoes · Post by **Goody2Shoes** » Mon Mar 15, 2004 4:06 pm

Or, perhaps he's a convicted felon.

pophead2k · Post by **pophead2k** » Mon Mar 15, 2004 7:03 pm

I had to lean towards Tom. Mostly due to his song 'style', his lyrics are a little easier to relate to or to even discern than many of ECs more obscure passages. Also, his attention to detail never ceases to amaze me (or break my heart). Still, for me this is like the debate as to whether KOA or B&C is 'better'. They both rule.

bambooneedle · Post by **bambooneedle** » Tue Mar 16, 2004 11:14 am

Why can't I vote? Because both are too good to vote against, and are very different but great writers so not on that criteria.

Notice how the best singer/writers are the most conscious in their use of words above all... that's why say Mellencamp songs are forgettable for the most part. It doesn't matter how wild and "interesting" a song seems, if they don't stand as writing as much, they're less indelibly impressed into memory, and there's less possibility for layering of meaning. Suzanne Vega is also very conscious of her words coming first, is a very concise and impacting writer.

Bob And Charlotte · Post by **Bob And Charlotte** » Thu Apr 01, 2004 2:12 pm

Tom Waits is great. Costello is 10 times better

Poppet · Post by **Poppet** » Thu Apr 01, 2004 4:35 pm

every time this thread pops back up, i think it's something

*religiously* blasphemous

and i get all interested. then i realize what it is, again.

just not that interesting. particularly since it could be so incendiary.

Elvis Costello Fan Forum

Blasphemous Poll

Who's the better lyricist?

Blasphemous Poll