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Blacksword 
Prog Reviewer
Joined: June 22 2004
Location: England
Status: Offline
Points: 16130
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 Posted: February 24 2009 at 07:00 |
 ExittheLemming wrote:
Bad Lyrics ? They're a real no-brainer. Check out these immortal lines from ELP's 'Love Beach' as penned by Pete Sinfield"When I finally marched from Sandhurst, I'd learned to put my fellow man first""Yes it's great now you're a full-time nurse, but do be careful with the air-raids getting worse""If you made the first eleven, then you'd be sure to get to heaven""I want to hold you and enfold you beyond reason, climb on my rocket and we'll fly""Now I've got a different plan, for you and me beside the deep blue sea"Is there worse out there in Progland ?
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Holy sh!t..  That's bad.
Love Beach has never been on my 'to get' list, but after reading that, I think I will get it...
..and burn it, and jump up and down on it, and drive my car over it.... 
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Kotro
Prog Reviewer
Joined: August 16 2004
Location: Portugal
Status: Offline
Points: 2815
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Posted: February 24 2009 at 05:57 |
Bad lyrics in Prog? That's almost redundant to me.
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Bigger on the inside.
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ExittheLemming
Forum Senior Member
Joined: October 19 2007
Location: Penal Colony
Status: Offline
Points: 11420
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Posted: February 24 2009 at 04:57 |
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Bad Lyrics ? They're a real no-brainer. Check out these immortal lines from ELP's 'Love Beach' as penned by Pete Sinfield
"When I finally marched from Sandhurst, I'd learned to put my fellow man first"
"Yes it's great now you're a full-time nurse, but do be careful with the air-raids getting worse"
"If you made the first eleven, then you'd be sure to get to heaven"
"I want to hold you and enfold you beyond reason, climb on my rocket and we'll fly"
"Now I've got a different plan, for you and me beside the deep blue sea"
Is there worse out there in Progland ?
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Blacksword
Prog Reviewer
Joined: June 22 2004
Location: England
Status: Offline
Points: 16130
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Posted: February 24 2009 at 04:23 |
Ivan_Melgar_M wrote:
Oh please, Arriving UFO and Circus of Heaven are pure cheese IMO.
Iván |
Even after all these years, I'm still asking myself, were Yes being tonge in cheek when they wrote 'Circus of Heaven' or had they become so divored from reality, through their stardom, and excusrions across topographic oceans, that they genuinely believed, they were penning something of merit?
If the latter, I am dissapointed.
Genesis also wrote some dire lyrics after Gabriel left. 'All in a mouses night' is laughable, and most of the 'And then there were three' album is awful, lyric wise.
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fuxi
Prog Reviewer
Joined: March 08 2006
Location: United Kingdom
Status: Offline
Points: 2488
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Posted: February 24 2009 at 02:48 |
OzzProg wrote:
A good example of this would be Aisles of Plenty by Genesis; the lyrics are meaningless, but just sound so damn cool in the song. |
Aisle of Plenty makes a lot of sense, especially when you realise much of it is made up of puns on the names of British supermarkets, like Tesco and Safeway! And rattling off the names and prices of store products is pure poetry.
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fuxi
Prog Reviewer
Joined: March 08 2006
Location: United Kingdom
Status: Offline
Points: 2488
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Posted: February 24 2009 at 02:44 |
Ivan_Melgar_M wrote:
Oh please, Arriving UFO and Circus of Heaven are pure cheese IMO.
Iván |
Before GFTO, when Yes's lyrics were usually incomprehensible, they could also be intriguing. But I just cannot stand hippy preaching. "There's no doubt, NO DOUBT!" "You've got to want to succeed!" etc. etc. It makes me want to scream "No future for you!!!"
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fuxi
Prog Reviewer
Joined: March 08 2006
Location: United Kingdom
Status: Offline
Points: 2488
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Posted: February 24 2009 at 02:37 |
~Rael~ wrote:
Negoba wrote:
There are 3 kinds of lyrics:
Lyrics that whose meaning is a driving force of the song, as in most folk / singer-songwriter
Lyrics that sound good but have little or no bearing on the song other than their sound. (Actually I would argue most of the music I listen to other than folk)
Lyrics that actually ruin the song.
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This is really perfect. Unfortunately, Aryeon goes into the third. I envy the people who can ignore the lyrics. But I just can't, especially when they are so easy to understand. And to some of the people who asserted that lyrics, when it comes down to it, mean nothing. . . I have to really disagree. Lyrics are poetry, even if the lot is bad poetry (whatever "bad" poetry is).
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In a post about bad lyrics you write: "I repeat myslef when under stress". Is that a joke?
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~Rael~
Forum Senior Member
Joined: April 11 2006
Location: United States
Status: Offline
Points: 247
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Posted: February 23 2009 at 22:24 |
Negoba wrote:
There are 3 kinds of lyrics:
Lyrics that whose meaning is a driving force of the song, as in most folk / singer-songwriter
Lyrics that sound good but have little or no bearing on the song other than their sound. (Actually I would argue most of the music I listen to other than folk)
Lyrics that actually ruin the song.
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This is really perfect. Unfortunately, Aryeon goes into the third. I envy the people who can ignore the lyrics. But I just can't, especially when they are so easy to understand. And to some of the people who asserted that lyrics, when it comes down to it, mean nothing. . . I have to really disagree. Lyrics are poetry, even if the lot is bad poetry (whatever "bad" poetry is).
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I repeat myself when under stress, I repeat myself when under stress, I repeat myself when under stress, I repeat myself when under stress, I repeat myself when under stress . . .
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Jake Kobrin
Prog Reviewer
Joined: September 20 2008
Status: Offline
Points: 1303
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Posted: February 23 2009 at 21:53 |
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I was listening to Beardfish this week. The lyrics are just dreadful, which is too bad because the music is really great. I'm luckily able to ignore the lyrics...
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Logan
Forum & Site Admin Group
Site Admin
Joined: April 05 2006
Location: In repose.
Status: Offline
Points: 39007
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Posted: February 23 2009 at 21:35 |
rpe9p wrote:
I really dislike a lot of Spock's Beard's lyrics and I find that they detract from the music. I am not a huge fan of their music anyway, but my friends who are say they love the lyrics, which I dont understand.
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As I see it, in Spock's Beard's case, that they detract from the music isn't really a bad thing.  ;)
Edited by Logan - February 23 2009 at 21:36
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Watching while most appreciating a sunset in the moment need not diminish all the glorious sunsets I have observed before. It can be much like that with music for me.
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rpe9p
Forum Senior Member
Joined: December 31 2008
Location: Charlottesville
Status: Offline
Points: 485
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Posted: February 23 2009 at 21:29 |
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I really dislike a lot of Spock's Beard's lyrics and I find that they detract from the music. I am not a huge fan of their music anyway, but my friends who are say they love the lyrics, which I dont understand.
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Negoba
Prog Reviewer
Joined: July 24 2008
Location: Big Muddy
Status: Offline
Points: 5210
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Posted: February 23 2009 at 21:12 |
There are 3 kinds of lyrics:
Lyrics that whose meaning is a driving force of the song, as in most folk / singer-songwriter
Lyrics that sound good but have little or no bearing on the song other than their sound. (Actually I would argue most of the music I listen to other than folk)
Lyrics that actually ruin the song.
I have almost bought Aryeon's Human Equation many times, but then I sample it and the lyrics to something like "Love" will come on....my spine twists, and I just can't do it.
I would argue that why Genesis is the king here is that Gabriel's vocals serve both #1 and #2 while the harmonies of Yes, which may be musically more pleasing, the lyric sits firmly in category #2 only.
Now great lyrics, and a musically unlistenable voice....that's a tough nut to crack....modern Dylan, VdGG (ducks and runs)
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You are quite a fine person, and I am very fond of you. But you are only quite a little fellow, in a wide world, after all.
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cobb2
Forum Senior Member
Joined: November 25 2007
Location: Australia
Status: Offline
Points: 415
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Posted: February 23 2009 at 21:02 |
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Not defending Mr Lucassen, but he does write rock operas, which means they have to tell a story- don't know of any rock operas that have deep and meaningful lyrics.
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Petrovsk Mizinski
Prog Reviewer
Joined: December 24 2007
Location: Ukraine
Status: Offline
Points: 25210
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Posted: February 23 2009 at 20:56 |
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Ayreon's 1010100010101010010101010101010100000000001111111111110000000000 album is one of the more recent examples of absolutely atrocious lyrics as pointed out in the OP's post.
And before someone comes in and says "But it's about the concept of the album", so what? the lyrics are still terrible regardless.
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Soul Dreamer
Forum Senior Member
Joined: October 17 2005
Location: Netherlands
Status: Offline
Points: 997
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Posted: February 23 2009 at 20:52 |
martinprog77 wrote:
i don't care about lyrics ,what really matters in prog is the music
besides,if a want poetry i would buy a book instead of listen the mars volta  |
Completely agree with this post. The only time I get turned off by lyrics is when they are offencive as in cursing, swearing etc...meaningless lyrics make for fine vocals see Yes...
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To be the one who seeks so I may find .. (Metallica)
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heyitsthatguy
Forum Senior Member
Joined: April 17 2006
Location: Washington Hgts
Status: Offline
Points: 10094
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Posted: February 23 2009 at 20:46 |
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see: Emerson Lake and Palmer
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jammun
Prog Reviewer
Joined: July 14 2007
Location: United States
Status: Offline
Points: 3449
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Posted: February 23 2009 at 20:43 |
My friends, many prog lyrics -- going back to the early days -- can be pretentious, indecipherable, inane, and probably about 40 other adjectives I could list.
However consider the alternative: popular music.
At least our prog bands are making an attempt to write something beyond the usual drivel. It may not work out so well sometimes, but let's give 'em some credit for at least trying.
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martinprog77
Forum Senior Member
Joined: December 31 2005
Location: United States
Status: Offline
Points: 2538
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Posted: February 23 2009 at 20:32 |
i don't care about lyrics ,what really matters in prog is the music
besides,if a want poetry i would buy a book instead of listen the mars volta
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Nothing can last
there are no second chances.
Never give a day away.
Always live for today.
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Atavachron
Special Collaborator
Honorary Collaborator
Joined: September 30 2006
Location: Pearland
Status: Offline
Points: 65991
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Posted: February 23 2009 at 20:04 |
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^ based on your avy you must have great taste
never liked the lyrics on Cynic's Focus, so self-involved
Edited by Atavachron - February 23 2009 at 20:05
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OzzProg
Forum Senior Member
Joined: January 02 2008
Location: Quebec
Status: Offline
Points: 540
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Posted: February 23 2009 at 20:01 |
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Lyrics are absolutely meaningless to me. As long as the lyrics sound nice, and fit well with the music. Some lyrics don't mean anything at all if you analyze them carefully, but during the actual event of listening, they just seem to flow and create peace in your mind. I view the vocals as an instrument, and words are nothing more than a musical expression that can be played on this instrument.
A good example of this would be Aisles of Plenty by Genesis; the lyrics are meaningless, but just sound so damn cool in the song.
A example of lyrics that detract from the music would be Circus of Heaven by Yes, even though it would be a terrible song no matter what the lyrics were, they just seem to make it WORSE!
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Bad Lyrics in Prog
