http://lineout.thestranger.com/lineout/archives/2012/11/29/so-yeah-like-i-bought-a-john-denver-record Comments On: So... Yeah, Like, I Bought A John Denver Record by Mike Nipper en-us Copyright 2013 The Stranger. All rights reserved. This RSS file is offered to individuals, The Stranger readers, and non-commercial organizations only. Any commercial websites wishing to use this RSS file, please contact The Stranger. webmaster@thestranger.com (The Stranger Webmaster) Mon, 20 May 2013 00:00:01 -0700 Mon, 20 May 2013 10:00:00 -0700 Foundation http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss
Yeah, and I agree to some extent with John Mellencamp (1st tier singer-writer) that a writer has 4 or 5 songs he writes over and over. And I've found that an artist has done his best stuff in his first 2 or 3 albums and after that it's refinement. Of course there are exceptions like Neil Young.

I suppose there are good young songwriters out there, I just haven't found many. Listening to new songs on KEXP, streams, Spinner etc, and new bands that Conan hosts, I wonder about their lyrics since they're often unintelligable. Kind of detracts from the song. Alice Cooper came on Conan with a new song a couple weeks ago and it towered above songs by other guests. I hardly ever listened to him in the 60s and 70s, too much good stuff back there.

Although I used to hate it, I'm listening to more new country as I can decipher the words, some of which is pretty clever, and the other genres aren't much competition. Two of the few good young lead guitarist/singer/writers reside there (Brad Paisley, Keith Urban).

I think the new musicians and writers are aware of their parents classic rock, and I'm wondering if they're just trying too hard to not sound like them. Too much progressive, experimental, psychedelic, art rock, whatever it's called. Give me those songs that get "stuck in my head like a singing bee".
Posted by Jiff]]> Mon, 10 Dec 2012 14:55:57 -0800 The Stranger
As for songwriters I'll take Van Dyke Parks, Arthur Lee, Emitt Rhodes, Michael Browne, etc. I like some America and the first two Seals & Crofts are fantastic...its just so much singer songwriter feels benign. The '60s catalog for those songwriters you listed are far more exciting to me than their peppered with cocaine beards and denim '70s work...the refining of one's craft can take a bit of the soul and sense of immediacy out.

I think there may be good songwriters out there now, but style has changed. Kids arent informed by their "parents music" so much and the post beat culture that distilled that period doenst exist any longer.
Posted by nipper]]> Tue, 04 Dec 2012 10:49:31 -0800 The Stranger Posted by Jiff]]> Sat, 01 Dec 2012 19:35:38 -0800 The Stranger Posted by Dave Segal]]> Fri, 30 Nov 2012 16:56:07 -0800 The Stranger Posted by carnivorous chicken]]> Fri, 30 Nov 2012 12:32:49 -0800 The Stranger Posted by Jiff]]> Fri, 30 Nov 2012 11:36:07 -0800 The Stranger Posted by carnivorous chicken]]> Fri, 30 Nov 2012 08:05:35 -0800 The Stranger Posted by hificuz]]> Thu, 29 Nov 2012 15:52:45 -0800 The Stranger Posted by ratzkywatzky]]> Thu, 29 Nov 2012 15:13:28 -0800 The Stranger