Choose your favourite. #1 (Yes, this is the last one of these)

our #1s are so terrifically awful

there's one great album and one great single up there

Album couldn't be more obvious, but I at least kinda like all the singles.

No amount of stumping is going to save your precious Post-War from the cold light of 2010, Yeah Duff.

Poor DYWT. Near-instantaneous backlash. "We chose what??" The only underrated #1.

you know I love you Raj, but it's this type of post which I find as off-putting as Montana's holier than thou opinions. And as obvious as it seems to you guys, I don't have a clue which are the "great" album or single up there. Only know my opinion.

Call me funeral crazy but...

Third and "Blind." Duh.

Several good singles, but All My Friends is the one for me. MPP wins hands down, no competition there.

"Third" is definitely not great (imho)

Raj would think that it's great, though. You must not know the Raj persona particularly well.

You probably like Post-War the most and aren't head over heels in love with any of the singles choices, correct?

pretty much. I do like Crazy. Funeral & Illinoise I like, but truth be told, I'd be more interested in hearing Post-War.

Heh. Probably did well on my '06(?) list, to be honest.

It's quite the unobjectionable recording, I gotta say.

Portishead by default as it's the only album I'd even consider listening to.

idk, people probably shouldn't infer an implied criticism of their beliefs from an innocuous statement of mine

Be the grizzly, Elco. ;)

Wow SOMB, just wow.

On top of the horrific list, you have Portishead getting the most votes. That record may contain the worst lyrics of the last decade.

Jesus, what a horrible couple of lists. Out of all of those only '1901' and 'Float On' would make any sort of decade list I compiled.

Figured you'd be down with Blind.

to clarify I have only heard three of the albums in question, and I don't really remember what two of those sound like

so I guess they all could be great! everybody wins


I like to imagine there's some kind of trance/throwback disco schism at work here

I know you are trolling but do you excpect any one to believe of all the lyrics in the perirod 2000-2009 the worst ones were found on Third, worse than any novelty song or Scouting For girls song.

As I've said before were those lyrics not coming out of a women's mouth you'd be telling everyone how brilliant they were.

Surprised Portishead is running away with this. Maybe just because I haven't spent much time here prior to just recently. It's a great album, but I didn't vote for it.

I like all of these albums. I like that LCDS the least, but I guess I've come around on it a little. It's still my least favorite of their three albums, though. There are also a couple of Sufjan albums that I like a lot more than Illinois. I am aware that this is not relevant to how these albums stack up to other albums on this list.

The singles, whatever. I voted for something, but I almost voted for something else.

I went with the pretty typical choices for a WASP. I tend to listen to Funeral more often than Third, my only logical other choice. As for the singles, I had to go with All My Friends because, well, it still hits me. The only other logical choice was Blind but tbh, I haven't listened to that in a while and don't find it nearly as memorable as James Murphy's ode to oldness.

I guess my main point was the dichotomy that seems to exist between off the cuff criticisms by certain sombies as opposed to others. It didn't truly offend me or anything. You probably shouldn't have been singled out, but I'd rather single you out, as someone whose generally pretty level headed and with whom I've rarely butted heads, at least on a personal level.

That's a strange comment since my YE lists are stacked with female artists.

The lyrics in "Third" are atrocious. That is a calculated and soulless piece of work and I'm shocked that people buy into it.


I'd like to laugh at what you said
but I just can't find a smile
I wonder why you can't
I struggle with myself
hoping I might change a little
hoping that I might be someone I wanna be

looking out I want to know someone might care
looking out I want a reason to be there
cause I don't know what I've done to deserve you
and I don't know what I'll do without you

looking out I want to know some way might clear
looking out I want a reason to repair
cause I don't know what I've done to deserve you
and I don't know what I'll do without you

I can't see nothing good
and nothing is so bad
I never had a chance
to explain exactly what I meant

----


Tempted in our minds
Tormented inside lie
Wounded and afraid
Inside my head
Falling through changes

Did you know when you lost?
Did you know when I wanted?
Did you know what I lost?
Do you know what I wanted?

Empty in our hearts
Crying out in silence
Wandered out of reach
Too far to speak
Drifting unable

Did you know when you lost?
Did you know when I wanted?
Did you know what I lost?
Do you know what I wanted


----



I stand on the edge of a broken sky
And I will come down; don't know why
And if I should fall, would you hold me?
Would you pass me by?
For you know I'd ask you for nothing
Just to wait for a while

So confused
My thoughts are takin' over
Unwanted, arising space me instead
Won't let go

-----

The taste of life
I can't describe
It's chocking on my mind
Reaching out I can't believe
Faith it can't decide

On and on I carry on
But underneath my mind
And on and on I tell my self
It's this I can't disguise

Oh can't you see
Holding on to my heart
I bleed the taste of life


The pace, the time,
I can't survive
It's grinding down the view
Breaking out which way to choose
A choice I can't renew

Holding on I carry on
But underneath my mind
And on and on I tell my self
It's this I can't disguise

Oh can't you see
Holding on to my heart
I bleed, no place is safe
Can't you see the taste of life

------


I’m drifting in deep water
Alone with my self-doubting, again
Try not to struggle this time
For I will weather the storm

Gotta remember (gonna remember)
Don’t fight it (don’t fight it)
Even if I (even if I)
Don’t like it (don’t like it)
Somehow, turn me around
(Somehow, turn me around)

No matter how far I drift
Deep waters (Deep waters)
Won’t scare me tonight

------


if only I could see
You turn myself to me
and recognise the poison in my heart
there is no other place
no one else I face
remedy, we’ll agree, is how I feel
here in my reflecting
What more can I say?
for I am guilty
for the voice that I obey
too scared to sacrifice a choice
chosen for me

lol

Who actually hears those lyrics and says "yeah, that's some good shit there"

These third grade level Trapper Keeper scrawlings make Morrison look like Hemingway. And at least Morrison had a kick ass band behind him instead of an Apple with Pro Tools.

"The taste of life...I can't describe...it's choking on my mind....."

hahahahah

I don't see anything particularly wrong with them, honestly.

Look, I still like The Flaming Lips and all, but wtf is a rabid Flaming Lips fan doing complaining about lyrics, anyway?

Which year end list was this then? By stacked do you mean three or four out of 20?

She can be a frog, Drinky.

let's compare it to some other lyrics, how about these?

Money, get away
Get a good job with more pay
And your O.K.

Money, it's a gas
Grab that cash with both hands
And make a stash

New car, caviar, four star daydream
Think I'll buy me a football team

Money get back
I'm all right Jack
Keep your hands off my stack

Money, it's a hit
Don't give me that
Do goody good bullshit

I'm in the hi-fidelity
First class traveling set
And I think I need a Lear jet

(Sax and guitar solos)

Money, it's a crime
Share it fairly
But don't take a slice of my pie

Money, so they say
Is the root of all evil
Today

But if you ask for a rise
It's no surprise that they're
Giving none away
Away
Away
Away
Away...


nuff said?

Oh neither does he, people on here like Portishead so he doesn't. That's all there is too it. He's an empty vessel of a poster offering lolopinions to try and rile people up.

If you genuinely think he thinks those lyrics are terrible compared to the rubbish he usually holds up you're falling for his nonsense. He'd quite easily claim those for an aging male dinosaur as atmospheric and brilliant.

Those are some pretty solid gangster rap lyrics.

http://www.llumina.com/writing_with_rhythm.htm


Writing with Rhythm
Sentence variety. It’s the difference between hearing an instrument play the same melody over and over again and listening to a symphony. Many new writers believe that long sentences with strings of subordinate clauses showcase intelligence. So they stuff their work full of sentences that resemble paragraphs, and paragraphs that could pass as chapters. They modify every clause. They string adjectives together like Christmas lights, not realizing that the tree alone has a beauty of its own. Every verb is coupled with an adverb or two. They stuff amplifiers in front of adjectives, then pack them into relative clauses that give the reader encyclopedic amounts of information before they can get to the period. Or, they choose one complex construction (usually it’s passive voice) and use it like a chord-drill, playing the same dull tune over and over.

Compare the following examples:

A. Sweet Sylvia, the homely oldest daughter of the surly first Asian Prime Minister of the Planet Fleejee, a tiny red planet from the farthest corner of the Amphibian Galaxy, which had broken from its Mother-planet during the Great Cosmic Skyquake of 3006, sat very dejected on the large purple velvet embroidered pillows of her throne, severely detesting her fat, balding, despicable father, who had only become one the second year after he was appointed Prime Minister, while she hurriedly wolfed down her salty cold rice and beans, a split second before she choked to death.

B. Sylvia choked to death.

C. Sylvia, daughter of the Prime Minister of the planet Fleejee, sat dejected on the purple pillows of her throne. She stared at her father. How she hated his fat, ugly face. She had to get out of there. Hurriedly, she wolfed down her salty dinner of cold rice and beans. And choked to death on it.

Example A is analogous to an orchestra gone wild. Every instrument is screaming for the spotlight and the conductor appears to have skipped town. Anyone left in the audience would, by now, be requesting earplugs. This is not mood music. No rhythm, no harmony, no dynamic phrasing, just noise.

Example B can be compared to a simple sing-song nursery rhyme. One note, one instrument, and also, not exactly easy-listening on its own. But, pair it with the more elaborately worded sentences in example C, mix it up with a couple of questions or exclamations, and its staccato simplicity stands out like a cymbal striking the final note of a complex concerto.

Stop. There is nothing wrong with a one-word sentence. Nor is there anything inherently wrong with a lengthy and complex sentence that provides details and embroiders your ideas. Just as musical notes blend together to create an auditory tapestry, so should your words. Mix it up, shuffle the deck, alter the rhythm of your words. Punctuate a paragraph with some staccato sentences. Layer your language with elaborate harmonies. Refrain from playing the same refrain over and over. Use this musical analogy to think about your audience while you write and don’t forget to vary the rhythm of your words.

Mitch, that's simply not true. While I'm not going to defend any of my recent picks as Dylan or Waters, that doesn't mean that those Portishead lyrics aren't the product of some angst-ridder third grader.

The Portishead lyrics are better than that website LOL.

Why are you so obsessed with the phrase 'angst-ridden'?

Really? I didn't notice that.

Was secretly hoping this thread would turn to Pink Floyd discussion, but never imagined it would happen so fast!

Hard to believe In Rainbows wasn't number one on a SOMB list.

I just saw forked lightning striking a rainbow. True story.

Pitchforked lightning, I presume.

I kind of like the idea of Third being calculated. So few artists see the obvious connection between mental/spiritual deterioration and commercial success.

I voted for "Do You Want To," ftr. Great song.

It saddened me to go with 'Funeral', but it's the only album on that list I've bothered to listen to in the past year or so.

And 'Float On' is such an awesome song (Probably a Top 10 of the decade for me) that I couldn't go with anything else.

Interesting, selection of albums that went #1, considering many of them are FAR from a consensus SOMB-beloved album.

What interests me the most is once we changed the points distribution for 2007 the results seem to chime with the board's direction more. (In fact we share Album of the Year 2007, 2008 and 2009 with the people at Uncut.)

wow, 2004-2009 sucked.

I choose the newest album and the oldest single.

I was at the Borders in Billings, MT in early August (fifteen pounds lighter, lol - the trip and the last two weeks have been nothing but junk food) and there was this gorgeous female performer with an acoustic guitar singing an outstanding melody. I couldn't place the song and it drove me crazy. She finishes her show, gets a coffee, stands directly across the magazine rack from me and I catch her making eye contact. So I walk over and tell her the melody was incredibly familiar, and she told me it was "Casimir Pulaski Day". I complimented her, and she asked me what I was doing out there. I told her my gig(s) and we exchanged numbers. A bit young for my tastes (probably no older than 20) but you could tell she was wise beyond her years.

So I voted for Illinois, and those haunting eyes from across the magazine rack.

^ respect. To me, a pretty perfect reason to vote for something.

I voted for crazy, due to the fact that it's been played about 5 times more frequently on the radio than the rest of the songs combined, and I'm still not sick of it. Oh, and for Third, cause I'm dark and shit.

i voted for "crazy" and funeral but i would sooner listen to merriweather or sound of silver

Funeral and 1901

I voted for Sound of Silver, even though I may well never listen to it again. In 2007, it was magic.