| re: Lyricists | |
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Posted by: |
steven_stuart 12:07 am UTC 03/08/09 |
| In reply to: | re: Lyricists - crazy_janey 05:03 am UTC 03/06/09 |
| I agree with you when you say that: "Jim is the master of the clever phrase." Unlike Bruce, he can be funny and serious at the same time. Unlike Bruce, he can be as witty as Oscar Wilde during an up tempo rock song. I am not saying that Bruce is not clever. Born In The USA was a wonderful calculation that really got people going. Also, it was brutally honest and not just a patriotic song. He wasn't doing an Irving Berlin. When Jim deals with reality, he can be sad and funny at the same time. Like when he writes that you are not going to find a Coup De Ville at the bottom of a Cracker Jack Box. That's very witty but it's also a sad truth. We all have dreams but at the same time we have to face reality. Bruce would have written some hard lyric to drive a point like that home. But Jim does it in a way that (to me) makes him unique amongst lyricists. There are many rock writers like Bruce. The writers who were in the Clash, for example. Although, I am not saying that these rock stars are not exciting. They often are. I think they were born to be big arena acts but that Jim was born to write musicals. The original Bat Out Of Hell album (and the stage show that went with it) was a kind of a musical. DOTV should have worked (the failure had nothing to do with Jim's writing). Certainly Tanz has worked in Europe. Whistle Down The Wind produced the best selling single from a musical in British history. I am sure that Jim will have many stage triumphs in the future and that Bruce will come up with the lyrics he needs to continue being a big stadium act. > My two favorite lyricists are Steinman and Springsteen, > and I find it hard to put one above the other, as they are > so different. I have favorite lines from each of them. Jim > seems to have a natural ease, where sometimes Bruce's > words seem forced. Jim seems to laugh at himself; he has a > tendency to not be serious even when he is (if that makes > sense; he kind of "hides" the real emotion in the words). > Bruce wears his heart on his sleeve. > > Jim is the master of the clever phrase. > > Many of Bruce's songs have a "cinematic" quality- they > have stories and characters. Springsteen uses tons of > names (Mary, Janey, Billy, Wendy); Jim hardly uses any. > > Regardless, I love them both! ;0) | |
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