Monday, September 17, 2007

top 5 songwriters

the great thing about having a blog is being able to share my opinions with the two or three people who actually read it. anyhoo, i was thinking recently about who would be my top five songwriters and i've managed to come up with a list. i've cheated a little as i've counted songwriting teams as equal to individuals simply because they sometimes cannot be split up. so here goes (in no particular order)...

1. bob dylan
2. kurdt cobain
3. morrissey/marr
4. neil young
5. lennon/mccartney

as i said, songwriting teams have been put in together. obviously morrissey and johnny marr wouldn't be separated but one may wonder about lennon/mccartney. well, i wouldn't include a solo john lennon or paul mccartney in my list of top five (or ten for that matter). some people like mick thomas, leonard cohen, frank black and bruce springsteen don't miss out by all that much but still don't get a guernsey.

any suggestions of alternative top 5's will be read with interest.

4 comments:

Gareth Williams said...

zAnd having a comments section means people can disagree.
I'd have to put Lennon/Mcartney as number 1.

How about Paul Kelly?

Other lists
Top 5 live shows.
Top 5 films.

Jeff Hunt said...

I'd keep Dylan at 1, but lift Lennon/McCartney into no. 2.
3. Neil Young - great choice
4. Jagger / Richards - for songwriting, not album writing
5. Stevie Wonder

My honourable mentions would go to:
Neil Finn (songwriting being the only job he has ever had) and Joni Mitchell so there's a lady in there too.

dave said...

well, i wasn't putting it in order (except for dylan at no. 1).. perhaps i should bite the bullet and do so.

i did think of paul kelly, but to be honest i've not really rated a great deal of his work since the demise of the coloured girls/messengers. i reckon he was a genius from about 1985 to 1992 but has been on a slippery slope since then with just the odd flash of the brilliance.

jagger/richards i would have in my top 10 but not my top 5.

i like neil finn but wouldn't put him in my top 10, and the same with joni mitchell. and although i enjoy a bit of stevie wonder, i do find him a little dated these days

Anonymous said...

hahaha. I'm guessing you blokes have all watched 'High Fidelity'?! Too funny.