Elton John and 'awful' songwriters

[BJ.]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-11571306

And this comes from a man who got a knighthood for changing a few words to one of his songs.

[Kinoulton]

He can be a :censored:, but he's right about chart music.

Rap and R&B seems to have been written by white 5 year old middle class children who wish they were poor and black. Hopeless drivel.

"Bands", i.e pretty boys who hold guitars which they no longer play, like Coldplay, Keane, Travis and all the other shmucks, just whine on endlessly about b*gger all.

At least the Manic Street Preachers still insist on writing proper lyrics about matters of substance, but it goes way over the heads of everyone under 30, who just wants to scream when WestBoysTakeThatLife climb of their stools to sing the middle eight about how they long for their guuurrrrllll to come back.

[cornish tigress]

It's just so easy to take a pop at anyone isn't it. I could have a pop at Elton as I think his songs are formulaic and corny, but he hasn't done too bad without my support. Coldplay have a bit of soul though, Kin. What don't you like about them?

[fleabane]

I'm with Kinny on this one - sorry CT, but Coldplay never move away from a monotone, and are about as middle of the road bland as they get, musically and lyrically.

[Hull Fan]

The Quo, that's the answer!

[fleabane]

Quo - Middle of the Road rockers for oldies.

[Hull Fan]

Quo - Middle of the Road rockers for oldies.

You better believe it baby.

[Kinoulton]

I shouldn't really singleout Coldplay, they're just one of a whole genre of Middle of the Road bands that I find dull. Fix You just drones on about someone crying because someone's left them. Four 5 bl**dy verses!

Ah diddums den.

If you talk about crying, then three decades ago the Jam were singing poignantly about youth's hopeless aspirations thus:

"You're fearless and brave - you can't be stopped when you're young
You swear you're never ever gonna work for someone
No corporations for the new age sons
Tears of rage run down your face
But still you say "it's fun"

And you find out life isn't like that
It's so hard to understand
Why the world is your oyster but your future's a clam"

But as the keen eyed will gather, I like them there lyrics.

[Darc Tiger]

I think we are in a dreadful period of music at the moment.

Over produced. Little actual musical talent. Right at the core, almost every song is essentially the same. And the likes of X-Factor popping out another face doomed to obscurity every year. Talentless rap artists, to irritating R&B and pop artists producing one very forgettable song after another.

Not many acts around any more that have some originality, musical talent and/or soul about them. And of those that do, very few get the recognition or coverage they deserve.

I honest cant believe how so many people actually buy into the majority of 'music' played over the media formats today.

[Gate]

Coldplay smell of week-old fish guts sprayed on by an army of alley toms. They're not even proper miserable. For proper maudlin cry-in-yer-beer stuff, it's hard to beat Jacques Brel. Next to stuff like Jef, Morrissey comes over like an amateur.

[tigerburnie]

I don't agree that there's no talent around at the moment,I've always managed to find something worth listening to right from the 1950's to today,even punk had the Blockheads(who were way better than anything in the previous 5 years).
Mainstream "pop" has always been the food for the unthinking masses with little substance.
Hoping to go to see the Script in a couple of weeks in Aberdeen.Try watching "T in the Park",usually some good bands on there,think it was this summers(or maybe last years) that The Wombats did a very good set.(Yep and I'm eligable for a bus pass,unless those nice condems stop me getting one)

[Kinoulton]

I think that pop music started on its slow march to mediocrity when some f***wit decided that Bananarama needed to be taught to dance and sing over a sleep-inducing electronic beat, just like everyone else.

They came in like a breath of fresh air, three quirky birds that looked like they had no idea why they were on stage at all, and charmed everyone. The most successful British girl band ever, by some distance.

Then the infernal "music factory" got hold of them and they started churning out standard MOR cr*p whilst doing silly dance moves.

It's been downhill ever since.

[McScotty]

Whilst i agree that there are alot of talentles and bad band/singers, there are quite a few good ones. See -

Mumford and Sons
Jamie T
The Wombats (as mentioned above)
Bombay Bicycle Club
Arctic Monkeys

Fell free to add to this list

[cornish tigress]

Can we subtract from it as well?

[McScotty]

Can we subtract from it as well?

Depends who you would want to subtract