is eddie the greatest singer songwriter of this generation?

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  • 12345AGNST112345AGNST1 Posts: 4,906
    I think there are definitely a few that compare.

    Bono and Conor Oberst IMO are on the same tier of singing/songwriting as Ed.

    Dude, no way. Bono is literally a piece of shit, i mean LITERALLY. Don't you watch south park? Oh and excuse me for my ignorance BUT if mr. Conor Oberst is so great then how come i never heard of him?
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  • given2fly10given2fly10 Posts: 485
    Dude, no way. Bono is literally a piece of shit, i mean LITERALLY. Don't you watch south park? Oh and excuse me for my ignorance BUT if mr. Conor Oberst is so great then how come i never heard of him?
    thats cause your narrow minded. yea bono is a piece of shit, he writes simply lyrics. few other names to throw out. neil young, bruce springteen, ryan adams
    And he still gives his love, he just gives it away, The love he receives is the love that is saved, And sometimes is seen a strange spot in the sky, A human being that was given to fly

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  • thats cause your narrow minded. yea bono is a piece of shit, he writes simply lyrics. few other names to throw out. neil young, bruce springteen, ryan adams
    Neil and Bruce are older so I didn't consider them in the same generation.

    Bono isn't a piece of shit and maybe some songs have simple lyrics but some of Ed's lyrics are simple too. But some of Bono's lyrics are fucking amazing and powerful.

    People rag on him cuz U2 is probably the biggest fucking band on the planet and "sell-outs" or cheesy or whatever. Doesn't change the fact that he writes amazingly brilliant songs.
  • FinsburyParkCarrotsFinsburyParkCarrots Seattle, WA Posts: 12,223
    No.
  • lyrically, he is hit or miss some of times, though his hits are amazing. Ed is up there.

    i think i might go with Jack White. love that dude's lyrics. I'm not sure what a generation is.
  • Dude, no way. Bono is literally a piece of shit, i mean LITERALLY. Don't you watch south park? Oh and excuse me for my ignorance BUT if mr. Conor Oberst is so great then how come i never heard of him?
    Conor Oberst = Bright Eyes

    If you need some place to start, some of his best lyrics are:

    Bowl of Oranges
    Something Vague
    At the Bottom of Everything

    You shouldn't need to be excused for your ignorance regarding Oberst, but you probably need to beg for forgiveness for being absolutely ignorant to U2 and Bono's songwriting. ;)
  • direwolf74direwolf74 Posts: 1,622
    No.
    "I try my best to chug, stomp, weep, whisper, moan, wheeze, scat, blurt, rage, whine, and seduce. With my voice I can sound like a girl, the boogieman, a Theremin, a cherry bomb, a clown, a doctor, a murderer. I can be tribal. Ironic. Or disturbed. My voice is really my instrument."

    -Tom Waits
  • AnonAnon Posts: 11,175
    Conor Oberst = Bright Eyes

    If you need some place to start, some of his best lyrics are:

    Bowl of Oranges
    Something Vague
    At the Bottom of Everything

    You shouldn't need to be excused for your ignorance regarding Oberst, but you probably need to beg for forgiveness for being absolutely ignorant to U2 and Bono's songwriting. ;)

    bright eyes are unbelievable. i think conor is definitely up there in terms of best songwriters of our generation. i wish that more people knew about him and bright eyes because some of those songs (like the ones you named) are just incredible.
  • Actually, throw Mike Cooley (Drive-by Truckers) into the running. The guy writes phrases Dylan would kill for.
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  • justamjustam Posts: 21,410
    ssia

    i say yeah

    the unabashed fluffer thread of the day

    With this kind of question in the air, he may have to buy a new set of hats! :p
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  • bright eyes are unbelievable. i think conor is definitely up there in terms of best songwriters of our generation. i wish that more people knew about him and bright eyes because some of those songs (like the ones you named) are just incredible.
    Yeah, and he's like 25 years old. That was a very, very short list of his songs that absolutely blow me away. He's really got 25+ that are just amazing.

    I didn't just throw names out there for this thread. I thought about Ed's songs and how they blow me away too...and who else could compare. For my money, it's those three that I mentioned already, Ed, Bono, and Conor Oberst. Each of them have 25+ songs that just blow me away.

    But people are different and some people have to bash on Bono and U2 in order to feel good about themselves or even worse, in order to feel "cool". Well, fuck' em. It doesn't change the fact that the songs are brilliantly written.
  • I would definitely say yes.
  • memememe Posts: 4,695
    I don't know that he's the greatest, but he's my favorite :)
    ... and the will to show I will always be better than before.
  • AnonAnon Posts: 11,175
    Yeah, and he's like 25 years old. That was a very, very short list of his songs that absolutely blow me away. He's really got 25+ that are just amazing.

    I didn't just throw names out there for this thread. I thought about Ed's songs and how they blow me away too...and who else could compare. For my money, it's those three that I mentioned already, Ed, Bono, and Conor Oberst. Each of them have 25+ songs that just blow me away.

    But people are different and some people have to bash on Bono and U2 in order to feel good about themselves or even worse, in order to feel "cool". Well, fuck' em. It doesn't change the fact that the songs are brilliantly written.

    i agree very much. and the scary thing about conor is how fucking young he is and that he is showing no signs of slowing down. the latest record, cassadaga is just amazing. everybody should at least give bright eyes a chance.
  • i agree very much. and the scary thing about conor is how fucking young he is and that he is showing no signs of slowing down. the latest record, cassadaga is just amazing. everybody should at least give bright eyes a chance.
    Definitely. And he's probably already released as many songs as anyone else mentioned in this thread. He's got just a shit load of music out there. Cassadaga is one of my favs for sure.
  • IndifferenceIndifference Posts: 2,692
    Actually, throw Mike Cooley (Drive-by Truckers) into the running. The guy writes phrases Dylan would kill for.


    Hope your talking about Jakob.

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  • Hope your talking about Jakob.

    Nope. I'm not saying Cooley's better than Dylan, just saying some of his phrases are up there with Dylan's. Nobody from this generation writes a better character song than Cooley.
    Smokey Robinson constantly looks like he's trying to act natural after being accused of farting.
  • digsterdigster Posts: 1,293
    Really? Then who?

    He's definitely one of the top two or three IMO and possibly the best.

    If we're talking lyricists/vocalist/frontmen, I'd put Michael Stipe above him, although I suppose you could argue they are different generations.

    The thing is that Eddie's work with Pearl Jam is not really singer/songwriter as it's usually defined. Eddie is frontman, chief lyricist and sometime guitarist for Pearl Jam, and that means that his songs are filtered through four other people. I mean, Rearviewmirror, even with Ed writing it on guitar, is not really singer/songwriter stuff because it's part of a band effort, with everyone contributing; I don't think you could compare to someone like Beck or Bright Eyes, who are solo artists. If we limit Eddie to only his singer/songwriter stuff like No More, Driftin, etc. I'd say he's not the best of his generation. Personally, I think Beck and Patty Griffin are better songwriters, but Eddie's one of the best frontmen/lyricists/vocalists, again I think second only to Stipe and maybe Thom Yorke. Maybe.
  • digster wrote:
    If we're talking lyricists/vocalist/frontmen, I'd put Michael Stipe above him, although I suppose you could argue they are different generations.

    The thing is that Eddie's work with Pearl Jam is not really singer/songwriter as it's usually defined. Eddie is frontman, chief lyricist and sometime guitarist for Pearl Jam, and that means that his songs are filtered through four other people. I mean, Rearviewmirror, even with Ed writing it on guitar, is not really singer/songwriter stuff because it's part of a band effort, with everyone contributing; I don't think you could compare to someone like Beck or Bright Eyes, who are solo artists. If we limit Eddie to only his singer/songwriter stuff like No More, Driftin, etc. I'd say he's not the best of his generation. Personally, I think Beck and Patty Griffin are better songwriters, but Eddie's one of the best frontmen/lyricists/vocalists, again I think second only to Stipe and maybe Thom Yorke. Maybe.

    Don't forget songs like Guaranteed and Dead Man. Driftin might not be a work of genius, but it was also a throwaway song on a fanclub Xmas single. Guaranteed won a Golden Globe, and Dead Man should have, if it had been included on the soundtrack.

    That said, I don't think he is the best.
    Smokey Robinson constantly looks like he's trying to act natural after being accused of farting.
  • digsterdigster Posts: 1,293
    Don't forget songs like Guaranteed and Dead Man. Driftin might not be a work of genius, but it was also a throwaway song on a fanclub Xmas single. Guaranteed won a Golden Globe, and Dead Man should have, if it had been included on the soundtrack.

    That said, I don't think he is the best.

    Of course, he's written brilliant songs completely on his own; Dead Man is one of my favorite Pearl Jam songs. It's just that he hasn't written enough of them to call him the best of his generation.

    Anyways, it's really hard to parse what's Eddie Vedder and what's Pearl Jam. You just can't say he's a singer/songwriter the way Neil Young is for example. Eddie is a part of a band where, although he may have final say, everyone has creative input. In Neil's case, there was always creative conversation, but I think it's pretty clear who's steering the ship.

    I stick with my ideas; if we're talking singer/songwriters, Beck and Patty Griffin are at the top of my list. Frontmen/lyricists/vocalists, Michael Stipe followed by Eddie and Yorke.
  • digster wrote:
    Of course, he's written brilliant songs completely on his own; Dead Man is one of my favorite Pearl Jam songs. It's just that he hasn't written enough of them to call him the best of his generation.

    Anyways, it's really hard to parse what's Eddie Vedder and what's Pearl Jam. You just can't say he's a singer/songwriter the way Neil Young is for example. Eddie is a part of a band where, although he may have final say, everyone has creative input. In Neil's case, there was always creative conversation, but I think it's pretty clear who's steering the ship.

    I stick with my ideas; if we're talking singer/songwriters, Beck and Patty Griffin are at the top of my list. Frontmen/lyricists/vocalists, Michael Stipe followed by Eddie and Yorke.

    Oh, don't get me wrong, I completely agree that there are better singer/songwriters out there. I just wanted to make sure that you weren't judging Ed on two of his lesser tracks.:)
    Smokey Robinson constantly looks like he's trying to act natural after being accused of farting.
  • skipshotskipshot Posts: 33
    Not by a longshot.

    Jeff Tweedy is the best of this generation.
  • AtlantaJammerAtlantaJammer Posts: 2,611
    R.E.M. sux,
  • chikevinchikevin Posts: 421
    since ten...is it me or does ed write better for movies than albums?
    i'm not ripping him or anything, but for me....at least the last 5-7 years, the work he's done for movies most resonates with me.
  • JordyWordyJordyWordy Posts: 2,261
    Im surprised only two people have said Bono.
    his consistency over twenty years of writing great songs and lyrics is mindblowing.

    Conor Oberst
    Nick Cave
    Paul Noonan of BellX1 writes fanastic lyrics imo

    if Matt Bellamy ever does any solo work then that might have my vote!

    Cant put ed ahead of many of these for songwriting...but include his voice and he wins
  • dannydanny Posts: 2,279
    ssia

    i say yeah

    the unabashed fluffer thread of the day


    oh yesssssssssss!!!!!!!
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  • ashtrayrockashtrayrock Posts: 167
    ssia

    i say yeah

    the unabashed fluffer thread of the day

    i think the question should have been worded better because the words "this generation" is vague, at best. springsteen is this generation but so is bono and eddie.

    overall weiner paul hewson.
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  • halszka123halszka123 Posts: 1,109
    over_bends wrote:
    Ed isn't even the best songwriter in his own band!
    I have to agree:)
    But anyway - I love This Guy, same as The Others.
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  • halszka123halszka123 Posts: 1,109
    I find that I can just FEEEEEL the emotion when I hear Ed sing. I believe that he believes in what he's singing. He belives in his lyrics (even those of other band members :)), and the way in which he delivers them, often touches me deeply.

    I have been to many a concert in my time and I have only ever been brought to tears (and no, not those maniacal Fab 4 fan kinds of screamin' n' wailin' tears :D, just the ones summoned from the heart strings being played), by Ed. He moves me and to me, that makes him the greatest. :) That also makes PJ the only band I will pay to see umpteen times as well. :D
    I couldn't describe this better
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  • hes great, but how can you judge art that way
    as Ed said himself in 92
    Some people have religion I have Pearl Jam.


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