Our resident quote bleggar Fred Shapiro, editor of the Yale Book of Quotations, is back with another request. If you have a bleg of your own, send it along here.
Enough with 21st-century movie lines. Let me now move on to 21st-century popular song lyrics. Here we face the same issues of qualitative decline as with movie lines, I believe.
In earlier eras lyricists like W. S. Gilbert, Cole Porter, Oscar Hammerstein II, Bob Dylan, Lennon & McCartney, and Jagger & Richard saw themselves to some extent as working within a literary tradition and were interested to some extent in lyrical sophistication and experimentation.
I suspect today’s popular songwriters have different attitudes or different levels of success in achieving lyrical goals, although my son tells me that the best hip hop is politically savvy, and certainly hip hop is a highly verbal art form where the words are less subservient to music than in the past.
I would welcome suggestions of memorable quotations from 21st-century popular songs, from hip hop and from other genres. It should be kept in mind that songs that are great musically may have mediocre lyrics (such as, from an older time period, “Stairway to Heaven”), and I am interested in the lyrics here rather than the music, however good that may be.
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Cursive – Dorothy At Forty
This song is a very potent bit of social commentary that is also very well constructed both lyrically and musically.
Tool – Schism
You wouldn’t think it on the first listen but this song is actually about the division of the Catholic Church that occured in the late 14th and early 15th centuries.
“If we weren’t all crazy we would go insane.”
or
“We are the people our parents warned us about”.
-J. Buffett
“Who Let The Dogs Out?” – Baha Men
“I love you like a fat kid love cake.” 50 Cent – 21 Questions
Nothing good has come from 21st century music. I anticipate dozens of responses from the 20th century however.
That said, most memorable are probably “what” “yeah” and “ok” from every song “featuring” Lil Jon this century. And only because of Dave Chapelle’s skit.
While I don’t much care for his music, I suppose Eminem gets pretty deep once in a while.
There’s the thing, you’re focusing on one genre; rap.
I suggest you try listening to Survivor Guilt – Rise Against, Eulogy – Tool, Skinny Love – Bon Iver.
These songs all feature amazing lyrics.
Rap is not the only music alive in the 21st Century.
I want to be the toy in your cereal box.
I want to be Carter at your peace talks.
I want to get almost too familiar,
but still notice the way that you walk.
“Easier” by Glen Philips
In the field of current hip hop one artist comes to my mind, which Atmosphere.
The guy writes some very socially and politically conscious lyrics and also puts a lot of emotion into his songs. He also makes a lot of his songs comedic and does not take himself too seriously which is nice to see in the current music scene. Recently he has seen some deserved success on MTV and MTV2 from his new CD. If you want to hear some great lyrics with some more angst than his new CD check out Godlovesugly and Sevens Travels.
IMHO rappers like Kanye and Pharrell seem to have a few good lines per track that they stick to and throw in a lot of fluff and new sounds to try and cover weak lyrics, at least with the new stuff.
You get mistaken for strangers by your own friends
when you pass them at night under the silvery, silvery citibank lights
arm in arm in arm and eyes and eyes glazing under
oh you wouldn’t want an angel watching over
surprise, surprise they wouldn’t wannna watch
another uninnocent, elegant fall into the unmagnificent lives of adults
- the national, mistaken for strangers (off “Boxer”)