Re: Lyrics

[Sean Wilson <swilson@weir.net>]

> David Cribb wrote:
>
> Where do you think Pete stands as a lyrasist?  Is he near a Dylan or
> Springsteen or Davies?
>          These questions about "rating" poetry and guitar playing are
very difficult to properly answer. You must understand, the art
of poetry, like guitar-playing, is one where the revered qualities of
the artist tend to differ or vary among poets. Dylan became famous early
on for subject matter, but later became more recognized for amazing
description with the use of short concrete references. As poets go, Pete
is sort of out on a limb. He breaches several conventions of traditional
poetry -- writing in the first person, often forcing rhymes (a terrible
no no), using rather odd or out-of-place diction at times, and, of
course, trying to hybrid the art of poety with short-story telling to
the point where he actually believes a set of lyrical expressions
written with an opera accompanyment can properly convey the thematic
meaning of a short story. This is not the stuff of conventional
lyricists.  You can't "rate" townshend as a dylan or springsteen because
these artists are really not doing the same thing. It's like rating a
running back to a wide receiver.
 
        Ratings aside, I'd have to say Pete's positive qualities are:
(1) imaginative story themes; (2) a remarkable ability to pen a
beautiful single-lyric expression (many of pete's songs have rather
average content, but one lyric or expression within the song will be so
awsome that it alone defines the song as being great); (3) a strong
ability to express the elements of a complicated psyche through deep
introspection and self analysis; (4) a talent for voicing life
experiences and frustrations often common to white middle-to-upper class
adolescent and post-adoloescent males (possibly tending toward more
intelligent ones at that); and (5) a complimentary and retaining quality
of being able to somewhat relate or "feel" the experiences and
perpectives of women to a signifacant degree (pete's always had a
sensitive side to him which allows him to write about relationships in a
different way that, say, springsteen would -- compare any of pete's
"love" songs to the boss' to see what I mean).
 
         Well, that's all I can think of now.