Patti, Joni, Björk, Jim, Billie, Hank, Don, Bonnie, Harry, Johnny
August 5, 2021 3:54 PM Subscribe
And no "Weird Al" Yankovic either! (I'm assuming he'd be in the Legend category.)
posted by Metro Gnome at 4:24 PM on August 5, 2021 [23 favorites]
posted by Metro Gnome at 4:24 PM on August 5, 2021 [23 favorites]
Not surprised to see women at the top!
Talk to Me is one of Joni's wordiest, the most Joni of Joni songs, at least along a particular axis. I love it.
posted by wemayfreeze at 4:25 PM on August 5, 2021 [9 favorites]
Talk to Me is one of Joni's wordiest, the most Joni of Joni songs, at least along a particular axis. I love it.
posted by wemayfreeze at 4:25 PM on August 5, 2021 [9 favorites]
Dr. Greg Graffin, the misanthropic anthropoid himself
posted by glonous keming at 4:29 PM on August 5, 2021 [12 favorites]
posted by glonous keming at 4:29 PM on August 5, 2021 [12 favorites]
I wonder if that's just Bjork solo or if it includes the Sugarcubes? Because I'm pretty sure Regina alone bumps her to the top of the list.
posted by GuyZero at 4:45 PM on August 5, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by GuyZero at 4:45 PM on August 5, 2021 [2 favorites]
The Decemberists are not even on here so. Is Billy Eilish really more verbose than them?
posted by bleep at 4:46 PM on August 5, 2021 [10 favorites]
posted by bleep at 4:46 PM on August 5, 2021 [10 favorites]
Yeah there are not a lot of rappers here. I would have picked MF Doom to punch very high.
posted by Fiasco da Gama at 4:48 PM on August 5, 2021 [8 favorites]
posted by Fiasco da Gama at 4:48 PM on August 5, 2021 [8 favorites]
No Ian Anderson? Nope, bullshit.
posted by Splunge at 4:55 PM on August 5, 2021 [5 favorites]
posted by Splunge at 4:55 PM on August 5, 2021 [5 favorites]
No rappers because they were on the previous list so they are deliberately looking at popular singers. The legends are pulled from Rolling Stone's top 100 singers list and the modern ones are pulled from the Spotify top 100.
The answer for why no Ian Anderson, Decemberists, etc. is they aren't on the source lists because either they aren't popular enough (where popular = time on charts) or "great" enough for Rolling Stone's panel of 173 experts. Also keep in mind that the RS list is for "greatest singers of all time" isn't necessarily the same thing as the greatest songwriter, even if there is crossover. For example, Christina Aguilera is #58 on their list and many of her songs were written by others, including the ones they point to on the list as being important for the decision. The spotify list is only popular musicians and a lot of the wordier singer/songwriter types don't often break into the top 100 on streaming services or radio.
It is kind of frustrating that their metric (uniques per 1000) is different from the rappers list (uniques in first 35,000 of corpus).
I haven't exhaustively combed through the lists, but did anyone notice any multilingual artists? They seem like an interesting edge case to me if they have songs written in more than one language.
posted by forbiddencabinet at 5:16 PM on August 5, 2021 [15 favorites]
The answer for why no Ian Anderson, Decemberists, etc. is they aren't on the source lists because either they aren't popular enough (where popular = time on charts) or "great" enough for Rolling Stone's panel of 173 experts. Also keep in mind that the RS list is for "greatest singers of all time" isn't necessarily the same thing as the greatest songwriter, even if there is crossover. For example, Christina Aguilera is #58 on their list and many of her songs were written by others, including the ones they point to on the list as being important for the decision. The spotify list is only popular musicians and a lot of the wordier singer/songwriter types don't often break into the top 100 on streaming services or radio.
It is kind of frustrating that their metric (uniques per 1000) is different from the rappers list (uniques in first 35,000 of corpus).
I haven't exhaustively combed through the lists, but did anyone notice any multilingual artists? They seem like an interesting edge case to me if they have songs written in more than one language.
posted by forbiddencabinet at 5:16 PM on August 5, 2021 [15 favorites]
but did anyone notice any multilingual artists?
Again, Bjork, but I have no idea of they counted her Icelandic songs/recordings in this list.
posted by GuyZero at 5:22 PM on August 5, 2021 [3 favorites]
Again, Bjork, but I have no idea of they counted her Icelandic songs/recordings in this list.
posted by GuyZero at 5:22 PM on August 5, 2021 [3 favorites]
I'm surprised Rush isn't listed, because Neil Peart.
posted by Beholder at 5:22 PM on August 5, 2021 [3 favorites]
posted by Beholder at 5:22 PM on August 5, 2021 [3 favorites]
Again, sampling bias:
WordTips counted the words used by 100 modern stars and the 100 greatest singers of all time
Not the 100 top artists writing songs about Androids, Xanadu and a Wilderness of Mirrors.
posted by GuyZero at 5:24 PM on August 5, 2021 [6 favorites]
WordTips counted the words used by 100 modern stars and the 100 greatest singers of all time
Not the 100 top artists writing songs about Androids, Xanadu and a Wilderness of Mirrors.
posted by GuyZero at 5:24 PM on August 5, 2021 [6 favorites]
I know we’re not talking about hip hop artists, but Kool Keith would smoke these fools. (Him and Aesop Rock would probably tie, tbh.)
posted by Don.Kinsayder at 5:25 PM on August 5, 2021 [3 favorites]
posted by Don.Kinsayder at 5:25 PM on August 5, 2021 [3 favorites]
This is interesting. The word "vocabulary" seems to be used in a very specific way here. I refuse absolutely to believe that Stevie Wonder has a smaller vocabulary than Bono, except using this very specific metric. There should be some handicap for people who choose words carefully rather than trying to sound fancy. Maybe also a handicap for people who write their own songs. (With all due credit to top few who definitely are notable.)
Doing this with multilignual artists would be fun. I also want to know whether, when Camille or Nina Hagen make animal noises in songs, does each recognizably different bark get counted as a different word?
posted by eotvos at 5:32 PM on August 5, 2021 [6 favorites]
Doing this with multilignual artists would be fun. I also want to know whether, when Camille or Nina Hagen make animal noises in songs, does each recognizably different bark get counted as a different word?
posted by eotvos at 5:32 PM on August 5, 2021 [6 favorites]
Also, applying this metric to the metafilter database would be interesting. I'm sure it would annoy many people and is probably a bad idea.
posted by eotvos at 5:37 PM on August 5, 2021 [14 favorites]
posted by eotvos at 5:37 PM on August 5, 2021 [14 favorites]
This is a bit of fun, and all, but it starts saying "Since the days of opera, music has been telling stories of love, loss and everything in between. "
Want some actual music history to go with your Euro-centrism?
posted by signal at 5:43 PM on August 5, 2021 [10 favorites]
Want some actual music history to go with your Euro-centrism?
posted by signal at 5:43 PM on August 5, 2021 [10 favorites]
I'm sure it would annoy many people and is probably a bad idea.
You're absolutely right. Let's do it.
posted by axiom at 6:10 PM on August 5, 2021 [17 favorites]
You're absolutely right. Let's do it.
posted by axiom at 6:10 PM on August 5, 2021 [17 favorites]
Who wrote "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida"?
posted by scratch at 6:14 PM on August 5, 2021 [3 favorites]
posted by scratch at 6:14 PM on August 5, 2021 [3 favorites]
Elvis Costello nowhere to be found in that list? I mean, come on.
posted by tim_in_oz at 6:17 PM on August 5, 2021 [15 favorites]
posted by tim_in_oz at 6:17 PM on August 5, 2021 [15 favorites]
MetaFilter: I'm sure it would annoy many people and is probably a bad idea.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 6:30 PM on August 5, 2021 [9 favorites]
posted by ricochet biscuit at 6:30 PM on August 5, 2021 [9 favorites]
Who wrote "In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida"?
after all, it was you and me
posted by philip-random at 6:42 PM on August 5, 2021 [7 favorites]
Leonard Cohen was a superb songwriter. Leonard Cohen had a mighty vocabulary.
Yet, when asked to name a great song, he would point to 'Blueberry Hill'. He said he was aiming for the simplicity of "The moon stood still on Blueberry Hill".
In that light, I'm not sure that a larger vocabulary makes for a greater song. Bob Dylan doesn't rank particularly high on this list -- maybe he's aiming for that simplicity too, despite having the creative word power to rhyme 'January' with 'Buenos Aires'.
And what to make of "Whop bop a loo bop a lop bom bom"? Does a great song need to mean anything at all? What is a large vocabulary supposed to signify here?
posted by Capt. Renault at 6:50 PM on August 5, 2021 [14 favorites]
Yet, when asked to name a great song, he would point to 'Blueberry Hill'. He said he was aiming for the simplicity of "The moon stood still on Blueberry Hill".
In that light, I'm not sure that a larger vocabulary makes for a greater song. Bob Dylan doesn't rank particularly high on this list -- maybe he's aiming for that simplicity too, despite having the creative word power to rhyme 'January' with 'Buenos Aires'.
And what to make of "Whop bop a loo bop a lop bom bom"? Does a great song need to mean anything at all? What is a large vocabulary supposed to signify here?
posted by Capt. Renault at 6:50 PM on August 5, 2021 [14 favorites]
Yeah, there’s a real self-limiting factor in a list of “most verbose songwriters who are also supremely popular.” [Stares in They Might Be Giants]
posted by ejs at 7:00 PM on August 5, 2021 [6 favorites]
posted by ejs at 7:00 PM on August 5, 2021 [6 favorites]
Where is Stuart Murdoch?
WordTips counted the words used by 100 modern stars and the 100 greatest singers of all time
Oh.
posted by betweenthebars at 7:10 PM on August 5, 2021 [3 favorites]
WordTips counted the words used by 100 modern stars and the 100 greatest singers of all time
Oh.
posted by betweenthebars at 7:10 PM on August 5, 2021 [3 favorites]
This list skews towards older artists too because their catalogues are more likely* to contain so many different kinds of songs about so many different things
*AC/DC being among the notable exceptions
posted by Jon_Evil at 7:10 PM on August 5, 2021 [2 favorites]
*AC/DC being among the notable exceptions
posted by Jon_Evil at 7:10 PM on August 5, 2021 [2 favorites]
Ctrl+F Andy Partridge
[Phrase not found]
(╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻
WordTips counted the words used by 100 modern stars and the 100 greatest singers of all time
OK, fine, y'all weaseled your way out of including Andy Partridge.
/conducts my own research based on "100 greatest singers of all time":
Ctrl+F Sandy Denny
[Phrase not found]
(╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻
posted by NoMich at 7:26 PM on August 5, 2021 [6 favorites]
[Phrase not found]
(╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻
WordTips counted the words used by 100 modern stars and the 100 greatest singers of all time
OK, fine, y'all weaseled your way out of including Andy Partridge.
/conducts my own research based on "100 greatest singers of all time":
Ctrl+F Sandy Denny
[Phrase not found]
(╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻
posted by NoMich at 7:26 PM on August 5, 2021 [6 favorites]
And what to make of "Whop bop a loo bop a lop bom bom
Here's the thing about Little Richard: without him, rock n roll may have still existed, but it would've been boring.
posted by NoMich at 7:29 PM on August 5, 2021 [10 favorites]
Here's the thing about Little Richard: without him, rock n roll may have still existed, but it would've been boring.
posted by NoMich at 7:29 PM on August 5, 2021 [10 favorites]
Wu-Tang is for the children.
posted by evidenceofabsence at 8:02 PM on August 5, 2021 [9 favorites]
posted by evidenceofabsence at 8:02 PM on August 5, 2021 [9 favorites]
I'm a little bothered by the premise.
Shouldn't it be, as presented, what singers sang songs that applied the biggest vocabularies? Because not all of these artists wrote their own material.
posted by pt68 at 8:34 PM on August 5, 2021 [6 favorites]
Shouldn't it be, as presented, what singers sang songs that applied the biggest vocabularies? Because not all of these artists wrote their own material.
posted by pt68 at 8:34 PM on August 5, 2021 [6 favorites]
Wu-Tang is for the children.I think we should make distinctions. GZA should be included on standardized tests. ODB is a good candidate for supervised visits.
posted by eotvos at 8:39 PM on August 5, 2021 [7 favorites]
Shouldn't it be, as presented, what singers sang songs that applied the biggest vocabularies? Because not all of these artists wrote their own material.
The article claims that songs were excluded if the singer did not have a writing credit.
Also, I love Patti Smith but my take on this whole exercise is that the simple fact that Jim Morrison shows up in the top four proves that having a big vocabulary doesn't make you a good lyricist.
posted by Mothlight at 10:08 PM on August 5, 2021 [5 favorites]
The article claims that songs were excluded if the singer did not have a writing credit.
Also, I love Patti Smith but my take on this whole exercise is that the simple fact that Jim Morrison shows up in the top four proves that having a big vocabulary doesn't make you a good lyricist.
posted by Mothlight at 10:08 PM on August 5, 2021 [5 favorites]
List is insufficient without entries for "WeirdWord Al" Stewart and whoever wrote "Supercalifragilisticexpialidocious" (aka "Supercalifragilisticexpialadeen" in Wadiya).
posted by zaixfeep at 10:25 PM on August 5, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by zaixfeep at 10:25 PM on August 5, 2021 [1 favorite]
....the simple fact that Jim Morrison shows up in the top four proves that having a big vocabulary doesn't make you a good lyricist.
Albeit plural but all the same: Word.
posted by y2karl at 11:03 PM on August 5, 2021 [1 favorite]
Albeit plural but all the same: Word.
posted by y2karl at 11:03 PM on August 5, 2021 [1 favorite]
“Also, applying this metric to the metafilter database would be interesting.”
I did this years ago when I was looking for patterns for my dissertation. I don’t have the data anymore but I remember it coming down to basically the most prolific posters across the widest range of topics.
Always fun to do this sort of data silliness again. Is the MetaFilter infodump updated anymore?
posted by iamkimiam at 11:10 PM on August 5, 2021 [4 favorites]
I did this years ago when I was looking for patterns for my dissertation. I don’t have the data anymore but I remember it coming down to basically the most prolific posters across the widest range of topics.
Always fun to do this sort of data silliness again. Is the MetaFilter infodump updated anymore?
posted by iamkimiam at 11:10 PM on August 5, 2021 [4 favorites]
One interesting thing about Björk is that she’s worked with the same co-lyricist her whole career, Sjón, a poet, novelist and screenwriter. They’re both Icelandic, and as far as I know they’ve never worked with an anglophone lyricist, which makes Björk’s presence at number three all the more remarkable.
posted by Kattullus at 12:36 AM on August 6, 2021 [5 favorites]
posted by Kattullus at 12:36 AM on August 6, 2021 [5 favorites]
The problem I have with this is that they count every word equally.
I don't know what the right algorithm for this would be, but lowering the score for lyrics just because they contain a lot of repetition seems the wrong way to start.
posted by Lanark at 3:04 AM on August 6, 2021 [1 favorite]
I don't know what the right algorithm for this would be, but lowering the score for lyrics just because they contain a lot of repetition seems the wrong way to start.
posted by Lanark at 3:04 AM on August 6, 2021 [1 favorite]
Your favorite band is terse.
posted by condour75 at 4:37 AM on August 6, 2021 [15 favorites]
posted by condour75 at 4:37 AM on August 6, 2021 [15 favorites]
Dylan rhyming January with Buenos Aires is pretty good, and in a way unsurprising, but coming a close second is the Upper Crust, who rhymed “subtler” with “butler.” There should be a special award for that.
posted by scratch at 5:12 AM on August 6, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by scratch at 5:12 AM on August 6, 2021 [1 favorite]
'Herds of words are turds of birds'. Wordy Rappinghood!
posted by DJZouke at 5:36 AM on August 6, 2021 [3 favorites]
posted by DJZouke at 5:36 AM on August 6, 2021 [3 favorites]
laughs in Joanna Newsom
I also thought of Fiona Apple.
posted by Bee'sWing at 5:39 AM on August 6, 2021 [5 favorites]
I also thought of Fiona Apple.
posted by Bee'sWing at 5:39 AM on August 6, 2021 [5 favorites]
Who are these barbarians who didn't include Joanna Newsom?
posted by Multicellular Exothermic at 5:41 AM on August 6, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by Multicellular Exothermic at 5:41 AM on August 6, 2021 [2 favorites]
Also, Simon and Garfunkel deserve a special achievement award for using organdy and crinoline in the same song.
posted by condour75 at 6:09 AM on August 6, 2021 [4 favorites]
posted by condour75 at 6:09 AM on August 6, 2021 [4 favorites]
Chuck Berry:143
But do they count "ding-a-ling" as one word or three?
posted by PlusDistance at 6:16 AM on August 6, 2021 [2 favorites]
But do they count "ding-a-ling" as one word or three?
posted by PlusDistance at 6:16 AM on August 6, 2021 [2 favorites]
I reckon Canadian singer-songwriter James Keelaghan deserves some credit for getting “persistence,” “shuddered,” “pithy’” and “retrograde” into a jaunty three-minute song.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 7:03 AM on August 6, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by ricochet biscuit at 7:03 AM on August 6, 2021 [2 favorites]
Truth: I owe 80% of my vocabulary development, as a teen, to Joni Mitchell.
posted by zenpop at 7:15 AM on August 6, 2021 [4 favorites]
posted by zenpop at 7:15 AM on August 6, 2021 [4 favorites]
I'll add Warren Zevon to the people missing from the source lists (probably for good reasons, to be sure) that I'd be curious to see ranked.
No Ian Anderson?
No Lauri Anderson? (JK, I know she's not a "singer" for these purposes. Also would break the list.)
posted by The Bellman at 7:16 AM on August 6, 2021 [3 favorites]
No Ian Anderson?
No Lauri Anderson? (JK, I know she's not a "singer" for these purposes. Also would break the list.)
posted by The Bellman at 7:16 AM on August 6, 2021 [3 favorites]
No Lauri Anderson?
Was sind paranormale Tonbandstimmen?
posted by Omission at 7:31 AM on August 6, 2021 [2 favorites]
Was sind paranormale Tonbandstimmen?
posted by Omission at 7:31 AM on August 6, 2021 [2 favorites]
I don't know what the right algorithm for this would be
Word frequency across all songs by all selected artists, probably. Given a corpus of words defined by the top 100 Spotify artists (say), how many hapax legomena did each artist generate?
Bonus points for actually using the term hapax legomenon as a lyric.
posted by Omission at 7:36 AM on August 6, 2021 [3 favorites]
Word frequency across all songs by all selected artists, probably. Given a corpus of words defined by the top 100 Spotify artists (say), how many hapax legomena did each artist generate?
Bonus points for actually using the term hapax legomenon as a lyric.
posted by Omission at 7:36 AM on August 6, 2021 [3 favorites]
Neko Case ,Ben folds, Keb'mo
posted by markbrendanawitzmissesus at 7:56 AM on August 6, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by markbrendanawitzmissesus at 7:56 AM on August 6, 2021 [2 favorites]
No Ian Anderson?
No Lauri Anderson? (JK, I know she's not a "singer" for these purposes. Also would break the list.)
and what the hell, might as well add Jon and go Full Anderson:
Dawn of light lying between a silence and sold sources
Chased amid fusions of wonder
In moments hardly seen forgotten
Coloured in pastures of chance dancing leaves cast spells of challenge
Amused but real in thought, we fled from the sea whole
Dawn of thought transferred through moments of days undersearching earth
Revealing corridors of time provoking memories
Disjointed but with purpose
Craving penetrations offer links with the self instructors sharp and tender love
As we took to the air a picture of distance
Dawn of our power we amuse redescending as fast as misused expression
As only to teach love as to reveal passion chasing late into corners
And we danced from the ocean
Dawn of love sent within us colours of awakening among the many wont to follow
Only tunes of a different age
As the links span our endless caresses for the freedom of life everlasting
and that's just the first 90 seconds of Tales From Topographic Oceans, the single most MOST album of the entire prog rock genre.
posted by philip-random at 8:09 AM on August 6, 2021 [5 favorites]
No Lauri Anderson? (JK, I know she's not a "singer" for these purposes. Also would break the list.)
and what the hell, might as well add Jon and go Full Anderson:
Dawn of light lying between a silence and sold sources
Chased amid fusions of wonder
In moments hardly seen forgotten
Coloured in pastures of chance dancing leaves cast spells of challenge
Amused but real in thought, we fled from the sea whole
Dawn of thought transferred through moments of days undersearching earth
Revealing corridors of time provoking memories
Disjointed but with purpose
Craving penetrations offer links with the self instructors sharp and tender love
As we took to the air a picture of distance
Dawn of our power we amuse redescending as fast as misused expression
As only to teach love as to reveal passion chasing late into corners
And we danced from the ocean
Dawn of love sent within us colours of awakening among the many wont to follow
Only tunes of a different age
As the links span our endless caresses for the freedom of life everlasting
and that's just the first 90 seconds of Tales From Topographic Oceans, the single most MOST album of the entire prog rock genre.
posted by philip-random at 8:09 AM on August 6, 2021 [5 favorites]
Maybe these top X posts would go better if we required OP to explicitly list out the parameters in the post text so we could at least argue about the same thing:
SELECT TOP 100 ____
FROM ____.com
WHERE condition_1...
and condition_n
posted by Think_Long at 9:05 AM on August 6, 2021 [5 favorites]
SELECT TOP 100 ____
FROM ____.com
WHERE condition_1...
and condition_n
posted by Think_Long at 9:05 AM on August 6, 2021 [5 favorites]
(before reading) I swear to god, Colin Meloy has to be at the top.
posted by Occula at 10:56 AM on August 6, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by Occula at 10:56 AM on August 6, 2021 [2 favorites]
and that's just the first 90 seconds of Tales From Topographic Oceans, the single most MOST album of the entire prog rock genre
Is it wrong that I couldn't read those words without singing them in my head? By the end of "Dawn of light..." I was in full mental replay mode. Thanks!
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 10:57 AM on August 6, 2021 [3 favorites]
Is it wrong that I couldn't read those words without singing them in my head? By the end of "Dawn of light..." I was in full mental replay mode. Thanks!
posted by It's Raining Florence Henderson at 10:57 AM on August 6, 2021 [3 favorites]
Weighing in on my favorite Dylan couplet:
Can you tell me where we're headin' /
Lincoln County Road or Armageddon?
posted by Occula at 11:00 AM on August 6, 2021 [5 favorites]
Can you tell me where we're headin' /
Lincoln County Road or Armageddon?
posted by Occula at 11:00 AM on August 6, 2021 [5 favorites]
You'd think a guy like Bruce Cockburn would be in here.
posted by klanawa at 11:45 AM on August 6, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by klanawa at 11:45 AM on August 6, 2021 [1 favorite]
How about highest Scrabble scoring singers?
posted by Monochrome at 2:06 PM on August 6, 2021 [2 favorites]
posted by Monochrome at 2:06 PM on August 6, 2021 [2 favorites]
The very first name I looked for in this ranking was Joey Ramone.
posted by AsYouKnow Bob at 3:52 PM on August 6, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by AsYouKnow Bob at 3:52 PM on August 6, 2021 [1 favorite]
"I still dream of Orgonon
I wake up crying
You're making rain
And you're just in reach
When you and sleep escape me
You're like my yo-yo
That glowed in the dark
What made it special
Made it dangerous
So I bury it
And forget
But every time it rains
You're here in my head
Like the sun coming out
Ooh, I just know that something good is gonna happen
I don't know when
But just saying it could even make it happen"
posted by Wordshore at 4:09 PM on August 6, 2021 [5 favorites]
I wake up crying
You're making rain
And you're just in reach
When you and sleep escape me
You're like my yo-yo
That glowed in the dark
What made it special
Made it dangerous
So I bury it
And forget
But every time it rains
You're here in my head
Like the sun coming out
Ooh, I just know that something good is gonna happen
I don't know when
But just saying it could even make it happen"
posted by Wordshore at 4:09 PM on August 6, 2021 [5 favorites]
I want to know where John Darnielle fits in all this, even as I acknowledge that lyrics and vocabulary are only one of many sources of musical pleasure.
I was not surprised to see someone bring up the Decemberists. I was just the other day listening to June Hymn and enjoying the beautiful language of it, from "the thrushes' bleating battle with the wrens disrupts my reverie again," to "a barony of ivy in the trees, expanding out its empire by degrees," and simply the pleasure of "panoply" showing up in the chorus.
posted by Orlop at 4:19 PM on August 6, 2021 [4 favorites]
I was not surprised to see someone bring up the Decemberists. I was just the other day listening to June Hymn and enjoying the beautiful language of it, from "the thrushes' bleating battle with the wrens disrupts my reverie again," to "a barony of ivy in the trees, expanding out its empire by degrees," and simply the pleasure of "panoply" showing up in the chorus.
posted by Orlop at 4:19 PM on August 6, 2021 [4 favorites]
listening to June Hymn and enjoying the beautiful language of it
Yay! That is my favorite song by the Decemberists.
posted by Flight Hardware, do not touch at 7:36 PM on August 6, 2021
Yay! That is my favorite song by the Decemberists.
posted by Flight Hardware, do not touch at 7:36 PM on August 6, 2021
Interesting the the unique word count per song has declined (from 127 for classics to 107 for modern songs), but instead of speculating it's bc classics are classics for a reason, or because songs are more focus grouped to the common taste (or what execs imagine is the common taste) nowadays, they speculate it's bc the pop singers are writing their own music more often instead of hiring professional lyricists.
posted by subdee at 8:09 PM on August 6, 2021
posted by subdee at 8:09 PM on August 6, 2021
Ctrl+F Samuel Taylor Coleridge
[Phrase not found]
(╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻
posted by darkstar at 9:33 PM on August 6, 2021
[Phrase not found]
(╯°□°)╯︵ ┻━┻
posted by darkstar at 9:33 PM on August 6, 2021
I think there’d be some overlap with cortex’s FPP, six down from this one, about semantic dissociation.
posted by ricochet biscuit at 8:34 AM on August 7, 2021
posted by ricochet biscuit at 8:34 AM on August 7, 2021
Ctrl+F Freddie Mercury
#12
I'd love to see those word lists.
Just read the lyrics to songs like Killer Queen, Bohemian Rhapsody, Mustafa, Fairy-Feller's Master Stroke, the entire Barcelona album...
posted by cheshyre at 6:30 PM on August 8, 2021 [2 favorites]
#12
I'd love to see those word lists.
Just read the lyrics to songs like Killer Queen, Bohemian Rhapsody, Mustafa, Fairy-Feller's Master Stroke, the entire Barcelona album...
posted by cheshyre at 6:30 PM on August 8, 2021 [2 favorites]
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[Phrase not found]
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posted by The Tensor at 4:11 PM on August 5, 2021 [19 favorites]