Honestly I would describe a ton of hair metal bands as a bunch of fun guitar riffs ruined by lyrics and presentation
I did lose a lot of respect for Steve Miller because of the incredibly dumb-a** lyrics to so many of his songs.
Nah. Not buying this. Def Leppard lyrics have never been great - even the ones that read like the band are trying to be meaningful - "Gods Of War", "White Lightning" are woefully inarticulate. Def Leppard have never cared about writing good lyrics, and its obvious.
I listen to the "Hot Hits" station in the car -- it is good to know what is happening in current pop music. The current generation, raised on texting aren't writing lyrical masterpieces. Post Malone makes Ozzy seem like John Updike. And hip-hop ... please don't quote me Drake and Kendrick Lamar -- don't care how many participation awards they have -- they haven't written one song as good as Curtis Mayfield's worst song .
Ozzy has, at best, written a very small fraction of the lyrics he has sung over his career. Agree on Curtis.
what's not to like? "Fifteen years in the academy He was like no cadet they'd ever seen A man so hard, his veins bleed ice And when he speaks he never says it twice They call him Judge, his last name is Dredd So break the law, and you wind up dead Truth and justice are what he's fighting for Judge Dredd the man, he is the law DROKK IT! With gun and bike he rules the streets And every perp he meets will taste defeat Not even Death can overcome his might Cause Dredd and Anderson, they won the fight When the Sov's started the Apocalypse war Mega-City was bombed to the floor Dredd resisted, and the judges fought back Crushed the Sov's with their counter-attack DROKK IT! Respect the badge - he earned it with his blood Fear the gun - your sentence may be death because... I AM THE LAW! And you won't f*** around no more - I AM THE LAW I judge the rich, I judge the poor - I AM THE LAW Commit a crime I'll lock the door - I AM THE LAW Because in Mega-City... I AM THE LAW In the cursed earth where mutants dwell There is no law, just a living hell Anarchy and chaos as the blood runs red But this would change if it was up to Dredd The book of law is the bible to him And any crime committed is a sin He keeps the peace with his law-giver Judge, jury, and executioner DROKK IT! CRIME - The ultimate sin Your iso-cube is waiting when he brings you in LAW - It's what he stands for Crime's his only enemy and he's going to war LEAD BREAKCRIME - The ultimate sin Your iso-cube is waiting when he brings you in LAW - It's what he stands for Crime's his only enemy and he's going to war" Anthrax - "I Am the Law"
A lot of folks here don't like rap or metal because of violent lyrics. I usually don't mind most of the time as long as it doesn't try to force controversy for sales. Lyrically poor material can be embarrassing to singalong with but it doesn't bother me too much overall.
frankly i can hear the argument that rock n roll is not exactly poetry, but some artists could make an effort and so much better that i love you babe!. You can write good lyrics very simple, the great example for me is the specials! songs like ghost town or friday night saturday morning uses little words (it's not costello or morrissey) but it is very effective.
i'll never argue that they are gonna need to publish a book of poetry/lyrics, but they are what they are. i've never taken them seriously as making any serious statement/impact lyrically, but for the glam/pop/rock songs that they write, i am hardly offended. if you take another band like the cure and compare the lyrics from something like "disintegration" to those of"let's go to bed," or "the lovecats," it's obvious that the two are like apples and oranges as far as intent and lyrics. it's far more problematic for me when someone thinks what they have written is great and deep/insightful, only to have it be trite, clumsy and/or just plain bad.
I know some find it soppy, but when you write "Yesterday" a lot can be forgiven. But certainly not all....
Paul has written a lot of dubious lyrics, but he did at least show the capability of writing good ones with songs like Eleanor Rigby and For No One.