Anyone still do insightful or intelligent lyrics?

I've always found Richard Thompson's lyrics to be very insightful, though they tend to be a little caustic. I would also second Sarah McLachlan, more mainstream than Richard Thompson, but just as insightful.

Some of my nominations:

XTC continue to be some of the wittiest lyricists around (okay - so they've been around for close to 30 years, but they're still going)

Martin Newell (read poems on his website)

Roddy Frame (Aztec Camera)

Martin Phillips (The Chills - last release back in '96)

Bob Dylan, as if he required mention in this context. "Love and Theft' is as good, lyrically, as popular music gets. And that's about as good lyrically as music gets, period.

They Might be Giants are very smart and very clever, though insightful would perhaps be going a bit too far. Ani Difranco, when she isn't being too preachy, can write a moving, wise lyric -- check out some of the songs from Dilate.

Tom Waits, of course.

Wilco, Freakwater as well.

Almost certaily some of the best work in "song" writing is being done in rap and hip hop. But I am totally ignorant of that stuff, so can't say. Anyway, that's where most of teh creative, young talent is going, as well as the hacks.

By the way, I think the "they just don't write 'em like they used to" line is probably nonsense. Really top drawer work is always rare. We think there used to me more of it, because it made a lasting impression then, while the vast majority of the past's crap faded away; on the other hand, we are bombarded constantly with all of what's out there now, good and (mostly) bad. And also because we are not in a position to appreiate something genuinely new and good immediately, so it may go under the radar until we learn to hear it well.

RM

Forgot to nominate Billy Bragg (speaking of Wilco)

There is plenty of new groups with insightful lyrics coming out, however, unfortunatly they are ushered to the back of the prodcution line to make way for the "pop" artists with your deaded 1 line chorus.


Nine inch nails, Reznor had some very insightful and thoughful lyrics. (on his first few albums, i cant vouch for his more recent stuff, i kinda fell out of it) So does the group P.O.D.
Henry Rollings did as well, but i dont know if he is still producing music. I kind of lost track with him after a certain album.

There is a Group called Rehab, they had real good lyrics. It is rap, but he doesent sing about Bitches and Big Screen TVs, his lyrics all derived from his time at rehab and it was a part of his "Rehabilitation". They never made it far, but it is one of my favorite rap groups.

Alice in chains has some real good thoughtful lyrics. Too bad Lane Staley the singer is dead. I guess they found his corpse in his Humidor 2 weeks after he OD'd. He decomposed so fast they had to do a DNA test to indentify him.

Alot of the "Seattle grunge" movement groups had some very good lyrics. Too bad the music sucked on alot of them. SoundGarden has some real good stuff. It also has some crap too.

Eminem has some pretty good lyrics, they are very angry, but they are rather well thought out. I will probably be beaten up for that one, so let me also state that some of his crap is just pure crap.

It seems like anything written from the soul is just ignored for catchy beats and catchy rhymes.
Too bad.