Is there a better, more accomplished living singer-songwriter

>>71772083
no. /thread

>>71772083
Paul McCartney

>>71772123
>living

Steve Reich

>>71772159
not really a songwriter dumdum.

>>71772180
It's not so much the songwriter part that's wrong but the singing

>>71772190
???

Reich is a composer, not really a singer or a songwriter.

>>71772108
fpbp

Really, it's not even debatable.

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>>71772123
Yup. I honestly believe he is the best songwriter ever since the classical music days

>>71772083
Are we forgetting Tom Waits? RIP Leonard Cohen

>>71772083
tom waits

>>71772123
>>71772526
McCartney is clearly the better melodist, but Dylan has him beat lyrically (duh).

Waits is terrific, but his lyrical explorations don't go as far as Dylan's, and I think he's more limited as a creator (i.e. he has a schtick that he sticks to).

Melody and lyrics and both important to a song, and it's not possible or productive to decide which is more important. The question is, what x-factor determines who is a better songwriter overall? Obviously, some of McCartney's and Waits's songs are better than some of Dylan's songs, and vice versa.

While all three are terrific, I'd make the case that Dylan exceeds both Paul and Waits for a few reasons. First, he's explored more sides of the human experience with more nuance than either Paul or Waits. He expanded the subject matter pop music more than we can really fathom. Second, I think Dylan's creativity has lasted him longer and taken him further than either Waits's or Paul's. Paul's work in the last few decades hasn't been much to write home about, and Waits tends to repeat himself, but Dylan released several of his finest albums and songs in the late 90s and 2000s.

Leonard Cohen and Neil Young are two other obvious contenders to match Dylan. I'd probably rank Dylan and his obvious contenders thusly:

>Dylan
>Cohen
>McCartney
>Young
>Waits
>Cave

Obviously that leaves a lot out, though. Paul Simon would probably in up there too.

>>71772815
>Cohen
>Living

I hate to break it to you dude

>>71772815
*the subject matter that pop music can cover

Also, Dylan is one of the most sadly underappreciated artists on /mu/ (esp. when you consider his influence). I've seen a lot of Dylan threads lately, and they usually sputter out after 10 replies. Makes me sad, as he's my favorite musician, and easily one of the most fascinating figures in modern music.

Dylan fans of /mu/ need to unite, if only so we have people to talk to. It would be nice to get more /mu/tants to appreciate him. He's tough to get into because he's not as feelsy as certain other great songwriters, but he's so worth it.

>>71772815
Solid post.

I think you might be underrating Dylan's ability as a melodist though. You really see his ability in this regard when he's writing a song for someone else, or he's not specifically tailoring it to his extremely limited vocal range. It's really more of a voice handicap than a less refined sense of melody separating him from McCartney who is obviously a great, great singer.

>>71772867
Yeah yeah, forgot we were only discussing living song-writers.

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>>71772083
how about 4

>>71772926
this. main reason he's underrated.

>>71772909
>I've seen a lot of Dylan threads lately, and they usually sputter out after 10 replies
That's because traffic here is very low now. Few threads get more than 10. I mean Dylan used to basically be /mu/core, he's just been talked about to death.

>>71772926
>When he's writing a song for someone else

Can you share an example of this? I want to hear what he can do.

>>71773016
How about no

>>71773016
>Post-Jones

>>71772083

>better
Yes.
>more accomplished
Yes.

>more famous

No.

>>71773708
Who?
Who?
Who cares?