Paste 100 Greatest Living Songwriters

juice · **Posted:** Wed Jun 07, 2006 1:20 pm

100 T-Bone Burnett
99 Outkast
98 Jay Farrar
97 Josh Ritter
96 Jimmy Cliff
95 Patti Smith
94 Sam Phillips
93 Joseph Arthur
92 Alejandro Escovedo
91 Drive-By Truckers
90 Nick Cave
89 Victoria Williams
88 Parliment
87 Lyle Lovett
86 Sam Beam (Iron & Wine)
85 David bazan (Pedro the Lion, Headphones)
84 They Might Be Giants
83 Fleetwood Mac (Buckingham, Nicks, McVie)
82 John Darnielle (The Mountain Goats)
81 The Flaming Lips
80 Pink Floyd
79 Stephen Malkmus (Pavement, Silver Jews)
78 Robert Pollard (Guided by Voices)
77 Bruce Cockburn
76 Will Oldham aka Bonnie "Prine" Billy
75 Ron Sexsmith
74 Over the Rhine
73 Julie Miller
72 Michael Jackson
71 Vic Chestnut
70 Alex Chilton (Big Star, The Box Tops)
69 Merle Haggard
68 Allen Toussaint
67 Connor Oberst
66 Charles Thompson (aka Frank Black) (Pixies, The Catholics)
65 Bill Mallonee (Vigilantes of Love)
64 Andy Partridge (XTC)
63 Richard Thompson
62 Sting
61 John Hiatt
60 Jimmy Webb
59 Jack White
58 Sly Stone
57 Morrissey
56 James Brown
55 Dolly Parton
54 Aimee Mann
53 James Taylor
52 Paul Westerberg
51 Dan Penn & Spooner Oldham
50 Public Enemy
49 Cat Stevens
48 Gillian Welch / David Rawlings
47 Sufjan Stevens
46 David Byrne
45 Jackson Browne
44 Al Green
43 Ryan Adams
42 Loretta Lynn
41 Ray Davies
40 Burt Bacharach & Hal David
39 Led Zeppelin
38 Kris Kristofferson
37 Smokey Robinson
36 Beck
35 Steve Earle
34 John Forgarty
33 Pete Townshend
32 Lieber & Stoller
31 Carole King
30 John Prine
29 Tom Petty
28 Robbie Robertson
27 Radiohead
26 REM
25 Chuck Berry
24 Jeff Tweedy
23 Elton John / Bernie Taupin
22 Lucinda Williams
21 Lou Reed
20 Van Morrison
19 Patty Griffin
18 U2
17 Holland - Dozier- Holland
16 David Bowie
15 Willie Nelson
14 Stevie Wonder
13 Paul Simon
12 The Rolling Stones
11 Randy Newman
10 Prince
9 Joni Mitchell
8 Elvis Costello
7 Brian Wilson
6 Leonard Cohen
5 Paul McCartney
4 Tom Waits, Kathleen Brennan
3 Bruce Springsteen
2 Neil Young
1 Bob Dylan

pollysix · **Joined:** Tue Oct 26, 2004 2:56 am **Posts:** 5174

juice Wrote:

90 Nick Cave

84 They Might Be Giants
67 Connor Oberst
59 Jack White

Pardon my french... but you've got to be fucking kidding!
They Might Be Giants is above Nick Cave, and those young tikes Oberst and White are strides and strides above him and Patti Smith. C'mon!

And where the hell is Rufus Wainwright????

Hegel · **Posted:** Wed Jun 07, 2006 1:31 pm

I have a serious problem with #2

Shouldn't he not be counted as living considering he looks like a corpse?

EDIT: Dolly Parton #55? Come on. U2 is ranked higher? I shit on this list.

cemeterypolka · **Joined:** Wed Jul 13, 2005 12:40 am **Posts:** 3473

pollysix Wrote:

juice Wrote:

90 Nick Cave

84 They Might Be Giants
67 Connor Oberst
59 Jack White

Pardon my french... but you've got to be fucking kidding!
They Might Be Giants is above Nick Cave, and those young tikes Oberst and White are strides and strides above him and Patti Smith. C'mon!

And where the hell is Rufus Wainwright????

and sufjan stevens before nick cave too. i'd put ryan adams on the why the fuck list too. why the fuck is he before nick cave i mean.
i was about to have a hernia looking for tom waits but i realized he had a nice spot in the top 10.

jewels santana · **Joined:** Thu Nov 04, 2004 2:36 pm **Posts:** 10198

i'm a huge jeff tweedy fan, but seeing his name right infront of chuck berry is kinda funny.

Mick · **Posted:** Wed Jun 07, 2006 1:38 pm

Pretty bad list.

I thought john lennon would be on there.

The Mayor of Simpleton · **Posted:** Wed Jun 07, 2006 1:39 pm

Oh good, another list!

pollysix · **Joined:** Tue Oct 26, 2004 2:56 am **Posts:** 5174

amgl Wrote:

I thought ELVIS would be on there.

d · **Posted:** Wed Jun 07, 2006 1:43 pm

amgl Wrote:

Pretty bad list.

I thought john lennon would be on there.

greatest LIVING songwriters

Mick · **Posted:** Wed Jun 07, 2006 1:54 pm

dnorwood Wrote:

amgl Wrote:

Pretty bad list.

I thought john lennon would be on there.

greatest LIVING songwriters

well there you go.

still, that list blows.

Cotton · **Joined:** Mon Oct 25, 2004 6:12 pm **Posts:** 17155

is this about music or lyrics?

did jarvis cocker die?

Mick · **Posted:** Wed Jun 07, 2006 1:57 pm

I love it how they just chuck Outkast on there at the end to make it more appealing to the modern black man.

pollysix · **Joined:** Tue Oct 26, 2004 2:56 am **Posts:** 5174

dnorwood Wrote:

amgl Wrote:

Pretty bad list.

I thought john lennon would be on there.

greatest LIVING songwriters

ELVIS LIVES

Verbal Intercourse · **Posted:** Wed Jun 07, 2006 2:00 pm

amgl Wrote:

I love it how they just chuck Outkast on there at the end to make it more appealing to the modern black man.

Yeah, I'm sure that was their intent with that one. Because if a black person is reading a list and then finds a single black group placed at the very end of the list, all will be well in the world.

billy g · **Joined:** Mon Oct 25, 2004 1:41 pm **Posts:** 9020

If Dylan weren't at #1, I wouldn't know whether the list was supposed to be in order or not.

If Rolling Stone or Spin put this list out, I'd probably defend it as being not that bad considering the source. Isn't Paste generally a decent mag though? Strike me unimpressed. For every Webb, Haggard, Spooner/Oldham and Kristofferson that I'm impressed to see make the list, I get annoyed to see them below Beck, Tom Petty, and Elton John/Bernie Taupin. its pretty awful actually.

pollysix · **Joined:** Tue Oct 26, 2004 2:56 am **Posts:** 5174

amgl Wrote:

I love it how they just chuck Outkast on there at the end to make it more appealing to the modern black man.

<--- noticed that too.
"oh yeah, let's throw some 'urban music' guy in there."

Mick · **Posted:** Wed Jun 07, 2006 2:03 pm

Verbal Intercourse Wrote:

amgl Wrote:

I love it how they just chuck Outkast on there at the end to make it more appealing to the modern black man.

Yeah, I'm sure that was their intent with that one. Because if a black person is reading a list and then finds a single black group placed at the very end of the list, all will be well in the world.

Yeah, I'm sure that was their intent with that one.

juice · **Posted:** Wed Jun 07, 2006 2:05 pm

I would have expected much better from Paste. Besides the horrid rankings their were quite a few obvious omissions and some that could easily be replaced.

two guns holla · **Posted:** Wed Jun 07, 2006 2:13 pm

Paste is a decent mag, but I have no qualms about letting my subscription expire.

I do have qualms about U2 being that high, though.

ptrck · **Joined:** Wed Oct 27, 2004 10:55 pm **Posts:** 5568

the redworm Wrote:

did jarvis cocker die?

too easy

ptrck · **Joined:** Wed Oct 27, 2004 10:55 pm **Posts:** 5568

juice Wrote:

21 Lou Reed
20 Van Morrison
19 Patty Griffin

I loved seeing Griffin get some props, but to see who she's directly in front of is almost insulting.

Radcliffe · **Posted:** Wed Jun 07, 2006 2:18 pm

I guess the title PASTE 100 SONGWRITERS IN NO SPECIFIC ORDER just didn't have that extra zing.

KPH · **Posted:** Wed Jun 07, 2006 2:54 pm

Sufjan's on there and no Wu-Tang?

Dick Meatwood · **Posted:** Wed Jun 07, 2006 3:17 pm

Apparently Led Zeppelin is a songwriter and is still alive.

mcaputo · **Posted:** Wed Jun 07, 2006 3:33 pm

Cool. A list written by a bunch of pantywaist pedigreed bookend dweebs.

Paste 100 Greatest Living Songwriters

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