Top 10 Overrated Songwriters

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Top 10 Overrated Songwriters

Written by Zeromage 92 Comments
Last Updated:: September 3, 2009

Overrated Songwriters are a dime a dozen. Usually these songwriters are in a band that’s considered good (which means publicly covered in any way shape or form). These bands usually suck too because of the poor songwriter. Regardless, along with the band appearing as quality comes the harangues on why the songwriter is brilliant. The reasons for songwriting greatness is scarce when defined by anyone who goes off on these tangents. Relying on expressible gestures, these “music enthusiastic” appear more as monkeys than a more appropriate stoic gesture that conveys a tacit understanding of quality. These next songwriters are marks of men (and one female) who often arouse these identity masturbations. These songwriters are all generally considered as great songwriters, but a closer look at these songwriters will hopefully relegate the “music enthusiasts” gestures to the scrap heap.

10.Robert Smith

Why does The Cure get listened to so much? There are no good songs in the catalog. There are no choruses. There are basic attempts at sounding pop sometimes, probably one chorus in their biggest single to date, so why the fuck is this fat vampire considered a good songwriter? Is it because the makeup he wears? Is it because he’s fat? Is it because he sings in a voice that’s overly-emphatic, probably due to the fact that he couldn’t get girls because of his appearance. Shit, there was always a weight room in the high school. There was always at least a treadmill. Just think, one treadmill and no one would have been duped into thinking that Roberts Smith’s foray into pseudo-romantic tragedy would have had it’s legacy.

9. Sheryl Crow

THE female American songwriter. She once appeared as credible to people who thought they knew what credible was and then she released that “Soak up the Sun” song and somehow this took away her credibility because a chorus came too quick and the melody was too breezy, but before this, she was the Aphrodite of modern songwriting. She couldn’t write a bad song. Her unabashed self-expression had to be heard as good, especially by those who needed some auxiliary human being to affirm their own self identity. Shit, when I listen to her self-titled album though, all I hear is woman-power rock on par with Meredith Brooks at the time. Is something this culturally relative good? If it’s good at the time, is it good later? Can people still listen to “A Change will do you good” without cringing? Can they do the same with “Redemption Day”? Only a dogmatic acolyte won’t admit this.

8. Bob Dylan

How many times do we have to hear that Dylan is be all and end all of music? What is with all this idolization? And how come every time these Dylan idolizers are called out on why they like Dylan they give the same banal reasons for idolization like “He was one of the great American Poets”. How come when you ask one of these buffoons on the spot which Dylan album inspired them the most, they can’t respond? They can’t even name one Dylan album let alone a favorite album! They know a few select songs and relegate the rest of their opinion to popular mainstream media’s coverage on tradition, whatever that is supposed to mean. Pedestrians, pure and simple…easily satisfied. The human being at its worst.

7. Pete Doherty

The best word to describe Pete Doherty’s songwriting with the Libertines and Babyshambles is boring. Listen to his live solo output and it’s even more boring. It’s a man with an acoustic guitar talking about the basic day of an English life without noticing the subtleties of a conversation that would often appear interesting as is the case with Lee Mavers. Instead we get cockney bullshit about storefronts and hooligans, and everything that sounds cool to the NME. Pete Doherty is the print machine for the NME; someone operating on a visceral level on what English coolness is. See, this is the problem by being influenced by any music. There’s an unlucky chance you might be influenced by The Clash.

6.Paul Westerberg

This dick has the gumption to call out Ryan Adams as being shit. Paul Westerberg in his lifetime won’t write a song half as decent as Ryan Adams worst song, but because Paul Westerberg appeared “hardass” in The Replacements (with their overly mundane punk-turned rock n’ roll exigencies) and his subsequent solo career, he could get away with criticizing a good songwriter. What is one good song that this Paul Westerberg wrote? “Satisfied?” This shit should be relegated to the highschool gym concert series, not a professional band. You won’t find anything better on his Stereo album no matter how much he distanced himself from big name producers to produce a more raw “songwriter in a basement” sounding production. Bad production on top of bad songwriting. This was Paul Westerberg’s next step after his major label stints. It only made sense with the coming of the indie crowd.

5. Frank Black

Frank Black’s macabre style of songwriting would have it’s crowd. Basically, those who liked The Pixies. From all his albums there’s about two choruses worth listening to, but you would still have to endure his painfully overbearing vocals throughout the song. Did anyone ever tell this virulent piece of crap to shut the hell up? Speak softly and carry a big stick (not in Simon and Garfunkel’s way though; which was speak softly and carry no sticks). This didn’t happen because the pretend that people played in liking The Pixies or maybe it was simply a dialectical reaction to the harmonious sounding music of the 80’s. A good reason to never be interested in the sake of liking something for the sake of reaction alone: one day realizing that the man you thought was an amazing songwriter was really complete shit.

4. Eric Clapton

Eric Clapton made blues for white men. If one was enamored by white man blues solos then they may like Eric Clapton. If not, they you would have disliked most of his songwriting. It was generic blues at its worst. Who gives a fuck about his overly sentimental “If I can change the World”, which should be the textbook definition of an unctuous musical delivery? Can’t though. This dude went through a lot of shit. He actually did though. He lost his son, and cashed in on it by writing a song about his loss that made him millions. Loss and Bluesmen; what the fuck is with these people? Have they ever thought about a type of losing that isn’t existential, that isn’t so tied to the human death? Eric Clapton didn’t, and he cashed in on it. Not even a greatest hits of his can be listened too. It’s generic wanking inside generic songwriting. The dude even looks generic.

3. Simon and Garfunkel

It’s hard to understand why Simon and Garfunkel are known as some of the greatest songwriters of all time besides by some of old farts who only passively read Rolling Stone magazine when they’re at the local book store. These songs put you to sleep, and not in the good way. They put you to sleep in the way that you think to yourself “shit, this is sucks, I’m going to sleep”. Except for the smashing drum in “The Boxer“, Simon and Garfunkel never deliver any song with any vitriol. Call it a style. We call it the emasculation of a sex who no longer exercised the power it once had over the world. So the reaction would be a sensitive delivery in it’s period of settling down. Whatever was, it was inordinately soft, or to be even more precise, mawkish in every sense of the term.

2. Lou Reed

This pile of piss songwriter can’t sing, and writes songs that sound dumb but sound interesting to him, and therefore sound interesting to everyone else because he insists on perennially coming from a different place sonically. Who gives a shit about the Sonics (some Old-Wizard pun intended) when the songs are this shit? Yes, he goes up and down on his vocal range, often sounding like a chimp which relays a sense of primordial delivery to a music listener who got beat up too much at school. Rarely will you find a catchy chorus. You will find songs that elaborate on a solipsistic level which obviously means he’s usually talking about drugs or some vulgar conception of metaphysics that’s parasitically tied to a contemporary politic. This dude’s pulled a fast one of those who “love” him. He’s made actual shit that people love. Do people just love shit? Nah, they just can’t tell the difference anymore.

1. Paul McCartney

If there is one signature songwriter who’s absolutely overrated because of the quality of songwriters in the band he’s in, then it has to be Paul McCartney. Let’s list them. “Got to Get You Into My Life“; no soul whatsoever. “The Long and Winding Road” (which we listed as one of the most overrated songs of all time); a poor attempt at Bacharachian appurtenance (and this was when McCartney was supposed to be “coming into his own!”). How about the unbearable “The Night Before” off of Help. How about “Your Mother Should Know”. I can seriously go on and on with the sheer amount of shit songs this man released, and this was just with the Beatles. All his post-Beatles work was even worse, except for the Nigel Godrich produced “Chaos and Creation in the Backyard“, because McCartney actually allowed himself to be challenged by a producer. Paul McCartney is like an average basketball player who thinks he’s a star but knows he really isn’t so tries to get traded to the bad team in the league so he appears as a star there.

92 Comments

#1 Delta says:
March 11th, 2010 at 2:09 am

Wow UP2IP2, you just tried way too hard. You should go sit in the corner, it failed miserably.

#2 Beth says:
March 11th, 2010 at 6:02 pm

This list is an ignorant pile of garbage. What gives you the right to call Paul McCartney an “overrated” songwriter? What songs of any importance have you ever written. As you said about Paul Westerberg, I’m sure your BEST song (if you have ever written one that is) isn’t as good as the worst song from any of these songwriters, especially those of Paul McCartney. Then again, the rest of the world acknowledges him as a musical god, and no one even knows who you are. So I guess in the end he wins, doesn’t he?

#3 avi says:
March 11th, 2010 at 7:48 pm

hey beth, what important songs have YOU ever written?

#4 Delta says:
March 11th, 2010 at 12:45 am

Yeah Beth, what have you written? And how do you know Zeromage isn’t some Grammy award-winning song writer? We don’t know who he is. You made quite an idiot of yourself.

#5 Troll 4 Life says:
March 11th, 2010 at 9:24 am

This site = FAAAAAAAIL! Go suck Liam Gallagher’s nutsack, you cock!

#6 Paul says:
March 11th, 2010 at 3:15 pm

I agree with Beth. I hate it when people who know jack shit about actually writing music talk about it. This article sucks.

#7 Paul says:
March 11th, 2010 at 3:15 pm

Also, Eric Clapton is known more for his guitar playing than his songwriting, you fucking jackass.

#8 Paul says:
March 11th, 2010 at 3:20 pm

Also, the author says “Paul Westerberg in his lifetime won’t write a song half as decent as Ryan Adams worst song”. Do you know anything at all about music? Do you? Ryan Adams releases shit that most songwriters would never have included on an album. He should probably stick to one album a year. Also are you going to seriously tell me that Whiskeytown is a better band than the Replacements? Haha. Its not even a close argument. The Replacements were FAR more influential, groundbreaking and important than Ryan Adams could ever hope to be. You, my friend, suck at life.

#9 BERSERKR says:
March 11th, 2010 at 10:34 pm

I don’t Hold Paul McCartney in very high esteem the two best Beatles were John Lennon and George Harrison.

#10 Delta Sucks says:
March 11th, 2010 at 11:45 pm

You suck big dick delta

#11 avi says:
March 11th, 2010 at 11:21 pm

for a second i thought delta sucks was delta LMAO.

#12 NinjaJJ says:
March 11th, 2010 at 6:51 am

I am greatly saddened by this list you made Zeromage due to the fact that at lest these are Song writers when you think about it how many of them are left these days you know? Rap, Hip hop, and club music have almost killed all lryics that most song writers have created. Thats is if you don’t count Crank dat Soulja Boy or Jay Z – Run This Town

#13 avi says:
March 11th, 2010 at 11:33 am

ya ninjaJJ,it’s upsetting that all the top 10 most overrated songwriters are songwriters.

#14 Bronsonman says:
March 11th, 2010 at 3:32 am

Wow, you are such a fucking idiot. Without Macca your precious Oasis would have absolutely no band to copy and thus have no reason for fame. Also, without Lou Reed almost all of the bands y’all hold dear wouldn’t exist. Haha, Oasis can’t even be overrated because they aren’t even held in that kind of esteem anyways.

#15 JeZeP says:
March 11th, 2010 at 12:55 am

This was a great list and completely true. Simon and Garfunkel I couldn’t understand. Then I thought about, and they are really boring. The only one I thought wasn’t right was Eric Claptan. Although, Whoever writes the songs for Nickleback should have been on her. Otherwise great list! Keep up the good work.

#16 Kurono says:
March 11th, 2010 at 2:36 am

Phill Collis must be there (Sussudio? WTF is that?)

#17 Jim says:
March 11th, 2010 at 12:24 pm

Alex Kapranos should be on this list.

#18 Mullet2dmax says:
March 11th, 2010 at 6:05 pm

Holy Fuck are you trying to make Frank Black commit suicide? That was just…. hilarious.
Lou Reed has been hated for like 30+ years, my parents passed it down to me genetically he’s so bad.
But you need to fuck Sheryl Crow in the ass alot harder than that. For a bitch who claims to only use 1 piece of toilet paper to wipe her butthole when she shits your really gonna have to get in there and do some deep damage. And don’t forget to make her change that stupid fucking stagename.
You must think Interpol lyrics are laugh out loud comical.

#19 Troll 4 Life says:
March 11th, 2010 at 10:05 pm

Wow, how small is your penis, Zeromage? Judging by your shitty taste in music, I’m betting your packing a 2.5 incher at most.

#20 Delta says:
March 11th, 2010 at 11:22 pm

And how would one find a correlation between penis size and taste in music, Troll4Life? I’m guessing you’re an expert on dick size, having a love of them.

#21 Delta says:
March 11th, 2010 at 11:29 pm

I guess the fagot who said I suck dick wants to get a room with me and Troll4Life while he fantasizes about me sucking the worthless piece of shit fagot off.

#22 Michaela(Paul's wife) says:
March 11th, 2010 at 2:15 am

alright. you son of a bitch. do not EVER, and I mean NEVER bash Paul McCartney… Or Simon and Garfunkel for that matter. These people made music history and I don’t see you doing one damn thing in the musical world.. yeah, how many fucking golden records do YOU have? yeah, that’s right, cock sucker. Paul McCartney is one of the most humble, and considerate musicians out there as well. he isn’t an asshole, and he isn’t a self righteous kind of person, he just gets out there and does what he loves. He’s been through a lot with Jane, Linda, and Heather(the bitch), and he doesn’t need YOU doggin’ on him for some bullshit that isn’t even true. Paul McCartney is probably one of the best songwriters ever, and FUCK YOU if you have a problem with him..
oh yeah, have a good fucking day.

#23 avi says:
March 11th, 2010 at 11:28 pm

Michaela, what importance do you have in music history?

#24 Delta says:
March 11th, 2010 at 11:40 pm

Well Michaela lost any potential credibility when actually bringing-up gold records. It’s platinum that matters nowadays, really.

#25 Fedricco Rabaya says:
March 11th, 2010 at 2:44 pm

If you ask me, definitely Taylor Swift. Her songs aren’t that good. I noticed that many teenagers like her because she’s beautiful but really not that good.

#26 ash says:
March 11th, 2010 at 1:00 pm

You forgot Bono..

Totally agree. Telling people you don’t know about your feelings through the medium of song is something that is unsurprisingly and righteously lambasted..

#27 Ninja Claw says:
March 11th, 2010 at 4:38 am

Pete Doherty, Paul Westerberg..How the fuck are they over rated when when they’re barely ever heard of.

#28 dude says:
March 11th, 2010 at 7:15 pm

i completely agree, also jacob dylan and john lennon suck too

#29 simoniff says:
March 11th, 2010 at 11:13 pm

too many trolls, not enough wit. like every dirtrag rock magazine out there, zeromage has an opinion, its JUST an opinion, and yes, it would appear that he has a love affair with late 80ties, early 90ties brit shoegaze. in that context, his list makes sense. besides, its his website, and you visited it, read it, and trolled your opinion. mission accomplished. i don’t recall visiting troll 4 life’s website and having a good laugh, so i guess old wizard got one up on you….

#30 Fedricco Rabaya says:
March 11th, 2010 at 3:53 am

to dude

John Lennon was one of the greatest songwriters of all time. I cannot believe that he died when he was still forty because a fat American psychopath shot him. If he were still alive he would have made more wonderful songs. Thanks dude,one of your people just killed one of the best and you still think he sucks. Listening too much to Taylor Swift’s music that you cannot distinguish great songs from crappy ones? Her music sucks ass.

#31 Fedricco Rabaya says:
March 11th, 2010 at 3:56 am

I don’t know about McCartney but leave John Lennon alone. He has proof of being a great composer.

#32 Jimmy says:
March 11th, 2010 at 6:02 pm

pete doherty?!? the libertines produced some of the finest music at the time, other bands look up to carl and pete for writing and performing their own songs unlike other artists who get other people to write their songs and perform them using unatural sound, electronic already-made beat keyboards. Pete and Carl are one of the best songwriters alongside Joe Strummer! What’s sad is, the young generation of people listen to rubbish techno-music because they like the beat and don’t listen to what a song means anymore. Some artists are lazy and write absolute garbage but as long as they have a beat, they don’t care, they’ll scam any kids buying it.

#33 Jimmy says:
March 11th, 2010 at 6:06 pm

whats more is, pete doherty is the most UNDERATED artist because his drugs and lifestyle overshadow his musical lyrical genius. People don’t understand that some of the greatest artists have used drugs and alcohol. Do people abuse Slash because of his old drug/alcohol lifestyle. No, we see him as one of the great guitarists of all time.

#34 alerksyeaaah says:
March 11th, 2010 at 4:53 am

tbh, you all must think you know a thing or two about music by even being on this site.

but judging by what most of you have said = EPIC FAIL

now go fuel your pathetic insomnia with something a little more constructive.

but too be fair, alot of these writers do suck ass,

#35 TheWarfreak says:
March 11th, 2010 at 4:04 pm

Wow. This list is insane. I knew Dylan would be on it, erroneously so, because you’d need to have him on this list to make it seem legit – like you were saying something noone else has the balls to. Unfortunately, he is a fantastic song writer. So is Paul Simon. So is Frank Black. This list is wrought with hyperbole and out right piss-poor taste in music. I dig the site, really I do, but what more would I have expected from a site that endorses professional wrestling and Oasis to an unhealthy degree…

#36 Mike C says:
March 11th, 2010 at 2:56 am

Wow, you think your cool because you criticize rock and roll legends? You attacked everyone that influenced numerous bands and artists after them. The only artist you didn’t criticize that would fall into that group would be Alex Chilton.

I am not even going to dignify McCartney with a response.

Lou Reed? Are you kidding me? On the merit of the Velvet Underground alone is enough, they invented alternative music 30 years before it’s time.

Highway 61 Revisted, Blonde on Blonde, and The Times They Are A-Changin are my favorite Dylan albums. Blood on the Tracks is quite great too. How many songs by Dylan have been covered? Thousands? And how old are you because unless your in you 60’s and lived during Dylan’s prime you have no right to criticize his contribution to music.

Frank Black? Let me guess you LOVE Nirvana and think Cobain is god right? Considering Cobain “borrowed” everything from The Pixies and The Replacements.

Speaking of the Replacements and this is were you pissed me off the most: Paul Westerberg? You think Ryan Adams is better than him? Adams would never have a career, he would have had no one to steal from. Plus Adams is a whiny punk who wants to be this cool-indie guy yet be a media-darling as well. Paul never cared about that. Paul never sold out! His last album “49:00″ he released for 49 cents. Hell, “Gary’s Got A Boner” is a better song than anything Adams ever wrote because with Paul you get something genuine and sincere. Someone said your arguments were well thought out and concise? Shouldn’t you at least quote the write songs? I think the song you meant to quote was”UNsatisfied”. Finding different derogatory adjectives to describe people is presenting a well thought out argument.

Need a couple more great songs by Paul? “Alex Chilton”, “Androgynous”, “Answering Machine”, “As Far As I Know”, Bastards of Young”, “Best Thing That Never Happened” (and he was) “Can’t Hardly Wait”, “Color Me Impressed”, “Favorite Thing”, “Fugitive Kind”, “Ghost on the Canvas”, “Good As The Cat”, “Here Comes Regular”, “Hold My Life”, “I Will Dare”, “It’s A Wonderful Lie”, “Johnny’s Gonna Die”, “The Ledge”, “Left of the Dial”, “Little Mascara”, “Lookin’ Out Forever”, “Looking Up In Heaven”, “Love on the Wing”, “Merry Go Round”, “My Dad”, “Nevermind”, “Sadly Beautiful”, “Sixteen Blue”, “Skyway”, “Swingin’ Party”, “Talent Show”, “Things”, “Treatment Bound”, “Unsatisfied”, “Valentine”, “Waitress in the Sky”.

I’m sure I missed some, but what do I know, but here is an actual well thought out argument comparing Adams and Westerberg. Oh and by the way Westerberg wasn’t being serious when he talked about Adams:

http://www.crawdaddy.com/index.php/2007/09/12/shaggy-dogs-paul-westerberg-vs-ryan-adams/

Seriously get some taste in music and stop thinking your a “hardass” because you think you can criticize rock greatness whose contributions to music can’t be measured.

#37 Lawrence D says:
March 11th, 2010 at 6:40 pm

You fucking ignoramus, the nerve you must have to trash these songwriters is unbelievable. There is a FINE LINE between opinionated and ignorant and you fell on the wrong side here. With your attempts at jokes and sad choices in who to put on this list you not only embarassed yourself but you wasted my time in reading this. And anyone else that read this. Frank Black? Not a great songwriter? Bob Dylan? Have you even heard any of their music or analyzed it in any way be it lyrically or musically? These people are phenomenal talents and you, some low life asshole with an insane amount of arrogance think you can trash them? Get over yourself and find some taste because clearly you have none.

#38 Joe says:
March 11th, 2010 at 7:41 pm

Man oh man, American’s are showing themselves to be very ignorant.
You haven’t even heard of Pete Doherty LMAO.

“Oasis can’t even be overrated because they aren’t even held in that kind of esteem anyways”.

This is just the icing on the cake, GET A PASSPORT YOU IDIOTS. There’s a whole world out there.

great post Zeromage.

#39 Red says:
March 11th, 2010 at 12:05 am

I’m really curious who you think are GOOD songwriters.

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Top 10 Overrated Songwriters

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