hi from the other side

I sort of abandoned this for most of June, sorry. After believing that I didn't need to get stressed about the exams this June, as soon as they started I sort of went to pieces and found that I could barely even listen to music, let alone write about it. It wasn't a very nice couple of weeks, but I'm feeling better now, largely because my exams are essentially over.

An article I wrote went up here, it's about lyrics and poetry. That's at a poetry magazine I'm involved with, but it's more about lyrics than poetry really.

The Guardian, of course, has since decided to publish lyrics of the 'greatest' lyricists ever or something, and they've got a really boring, predictable list of people that everyone basically already knows. Problem is, I was thinking what I'd put in my own list, and it's impossible. Seven? No, you can never only have seven greatest lyricists ever. I mean, a quick list of some bands/singers with lyrics that I like can't really be done, because that's pretty much all the music I listen to. Like, most people wouldn't really consider Kenickie a lyrics band in the same way they'd consider, say, Okkervil River, and maybe they're a bit less about that - but I still like their lyrics a lot, and don't want to dismiss that bit in Come Out 2nite when she sings "we don't have time to be sad / come out tonight you've got to grab it / if you want to have it" or Classy's pretty awesome "WE'RE CLASS WE'VE GOT CLASS". They're good in different ways to like, Okkervil River or The Hold Steady or whatever, but is that a bad thing? I don't think so. But lyrics like theirs will never be published in booklets, and probably shouldn't be. To be honest, I think the whole idea's a pretty stupid one - you need to hear them.

Also, who chose which songs to put in the booklets? Irish Blood, English Heart over, say, pretty much everything else Morrissey's written, except for the other few that were included? For serious?