I like pre-90s Costello very much, but greatest of his generation? That's a bold statement...and I don't think he was the best song writer on his first label (Joe Jackson). I definitely think he's behind Paul Weller, Robyn Hitchcock and Joe Strummer.

I saw Costello and the Impostors open for Steely Dan a few months ago and they were utter and total crap. Embarrassingly bad. I honestly felt sorry for them.

I will never understand the Eric Clapton thing. Never.

I'm in the jumpier EC camp - so I'll add another
I don't want to go to Chelsea

I loved EC back in college - but I don't think I've listened to any of his albums after Armed Forces (1979) more than once. It's just not the same.

My fave Elvis C albums, in order:

Get Happy
Imperial Bedroom
This Year's Model
Trust
Armed Forces
Brutal Youth (a really great later record)
All this Useless Beauty
My Aim is True

There are good songs on most of his other records, but these stand out.

I prefer Mark Knopfler to Eric Clapton.

Joe Jackson is The Man.

Paul Weller=Style Council=Fail
The Jam= Pre-Who's Next Cover band.
You don't like guitar solo's or people who are proficient on their instruments. Hence your love of Talking Heads.......:D

and the Sex Pistols were a much more important band than The Clash ever were. Then & now. There is not one Clash record that even comes close to Nevermind The Bollocks.....:thumb:

The Jam are the sweet spot of great 60s pop meeting great 70s ethos pop. With fantastic song writing. Daltrey is a doofus and the who are extremely inconsistent.

I like talented musicians if and when they make accessible, quality pop...or blues that doesn't sound like a pasty white, shallow, dullard doing a half assed Robert Johnson tribute with moronic lyrics.

Mark Knopfker is a great example of a talented Blues guy who wrote quality, well written material.

I love never mind the bollocks - but that comment is beneath you. It's just British ramones where the clash released more than one album and have actual growth and different styles.

wrong, as usual.

I never understood the appeal of Brooks saddles (or Ideale etc).
Uncomfortable.
Break in period.
Very Heavy.
Expensive.
And, then I learned from the OP they cause CANCER.

Lots of great music in this thread (and some utter s h i t e)
Best live album IMO:

I'm in this video...

Now let's kick it old skool

And a little Hardcore

When did we get married?

Opinions, here on BF C&V? No way, Garth.

Daltrey may be a doofus, but not many strangers tell him that and walk away not having fielded a punch or two.
He has been a very successful doofus, from Shakepearean theatre to his Who days to movies.
The hammer and the nail in The Who has always been Townsend, whom I consider a better songwriter than any Elvis.
Add in stage plays, screenplays, scores, (Tommy, Quadrophenia, McVicar, and others), and you have a huge body of work.
This does not include his time as an editor at Doubleday, his contributions as a solo artist and songwriter, just a huge talent and brain.
One tight, hard band that played what he wanted, how he wanted it, songs for the ages. Tons of charity work, as well.
His personality, I'm sure, will never see him knighted; he may have that in common with Costello.

He was as good a chronicler of the postwar children of England as there's been, in the medium that came of age with them.
Tommy was about postwar England, Quadrophenia about the children of the veterans. (The bellboy was one of Sting's first movie roles.)
If you get a chance to see McVicar, another good movie from the Who, songs you'll rarely consider of their "standards."

I see Daltrey as the weak link of the who...Townsend is damn good. The Who have done some amazing stuff, but when they miss...they really miss.

Its ts all taste.

That, I'd agree with. Townsend, early on, told the band to "do what I say and we will all be rich." It took a while for that to sink in, but when it did, they produced songs our kids will listen to, even if we don't make them. Hell, all they have to do is watch CSI... Townsend once said that "sometimes there are mistakes in my guitar playing. It's adequate for the task, so I leave them in." Very interesting guy. I think when all is said and done, The Who will be The Bargain.

FWIW, I rank songwriters, loosely, today:

Cole Porter
John Hiatt
Pete Townsend
Towns Van Zandt
Aaron Copeland
Richard Thompson
Bob Dylan (though I don't like his music)
Woody Guthrie
Bruce Springsteen
Reginald Dwight
Paul McCartney
Diane Warren
Elvis Costello
John Mellencamp

Not all of them had home runs every time at bat, but some of their stuff is A-list and always will be, as far as storytelling, depicting a time, place, and people. Not all of them will ever be popular or rich. There are likely African-American artists I've never heard enough of to add to my list, because they simply did not have the opportunity to get published and recorded and produced and sold.

OMG, seriously? The Sex Pistols were a boy band formed to promote a clothing store.

If you guys haven't seen it yet, you should check out "Lambert & Stamp" -- really interesting view of the role the Who's managers played in the music and promotion.

maybe he likes noise and anarchy as opposed to musicians and enduring social relevancy.

or maybe he's channeling mtnbke.

The Pistols were more than that, but they are < the clash.

Never mind the bollocks is a GREAT album - as good as what the clash did, but the clash have 3 great albums and several good ones. Taken as a whole they also went in more interesting directions.

Plus if fender is going to slam style council, I'll retort by reminding him about PiL.

I'd say my faorite song writers are (in no particular order):

David Byrne
Dylan
Zevon
Ray Davies
Hank Williams
chuck berry
lennon/McCartney
Lou Reed
frank black
john lynel
Robyn hitchcock
neil diamond
becker/fagan

Well I have to admit I'm partial to Neil Diamond. The most singable songwriter of the 2nd half of the 20th century.

I like how you listed Mac/Len and Becker/Fagen together. ;) "The Nightfly" is pretty strong though.

John Linnell from TMBG? What an underrated band that keeps delivering with enthusiasm, long after other groups petered out. I do find myself liking Linnell's songs more than Flansburgh's.

missing: lou barlow and jeff tweedy, two of the most important songwriters of the last 25 years.

i'll add my favorite, bill callahan. he's to indie folk as camus is to literature.

i'll also add: jana hunter, kurt wagner (again), nick drake, ian curtis, pj harvey, will oldham, david bowie, beck, isaac brock, stephen malkmus, gram parsons, jim o'rourke, tom waits, leonard cohen, and neil young.

.

edit: moved tweedy up to barlow level and added malkmus.

Auto-incorrect on John L. Yeah, I really like TMBG, and agree with you about john and john f.