are there any or is that something else that's disappearing?

the last person who i thought had an interesting turn of phrase was Alex turner but even he's been around a while.

anyone else out there?

Nicki Minaj.

I love Davey Havoks songwriting... A lot of people dismiss AFI as emo rubbish [which i'm not generally a fan of] but I think they have some great songs.

http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/afi/t...ngsongpt2.html
http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/afi/t...imperfect.html
http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/afi/g...sicktoday.html

Patti Smith. Morrissey...
Ron Mael of Sparks is an amazing lyricist too I think

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zMW_ROS94Kk

But then I suppose none of them are particularly current... hmmm.

Agree, the lyrics in Stupid Hoe was just a different class... Peter Green never came up with anything like that.


Then again, he may not have come up with that because he wasn't a little c-nt.

Colin Meloy.

never heard of Bob Dylan?

Bob Dylan's still kicking! And just released a great new album may I say.

I cannot stop playing it, its his best work in years

Frank Ocean and Lana Del Rey. I'm being deadly serious here. They are true pioneers and artists in this age of homogenised music.

What's you favourite track? I must say I can't get enough of Pay In Blood.

I already know I'm going to get crap for this, but I would include Jessie J. The stuff on her album is pretty basic, but her unreleased songs are on point. Even the song she wrote for Chris Brown is lyrically a good song.

Not that familiar with Ocean but I do agree with you on Ms del Rey. Amazingly her lyrics have had some negative attention but I think in the main they 'paint a picture', they aren't just the same verse repeated ad infinitum and that's what I like about a lyricist. i like to see evidence of some actual thought going into the lyrics. As previous mentioned, the brilliant Alex Turner has this ability in spades.

Taylor Swift

The Fray
Childish Gambino
Plan B

Peter Hammill's been a great lyricist for 50 years.

Florence is an amazing songwriter.

What sold it for me was this Frank Ocean song. It really spoke to me with it's lyrics, especially as it's really a song about so many (often conflicting) things: love, hope, existentialism, taboo.

But Lana Del Rey is just always a class act, I love her music because not only is it extremely well written (subtly satirical and not entirely serious whilst sounding serious), but also extremely well delivered. Nobody else could sing a Lana Del Rey song and give it the same energy that she does (yes, I'm looking at you Cheryl Cole).

lol, you're amazed that her often poor lyrics have been criticised

Nicki Minaj (Listen to Fly, Moment For Life etc) She gets a lot of stick for her pop songs like Stupid Hoe but that song is just for fun, people need to lighten up.

I like Emeli Sande's lyrics too.

I think the lines "i make shit happen, call me a laxative" and "they say i'm up and coming like im ****ing in an elevator" alone makes ed sheeran a part of the list.

Joni Mitchell

Matt Johnson's(The The) songwriting takes some beating.
Also,Marc Almond(Soft Cell) is a brilliant songwriter.

P!nk has some truly brilliant lyrics in her songs, both the released ones and unreleased ones. Her "I'm Not Dead" album blew me away.

Very talented lady.

Ted Leo and the Pharmacists write some amazing songs.

Her I'm Not Dead album was amaaaaaaaaaaaaaaazing. One of my favourite albums. Have you heard 'Glitter In The Air' from Funhouse? Such a lovely song.