literary music

i was just listening to the new weakerthans album (three cheers for advanced promos!), and i got to thinking about how whenever i listen to them, it always makes me want to go and read. the weakerthans make me want to be more literate. and i'm not saying that i wasn't before, but when i listen to them, it makes me want to go and read philosophy and theory, and historical sagas, and literary "classics." does anyone else know what i'm talking about (if not with the weakerthans, than with another band)?

Not really.. unless you count going to read more on the band/music/artist.

I'm not a big Weakerthans fan.. but one of the band members did an excellent 1 hour acoustic solo performance on the CBC the other day.

But I know similar feeling.. Roy Orbison makes me want to go to the opera, and Tom Waits makes me want to go have eggs and hash at a sleazy diner.

With me it's band's like Steely Dan and Jethro Tull and even Pavement. I think bands that write songs about things besides Love, Drugs and Politics are very inspiring, not that those bands don't ever write about those things, but they do seem to branch off into deep intellectual topics a lot. I also like lyrics that are stories like Tom Waits and Morrissey.... if you love music and you love to think then these are the artists I go to.

definitely tom waits. i read a few books with the frank trilogy in the background.(google if you have no idea)

Bands/musicians/songwriters who have reference points other than other bands/musicains/songwriters are always more interesting to me. Say yes to Cohen, to Cave, to Cash, also to Waits and even sometimes Morrissey (Remeber that song that goes "Dallow, Spicer, Pinkie, Cubitt..." ? Well, they're all characters in Brighton Rock!).

Wordplay is good, songs that get you outside of the song then back into the song are good. The Go Betweens were "literary"., and so were the Jam and the Pogues, seriously the Pogues refernced Coleridge, Milton, Behan, Orwell, Steinbeck...

I was listening to the radio two days ago (the day a wasp stung me) and they played a song by Sam Roberts (who he?) and that made me want to read. Like turn off the fucking noise of Sam Roberts and read instead kind of made me want. Does that make him literary?

Whoa. Need froot loops.

I know what you mean, listening to black metal makes me want to burn churches and kill people with battle axes.

But then, everything makes me want to do that.

*BUMP*

The Hold Steady and The Decemberists come to mind.