Hmmm, could be, but that’s not who I was thinking of.
Loudon Wainwright III.
Interesting guess! That would work. But I was thinking of another they-were-better-when-they-were-80s-alternative-rock, three-letter band…from the other side of the pond from XTC.
An easy one:
loving things
Journey - specifically Steve Perry
Marvin Gaye?
Glitter
Jack (Daniel’s)
Party
Sick
Sleaze
Michael Stipe?
Yes.
insulated (Subdivisions on Signals, 1982)
unobtrusive (Spirit of Radio on Signals, 1982)
ploughmen (Closer to the Heart on Farewell to Kings, 1977)
turbine (Red Barchetta on Moving Pictures, 1980)
arranger (Possibly New World Man, but I have it as “a writer and a ranger and a young boy bearing arms”, but I checked some lyrics sites and they have arranger, so there you go. Signals, 1982)
Gleena
Rush nerd
PS: Jonathan Chance could have also said spheres, which is a big Peartian word. It’s on, among other things, The Analog Kid, which was playing when my son was born. (And Cygnus X1.)
Fleetwood Mac?
It’s definitely R.E.M. but I have doubts about the words Jefferson, megaphone and ornithology recurring.
Misconstrued - Laughing
Pretend - World Leader Pretend
Jefferson - Little America
Megaphone - Hairshirt
Ornithology???
Yup, Stipe/R.E.M. “Jefferson” definitely appeared in two songs, but I can’t recall the other one right now.
Truth be told, I ignored the OP’s idea that the words “recur” in a lyricist’s canon. I think it’s just too hard to make such a list that’s more or less unique to that lyricist. Words that are: 1. Memorable in the song they’re in and 2. collectively suggest a cretin “vibe” associated with the lyricist, might work better, if that’s okay with the OP.
“Ornithology” is from “Begin the Begin”.
On second thought, maybe “Jefferson” only appears once as well.
I think I was confusing it with “Jeffrey”, which appears twice in the Jethro Tull (lyricist: Ian Anderson) corpus, as song titles (not lyrics, interestiingly).
Excellent! Didn’t even need a clue, didya?
Nope.
The person I’m thinking of is still alive, has been big in the music scene since the late '60s, and is currently not with the band he is well-known for fronting.
Got it in one!
I’m pretty sure that’s “mythology.”
It’s hard to think of recurring words, but it still works just trying to identify an artist from five words.
Eric Clapton?
::Fist pump::
You did very well because that does feel totally representative of Stipe’s lyrics even considering it’s often hard to understand him. The Internet says it’s “mythology” in Begin the Begin, but “ornithology” sounded so much like a Stipe word I figured he might’ve used it in Disturbance at the Heron House and must’ve used it someplace. “Jefferson” only appears in one song, but combined with ornithology it was a giveaway.
My ignorance has been fought today! I will try to sing it right in the shower tomorrow.
Yeah, but from now on I’ll be singing:
or-ni-thology begins the begin
[QUOTE=pseudotriton ruber ruber]
Here’s another set of words: father mother motel waitress guitar
[/QUOTE]
This could also have been Tori Amos.