Best Lyrical One Liners

Music and lyrics, music and lyrics, go together like beers and spirits, ask the local...

Never mind.

I love music, and the kind of music I listen too would be sadly lacking without lyrics. Whether the have a message behind them or they're just said for effect, lyrics are what I love most in music. A good lyric will at the very least stay in your head forever and at best, a good lyric will make you think, feel, react and possibly change the way you see the world.

Here, I've compiled some of my favorite lyrical one liners. These, of all my favorite lyrics, pop out and stay with me the longest, or at least long enough for me to remember them as I compile this list. Some may not be as profound as they are in the context of the music and the rest of the sung material but I think you'll agree that they are quite the statements, ramblings or intoxicated slurs.

"And God's name is smack for some"
- Lane Staley in 'God Smack', Alice In Chains, Dirt (1992)

"You know you can not hide, when the Devil's your only friend"
- Beck in 'Steal My Body Home', Beck, Mellow Gold (1994)

"Cause I could give two shits and a fuck"
- Shaggy 2 dope in 'Hokus Pokus', Insane Clown Posse, Great Milenko (1997)

"You're going to reap just what you sow"
- Lou Reed in 'Perfect Day', Lou Reed, Transformer (1972)

"Could you stop the meat from thinking before I swallow all of it, could you please?"
- Marilyn Manson in 'A Place In The Dirt', Marilyn Manson, Holy Wood (2000)

"We'll lets take this potted plant to the woods and set if free"
- Isaac Brock in 'The Devils Work Day', Modest Mouse, Good News For People Love Bad News (2004)

"We would lay and learn what each others bodies were for"
- Jeff Mangum in 'King Of Carrot Flowers Pt. One', Neutral Milk Hotel, In The Aeroplane Over The Sea (1998)

"So much potential, or so we used to say"
- Trent Reznor in 'The Warning', Nine Inch Nails, Year Zero (2007)

"I'm not like them, but I can pretend"
- Kurt Cobain in "Dumb". Nirvana, In Utero (1992)

"Safe from pain, and truth, and choice"
- James Maynard Keenan in "Counting Bodies Like Sheep To The Rhythm Of The War Drums ", A Perfect Sleep, eMOTIVe (2004)

"I think you're great, you make me hard, your Irish skin, looks Mexican"
- Frank Black & Kim Deal in "Bone Machine", The Pixies, Surfer Rosa (1988)

"Where you goin' city boy?"
- Les Claypool in "My Name Is Mud", Primus, Pork Soda (1993)

"You don't find the way, the way finds you"
- Josh Homme in "Someone's In The Wolf", Queens of the Stone Age, Lullabies to Paralyze (2005)

"I don't care if it hurts, I wanna have control"
- Thom Yorke in "Creep", Radiohead, Pablo Honey (1993)

"Second verse, same as the first"
- Joey Ramone in "Judy Is A Punk", The Ramones, Ramones (1976)

"You can't see California without Marlon Brando's eyes"
- Corey Taylor in "Eyeless", Slipknot, Slipknot (1999)

"In our dreams we're both connected, siamese twins, at the wrist"
- Billy Corgan in "Geek U.S.A.", Smashing Pumpkins, Siamese Dream (1988)

"The words we say never seem to live up to the ones inside our head"
- Chris Cornell in "The Day I Tried To Live", Soundgarden, Superunknown (1994)

"I want to fuck my way to the garden"
- Serj Tankian in "Suite-Pee", System Of A Down, System Of A Down (1998)

"The last thing he said on earth was 'God is great and God is good', and blew them all to kingdom come, upon the road to peace"
- Tom Waits in "Road To Peace", Tom Waits, Orphans (2006)

"I sold my soul to make a record, dipshit, and you bought one"
- James Maynard Keenan in "Hooker With A Penis", Tool, Ænima (1996)

"Hey little boy, whatcha got there? Kind sir, it's a mollusk I found"
- Dean and Gene Ween in "The Mollusk", Ween, The Mollusk (1997)

(Written under the influence of Ween)

Gloriously Devious Album Art

You know what I hate? Boring album art. Boring album art is a red flag that says "BORING ALBUM". Now, there's a marked difference between a boring album art and understated album art. Murder by Death's "Who Will Survive and What Will Be Left of Them?" is a fine example of understated album art, you could call it boring, but the band itself is fairly understated (read boring) all round so it fits.

Okay, geez, I'm not proving any points here, okay. Album art I cant stand inevitably comes from the top forty, where music I can't stand is its roommate. So few kids, and other consumers of the top forty, buy CD's anymore, so major labels put less and less emphasis on the album cover, they figure, "hey, throw an attractive head shot, some marketable bullshit and hey, maybe a pop culture reference?" and why should they think any different? None of the consumers of that bullshit care. At best its going to be a tiny resolution picture on their media player, at worst, it will be one song, the single, in some folder and it wont have even been payed for.

Lou Reed

Rihanna

But I'm not on of these consumers, I'm a consumer who obsesses over my iTunes cover flow to make sure every album I have (of which there are many) has a picture of its album art of at least 500x500 in resolution (otherwise its too pixel-ly) so if I'm gonna hunt down all this fucking album art, I better get looking at something at least interesting if not Bizzarre, dumb, gross, morally questionable or just plain sick. So, I've decided to share one or two examples of which I am a proud owner. Bon Appetit.

The Bloodhound Gang - One Fierce Beer Coaster

If anyone was having sleepless nights wondering about the frat credential the Bloodhound Gang, this image soothed them in all its uncircumcised glory.

The Electric Wizard - We Live

Is it wrong to get a little aroused by the smoking nipples of a multi-headed goat bitch? It is? I'm strangely cool with that.

Korn - Korn

This album cover puts me ill-at-ease every time I see it. The album itself isn't really as eerie or as creepy as the cover, but when you put songs like "Daddy" in the context of an image like this, you can't help but be creeped out.

Marilyn Manson - Mechanical Animals

I love this image, love this album and I loved that he made an alternative cover, not for America (who had an issue with the nudity) but for Japan (who were freaked out by the six fingers on his left hand).

Melvins - Houdini

This cover reminds me of those cold-war era cartoons and gives you a juxtaposition of the cheery happy-go-lucky and the impression that somethings not quite right.

Mindless Self Indulgence - Tight

If I felt uneasy at Korn's self eponymous then this cover just made me feel kinda dirty inside, like, c'mon, what the fuck is with those panties?

Nirvana - In Utero

It was well documented that Kurt Cobain had one or two bizarre hangups/fascinations about human reproduction, as well evidenced in this tasteful album cover.

Primus - Frizzle Fry

This is your brain on Primus, and it feels good.

Queens of the Stone Age - Queens of the Stone Age

Queens of the Stone Age represent everything good about California: muscle cars, naked women, marijuana and big, fat, guitar tones - Basically Sex, Drugs and Rock'n'Roll. So whats wrong with a good ol' fashioned panty shot? look at the size of her hands. Not saying anything, just saying.

Ramones - Adios Amigos

This cover makes me smile, I mean, who couldn't love dinosaurs in sombreros?

Slayer - Reign In Blood

Aaaah, what can I say about this cover? other then its three things: Satanic, more then vaguely reminiscent of Hieronymus Bosch and FUCKING AWESOME!

(Written under the influence of the Melvins)