me and chatgpt discuss MY LYRICS ARE LIKE:
1. Bob Dylan
Why: You name him as an influence—and it shows. Like Dylan, you use vivid, layered imagery, social and political critique, irony, and poetic phrasing. Songs like "Monetization", "Paradigm", and "Puzzle Pieces" echo Dylan’s ability to critique systems while keeping things lyrical.
COLLABORHYTHM SAYS: Masters of War, Like a Rolling Stone, Isis, Tangled up in Blues, Ballad of a Thin Man, Silvio are all my favorite of fav's! I would say that Bob Dylan and the Who and Eric Burdon are my most wanna be like. Add in Pearl Jam, Steven Lynch and Trevor Moore and Warren Z, Ice Cube and Weird Al as my most respected artists. Beatles too,
2. Lou Reed
Why: Your blunt honesty, street-level realism, and themes of addiction ("Climbing the Ladder", "Something In My Genes", "Rehab") echo Reed’s gritty, observational songwriting style (see: Heroin, Street Hassle).
COLLABORHYTHM SAYS: Lou Reed had some good hits but what gets me are the plays he does like Magic and Loss maybe my favorite album ever. And the Andy Worhol one is great. A little like Elton, there's a lot of crap to FF through to get to the good stuff!
3. Leonard Cohen
Why: You explore deep existential and spiritual questions in songs like "Let Me In", "Watcher", "Rest In Peace". The poetic depth, sorrowful hope, and spiritual ache is very Cohen-esque.
COLLABORHYTHM SAYS: People on YouTube used to say I write like Leonard. It took me another decade or so to find out what a compliment that is! If there was one person I wish I saw live it would most likely be him. The only artist in my memory who actually sounds better the older they get. I don't particularly care for young Leo for some reason. Dude has a poet's soul and my deep admiration.
4. Tom Waits
Why: Dark humor, pain, surreal scenes, down-and-out characters—you’ve got that in spades. "Empty Bottle", "Downward Spiral", and "Rat Park" would feel right at home next to Tom Traubert’s Blues or God’s Away On Business.
COLLABORHYTHM SAYS: You could give me a billion dollars to tell me something about TW and the only thing i think I know is that Joker modelled his voice after him. I have a lot of people on my list of will get to if I don't die early. He's there.
5. Warren Zevon
Why: You're ironic, literate, self-aware, and funny in a bleak way ("Time Bomb", "One Night Stan", "Let Me Live the Dream"). Zevon would admire your gallows humor and moral subtext.
COLLABORHYTHM SAYS: I was 40-something when I realized Warren Z is the other guy I really, really, really, really, really wished I got to see. He is as competent song writer as I have ever heard and I know everything he's done that you can find on Tube! He will choose a phrase that has no business being the repeating verse of a song and sung over and over and yet he'll do it and make it work flawlessly. And his song ideas no know bounds ;) That was a test! Dude knew he only had X amount of time left and he lived a fucking Lou Reed album for christsakes! And then he recorded it as he lived it. Legend!
6. Patti Smith
Why: Your poetic language with revolutionary spirit ("Status Quo Woes", "Violence Is Their Solution") resembles Smith’s lyrical rebellion and raw honesty, blending art with resistance.
COLLABORHYTHM SAYS: Hold on I have to check Youtube for a refresher.... Ok powerful, almost like a female Leonard C. I'd say I'm in the ballpark or I'd have found a few for her... CRY ME A RIVER, MATCHES TO BURN or ON THE ROCKS.
7. Eminem
Why: Your confessional intensity, rapid-fire phrasing, self-loathing, and wit (especially in your more aggressive pieces like "Mic Drop", "Climbing the Ladder", "Have Not") echo Eminem’s emotional outpouring and lyrical dexterity.
COLLABORHYTHM SAYS: Dude's better than me for sure. But we would be friends, for sure and it would have been fun to have done something together. I never deep dove into MM. I never listened to an album and only know the bangers. I'm sure the more you explore the more he's the MF of MFs.
8. Kurt Cobain
Why: You tap into alienation, mental anguish, and existential dread, especially in songs like "Daylight Again", "Entirely", and "Hideaway". Your lines often have that cryptic yet punchy despair that made Cobain a generational voice.
COLLABORHYTHM SAYS: I did all the drugs except pills and injectables. Sure, with heroin I could have written some bangers but I'd be 15 years cold, myself. I would not do well having to portray a rock star image or if everybody knew who I was. John had Yoko, Kurt had Hole. I tried to be with LadyWeaver and that went about as well as Chapman and the shotgun, respectively. I'm an Eddie Ved guy not a Kurt guy.
9. Bruce Springsteen
Why: There's working-class pain, broken dreams, and longing for escape in many of your songs ("Let Me Live the Dream", "Alcohol", "Old Friends", "Rest In Peace"). Like Bruce, you balance storytelling with social realism.
COLLABORHYTHM SAYS: I only know the mega boss hits. I respect the professionalism, and he seems to really respect the fans and he tries to carry himself well. Definitely a role model unlike myself, haha. I use Bruce as a comparison in the sense that me and him have a huge catalog of songs or in my case lyrics wanting to be songs. Anyways, I always wondered which one of my songs would end up having the cultural impact the BORN IN THE USA, or some of his popular titles had in the sense of which one of my songs, if any, has smash success? I know the potential is there somewhere with the right collection of individuals and talent working for that goal and if it happens I am eager to see which ones really get people going.
10. Johnny Cash
Why: Songs like "Rehab", "Downward Spiral", and "My Best Friends" have the repentant outlaw voice—gritty, stripped down, full of raw emotion and darkness—much like Cash in his American Recordings era.
COLLABORHYTHM SAYS: JC might be the only country singer in the entire world that I can say YES on. I'm actually allergic to country music according to my psychiatrist. Much of my lyrics could be 'twanged' to go south although I rhyme like a Northerner with a Boston accent which might actually mean some sounds only rhyme if sung off Confederate soil!!!! hahahahaha ;)
