Is Ed Sheeran really that good?

[s_mcsleazy]

nope. i think he is one of the worst things to happen to music in recent years.

point one:
the singer/songwriter genre is one i've always had an issue with because it seems to be the domain of acoustic guitar wielding, drunk party girl impressing, 20 min set on repeat busking, open mic crashing arsehats. i understand not all singer/songwriters with acoustic guitars are like that..... but it is more often than it aint. one youtube reviewer calls this kinda music "white guy with acoustic guitar" music. and most times, the whole thing just feels as shallow as my self esteem after i look in the mirror to find im going bald at age 25. here is a quick game to play when listening to one of these suspected songs
1. is the song written about a girl who is misunderstood?
2. is the song written for the 3rd person?
3. does it make drunk girls cry?

point 2:
as a songwriter, i give him a D+, i'll admit, i hate writing lyrics, it's why i try not to do it. but to me, his song lyrics come across like the scribbles you write in the back of your notebook when your 13. i once wrote a song called "god loves porn" with the line "if god made us in his own image, he must be a horny son of a bitch" but god knows i wouldn't bring it out as a single. the first song of his i ever heard was that "class A team" (back in the era of slightly punny song/band names) it came on at a party i was at (when i think party, i think songs about dying crack whores..... if i want party, i call teh crackwhore) everyone around me was discussing how deep it was. i actually said "did we really listen to the same song guys? i heard a wispy voiced teenager sing about addiction but make it sound like it's no ones fault or even if/when/how she's going to get out of it. i get that drug addiction is no easy thing to get over but the song makes it seem romantic. plus he asks us to care about this woman who we have been told very little about apart from her addiction. compare that to a song like hurt - nine inch nails which is about drug addiction and self harm. you find it easier to relate to the protagonist of the song because it's sung from the first person. you feel their pain. all this song does is make it seem like a bystander who is not willing to help her" then got told "you just dont get it" and maybe i dont.

but let's talk about how i feel about some of the other songs he's wrote.
thinking out loud - sounds clumsy as hell. lyrics are dull but lack any real depth.
little things (one direction) - if you remind someone of their flaws in a song, then say "dont worry about them" why did you bring them up?
love yourself (justin beiber) - i'm not even one of those guys who relentlessly hates on beiber but that song just rubbed me up the wrong way. like all people with low self esteem just need to hear "you just need to love yourself" it's not that easy you dickhead. some people had it hammered into them from a young age and cant get over it that easily.
shape of you - this is one of his recent ones that kinda tries to paint him like a sex god but i just dont see it. going back to nine inch nails again, while closer made sex sound disgusting, trent reznor made it seem like a messy but sexy time.... like fucking on a birthday cake. but back to the song. maybe im getting sick of these trap beats but if he wrote the music for it, it sounds unfinished.

point 3:
there is nothing about his music that excites me. i dont want to dance when i hear it, i dont want to sing when i hear it, i dont want to write a song when i hear it.

i think pop music can be a great thing. i love lorde, i think she's doing fantastic things, taylor swift is a strong guilty pleasure of mine, if sia comes on the radio, i sing along, adele has some cracking songs and a voice to boot. but ed sheeran kinda just turns me off. i get his appeal. his songs are blank slates for those who want to relate to it. that's fine. just does nothing for me.

[nanamour]

point one:
the singer/songwriter genre is one i've always had an issue with because it seems to be the domain of acoustic guitar wielding, drunk party girl impressing, 20 min set on repeat busking, open mic crashing arsehats. i understand not all singer/songwriters with acoustic guitars are like that..... but it is more often than it aint. one youtube reviewer calls this kinda music "white guy with acoustic guitar" music. and most times, the whole thing just feels as shallow as my self esteem after i look in the mirror to find im going bald at age 25.

Couldn't put it better.

Nice to see you around again.

[shadowplay]

his song lyrics come across like the scribbles you write in the back of your notebook when your 13. i once wrote a song called "god loves porn" with the line "if god made us in his own image, he must be a horny son of a bitch" but god knows i wouldn't bring it out as a single. the first song of his i ever heard was that "class A team" (back in the era of slightly punny song/band names) it came on at a party i was at (when i think party, i think songs about dying crack whores..... if i want party, i call teh crackwhore) everyone around me was discussing how deep it was. i actually said "did we really listen to the same song guys? i heard a wispy voiced teenager sing about addiction but make it sound like it's no ones fault or even if/when/how she's going to get out of it. i get that drug addiction is no easy thing to get over but the song makes it seem romantic. plus he asks us to care about this woman who we have been told very little about apart from her addiction. compare that to a song like hurt - nine inch nails which is about drug addiction and self harm. you find it easier to relate to the protagonist of the song because it's sung from the first person. you feel their pain. all this song does is make it seem like a bystander who is not willing to help her" then got told "you just dont get it" and maybe.

I had to look up that song but IMO the lyrics are above average, well phrased, if occasionally cringey (pastry metaphor) but you could say that and more of some of the biggest bands of all time and probably as good or better than most lyrics in songs posted on this site IMO. I mean this is a truly great song about smack; Talk Talk - I believe in You but it's not exactly putting Sheeran in the shade lyrically. Musically, absolutely but if I want perfect prose I'll just read some poetry.

I don't really get your categorisation of singer songwriters, though I guess it could just be the singer songwriters you've heard. I've seen a fair bit of this on OSG where rawk loving bawbags (that would be your white guy with electric guitar) snide acoustic players.

D

[NickD]

^^ That's the one song of his I know. It's got some clever rhymes, and I'd agree, probably better than most lyrically, although musically as bland as dry toast.

Most lyrics aren't good poetry - at all. Anything in that works well as spoken word is probably a little better written, but generally lyrics only sound good sung. Not a criticism as such, that's what they are meant for, although the two can mix - Patti Smith for example, or Coil's spoken word (or slipping in a bit of William Blake in LSD), rather than coming across as pretentious (Jim Morrison on occasion) or cringeworthy (that fucking awful attempt at spoken word/poetry/whateverthefuckitwas that Allsaints did in the 90s. And it got to number 1).

[UlricvonCatalyst]

^^ That's the one song of his I know. It's got some clever rhymes, and I'd agree, probably better than most lyrically, although musically as bland as dry toast.

Most lyrics aren't good poetry - at all. Anything in that works well as spoken word is probably a little better written, but generally lyrics only sound good sung. Not a criticism as such, that's what they are meant for, although the two can mix - Patti Smith for example, or Coil's spoken word (or slipping in a bit of William Blake in LSD), rather than coming across as pretentious (Jim Morrison on occasion) or cringeworthy (that fucking awful attempt at spoken word/poetry/whateverthefuckitwas that Allsaints did in the 90s. And it got to number 1).

Now you've got me curious about that All Saints song - I liked a few of theirs. But what do I know, I also like Jim Morrison's lyrics!

[PorkyPrimeCut]

I heard he has the top 10 places in the UK singles chart at the moment. That probably says more about the state of record sales than the guy's talent, but I don't really know as I'm not conscious of any of his stuff...

[NickD]

Now you've got me curious about that All Saints song - I liked a few of theirs. But what do I know, I also like Jim Morrison's lyrics!

I like Jim Morrison/The Doors too, and some of his lyrics are great (and work as spoken word/poetry, probably because he wrote them as such) but he did have his pretentious artist moments, lyrically.

The All Saints song was Never Ever. You made me Google that, I feel dirty now - and not in a good way...

[UlricvonCatalyst]

The All Saints song was Never Ever. You made me Google that, I feel dirty now - and not in a good way...

Oh yeah, I never liked that one at all. Give Pure Shores a blast and feel cleansed!

[broski]

Ed Sheeran is pure talent. He is the male Adele.

[somanytoys]

So I finally saw/heard him for the first time on Jimmy Fallon last night, I assume doing his newest song. He wasn't cringeworthy bad or anything, he seemed good for what it is that he does, but the music and singing kind of reminded me of a thousand praise and worship bands, and what's probably a type of music nowdays (meaning a secular genre outside of p&w). Of the lyrics that I could make out in the verses, they were like random crap scribbled in a notebook by just any 13 year old. Or Randy Newman . Maybe the lyrics made sense in the context of the song, but I thought that they were nothing impressive, just kind of everyman/relateable/sellable, I guess. Honestly I think I'd switch the station quickly if one of his songs came on, but I do that with a lot of music that I'm not familiar with unless it really grabs me, and the stuff that I like but don't need to hear for the umpteen-thousandth time. I swear, between local Classic radio stations and jukeboxes at pool halls, I'm about Classic rocked out. But Ed is not the answer to this problem, at least not for me.

In better news (for this site), the guitarist played an offset, with a white, curly cable. TGP probably already has 5 threads going apeshit about all the tones he lost using that cable. Where do those lost tones show up, anyway, is there like a tone wormhole and they just appear out of nowhere at random places? Surely that's how the universe works...

[mediocreplayer]

In better news (for this site), the guitarist played an offset, with a white, curly cable. TGP probably already has 5 threads going apeshit about all the tones he lost using that cable. Where do those lost tones show up, anyway, is there like a tone wormhole and they just appear out of nowhere at random places? Surely that's how the universe works...

I think if you touch the curly cable while the dude was playing you will find that it unusually warm. This warmth is from all the tone that could have gone to the amp but instead dissipated as thermal energy, never to be heard. A missed chance for sure.

[somanytoys]

So I'm guessing you know that the wormhole thing was a bit of hyperbole, but in all seriousness, what causes that - just the additional footage of wire, or the fact that it's coiled, or both? I can understand that the cord is probably about half as long again (or more) when it's completely stretched out, but it's shielded and coated, so does just that additional footage being curled up really cause it to then act like a toaster filament? It seems like that kind of energy and/or heat buildup would cause some damage to some of the internal components of the guitar, but I'm no electrician, just wondering.

I really think that the guy was making a statement, especially with the cable being all white and very noticeable like that. I think he used a very small amp at the very front of the stage, which made the cord even more visible. Or maybe he was just trying to be all completely vintage-y, I don't know. I thought he was the most interesting part of it all, he did a good, tasteful job at his thing, and it did sound good. I wouldn't want to have to fight or compensate to overcome the signal loss, personally, but I guess if someone can still get a good & loud enough sound using the coil cable, more power to 'em.

[mediocreplayer]

I have no idea. I hate this TGP BS and TGP in general.

[rumfoord]

but if I want perfect prose I'll just read some poetry.

[mezcalhead]

in all seriousness, what causes that - just the additional footage of wire, or the fact that it's coiled, or both? I can understand that the cord is probably about half as long again (or more) when it's completely stretched out, but it's shielded and coated, so does just that additional footage being curled up really cause it to then act like a toaster filament? It seems like that kind of energy and/or heat buildup would cause some damage to some of the internal components of the guitar, but I'm no electrician, just wondering.

The current from guitar pickups is so minimal that any energy or heat buildup would be close to non-existent. The alleged tone loss is presumably due to the length or composition of the cable. IIRC some people claim a pleasing loss of treble with a curly cable, not saying I can hear it or agree.