James Taylor and Peter Gabriel are, to me, songwriting gods--JT for his ability to express the heaviest subjects lightly (not take them lightly, that's different), and PG for his capacity for taking the deepest subjects and making them accessible, both in pop music form. A rare art, in my estimation.

An example from Taylor's "That's Why I'm Here" on the death of an addict, speaking to other addicts or those knowledgeable of addiction:

"John's gone, found dead, he dies high, he's brown bread
Later said to have drowned in his bed
After the laughter, the wave of the dread
It hits us like a ton of lead"

Thinking about it reminds me of my reaction to the news of Jerry Garcia's death. At first I was angry, but after reflection I simply grieved the loss of another artist whom I admired to something over which he had no power.

***

I was going to add something from PG here, but I'm going to have to do some more research. He packs much meaning into very few words, but in many cases you need the entire song for context. I'd rather pick out a verse or so.

R.

"My primary musical instrument is the personal computer."