I have always disliked songs which seem to be heavy-handed with a "message" or which proselytize some viewpoint or other...these to me are what is worst in the folk song tradition...to the point where I feel like someone must be scratching their fingernails on a chalkboard somewhere while I listen to them...

I enjoy a bit more subtlety and challenge. Some poetic imagery is nice too. There are a number of "pop" songwriters who manage to write great songs which are not always totally straighforward, sometimes downright inscrutable.

Some of my fave songwriters in no particular order: Ian Anderson, Robin Wiliamson, Neil Finn, Joni Mitchell, Todd Rundgren, Tori Amos, Sara MacLachlan (well, at first, anyway), Robert Cray, David Bowie, Nick Drake, John Gorka, Loreena McKennitt, Paul Weller, Donovan, Justin Hayward.

peg