Former Pulp frontman Jarvis Cocker has been announced as a keynote speaker at this year's In The City, which takes place at The Midland Hotel in Manchester on 5, 6 & 7 Oct.
Cocker will give a lecture on the function of lyrics in songs, called 'Saying The Unsayable'. It promises to be a "completely biased and subjective" exploration of some of his favourite lyrics from other people's songs, as well as a few of his own.
Taking the viewpoint that lyrics don't actually matter very much, he will nonetheless give his opinions on what makes a good lyric and how they should be presented, with subjects covered including, 'Should Songs Rhyme?', 'Are Songs Poetry?', 'Is There Anything You Can't Write Songs About?', 'Which Phrases Should be Avoided at All Costs?' and 'Great First Lines'.
Artists who will have their words deconstructed will include Leonard Cohen, Pete Doherty, Hot Chocolate, Amy Winehouse, David Bowie, Lou Reed, Neil Sedaka, Dory Previn, Katerine, Rozalla and The Arctic Monkeys. There will also be an in-depth deconstruction of the lyrics of 'Louie Louie'.
Other speakers at this year's In The City include former Rolling Stones manager Andrew Loog Oldham, Sire Records founders Seymour Stein and Richard Gotterher, Warners legend Lyor Cohen, Big Life founder Jazz Summers, the UK Culture Secretary Andy Burnham MP, iconic music photographer Kevin Cummins and legendary film-maker Dick Carruthers.
More info from www.inthecity.co.uk