Do you listen to the lyrics?

javerend · 06-04-2014, 12:03 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Janszoon

Heh. I'm in the same boat as an aspiring writer and a lover of language, but that's exactly why I don't typically listen to music for the lyrics. Aside from rare cases like Nick Cave, song lyrics generally aren't even close to the level of actual literature.

I'm in that ballpark as well. I try to listen to music just to listen to the music, but it feels wrong for me not to think of it as a form of poetry. Coming from that I like music that tells a story (hence my love for Dylan) and even if the music is catchy I can't listen to it very long if the lyrics are dull. I'm especially a fan of detecting both musical and emotional change over the course of albums.

Take Aim and Ignite for example, the songs are all very lyrically driven because they follow a story and the music follows the emotion of the song. The music I look for and enjoy is basically just adding another dimension to a story.

That being said, I almost always read the lyrics along with the song at least a few times so I can try to get them, and then after that I can listen to the songs in that potential. It may be tough sometimes to find songs worth reading the lyrics of, but they're out there.

Mantis · 06-04-2014, 04:29 PM

i tend to listen to whatever grabs my attention first. for emo or hip-hop genres it tends to be lyrics, for most dance and metal genres i listen for the music. plenty of artists (nine inch nails, collide, bad pollyanna, generally a lot of industrial stuff) capture my interest for both the music and lyrics

although if I get really hooked on something for just the music at first, I almost always become interested in the lyrics later on

HellCell · 07-25-2014, 03:27 AM

My sister only listens to music where you can follow the lyrics.

It doesn't matter to me, I just like the beat. As far as following the lyrics go, I never bother 99% of the time.

Angel3010 · 01-14-2016, 03:43 AM

Yeah, title says everything, do you care about lyrics while listening to song or all you care about is good rhytim?

grindy · 01-14-2016, 04:25 AM

Big fat nope.
Hardly ever pay attention to lyrics. Most lyrics are pretty bad.
I'm happy if they seem meaningless to me and are unobtrusive.
Not that there aren't some good lyrics out there, but it's a tiny minority.
I'd never expect a good musician to be a good author and poet as well, although it's a nice addition if he is.

Paul Smeenus · 01-14-2016, 07:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by grindy

Big fat nope.
Hardly ever pay attention to lyrics. Most lyrics are pretty bad.
I'm happy if they seem meaningless to me and are unobtrusive.
Not that there aren't some good lyrics out there, but it's a tiny minority.
I'd never expect a good musician to be a good author and poet as well, although it's a nice addition if he is.

This is just flat out wrong. You are depriving yourself of some of the great joys of life, standing right in front of you (so to speak).

If you truly believe that you are listening to the wrong music.

grindy · 01-14-2016, 07:36 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Paul Smeenus

This is just flat out wrong. You are depriving yourself of some of the great joys of life, standing right in front of you (so to speak).

If you truly believe that you are listening to the wrong music.

Perhaps we just have different standards when it comes to lyrics.
I don't think there can be a 'flat out wrong' when it comes to personal taste.
But I'll gladly listen to stuff you think I'm missing out on.

**Frownland** · 01-14-2016, 09:40 AM

Well you did say that you hardly paid attention to them, which might make it a little difficult to spot the good ones. I'm in the same boat though, with good lyrics simply being a good addition to the music. On that note, I've kind of noticed that bad vocals are the best way to make me hate a song.

grindy · 01-14-2016, 09:49 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Frownland

Well you did say that you hardly paid attention to them, which might make it a little difficult to spot the good ones. I'm in the same boat though, with good lyrics simply being a good addition to the music. On that note, I've kind of noticed that bad vocals are the best way to make me hate a song.

This. So much.

Not paying attention might be a reason for bias, although I partly developed this attitude because subpar lyrics are annoying and I'm more interested in the music anyway.
There's also the thing that most music I like is instrumental or has some vocals, but no real lyrics to speak of.
And of course it has to be considered that it's a little harder for me to understand English lyrics than for all of you. Although I can't remember any good German lyrics either. Russian music has some amazing lyrics, but this is probably due to historical reasons.

Tristan_Geoff · 01-14-2016, 10:19 AM

Eh, sometimes. Hardly really. Most of the music I listen to is kinda harder to make out the lyrics anyways, so they get kinda thrown in with the music. When the vocals are more pronounced, I don't really mind, but if the lyrics are terrible, it's gonna bring down the song with it. Of course, bad lyrics have to be atrociously bad for my standards, because I dig stuff like Lulu.

View Poll Results: Do you care about lyrics
Yes	20	68.97%
No	9	31.03%
Voters: 29. You may not vote on this poll

01-14-2016, 03:43 AM	#44 (permalink)
Angel3010 Groupie Join Date: Dec 2015 Posts: 39	Do you care about lyrics while listening to song? Yeah, title says everything, do you care about lyrics while listening to song or all you care about is good rhytim?

01-14-2016, 04:25 AM	#45 (permalink)
grindy . Join Date: Oct 2014 Location: . Posts: 7,201	Big fat nope. Hardly ever pay attention to lyrics. Most lyrics are pretty bad. I'm happy if they seem meaningless to me and are unobtrusive. Not that there aren't some good lyrics out there, but it's a tiny minority. I'd never expect a good musician to be a good author and poet as well, although it's a nice addition if he is. __________________ *A smell of petroleum prevails throughout.*

01-14-2016, 09:40 AM	#48 (permalink)
Frownland SOPHIE FOREVER Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: East of the Southern North American West Posts: 35,541	Well you did say that you hardly paid attention to them, which might make it a little difficult to spot the good ones. I'm in the same boat though, with good lyrics simply being a good addition to the music. On that note, I've kind of noticed that bad vocals are the best way to make me hate a song. __________________ Studies show that when a given norm is changed in the face of the unchanging, the remaining contradictions will parallel the truth. d e a f b o x

06-04-2014, 04:29 PM	#42 (permalink)
Mantis Music Addict Join Date: Nov 2012 Location: Here Posts: 50	i tend to listen to whatever grabs my attention first. for emo or hip-hop genres it tends to be lyrics, for most dance and metal genres i listen for the music. plenty of artists (nine inch nails, collide, bad pollyanna, generally a lot of industrial stuff) capture my interest for both the music and lyrics although if I get really hooked on something for just the music at first, I almost always become interested in the lyrics later on

07-25-2014, 03:27 AM	#43 (permalink)
HellCell Music Addict Join Date: Jul 2014 Posts: 272	My sister only listens to music where you can follow the lyrics. It doesn't matter to me, I just like the beat. As far as following the lyrics go, I never bother 99% of the time.