Do you listen to the lyrics?

Isbjørn · 03-31-2014, 10:49 AM

When you hear a new album for the first time, do you pay attention to the lyrics, or do you just focus on the music? Do you read the lyrics while listening, or do you just try to make them out with your ears?

**Goofle** · 03-31-2014, 10:59 AM

I pay attention to the lyrics but I don't let them bother me all that much if they are pretty bad. I very rarely read the lyrics whilst listening to the music.

I am mostly concerned with the sound of a song and, if that hooks me, over time I will grow to either appreciate or learn to ignore the lyrics.

**Janszoon** · 03-31-2014, 11:00 AM

Generally speaking, no, I don't. I listen to music for the music. All I ask of lyrics is that they're not so noticeably bad as to distract from my enjoyment of the music (take note, Kanye).

There are some exceptions though, a handful of artists who I listen to partially because I enjoy their lyrics.

crazed · 03-31-2014, 11:10 AM

It depends- if the vocals are clear enough I can make out the lyrics then I don't read them. But if I can't make out the lyrics then I do read them, usually only on the first listen of an album.

**Scarlett O'Hara** · 03-31-2014, 11:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Janszoon

Generally speaking, no, I don't. I listen to music for the music. All I ask of lyrics is that they're not so noticeably bad as to distract from my enjoyment of the music (take note, Kanye).

There are some exceptions though, a handful of artists who I listen to partially because I enjoy their lyrics.

I usually just hear the music first and then if the lyrics catch my attention while I listen I will play it like 20 times, especially if the music and lyrics in a song are eargasmic.

djchameleon · 03-31-2014, 11:24 AM

I throw lyrics out the window and focus mostly on the sound of the song, catchiness of it and on the instrumentation to see if there is something that I like about it. Especially if the lyrics are horrible, I can easily avoid/block it out.

Also I never bother to read the lyrics seeing as they aren't terribly important to me but if the lyrics catch my attention and stand out enough to make me notice how great it is then I'll pay attention by listening more intently but nope don't read them.

Black Francis · 03-31-2014, 12:17 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Briks

When you hear a new album for the first time, do you pay attention to the lyrics, or do you just focus on the music? Do you read the lyrics while listening, or do you just try to make them out with your ears?

For me, It depends on the song and the artist.

Like if i listen to Bob dylan i pay more attention to the lyrics than the musical arrangement.

But with other artist (lets say my fav the pixies) it's not really about what he says in the lyrics is how he sings them (although his lyrics are pretty good)

Recently im forming the habit to look for videos of a song with the lyrics already in it, if the lyrics are good for me they enhance the song in a major way.

If not, they better have a good musical arrangement or else i won't like song.

For the most part, I think a good song arrangement is more important than the lyrics.

**Frownland** · 03-31-2014, 12:30 PM

I usually just focus on the music first, then I focus on the lyrics when I return to the album if the music's good enough. I'm in the same boat as Janzsoon with the standards that I have for lyrics i.e. not outright ****e. It also changes for genres, like I don't give two ****s about most black metal lyrics but focus very much on hip hop lyrics. I will look up the lyrics to make sure that I know what they're saying so that my understanding of the universe doesn't come crashing down years later when I find out I've been thinking of it the wrong way this whole time.

Trollheart · 03-31-2014, 04:25 PM

Unlike it would seem everyone else here I am a big fan of lyrics. I used to get albums when I was younger and play them over and over until I had all the lyrics to all the songs (way way before the internet made it so easy). It helps me to be able to sing (really badly) along with the songs when they play. Even now, if I hear a bad lyric or even an out-of-place one in a song it won't ruin it for me, but it will give me less pleasure than it would had it been properly constructed.

Being an aspiring writer I have a love of the English language and so I guess this may be partially to blame. I love a lyric that tells a good story --- you'll have seen this trait in me if you've read my "More than words" section in my journal, or indeed "The Word according to Waits". I personally don't care how good you think the music is, if the lyric is bad then the song for me suffers as a whole. On the flip side, great lyrics to a terrible tune is just as bad.

I think a song, or album, is an opportunity for the artiste to share his her or their point of view, let us inside their heads and hearts, and if they don't do this, and do it properly, I consider it a chance wasted. I think you can understand a lot more about an artiste if you listen to their lyrics, although of course some like Mike Oldfield, Vangelis, Carbon Based Lifeforms etc can get their music across perfectly well without the benefit of lyrics. That, though, is an entirely different story.

**Janszoon** · 03-31-2014, 04:44 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Trollheart

Being an aspiring writer I have a love of the English language and so I guess this may be partially to blame.

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.

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

03-31-2014, 10:49 AM	#1 (permalink)
Isbjørn cooler commie than elph Join Date: Sep 2012 Location: In a hole, help Posts: 2,811	Do you listen to the lyrics? When you hear a new album for the first time, do you pay attention to the lyrics, or do you just focus on the music? Do you read the lyrics while listening, or do you just try to make them out with your ears? __________________ fast(ml) Hear me play the guitar Look, mom! I got a journal

03-31-2014, 11:00 AM	#3 (permalink)
Janszoon Mate, Spawn & Die Join Date: May 2007 Location: The Rapping Community Posts: 24,593	Generally speaking, no, I don't. I listen to music for the music. All I ask of lyrics is that they're not so noticeably bad as to distract from my enjoyment of the music (take note, Kanye). There are some exceptions though, a handful of artists who I listen to partially because I enjoy their lyrics. __________________ A Night in the Life of the Invisible Man Time & Place 25 Albums You Should Hear Before the Moon Crashes into the Earth and We All Die last.fm

03-31-2014, 12:30 PM	#8 (permalink)
Frownland SOPHIE FOREVER Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: East of the Southern North American West Posts: 35,541	I usually just focus on the music first, then I focus on the lyrics when I return to the album if the music's good enough. I'm in the same boat as Janzsoon with the standards that I have for lyrics i.e. not outright **e. It also changes for genres, like I don't give two *s about most black metal lyrics but focus very much on hip hop lyrics. I will look up the lyrics to make sure that I know what they're saying so that my understanding of the universe doesn't come crashing down years later when I find out I've been thinking of it the wrong way this whole time. __________________ 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

03-31-2014, 04:25 PM	#9 (permalink)
Trollheart Born to be mild Join Date: Oct 2008 Location: 404 Not Found Posts: 26,994	Unlike it would seem everyone else here I am a big fan of lyrics. I used to get albums when I was younger and play them over and over until I had all the lyrics to all the songs (way way before the internet made it so easy). It helps me to be able to sing (really badly) along with the songs when they play. Even now, if I hear a bad lyric or even an out-of-place one in a song it won't ruin it for me, but it will give me less pleasure than it would had it been properly constructed. Being an aspiring writer I have a love of the English language and so I guess this may be partially to blame. I love a lyric that tells a good story --- you'll have seen this trait in me if you've read my "More than words" section in my journal, or indeed "The Word according to Waits". I personally don't care how good you think the music is, if the lyric is bad then the song for me suffers as a whole. On the flip side, great lyrics to a terrible tune is just as bad. I think a song, or album, is an opportunity for the artiste to share his her or their point of view, let us inside their heads and hearts, and if they don't do this, and do it properly, I consider it a chance wasted. I think you can understand a lot more about an artiste if you listen to their lyrics, although of course some like Mike Oldfield, Vangelis, Carbon Based Lifeforms etc can get their music across perfectly well without the benefit of lyrics. That, though, is an entirely different story. __________________ Trollheart: Signature-free since April 2018

03-31-2014, 11:10 AM	#4 (permalink)
crazed Music Addict Join Date: Mar 2013 Location: Indiana Posts: 552	It depends- if the vocals are clear enough I can make out the lyrics then I don't read them. But if I can't make out the lyrics then I do read them, usually only on the first listen of an album.