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05-28-2020, 10:08 PM | #1 (permalink) |
Slavic gay sauce
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Abu Dhabi
Posts: 7,993
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Music vs. Lyrics
Which is more important for you?
For some reason, I am almost entirely focused on the music. I'm not sure if it's because I'm not a native English speaker, or because most musicians mumble their lyrics to the point where you can only understand them if you read them somewhere (can't be bothered) or because, even when they are intelligible, they are too abstract to understand (f.e. The Shins, Bon Iver etc.). So, even if the lyrics are great, if the music isn't appealing I can't get into it. There are exceptions though (for example, with Kasey Musgraves I not only really dig the music but can understand and like the lyrics as well). With some artists, I imagine a huge part of their appeal is actually in their lyrics rather than their music. What's your experience?
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05-28-2020, 10:38 PM | #2 (permalink) |
SOPHIE FOREVER
Join Date: Aug 2011
Location: East of the Southern North American West
Posts: 35,541
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Depends. Both.
Good lyrics don't automatically make an artist great much like how ultra-skilled playing doesn't automatically lead to good music. I guess if I had to pick one, I'd pick music because that's the bigger umbrella that quantifies all of, well, music. Some artists don't give a **** about their lyrics, some are the greatest poets of our time. I take it on a case by case level. I think that makes it easier to forgive bad lyrics than bad music since you can just lump the artist into the "doesn't give a **** about lyrics" category when the lyrics suck. If the music isn't good then there's little reason to justify waiting around to see how great the lyrics are. The only thing that I can think of that I appreciate (key word: appreciate as opposed to like) for its lyrics more than the music itself was A Crow Looked at Me. Artists whose lyrics I love (billy woods, Richard Dawson, El-P, Idles to name a few) generally drew me in with their music first. The lens is important too. If I'm approaching the album with no context and the lyrics don't engage me as important, I'll usually approach them as a secondary element. If I've heard that an album has great lyrics or the music presents itself in a way that makes it seem like the lyrics are important, I'll put the lyrics in the front seat since that's what the art has to offer.
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05-29-2020, 02:26 AM | #3 (permalink) |
god's favorite clown
Join Date: Oct 2019
Posts: 139
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Usually I don't care about the lyrics at all unless they really grab and eviscerate me, like A Crow Looked At Me (like Frown said). And when I do occasionally become very fixated on a song's lyrics, it's never because they're necessarily amazing lyrics or anything; it's usually because I find them relatable emotionally somehow. I listened to nothing but Tamaryn's song Dawning for like a month straight for that reason.
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05-29-2020, 02:52 AM | #4 (permalink) |
one-balled nipple jockey
Join Date: Dec 2010
Location: Dirty Souf Biatch
Posts: 22,006
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Sometimes I really love and care about the lyrics but it’s like 90/10 in favor of the music
That ten percent is still big and mostly hip hop Along the same lines I probably listen to ten instrumental records for every one with vocals at this point. To a certain degree, if I want to deal with language then I’d be reading.
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05-29-2020, 03:16 AM | #5 (permalink) | |
Slavic gay sauce
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Abu Dhabi
Posts: 7,993
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Quote:
Anyway, glad I'm not the only one! Due exception of course, for example, quite recently the following lyric stopped me in my tracks: You throw yourself down on the playground Skid to a halt on the runway You cast a poisonous look to the sun You know it just doesn't happen to anyone You know this doesn't just happen to anyone From Destroyer - It just doesn't happen. I mean, c'mon, poisonous look?? So graphic, so bookish...
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“Think of what a paradise this world would be if men were kind and wise.” - Kurt Vonnegut, Cat's Cradle. Last.fm |
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05-29-2020, 07:14 PM | #6 (permalink) |
AllTheWhileYouChargeAFee
Join Date: Mar 2013
Location: Kansas City
Posts: 1,178
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Music, easily. After all, it's ... music, right?
Lyrics are always secondary.
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08-05-2024, 02:48 AM | #8 (permalink) | |
Music Addict
Join Date: Jun 2024
Posts: 281
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Quote:
Don't get me wrong, lyrics can make or break a song at that point but it's melody first. |
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