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Music or Lyrics


Sweet Jane 61

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Ok we had this discussion here at the radio station...what hooks you on a song? For me it is the lyrics...the first thing I do when I buy a new album is read the liner notes and the lyrics if printed. And if there is a song with cool lyrics and not a hit from the album I will listen. My boss here at the stations says it's the music, he said the lyrics can make no sense as far as he is concerned as long as the music is cool. This may be a little on the strange topic side but what is it that makes a song for you??

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I think your boss may be right...I usually say "hey I like that song" mostly because of the sound..... there are many songs that I have no idea what they are talkin about but I like it, it has a good beat, and you can dance to it LOL...but..that's not the only reason...I really do like profound music, or songs with a message, with really great lyrics also....so, I guess it's a combination of alot of things...depends on my mood also....there are times I will listen to mellow music...or just wanna rock out, or dance...

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Lyrics can be very important the way they are sung... I think of Bob Dylan, for instance, or some Dire Straits songs (the "Making Movies" album). It´s not what they say but also how they say it.

For me it´s a combination of both though the music is the first impression you get... and there can be great songs that just go "She loves you yeah, yeah, yeah, she loves you yeah, yeah, yeah...", for instance... ;)

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I would think lyrics for a lot of people, which is startling in light of the crap that's popular now. Maybe a combination of crap music and crap lyrics has a cancellation effect, and lulls people into thinking something's great.

For me personally, it's music then lyrics. I won't listen to something just because the lyrics are good; there are plenty of books for that. Or I can read lyrics on the internet. But I could give a crap, generally, about the lyrics if the music is good.

Look at the Beatles, Stevie Wonder, Frank Zappa. Well, Zappa was a least funny and original. But the other two aren't going to be in poetry anthologies anytime soon. (Waiting for someone to point out that "Norwegian Wood" is currently in some British anthologies.) But the lackluster lyrics don't in any way detract from the song for me.

Good things happen, though, when people interpret songs by Dylan and Leonard Cohen, etc. Look at "All Along The Watchtower" by Hendrix or "Hallelujah" by Jeff Buckley. They did amazing things with mediocre (musically speaking) songs. The lyrics enhance the music rather than try to carry it.

You do have rare cases where music and lyrics are done equally well - Paul Simon, Ian Anderson, Tom Waits, Joni Mitchell, Elvis Costello. It doesn't get any better than that. The lyrics can be beautiful, humorous or merely clever - I just appreciate that they're good or original.

I guess the bottom line, for me, is that I'm LISTENING to music and not just treating it as a pleasant background for words. The other way seems to be the tail wagging the dog, and I'm not saying that to offend anybody who disagrees. I just have never been able to listen to music casually enough to tune it out in favor of the lyrics.

OK, back to the goofy stuff.

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Wow getting a lot of response from this...which is great. I want to make it clear that yes lyrics are what I am into but you can have cool music with crap lyrics and for me that blows. I need great music and cool lyrics. And no they don't have to be all that poetic, but need to touch my soul just as the music does. And 9 times out of 10 good lyrics have good music. And that goes for rockin out kick azz rock too!

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I would have to say music for me. There are a lot of songs I like where I can barely make out the lyrics, anyway, or look them up and find out they're meaningless....

I like a lot of songs for the lyrics, too, but if the music isn't catching my ear, then I won't bother with the lyrics.

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The wonderful thing about music is, it can be any one of the above mentioned things that attract you to a particular song.

Alot of times, for me anyway, it isn't the lyrics, or the music. It's the energy. The aura, the ambience, of a song that evokes an emotion.

I have taken every path imaginable to liking a song. Enjoyed it first for the music, then discovered the meaning of the lyrics later. Conversely, I have had my imagination captured by the picture the lyrics painted, and then listened further for the intricate undertones of the music.

Either way, it's the music lover who wins in the end.

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i always thought it was lyrics, but i like instrumental music and songs whose lyrics are not necessarily crap but they are definitely not all powerful, deep etc. so i think for some songs, music comes first, for other it's the lyrics and sometimes a combination of both. i'm not sure how it works exactly, perhaps for depressing stuff it's the lyrics and for fun stuff the music?

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I try to pay attention to both simultaneously. Music IS what catches your attention but lyrics keep it there. Sometimes a really strange line or verse can be easily ignored if the song is good. But a whole bunch of inane nonsense is useless. Music has got such immense power to get a message across. The lyrics are important too. A friend of mine remembers nothing of a song's lyrics or even it's name... just snatches of the tune. But if you ignore the lyrics aren't you doing the song an injustice?

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I don't think I have a straight answer this one... but here goes anyway.

Usually when I first get into an artist or album, it's the sound of the single(s) that gets me hooked, but once I've bought the album, my favorite track nearly always ends up being one with more poignant lyrics.

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^ No worries. I am not one to become easily offended, but yes, this question has already been answered.

From the most recent picture thread:

It's an inside joke.

I've worked for several years as a receptionist. Apparently the voice I use on the phone is nothing like my regular voice and it's been suggested to me by several people (including clients of one of the offices where I've worked) that I become a phone sex operator. My old manager (who is a woman and a friend of mine) told me I should call myself "Miss Vicky" and she always asks me how much it is per minute when she calls.

So, for whatever reason, I've started using it as my member name on a few message boards.

And yes, my real name is Victoria, which I much prefer over "Vicky"

Edited by Guest
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