lyrics

[peterr]

When I listen to music I generally don't pay much attention to the text. It is more the emotion that is put forward than the words that grab me. That is why I also like songs in languages I can't understand and often you get a very good idea of what the song is about despite the fact you haven't a clue about the words.
To complicate things: I DO think lyrics must be well written. Once I do listen to them I feel very disappointed if they aren't of the same standard as the music

Are lyrics important to you?

[griff]

The lyrics to alot of the music i listen too would get me banned if i posted

There is nothing worse then a song with bad lyrics, almost defeats the whole purpose of the song or an artists ability to express themselves.

[Ignite]

Not everything I listen to has lyrics, or sometimes has just fragments of lyrics. But, the music I come back to again and again has powerful lyrics. Music is something you listen to and understand subconsciously. Lyrics, you listen to, but you can more directly interpret and even reciprocate. I feel they bring me far closer to the ideas in the song.

Examples:

Radiohead: Some of the most intruiging lyrics I've ever heard, specifically on albums like Kid A and OK Computer.

Rage Against The Machine: Thier music is a delivery method of certain political and social ideas.

Cake: Cars and girls. Really well written, though.

[Jay]

Lyrics are important to all of us, just not as much as the music itself. That’s why we listen to music and not read poems. Lyrics are more important to country and rock fans (But hey, aren’t they the largest community in music genres?). For audiophiles, there are even more to music. Here, recordings play an important role.

[Brett]

Originally posted by Jay
Lyrics are important to all of us, just not as much as the music itself.

I disagree. Your statement is too sweeping. Many of Bob Dylan's lyrics for example, <i>are</i> the song, and the music merely serves to underscore them.

The human voice is the most powerful of instruments and in the possession of a talented and gifted singer, the one that can touch us most readily. Listen to Billie Holiday, Robert Johnson, Sarah Vaughn, Shirly Horn, Lena Horne, Sam Cooke and countless others.

This afternoon I listened to Emmylou Harris' Spyboy again (I love this album) and the a capella 'Bringing My Children Home' is beautiful.

That’s why we listen to music and not read poems. Lyrics are more important to country and rock fans (But hey, aren’t they the largest community in music genres?).

Around here we listen to both types of music: Country and Western.

In high school, my English teacher used to sing poems as a learning tool. I can't recall the technical terms to cross reference.

For audiophiles, there are even more to music. Here, recordings play an important role.

For me, this is becoming less so. It's great to have a nice recording, but not even remotely essential to enjoy the music, <b>providing</b> the music is well communicated.