When I listen to music, I generally enjoy the 'sound', which includes the sound of the singers voice. However, the actual lyrics are less important. Obviously I hear them, and sometimes they mean something, but more often than not, generally a secondary element I don't get too excited about. There are exceptions, but most of the time, not really. There are foreign language singers that I enjoy even though I can't understand one word they say (for example, MC Solaar - a French-Senegalese rapper).
To go a step further, even if I am listening to the words, I don't get in to the hyper analyzing element of it. I read 'song meanings' and sometimes I just have to shrug and take their word for it.
I am not saying I am right, or others are wrong, I am just curious if the lyrics are the main course for you, or a little side dish.
To go a step further, even if I am listening to the words, I don't get in to the hyper analyzing element of it. I read 'song meanings' and sometimes I just have to shrug and take their word for it.
I am not saying I am right, or others are wrong, I am just curious if the lyrics are the main course for you, or a little side dish.
Same here, the words don't interest me too much unless the songwriters are great poets as well as great vocalists, like Bob Dylan and Poly Styrene.
Lyrics are incredibly important to me, I can appreciate a good story whether it's fictional or real.
Overly introspective or shallow lyrics usually get quickly delegated to the bin, bragging about drugs, sex, money, cars, or showing a very one-sided severe lack of understanding of the fellow man is incredibly annoying to me.
Very frequently a self-infatuated lead singer takes all the focus away from the finer minutiae, which is why I like instrumentals.
There are good singers with good lyrics about, but the vast majority is pointless and they might as well just hum or make random noises instead of using words.
Same with endless repetition of the same words in different tones, very annoying.
Edit:
We made a playlist together as a family when we went on a vacation this summer, I chose songs that revolved around friendship, love, happiness and the joy of music (and also one about swearing in church...).
One daughter chose a lot of depressive themes, while the other one went for fun fast paced music with a lot of bass. My wife mainly chose songs about breakups, divorces, crying over lost-love and arguing... I gently pointed this out, and she is now re-evaluating her music preference.
Overly introspective or shallow lyrics usually get quickly delegated to the bin, bragging about drugs, sex, money, cars, or showing a very one-sided severe lack of understanding of the fellow man is incredibly annoying to me.
Very frequently a self-infatuated lead singer takes all the focus away from the finer minutiae, which is why I like instrumentals.
There are good singers with good lyrics about, but the vast majority is pointless and they might as well just hum or make random noises instead of using words.
Same with endless repetition of the same words in different tones, very annoying.
Edit:
We made a playlist together as a family when we went on a vacation this summer, I chose songs that revolved around friendship, love, happiness and the joy of music (and also one about swearing in church...
).One daughter chose a lot of depressive themes, while the other one went for fun fast paced music with a lot of bass. My wife mainly chose songs about breakups, divorces, crying over lost-love and arguing... I gently pointed this out, and she is now re-evaluating her music preference.
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I cannot "hear" the lyrics, regardless of language so music is by far the most important part. I hear the sounds, the notes and melody but the message just doesn't arrive, except once I have actually read the lyrics and only then I start "hearing" them so to speak. Vast majority of music I listen to is instrumental, and stuff where there's actual singing the singing must be good, i.e the signer needs to be one more musical instrument with a nice melody, and if the message is fit well into it, all good but just message for sake of it doesn't cut it.
So mood dependent. Sometimes lyrics (Vic Chessnut, Bob Dylan, Nick Cave, Tom Waits...) other times the sound like distorted guitar of Neil Young when playing with Crazy Horse gang (all acoustic country-ish Neil Young is torture but his distortion's to die for).
But agree w canonken, vocals can be amazing, and I really dont need to listen to the words...
But agree w canonken, vocals can be amazing, and I really dont need to listen to the words...
Everyone I should think
I know I've misheard many of Kate Bush's lyrics and my mishearings made sense until I read her lyrics and then THEY made sense The fact that you mention MC Solaar is interesting since he is one of the first rappers here who has had a classical approach of French song-writing. I mean his way to write lyrics with poetic / literary manners, with the use of rare words, references to other arts, and lots of "jeux de mots" (playing with words, would be the simplest translation).
For him and his audience (for me too), lyrics are as important as the music. I even see him as a missing point between the older Chanson Française and the younger generations, including the rap audience.
I generally listen to the flow -- the combination of the music and lyrics. Both need to be harmonious. Songs that tell a story or have something meaningful to relay are certainly more impactful for me. I usually find overly repetitive lyrics tiresome. There are some bands I avoid because I think their lyrics to be consistently stupid (not to name names, but one such example begins with "Foreigner"), but for the most part I'm pretty forgiving.