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In Reply to: RE: do bad lyrics spoil good tunes for you? posted by mwhitmore on August 21, 2010 at 07:20:44
Just walk through life, and at every turn, in every single molecule of this planet, you'll find that "it's all about".......the words. That's all anyone ever talks about or thinks about. From the dummest Ipod wielding tween to the loftiest-minded critic, they all focus on...WORDS. At least in pop music. The question "what's that song about", uttered on NPR interviews, articles, etc., etc. is a question asking "what are they lyrics to that song about?". Not for a moment would anyone even consider that their little pop ditty happens to be "about" music.
Music? Music??!! Sure, I hear it. I know it's there. But, who cares? It only functions as a conveyance, a channel, a delivery system for the really important part, the real point, the...words.
Sure, people bob their heads to the pop rhythm; but that's just a reflex, not unlike, or perhaps exactly like, that of a pigeon's gate. In recent years, a new genre of pop has emerged which strips out nearly all musical elements, and focusses almost entirely on words. It's called Rap. Some of you may've heard of it. Sure, there's [pounding] rhythm in it; but, it's function is purely secondary, and subservient to the main focus...words.
Audiophile magazines are amoung the most profligate liers in this area. They constantly emblazon proclamations such as "It's all about the Music" on their sensationalist covers, while their actual content mostly ignores "the music" in their pop reviews and focusses intensely on...words.
So, It's All About The Words. Dood.
Follow Ups:
If it were all about the words, how would you account for the enjoyment of a symphony? A jazz chart? A rock instrumental? Or music sung in a foreign language?
If it were all about the words, I'd enjoy rap a lot more than I do...... And recited poetry...... And crappy compositions with decent lyrics..........
Sure great lyrics go hand in hand with decent composition, and in a lot of cases make a great pop song, but it's only a subset of great music, in my humble opinion.
not sure I follow.
if you're saying, it should be about the words (content), I agree.
to say that people listen FOR the words is complete sociological nonsense. take away the words from the vast majority of contemporary songs, and they will still sell and sell well. erase the words from a music lover's library of albums and they're still going to be listening. the value might be in the words (true meaning of the artist) but the emotional connection is in the music (melody/tune). look at all the genres of music that are "wordless": jass; classical; etc.
sociologists who try to understand the times/era of the youth by analyzing the words to the pop music bought are really out of touch with reality.
H.F.N.
What you say is all true. The funny part is that most people don't even listen to he words and certainly don't think about them, even if they listen. Of course those that listen don’t' really hear. Other wise we’d be a society of peace and love fighting for civil justice.
Just ask my religious-conservative Grateful Dead loving friend.
Gregg
Music is partly about logic and reasoning and the simple "call and response" tradition is basic. This internal call and response thing is always going on at some level, differently with some people than with others. The lyrics call, the intellect might respond, associations can be made (on whatever level), etc... If the lyrics don't always hit the mark, there is the beat to fall back on. It's like a ping-pong game of emotion and intellect, a lot of people seem to need this. I don't always like doing it and I think it's possible to accept music on may different levels, emotionally, intellectually, bodily, or any combination of. It's no big deal to me that other people do what I don't always like to do, although I think I see your point. It can be irritating when too much of the music around us seems like it's all too much the same trick over and over again. It can create a sense of despair.
Which explains why I listen to 99% jazz and classical with no words at all.
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