Music & Lyrics - Music - Forums : Best Ever Albums

Pseud0Scorpion

I thought this would make for some interesting conversation. Obviously in most music, the instrumentation and the lyrics are complementary, and both are valuable to the makeup of the track. But which are (music or lyrics) holds the most value for you, and why?

babyBlueSedan

Used to be sort of blind, now can sort of see

Gender: Male

If the instrumentation is good but the lyrics are bad there's still a chance I like the music. But I won't listen to bad instrumentation just because the lyrics are good. Examples:

I love Swervedriver's brand of shoegazing; however, in most cases I ignore the lyrics since with the exception of Last Train to Satansville they're pretty forgettable. And Benji is a good album lyrically (for the most part) but I typically get bored listening to it because the instrumentation doesn't interest me.

That said, obviously the best music has good lyrics and instrumentation. But I'm more willing to tolerate bad lyrics as I don't feel they're as essential.
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Trendall

Gender: Male

I don't get people who prefer lyrics to the music. If you like words, why be into music at all? Surely get involved with poetry or literature instead where the work is all much higher quality and much more interesting in terms of language.

Applerill

Autistic Princess <3

Gender: Female

Age: 31

Location: Chicago

I used to tell people that "if you want words, read a book". While I realize now that that argument itself is rather close-minded in its own way, lyrics really are to cinema what "plot" (not to be confused with narrative) is to cinema. It certainly enriches the experience, and gives you a lot more context into the meaning of the work, but it's ridiculous to view everything in the context of lyrics or "plot".

Of course, as Bazin stated 80 years ago, the idea of "pure music" or "pure cinema" is a myth, so we need to still appreciate the beauty of lyrics with the music. But I think one thing people should try to do more is pay attention to how artist sing their lyrics. There's often a great degree of semiotics to it, and the musical techniques put to work there do an amazing job at combining lyrics and music.

PsychologistHD

Age: 28

Location: ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

If lyrics truly were as important as instrumentation, there would be as many a Capella albums as there are instrumental albums.
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alelsupreme wrote:

i am the obscure music man and when i hear anything thats sold more than 2000 copies i scream wordlessly and painfully until someone changes it.

Pseud0Scorpion

Applerill wrote:

But I think one thing people should try to do more is pay attention to how artist sing their lyrics. There's often a great degree of semiotics to it, and the musical techniques put to work there do an amazing job at combining lyrics and music.

This sums up a lot of the reasons I consider lyrics and poetry different. When it comes to lyrics I feel there's a need to inflect the words and use pauses in a way that complements the direction the instrumentation is going, and that is an art in itself.

shoopadoowop

Gender: Male

Age: 28

Location: Canadia

Trendall wrote:

I don't get people who prefer lyrics to the music. If you like words, why be into music at all? Surely get involved with poetry or literature instead where the work is all much higher quality and much more interesting in terms of language.

This.

I would compare lyrics to a pie crust. A really good or bad pie crust can make you enjoy the pie more or less but its still the filling that's important. Saying that lyrics make or break music is just dumb.

Pseud0Scorpion wrote:

This sums up a lot of the reasons I consider lyrics and poetry different. When it comes to lyrics I feel there's a need to inflect the words and use pauses in a way that complements the direction the instrumentation is going, and that is an art in itself.

That's still part of the music though, not the lyrics. Look at Weird Al, he makes parodies of songs, changes the lyrics, but still keeps all the inflections.

Pseud0Scorpion

shoopadoowop wrote:

That's still part of the music though, not the lyrics. Look at Weird Al, he makes parodies of songs, changes the lyrics, but still keeps all the inflections.

That's true for that particular artist, but then you take cases like Joni Mitchell, where her extensive use of pauses and inflection in certain places, sometimes even in the middle of words, complemented the music in a unique way that wouldn't have been possible without her voice while still getting across a powerful story in her choice of words.

shoopadoowop

Gender: Male

Age: 28

Location: Canadia

Pseud0Scorpion wrote:

That's true for that particular artist, but then you take cases like Joni Mitchell, where her extensive use of pauses and inflection in certain places, sometimes even in the middle of words, complemented the music in a unique way that wouldn't have been possible without her voice while still getting across a powerful story in her choice of words.

You completely misunderstood my point, which is inflections are still part of the music not the lyrics. We know this because you can change the lyrics and keep it sounding the same.

rayword45

Gender: Male

Age: 27

Sometimes good lyrics can win over mediocre background music (for the most part John Darnielle, David Berman, Bob Dylan)

And sometimes painful lyrics can ruin music. Nonetheless, I'm far more forgiving to bad lyrics and bad vocals than bad instrumentation.