just curious, there has been so much discussion over on the live board about lyrics, how important are they to you. i've stated frequently lyrics are the last thing that draw me to a song. for me, first and foremost is the music, and the voice is pretty much another instrument to me. i could really care less what the lyrics say 99% of the time, as long as i like the tune.

Well, for me it depends on what the music is- in some styles the lyrics stand out to me more than in others. I can live with bad lyrics as long as the song is doing something original and intersting (which I don't think the music on SFBM does). I'm certainly not of the opinion that vocals are the most important element in a song.

I agree with both of you. The music comes first for me, unless the lyrics are too ridiculous to be ignored.

I think the mixing of the song has something to do with it too. If the vocals were overpowering the other instruments, probably it would get noticed first. But normally, I tend to relate what I hear to something else, depending on the mood of the song, even before I really 'hear' what the lyrics are.

After that, the lyrics, if good, comes in like a bonus.

It depends for me .. there are some songs I listen to for the lyric, some for the music and some just do both. Morrissey for example is an always has been a poet that somehow got mixed up in the music buisness. His words grab me like no one elses ever have and I feel a connection to them. Whilst his song writing partners in his solo career have been pretty good for the most part, it's all very standard music in a way, it's not exactly what grabs me mostly. But with The Smiths he had Johnny Marr and the two just worked like bacon and eggs, absolutely beautiful together! The music was just as important as the lyrics at this point.

Same with a band like the Aussie band TISM .. sure they're a comedy band in a sense but the music they've written has never exactly been amazing, but some of their lyrics are just too good to pass up and it really makes it.

Then a band like Ween combines both, they write catchy yet very interesting songs and are always doing something new and keeping it fresh. Yet their lyrics can boarder on completely ridiculous to amazingly touching and profound all the way to absolutely hilarious.

Led Zeppelin is a band where as awesome as Robert Plant's voice is, I've always viewed it as an intrument rather than actually something with something to say. Led Zepp has always been a music band for me.

Generally lyrics are quite important to me. That's what first attracted me to LiVE, and it is fundamental to the appeal of Rush. Great lyrics combined with visionary music is a winner for me. However, sometimes the lyrics are not that important to me. Take The Mars Volta for example. Their lyrics are stream of conciousness, basically nonsense on the conscious level. In their case I find the vocal to be an integral instrument in their music.

Lame lyrics will almost always turn me off, no matter how good the music may be.

Lyrics don't mean a fucking thing. Hell, vocals to a certain point don't either. Music however, is important. Look at Soul Coughing - sparse guitar mixed in with nice drumming, an upright bass and sampling of old jazz tunes, combined with lyrics that don't mean a damn thing and shitty vocals. They were at least original, and failed six years after they formed.

People in general don't give a shit about originality. That's why so much crap's on the radio.

I think there's a lot of middle ground with regards to lyrics. Some lyrics are aboslutely fucking pathetic, others are incredible, but most are just kinda mediocre. Good lyrics can't make up for bad music, but good music can make up for bad lyrics to only a slightly greater extent. Really awful lyrics can ruin a song with quality music. Likewise, realy awful music can a song with great lyrics unbearable. I don't know. *shrug*

I think for a voice as prominent as Morrissey's, yes, the lyrics would be more important. His words and voice were the selling point of The Smiths and of course, his solo work as well.

Viva Hate was a big favorite of mine from way back.

Music is the important part for me, the singer's voice too, but the music I really love always has lyrics that speak to me.
When the song is in English I sometimes can manage to tolerate weaker lyrics, but German songs (German is my native language) with bad, cliché lyrics totally turn me off.

I think its kind of a balance between lyrics and music for me. Of course, I listen to songs with great music and subpar lyrics, but some songs like Deep Enough by Live I just can't get over. Such shitty lyrics, which makes it impossible for me to listen to that song. What are we fighting for is another song by Live that I detest. I really don't like war songs. Especially since most artists haven't been to war. Artists should sing about what they know. Sunday Bloody Sunday is an exception.
Sorry, got off on a tangent. I prefer music with good lyrics, but it's about the music.

Yeah I'm with most everyone else. It's a balance. Sometimes the music is so good that the lyrics don't really matter and other times the lyrics might be the part of a song that jumps out at me first. It all depends on the band and the type of music for me. I like so many different types of music and so many different kinds of bands that I can't really say one is more important than the other. I guess what really jumps out at me the most is the melody of a song. The way that everything blends together.

Ah, perhaps you are on to something Pokey. Zeppelin was my favorite growing up, so maybe that is why i don't pay much attention to the lyrics. However, don't forget to credit Bob Plant with the ever-classic lyric, "and when you squeeze my lemon, i'm gonna roll right out of bed!" lol

Haha! One of my all time favorite lines besides the "squeeze my lemon til the juice runs down my leg!" So yeah lyrics don't always matter, it's true. I agree that Plant's voice was more of an instrument than anything it didn't really matter what the hell he was saying.

But I think that everyone at some point in time has been moved by a line in a song because it somehow fit you or it was just such beautiful poetry. Or it somehow defined for you why you loved a band so much. Like Live for instance. The line "it's the way we sing that makes them dream." Perfect. So sometimes lyrics do count.

I agree with what others have said. It depends on how all the elements come together. I do rate a great guitarist on a par with a great vocalist and I love it when both elements come together. Lyrics are important, but I've found myself liking certain songs despite them having boring, irrelevant, crass, views I disagree with, dumb as a rock or cheese bomb lyrical content because everything else was in it's place. One of my favourite songs of the past few years is La Tortura by Shakira and I don't understand a word - I think it's in Spanish but I'm not even sure of that! Conversely I hate a lot of songs that may have great lyrics because the band playing it are not my thing at all.

It's all about balance. It's like with SOAD - for me the first two albums were in total balance. Meaningful lyrics, a fantastic vocalist complimented by a great guitarist. Then for some reason (I suspect waaaayyyy too much pot smoking) the guitarist and main songwriter took over and dumbed everything down to the point of the music being an insult to my intelligence. That and he started thinking he could do more than backing vocals. I don't want to hear his damn warbling when I could be listening to Serj! Argh! HIDEOUS!

As far as Live go, I've never thought Chad T was a virtuoso guitarist, but the whole band work together so well. And when he does have a moment of brilliance, it makes it all the better when you hear a memorable riff come spiralling out of nowhere. A bit like how Ed's songwriting can drop something so cheesy it makes you cringe, then he can come out with something so pure, lucid and heartfelt that it sticks in your mind for years.

This post has been edited by Senghe: Jun 2 2006, 3:09 pm