Asturiel's Weekly: Lyrics

[Asturiel]

Now for my weekly thread, Ingredients: 10% Luck, 20% Skill, 15% Concentrated power of will, 5% Pleasure, 50% pain, 100% reason to post in this thread.

In Mooosiq (I have retarded ways of saying things shaddup) we have songs with words attached and ones with them, my question is are those words that are attached important? I find that most songs I listen to are instrumentals, and I like them better for it, however for the non instrumentals I often make up my own lyrics since I dislike theirs. But there are also songs where the lyrics have been well thought out and work well with the context of the song.

So let me ask you a question or two Escapist; do you prefer lyrics in your songs? And, are pieces of music better with them?

Me personally I like lyrics in songs better than instrumentals so long as they are very well done, if not then I prefer it without them. I think that a song benefits from lyrics but can still be very good with or without them.

 

[delet]

I prefer songs with lyrics. A song can convey a terrific message, and I want to hear it. That's why I don't listen to screamo metal or anything of that sort because I wan't to understand the message their trying to convey.

That said, I still like myself the occasional instrumental song, or a song that I simply can't understand. I have plenty of songs in japanese or Latin (a few in Finish...) and I have plenty of songs from the soundtracks of Full Metal Alchemist Brotherhood and Neon Genesis Evangelion. Those songs, I just like despite not understanding them or despite the fact that they have no lyrics.

So it goes either way for me.

 

[DazZ.]

Well that totally depends on the song, if it's written for lyrics it will be better with lyrics, if the riff it written as an instrumental having lyrics will just get in the way.

I love Andy Mckee and I love Bobby Mcferrin, it really doesn't matter if songs have lyrics or not.

 

[Hurr Durr Derp]

It depends on a lot of things.

Some songs have awesome lyrics, either because they're funny, intelligent, deep, or whatever. Other songs have uninteresting lyrics but are still great songs. Some have lyrics in a language I don't understand but that just sound cool. Others have no lyrics at all but have awesome music. And yet other songs just suck, lyrics or no lyrics.

I think that, at the core, it's all about the music and not the lyrics for me. Some bands can create incredible, emotionally powerful music without a single spoken word. Good lyrics can add a lot to a track, but if the music sucks then no matter how good the lyrics are I won't enjoy it. Putting horrible vocals with good music is a great way to utterly ruin a track. So in any case, the vocals should be treated like any other instrument in that it should add to the whole. This becomes even more clear in songs in foreign languages. If I don't get the message the song is trying to broadcast, then all that matters to me is that it sounds good. Sending a message of some sort using the lyrics is great, but doing so should never go at the expense of the track as a whole. I don't think music without vocals is automatically better, but I certainly don't think that lyrics are the most important part of a song.

On the other hand, great lyrics can sometimes make an otherwise mediocre track something outstanding, in which case it's probably best that the lyrics are the focus.

In the end, it depends on the skills of the band, the strength of the lyrics, the quality of the music, and my mood at the moment.

 

[Wardnath]

I like good music, lyrics are a bonus.

Also, woohoo, 777th post.

 

[zen5887]

Pat Patterson (if you're into song writing you should know who he is) once told me "A song with sub par lyrics but good phrasing will kick the arse of a song with good lyrics but poor phrasing." And considering that only a small pecentage of our communication is based on words, lyrics don't really hold that much weight in a song.

Having said that, a song with good lyrics AND phrasing is going to be best =)

 

[Wadders]

Pretty much all music I listen to, with the exception of classical music, has lyrics. I occasionally listen to dubstep and that kind of stuff, but never when sober so that doesnt count.

I dont really know why I prefer most of the music I like to have lyrics. I guess it just gives something else for my ears to listen to and for my brain to think about. Instrumental tracks often bore me, unless they have a hell of a lot going on, as a lot of classical stuff does.

Even if the lyrics are not particularly meaningful or thought provoking, they can still add to a track, if the work well within the song, they kinda become another instrument. And if they are meaningful and thought provoking, then all the better

Also, I like the Fort Minor reference in the OP

 

[capin Rob]

10% Luck, 20% Skill, 15% Concentrated power of will, 5% Pleasure, 50% pain, 100%
.

CAN YOU give me the name of that song, i fogot,

OT lyricas beeee soooo imprtant

 

[FinalHeart95]

I believe that it is entirely possible to convey a sort of "message" in instrumentals. While a message might not be a good term for it, the music itself often gives you a feeling of "oh shit, something's about to go down", or the feeling that you're flying or whatever else it does. That's why music can often be more emotional than movies which are 2 hours long, because of the music, not the lyrics.

That being said, I'm a complete sucker for concept albums.

 

[child of lileth]

I like songs with lyrics better in most cases, but there are some instrumentals that would be ruined by lyrics. There are also some that just kinda give you an idea of what they were trying to convey, without using lyrics (if that makes sense).

 

[AquaAscension]

I'd have to pretty much agree with the primary poster. I love instrumental songs because they can tell a story, but do so in a way that lets people feel/hear the emotions of the story rather than being told what the story is.

I think where I typically draw the line is where the poetry becomes bad. And I mean baaaaaad. They put in rhymes that don't make a damn bit of sense, but, hey, they rhyme so it's all good. See: most pop songs. From the rock spectrum, Staind is guilty of this, Breaking Benjamin, Trust Company, and on and on just have terrible poetry as lyrics. The kind that doesn't tell a story but just has meter and rhyme.

However, there are different lyricists (older Incubus, Spock's Beard, Dream Theater, Symphony X, and on and on) that have awesome lyrics and actually tell stories. For example, Spock's has a fantastic 2 CD concept album that tells a pretty cool story (called Snow). I believe that one would still get an idea of a story without the lyrics, but they wouldn't get the story.

As an example of bad lyrics, Staind's "Epiphany" uses the chorus "Cause it's always rainin' in my head; forget all the things I should have said."

Great, you've told me nothing there. For one, they've utilized the pathetic fallacy (the idea that nature mirrors our emotional states, thus raining is sad, sun is happy etc.) in a very cliche way: the rain mirrors the singer's sadness, but means nothing in the end. Additionally how the hell can someone forget something that someone hasn't said? The song itself has a wonderful sound what with a far off bass and light guitar that seems to sound somewhat like rain in and of itself. The emotions come through without the lyrics.

Anyhow, after all that, I basically say that some lyrics are absolutely necessary because they allow people to communicate beyond an emotional level; words let us communicate concepts and tell a story with the music as an essential emotional backing track sort of thing. Complex stories need the complexity of lyrics.

I just think most lyrics aren't really thought through. They're there to give people something to do while they listen to the song. They make the song more interactive. Not all lyrics, just the bad ones. Yeah, beat that horse enough. Peace.

 

[UnusualStranger]

I like my lyrics in a song, but only because I can't think of what the song would sound like without them.

However, sometimes a song needs to stand up on its own accord. And there are quite a few songs that I have listened to in which I can without a doubt say.

"The music is great! Too bad there is someone trying to sing with it...'

It saddens me to hear songs like that. I wish something could be done about bands with people who can't sing a damned note, and just let the musicians do their thing. Because sometimes, a song can kick ass without having all those random themes and words in them. Sometimes, the song is epic enough on its own.