Poll: Lyrics vs Music

[zoozilla]

Every song (excluding instrumentals) has two parts to it: there's the music, and there are the lyrics.

Which one is more important to you? Do you prefer a song with great music and bad lyrics or bad music and great lyrics?

Personally, I think that music is definitely the most important part of a song - without it, there'd be no song. Lyrics can certainly add to the music, but I think of them as secondary to the music, not the other way around. That said, I'm sure there are people who would disagree.

Thoughts?

 

[NeutralDrow]

Music. Overwhelmingly, since more than half my collection is stuff I can't understand, either foreign language or accented/gutteral English.

 

[pantsoffdanceoff]

Music, even though Tom Morrello and Chris Cornell may have "deeper" lyrics now that their solo, I can't listen to them anymore I miss Audioslave... /sigh.
Granted what I really hate are great guitarist and maybe great lyrics but the singers voice is just so damn annoying you can't listen ( a la RATM and Dragonforce).

 

[RavingPenguin]

Music. Overwhelmingly, since more than half my collection is stuff I can't understand, either foreign language or accented/gutteral English.

Same.
Music is what sets the tone for the lyrics. Essentially the lyrics are based off of the music.

 

[NoodleWoman]

...without good music its a poem, not a song. Without good lyrics it lacks meaning. I need at least some skill in both, thankyou.

 

[TaborMallory]

They're both important. Good music is definitely required, but bad lyrics can ruin a perfectly good song. There's lots of music I don't like simply because of the simplistic immature lyrics. Take any song from Dope for example.
FUCK THA POLICE (x4)

Fuck tha police and I said it with authority
Cause my people on the streets are the majority
Lights are flashin' behind me
But you're a scared little ****** so you mace me to blind me
But that shit don't work I just laugh

And then you have music like Cradle of Filth, where the lyrics for every song is a novel in itself.
This wintry eve when the snow glistens deep
And sharpened turrets wed the jewelless skies
I shrug off the shroud of preternatural sleep
Enbroided by these words Malaresia scribed....

"Beauty slept and angels wept
For Her immortal soul
In this repose, all evil chose
To claim her for their very own"
For anyone who's curious as to the typical amount of lyrical content per song, here's a link to a typical Cradle of Filth album.

 

[Trivun]

Both are extremely important, as much as each other. However, if I have to choose, then I'd say music. Sorry, Drew Barrymore...

 

[YuheJi]

To me, it depends on the genre of music. I listen to a jazz, and lyrics really don't mean much (in fact, most of the time there are none). I also listen to rap, where lyrics really make up the song. In that if a rapper cannot come up with decent lyrics, it does not matter how good people claim his beat is, he is a failure.

 

[high_castle]

Outside of jazz and instrumental pieces where the music itself does the talking, I place considerable more importance on lyrics over music. Once you commit lyrics to something, you're trying to communicate a message. And like any other art form, there should be some meaning behind it. This is why I can't stand trite pop songs but worship Dylan as the one true god.

 

[superbleeder12]

...without good music its a poem, not a song. Without good lyrics it lacks meaning. I need at least some skill in both, thankyou.

Post-Rock has something to say to you kind sir. There are a lot of great instrumental groups which have a strong meaning. Whether its conveying emotion, or painting an image in the listener's head.

for me, instrumentation is the most important part of music. Being skillful with an instrument doesn't mean note spamming for a long solo. being able to convey emotion through a musical instrument is a true example of skill

 

[Sronpop]

Put it this way, you could take all the lyrics and even vocals out of every song in my library and I could easily live with out it and never turn back. For me 90% of whats important in the song is the music, that included the actual vocal lines though, sometime they make up half the song. The lyrics are only about 10% of whats important to me. This band called Misanthrope, they have 2 back to back 8 minute instumental songs and they are the best songs on the album. Althouhg good lyrics always completement a good song, leading to something amazing, aka Opeth.

 

[NoodleWoman]

...without good music its a poem, not a song. Without good lyrics it lacks meaning. I need at least some skill in both, thankyou.

Post-Rock has something to say to you kind sir. There are a lot of great instrumental groups which have a strong meaning. Whether its conveying emotion, or painting an image in the listener's head.

for me, instrumentation is the most important part of music. Being skillful with an instrument doesn't mean note spamming for a long solo. being able to convey emotion through a musical instrument is a true example of skill

I mean to say that I its not to much to ask for both, seeing as its their job and all.

I agree that instrumental groups have music with meaning, but no matter how good some music is, if someone were shouting senselessly throughout the song I don't think I would enjoy it.

 

[dmase]

the lyrics themselves don't matter to me as much how the person sings them. Nirvana, Teen spirit, that song makes no sense to me but the way kurt sings it makes you want to jump up and down like a physco.

 

[SharPhoe]

Music. Overwhelmingly, since more than half my collection is stuff I can't understand, either foreign language or accented/gutteral English.

This, actually. This exactly.

 

[Bofus Teefus]

Music for sure. For me, lyrics have more potential to make me dislike a song than like it. I don't care for them, but if they're really lame, I'll get annoyed. Jazz is perfect for me.

 

[Knight Templar]

The words need to fit with the music. If it were the other way around then songs spoken in a foreign language wouldn't be as popular as they are.

 

[Dys]

To me, it depends on the genre of music. I listen to a jazz, and lyrics really don't mean much (in fact, most of the time there are none). I also listen to rap, where lyrics really make up the song. In that if a rapper cannot come up with decent lyrics, it does not matter how good people claim his beat is, he is a failure.

While I may personally agree that any rapper with bad lyrics is a failure, a sizeable portion of society doesn't share this veiwpoint, so there must be scenarios when a good beat is all that is needed for a rap song to be sucessful (there are some songs that get radio airtime that make very little sense, much less inspire thinking or raise a point). If I'd bothered to learn songs names I'd give some examples about now, but meh.

 

[teisjm]

It kinda depends on the track.
If it relies on awesome music then ofc music, but it doesn't matter if it has dis-likable lyrics, thats enough to ruin a track.
On the other hand, stuff like rap tend to focus more on the lyrics, and usually has longer lyrics, so they're most important even though an awesome beat can up the track a lot. But bad lyrics in rap = faluire on a level which a barrel roll can't even help.

TBH i usually tend to not like the track if it doesn't have both good lyrics and good music.

 

[Berethond]

To me, it depends on the genre of music. I listen to a jazz, and lyrics really don't mean much (in fact, most of the time there are none). I also listen to rap, where lyrics really make up the song. In that if a rapper cannot come up with decent lyrics, it does not matter how good people claim his beat is, he is a failure.

(there are some songs that get radio airtime that make very little sense, much less inspire thinking or raise a point)

You mean almost all of them?