favorite lyrical themes

[lord667]

The thing is, I can't think of that many bands that sing about things such as depression and suicide. I listen to mostly death metal, so most of the lyrics of the bands I listen to are about gore, nihilism, killing, or anti-religion.

I hang out on some online groups where a lot of teenaged Goth poets post. A healthy portion of overblown angst is enough to immunise most people against the seduction of despair, and setting it to music doesn't improve matters much.

What's worse on the groups is that there's often an unwritten rule that you aren't allowed to tell these prats how much they suck, on pain of a serious ear-bashing from the necrohippies, so none of them ever get any better.

 

[Life Sucks]

I hang out on some online groups where a lot of teenaged Goth poets post. A healthy portion of overblown angst is enough to immunise most people against the seduction of despair, and setting it to music doesn't improve matters much.

What's worse on the groups is that there's often an unwritten rule that you aren't allowed to tell these prats how much they suck, on pain of a serious ear-bashing from the necrohippies, so none of them ever get any better.

Yeah, some people just aren't good at writing lyrics. Either they don't put enough time and effort into writing their lyrics and just throw together stupid rhymes, or they simply don't have talent for such a thing. I've written lyrics about the subject, but I actually put thought into writing them and they are pretty good IMO.

 

[Hammer of Might]

I like lyrics about disease, insanity, maggots, bodily fluids, senseless acts of violence... and dancing.

-------------

I really dislike it when random words that a vaguely related are mashed together to fit the song.

The perfect example - Metallica. There's hardly one full sentence in any of their songs it seems like!



Also, when words are just used to rhyme, without any real meaning.

 

[Timmeth]

Clever phrasing makes for very interesting lyrics...

 

[Protocol]

Lyrics aren't all that interesting really. The voice is just another instrument. Obviously they mustn't be stupid or they'll distract and detract from the song. The best lyrics always seem to be written in a foreign language I don't understand.

 

[Life Sucks]

Lyrics aren't all that interesting really. The voice is just another instrument. Obviously they mustn't be stupid or they'll distract and detract from the song. The best lyrics always seem to be written in a foreign language I don't understand.

Lyrics aren't the most importrant thing, but if the lyrics are really stupid (as is the case with all hair metal/glam/cock rock), I refuse to listen to it.

 

[TheDreamingMind]

I mostly like lyrics that deal with:

Personal/Socio-psychology
The use/effects/accounts of psychadelic substances
Philosophies (The hypocrisy of kantism is especially interesting)
Theology
Humanity's rise to power and consequent raping of the earth
Gaia theory
Historical events (dealt with seriously, ie. no cheesey lyrics)
ESP (again no cheese)

 

[Mr. Palomar]

(The hypocrisy of kantism is especially interesting)

Surely one of the more popular lyrical themes, though I prefer lyrics showing a strong negative dialectical stance against Hegelian progress.

 

[speed]

Mr Palomar I most certaintly agree- Hegelianism is far more frightening. We americans are devising the perfect police state right now. Its really frightening how Hegelianism is coming to fruition in todays world.

 

[wnterbass]

In the replies to this topic I found myself reading all the paragraphs but barely skimming the ones who just wrote lists. The paragraphs were interesting cause the writers were actually describing why they liked certain subjects. I think lists work better when talking about bands or songs cause then ya can read the list and say 'hey I like that band too' or 'I never heard of that band, I should check em out'. Anyway, now that I set myself up to get bashed for bein a know it all...LoL...I like any music that I can tell means alot to the writer, and isn't filled with cliches.

 

[lord667]

Actually I was thinking about this again, and I reckon that there are different lyrical themes which fit different styles of music. For a start, those extreme metal bands where you can't understand a bloody word of it are able to be so much more versatile. You only figure out the lyrics by reading the insert, so it's a different style, like writing poetry or even prose rather than lyrics. They can get away with writing about things that would be a real headache for a "singing" band to express. I might like a theme coming from a Chewbacca band, but from a neo-NWOBHM outfit I'd wonder who the hell thought that a phrase like "post-industrial sentimentalism" would sound good in a dramatic falsetto.

 

[Ian Christe]

I think somebody needs to write some good songs in 2004 about nuclear war.

 

[anonymousnick2001]

Hmmm...good idea.

*starts writing*

 

[Life Sucks]

Anyone know of any good songs about lonliness? I'm really able to relate to that theme lately.

 

[MegaDan]

As long as the lyrics of a song mesh well with the rest of the song, I'm happy with them, no matter what the topic. I do enjoy the sermon-style lyrics, be them satanic or otherwise, with complicated wording and structure but with such wording that it still makes sense, if that makes sense.

Not too big on fantasy or mythology, but I do enjoy some good fight music from time to time.

 

[Profanity]

Anyone know of any good songs about lonliness? I'm really able to relate to that theme lately.

Iron Maiden - The Loneliness Of The Long Distance Runner

 

[SuicideMachine]

Anything Mike Patton writes is an awesome theme

 

[BASSMASTER]

Misanthropy, Unreleased Anger, Brutalization, Anything Anti-religious, Technology Running Amok, Depression, History, Natural Disasters, Man Learning His Limitations, Revenge....etc.

 

[dethrock666]

ive reached a point where generic anti-chtistian lyrics just bore me to tears, i totally shut off and disregard them entirely.

if the musics good then im not too fussed but to me good lyrics can really help to create the aesthetic of a band.

my favourite bands, lyrically are KMFDM, acid bath, eyehategod (the whole stream of random thoughts thing) and morbid angel when trey got all into the necronomicon.

anything epic or mythological works well for metal, but satan is getting boring

im a sucker for political lyrics too, assuming i agree with the politics (lame i know)

 

[stonethecrow]

technical stuff.. like impaled.. people who seem like they know what they're talking about..

and gore, sick shit.. i like sick stuff

and anything else if the band is good.