The Importance Of Lyrics- Thread

[metallica144]

i figured out that we need a special thread for this discussion.

as you may have noticed, i couldn't care less about lyrics. well, like someone else said, good lyrics are a bonus, not a neccesity ( did i write that correctly?)

when i decide to listen to a certain song it's because i probably want to hear that kickass riff, or the awesome solo.

 

[Chipmonkcheeks]

All I ask is one final plea.

 

[metallica144]

well, it's just a matter of taste, but i simply can't imagine that someone would dismiss an album because the lyrics are awful.

anyway, i didn't make this thread to defend my opinion, but because i saw that metallicdistort and caveman ninja started a debate about lyrics

 

[zerostatic]

Depends on the type of music. I think I would like some Death Metal bands more than I do if they played only instrumentals. Other types of music..rock..thrash..vocals are more important.

 

[metallica144]

i think we're going in the wrong direction, because you talk about vocals. i was talking about the lyrics. would an album be ruined for you if the lyrics were shite?

 

[metallicdistort]

I tend to like metal where you can't hear the lyrics, which is a blessing, because most are kinda cringeworthy. I like it best when vocals are buried in the mix, and treated as just another instrument, especially in black metal.

 

[Vedicardi]

I listen to a lot of japanese music so obviously in that regard lyrics arent the most important thing to me
I think good lyrics can make a song absolutely incredible, but rarely do they detract. In thrash generally they are just singing about the same bullshit over and over again, war and that. It's only with rare exception you get a Toxik or Coroner with actual interesting lyrics that are worth paying attention to.

Vocals carry soul, the words used arent always that important.

 

[TheUnnamedOne]

I don't care very much about lyrics. Although there are a few bands and songs that I can't take seriously because of the lyrics, but I don't dislike em for it.

 

[Caveman Ninja]

Christ alive, what's the point writing lyrics at all then if no-one gives a fuck?

Bad lyrics ruin songs... What about Halford's Resurrection album? The music is fine, but the lyrics and rhyme schemes are so rubbish that they ruin the entire thing. Cyberworld? Please! It's like they've been written by a 7-year old. Or Priest's Loch Ness... terrible! Rubbish! Pathetic! Disgraceful!

Good lyrics enhance the emotion of a song... what about Maiden's when The Wild Wind Blows? Would it be anywhere near as touching if it was about potatoes?!

Good lyrics take many forms... As I said in the other thread, the genius can be in the fact that a set of brutal lyrics are so over the top that they bring a smile to your face. Or they can be real works of poetic excellence with inventive rhyme schemes and double-meanings, as is the case with so many Skyclad songs.

I honestly can't believe that no-one gives a fuck except for me. Are English graduates the only ones who care?

 

[metallicdistort]

Christ alive, what's the point writing lyrics at all then if no-one gives a fuck?

I always wonder that. With the music I'm making with a friend, we are unable to write lyrics without fear of them sounding too bad, even though it's not as if anyone will hear/read them anyway. If it was up to me, it would be instrumental, but no, it seems bitches need their lyrics.

 

[Chipmonkcheeks]

I tend to like metal where you can't hear the lyrics, which is a blessing, because most are kinda cringeworthy. I like it best when vocals are buried in the mix, and treated as just another instrument, especially in black metal.

I find this about alot of music. I think its because I first started listening to more music because I wanted to hear the guitars. I can very rarely make out lyrics. Even in music where other people can.

I never really get the whole 'I CAN TOTALLY RELATE TO THAT MAN' thing, but sometimes I can see where they are coming from. Only a bit though.

It also amazes me how lyrics from a 10 minute song can be put into one page of a CD booklet ^^

 

[Caveman Ninja]

It also amazes me how lyrics from a 10 minute song can be put into one page of a CD booklet ^^

That depends how big you make the writing though... And how big the instrumental section of the song is!

You are all telling me that you have never ever listened to a song and related to the lyrics? I find that sad. It's a good feeling. I get it with a lot of Paradise Lost songs in particular...

 

[metallicdistort]

I can agree that Maiden's lyrics enhance the song, but it is rare that a band can craft lyrics as well as them.

 

[Caveman Ninja]

I don't think it is! There are loads of bands with great lyrics. Sure, there are loads with run of the mill or even terrible lyrics, but there are a lot of real poets out there, who spend lots of time crafting fantastic lyrics...

 

[Caveman Ninja]

And what about concept albums? Are they all pointless then because the lyrics don't matter? It doesn't matter that the songs are all linked thematically?

 

[Ocelot2010]

I'm one of those people who likes to be able to relate to lyrics, or just hear epic lyrics as well. It really depends on what mood I'm in. If I'm feeling down and lonely, I'll listen to something that speaks to me, that tells me I'm not going crazy, that it's okay to feel that way. Then I look at the fact that the person who wrote the lyrics is still alive, breathing, and living their dreams. I look at the fact that other people can relate to those lyrics as well, and it just helps me feel tons better. Music is something that understands me without having to get to know me. Turn on a song, and it tells me it's going through the exact same shit.

But don't get me wrong, when I'm feeling pissed about something, I'll listen to some Cannibal Corpse or some Deicide, lyrics that are hard for me to relate to. Scratch that, impossible for me to relate to. At that point it becomes more about the riff.

Lyrics are what help make a band. Would Slayer be Slayer without all the anti-religious lyrics? Would Metallica be Metallica without the personal lyrics and all the songs about death? Would Sabbath be Sabbath? So on so forth. Is it the only element to a band? No, far from it, I'm a damn guitar player and I love hearing heavy ass shit. But I love lyrics the most when it comes to music.

 

[Chipmonkcheeks]

You are all telling me that you have never ever listened to a song and related to the lyrics? I find that sad. It's a good feeling. I get it with a lot of Paradise Lost songs in particular...

Like i said I very really pick them out. I don't really find much to relate to except in anger.
My definition of relating to a song would be when a time occurs when I want to listen to that song, or band, and nothing else. Lyrics play a part in that, but there are times when instrumentals can carry alot of emotion for me that the lack of lyrics only helps to bring across.


But I agree with the lyrics being over the top or just making me smile.

I remember 'One man calls the other one a liar, there's Fire!' from Twisted into Form made me smile

 

[Caveman Ninja]

I'm one of those people who likes to be able to relate to lyrics, or just hear epic lyrics as well. It really depends on what mood I'm in. If I'm feeling down and lonely, I'll listen to something that speaks to me, that tells me I'm not going crazy, that it's okay to feel that way. Then I look at the fact that the person who wrote the lyrics is still alive, breathing, and living their dreams. I look at the fact that other people can relate to those lyrics as well, and it just helps me feel tons better. Music is something that understands me without having to get to know me. Turn on a song, and it tells me it's going through the exact same shit.

But don't get me wrong, when I'm feeling pissed about something, I'll listen to some Cannibal Corpse or some Deicide, lyrics that are hard for me to relate to. Scratch that, impossible for me to relate to. At that point it becomes more about the riff.

Lyrics are what help make a band. Would Slayer be Slayer without all the anti-religious lyrics? Would Metallica be Metallica without the personal lyrics and all the songs about death? Would Sabbath be Sabbath? So on so forth. Is it the only element to a band? No, far from it, I'm a damn guitar player and I love hearing heavy ass shit. But I love lyrics the most when it comes to music.

Thank fuck for that!!

 

[metallicdistort]

All lyrics should be sung in French. It's the world's most beautiful language.

But, as Ocelot said, I can appreciate how lyrics can mean a lot to people.

I also agree with CMC in that the music itself carries more feeling for me than the lyrics.

 

[dethCR07]

Of course lyrics are important. I wouldn't appreciate bands like Opeth, Mastodon or Pain Of Salvation the same way if they didn't have those incredible lyrics of theirs.