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Old 06-27-2014, 10:53 AM   #1
The exploding boy
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Default What about the lyrics

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Old 06-27-2014, 10:53 AM   #2
The exploding boy
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When i was young, especially as a teen, it seems to me really that the most important thing in a song was the lyrics (especially now looking back, not sure i noticed it then so much....but its ironic considering i for example loved NIN for a couple of years and goddam no one should be listening to NIN for the lyrics...). The older i grew the less it mattered.

I'm at a point now where was long as the lyrics aren't blatantly stupid or actually like...against my values or something (say hateful, or i don't know, promoting drunkeness), i don't really give that much of a shit what you're on about (i listen to some bands who cant even really write in english without grammatical mistakes and accidentally invent words like almostly). I mean i still appreciate great lyrics when I find them and all the better if you have both great music and lyrics but it's clearly taken quite a backseat to the music. At this point the vocal melody and voice is more important to me even.


How do youse all feel about it?

 
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Old 06-27-2014, 11:34 AM   #3
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It mostly doesn't matter what words are being said, the delivery of the words is more likely to move me than the words themselves.

 
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Old 06-27-2014, 11:36 AM   #4
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I don't listen to much contemporary music with lyrics or vocals, therefore they usually have to be really special to me.

If I don't like a band, 99% of the time it's because I hate the vocals and or lyrics.

 
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Old 06-27-2014, 11:37 AM   #5
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Amazing frontmen/women don't grow on trees.

 
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Old 06-27-2014, 12:44 PM   #6
The exploding boy
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Quote:
Originally Posted by slunken View Post
Amazing frontmen/women don't grow on trees.
thats for damn sure.

 
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Old 06-27-2014, 06:38 PM   #7
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Let's all agree that promoting drunkenness is bad

 
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Old 06-27-2014, 06:57 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by The exploding boy View Post
When i was young, especially as a teen, it seems to me really that the most important thing in a song was the lyrics
Same. In high school I would always read lyrics along with the album I was listening to. I learned pretty much all the lyrics on MCIS and many other records like this. As I have become older I pay less attention to the lyrics in songs and as long as they aren't horrible I'm not going to stop listening to something because it's not poetic enough. Good lyrics still do a lot for a song, it's just easier for me to accept mediocre ones and it isn't my primary focus anymore

 
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Old 06-28-2014, 07:17 PM   #9
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Quote:
Originally Posted by redbreegull View Post
I'm not going to stop listening to something because it's not poetic enough.
on the other hand, i'm not going to listen to something just because its not awful.

waaaaaaay too much music out there to not get picky and choosy, imo

 
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Old 06-28-2014, 08:20 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by slunken View Post
on the other hand, i'm not going to listen to something just because its not awful.

waaaaaaay too much music out there to not get picky and choosy, imo
shitty lyrics plus awesome music = doesn't matter, still awesome

awesome lyrics plus shitty music = shitty




it's just a lot more about the music itself to me. lyrics don't really stand by themselves for the most part anyway. I'm not looking to hear the spirit of Shelley channeled through a rock song. There are many songs with lyrics that sound totally stupid when you try to remove them from the context of the instrumentation and the sonic textures of the voices and stuff, but they work fine as a part of a whole.

 
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Old 06-28-2014, 08:23 PM   #11
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I mean I would rather the lyrics be good as well and I don't deny that adds another layer of goodness to good music....

but to use an example we have been talking about here lately, Interpol. Horrible, cringe-worthy lyrics in pretty much every song. In the context of the music, really makes no difference.

 
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Old 06-28-2014, 08:50 PM   #12
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i'm a little unsure if we're talking about lyrics or guys/girls singing

i mean off the top of my head, from listening to modern rock radio, i don't have a problem with much of anything on that's played musically. it rocks, it grooves, etc. its always the vocals/lyrics that make me want to hang myself.

but to use your interpol example, i don't have much of a problem with the music at all, but when i hear the guy sing it ruins it for me, regardless of what he's singing about.

i'm not sure if some of you know this but its easy to digitally remove the vocals from most modern rock releases (because they're all in the center channel) and back in the day there were tons of instrumentals released on maxi singles but that doesn't make much difference IMO.

i can't pretend bands that aren't instrumental bands are instrumetal bands. there are too many instrumental bands for me to play pretend like that. to me that would be like hearing an amazing band that has a really really bad guitar player and someone saying to me "just tune it out!"

not gonna happen.

 
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Old 06-28-2014, 08:52 PM   #13
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i guess my point is that i'm open to all kinds of music, but its the direction and POV of the frontman and his/her lyrics that make me decide whether or not i can subscribe to the band or not

 
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Old 06-28-2014, 10:08 PM   #14
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Pretty much
Half the point of rock music to me is the cult of personality/lyrics/aesthetics

 
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Old 06-28-2014, 11:11 PM   #15
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The sonic qualities of a voice are not the same thing as lyrics though, which are the literal words being sung. Neil Young - generally considered to be a bad vocalist, great lyricist. Billy Corgan - bad vocalist, good lyricist (back in the day).

 
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Old 06-28-2014, 11:15 PM   #16
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I don't think anybody actually thinks either of those people are "bad vocalists"

 
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Old 06-28-2014, 11:53 PM   #17
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really? many people think corgan's a shitty singer. or is that something different from a vocalist?

 
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Old 06-29-2014, 12:00 AM   #18
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By lots of people do you mean the general public who is looking for Josh Groban or Beyonce type vocals when they say "good singer"? Admittedly Billy's singing has been hosed for about 10+ years now but I think among fans of the genre he has one of the most iconic voices out there

 
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Old 06-29-2014, 12:37 AM   #19
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yeah, in the same kind of way that kurt cobain has an easily recognizable and iconic style of playing guitar. he was still sloppy as shit and from a technical perspective pretty pedestrian in his abilities.

I personally love Corgan's voice in the old days, but I think it's totally fair to say he is widely viewed as a bad singer and it's understandable because honestly he is (or was) a bad singer.

 
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Old 06-29-2014, 12:58 AM   #20
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Ok but you can't point out that his vocals lack technical precision and in the same breath imply his lyrics meet any kind of literary gold standard.
Like who is judging alternarock acts according to these metrics anyway

 
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Old 06-29-2014, 01:48 AM   #21
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I think the opposite. Good lyrics and interesting vocals and general apperance are pretty much what Rock is about.

Good Rock is like 90% attitude 10% actual music or whatever

 
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Old 06-29-2014, 01:50 AM   #22
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I mean, there are so many good musicians who make enjoyable music but it's those larger than life poets that put all the pieces together

 
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Old 06-29-2014, 04:35 AM   #23
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titus andronicus is near and very dear to my heart because the lyrics sound like myself if i were a new jersey jerkoff who could write a song

the future of the left is very dear to my heart because the lyrics sound like myself if i were a welsh jerkoff that could write a song

 
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Old 06-29-2014, 05:33 AM   #24
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Charmbag View Post
Ok but you can't point out that his vocals lack technical precision and in the same breath imply his lyrics meet any kind of literary gold standard.
Like who is judging alternarock acts according to these metrics anyway
well yes I am aware that "good singing" is "subjective," I also went to college. despite this, no vocal teacher would tell 1993 billy corgan that he's good to go

 
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Old 06-29-2014, 05:40 AM   #25
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pretty sure almost all of us went to college it's not exactly a fucking measuring stick

 
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Old 06-29-2014, 05:41 AM   #26
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also there's a different between having a nice voice and being able to hit a note consistently, any music degree holder would tell you

bill can definitely hit a note on demand

he may take some kind of herrnnhhghnhnng cartman noise or whtaever to get there but that's what he does

 
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Old 06-29-2014, 05:42 AM   #27
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If rbg went to college how come he's unable to suss the meaning of a two sentence post written by a master of the English language such as myself.

 
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Old 06-29-2014, 05:52 AM   #28
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it's a great question

like how come he's unable to get the fact that i was being a little bit ridicluous when i said that it was possible for someone to make a career being a baseball player when they were "completely out-of-shape"

i really just meant that they were fat, out-of-shape dicks that could hit a ball really well and not get winded on a jog to the outfield

 
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Old 06-29-2014, 06:01 AM   #29
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voice > music > lyrics are the order in which any recorded sounds are important to me.

 
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Old 06-29-2014, 06:11 AM   #30
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vampire weekend

 
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