bubinga5 Posted January 17, 2016 Posted January 17, 2016 (edited) When i listen to music i very rarely always listen to the lyrics of a song, sometimes i feel I'm missing out on something. I think i may be lyrically devoid. i get so much from the music and i analyse it. My wife has said to me " don't you know what this song is about" and i say no not really. sometimes i know the lyrics but I'm more absorbed in the sounds. i know I'm missing a lot, but its just what i do. My dad is a classical Pianist and a musical director and he said."Andrew there is more music in the music than the speech". Music (and the people who play it) for me has always been about sound expression. i do love Meshell Ngeocello's lyrics but its not my ears first point of call. Does anyone feel the same. ? Edited January 17, 2016 by bubinga5 Quote
Roland Rock Posted January 17, 2016 Posted January 17, 2016 (edited) Almost always music for me. Apart from Bob Dylan. And Sleaford Mods. And Lily Allen. Edit: and The Streets Edited January 17, 2016 by Roland Rock Quote
Leonard Smalls Posted January 17, 2016 Posted January 17, 2016 Music for me too. With the bass being first thing I hear! Quote
JapanAxe Posted January 17, 2016 Posted January 17, 2016 Music. The exception would be the work of the late Mr Bowie, maybe because his songs' lyrical content is so open to the imagination. Like bubinga5, I am often surprised to learn what a song is 'about'! Quote
BigRedX Posted January 17, 2016 Posted January 17, 2016 Music first for me too. Plus most of the time when I do listen to lyrics I find them embarrassingly bad. However I do like the sound of voices, so I find myself listening to a lot of J-Pop/J-Rock which has plenty of vocals but because I can't understand what they are singing about I don't find myself cringing at the words. Quote
bubinga5 Posted January 17, 2016 Author Posted January 17, 2016 (edited) Tis why i love music like Victor. as well as other instrumental only music. his playing is very incredible on this Earth Wind and Fire classic. if there is a bass player that speaks through his instrument its this guy. its wonderful bass playing through his effect that hes using. and great 2 part bass playing. Marcus Miller is another master when he uses his fingers. [media]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nCqpBsIwpfg[/media] Edited January 17, 2016 by bubinga5 Quote
Mykesbass Posted January 17, 2016 Posted January 17, 2016 I always thought music first, but then there are always the exceptions - one of my favourite artists in my 20s was Elvis Costello, and now I'm a big fan of Dylan and later Bruce Springsteen, where the lyrics are pretty essential! Quote
bubinga5 Posted January 17, 2016 Author Posted January 17, 2016 Maybe its the way different people approach writing music. Prince writes his lyrics first on one record, then he came up with You Sexy MF from his bass line. creativity is variable. Quote
Cato Posted January 17, 2016 Posted January 17, 2016 (edited) I listen to both but it takes really bad lyrics to ruin a good tune for me whilst really good lyrics won't make me enjoy a tune I don't like. Generally lyrics that don't make sense irrtate me , although Bowie's Life on Mars is a notable exception in that those lyrics seem to really convey something even though on the face of it its just a few nice sounding but mostly disconnected sentences strung together at random. Edited January 17, 2016 by Cato Quote
Cato Posted January 17, 2016 Posted January 17, 2016 [quote name='Mykesbass' timestamp='1453025166' post='2955531'] I always thought music first, but then there are always the exceptions - one of my favourite artists in my 20s was Elvis Costello, and now I'm a big fan of Dylan and later Bruce Springsteen, where the lyrics are pretty essential! [/quote] With Dylan its definitely the lyrics that make it special. I'd say the same ( obviously to much lesser extent) about Arctic Monkeys, its the lyrics, especially on the first couple of albums that raises them above their peers. Quote
Kirky Posted January 17, 2016 Posted January 17, 2016 [quote name='Cato' timestamp='1453025713' post='2955541'] I listen to both but it takes really bad lyrics to ruin a good tune for me whilst really good lyrics won't make me enjoy to a tune I don't like. [/quote] Exactly. Quote
RhysP Posted January 17, 2016 Posted January 17, 2016 It used to be the music rather than the lyrics for me, to the extent that I much preferred instrumental music. These days I have little interest in the music & am far more interested in the lyrics. Quote
Mykesbass Posted January 17, 2016 Posted January 17, 2016 [quote name='Cato' timestamp='1453025713' post='2955541'] I listen to both but it takes really bad lyrics to ruin a good tune for me whilst really good lyrics won't make me enjoy a tune I don't like. [/quote] [quote name='Kirky' timestamp='1453026011' post='2955555'] Exactly. [/quote] Hadn't thought of it that way, but yes, great point. (Although there are a couple which even the finest musical score couldn't rescue - Adrian Gurvitz "Classic" anyone)?! Quote
Dad3353 Posted January 17, 2016 Posted January 17, 2016 Joni Mitchell; the ideal balance of the two, with sublime poetry combined with excellent arrangements and orchestration, expertly executed..? Something for everyone there, surely, on every level..? Quote
Mykesbass Posted January 17, 2016 Posted January 17, 2016 Of course, I've completely overlooked Ian Dury - yes, the band are phenomenal, but this is an example for me where the lyrics are absolutely paramount, and the music would not be the same without them. Quote
Graham Posted January 17, 2016 Posted January 17, 2016 Music predominately, I quite often don't hear lyrics, just the melody of the vocal. This was evident when there was a wholly inappropriate song being played in an ice cream parlour we'd taken the kids to recently, and the wife was amazed I'd not heard any of the lyrics. The staff then wished I'd not heard them.... I wonder if it's to do with the years spent working out songs on bass, or the years listening to extreme metal where the lyrics are often unitelligible anyway. There are exceptions to this, Frank Turner for example, where the music is pretty simple, but the lyrics are really interesting. Quote
RhysP Posted January 17, 2016 Posted January 17, 2016 (edited) [quote name='Cato' timestamp='1453025713' post='2955541'] I listen to both but it takes really bad lyrics to ruin a good tune for me whilst really good lyrics won't make me enjoy a tune I don't like. [/quote] Lyrics can ruin a song for me more than anything else. It's the reason I hate Motown stuff so much - the playing might be first rate but the godawful lyrics make it unlistenable for me. I hate "baby baby I love you baby" love song type stuff with a passion. It's probably one of he reasons I loved Prog for so long - the lyrics might be crappy six form poetry but at least it's not love song crap. Edited January 17, 2016 by RhysP Quote
FinnDave Posted January 17, 2016 Posted January 17, 2016 Lyrics are generally irrelevent to me, probably why I have never been interested in the likes of the late Mr. Bowie. Quote
odysseus Posted January 17, 2016 Posted January 17, 2016 Music all the way. Lyrics just carry a melody for me. The only band whose lyrics I took much of an interest in were Rush, and then only certain songs... Quote
chris_b Posted January 17, 2016 Posted January 17, 2016 I treat all numbers differently, but for the first 4 bars I'll usually be listening to the whole number. If I get past that point then I can focus on the rhythm, the music or the words depending on which one is strongest and catches my attention. If the words are particularly strong, as per Dylan, Chuck Berry, Joni Mitchell etc, then the music might come a distant second. In some numbers the bass line will be the only interest, in others I'll not listen to the bass at all. I'll always listen to the drummer though. Quote
PaulWarning Posted January 17, 2016 Posted January 17, 2016 melody line for me, I've sang along to songs numerous times and never understood the lyrics, or even sang the wrong lyrics, however, since I've been singing at open mics and had to learn the lyrics properly I do understand and appreciate them a lot more, funny thing is all the songs I like have decent lyrics, or perhaps I like the lyrics because I like the song. Never understood Mrs Robinson though, the lyrics made no sense until I found out it was written a bout the USA presidents wife Mrs Roosevelt and Paul Simon just changed the name to get it into the Graduate film. Crap lyrics do put me off a song Quote
Lozz196 Posted January 17, 2016 Posted January 17, 2016 Music first, then if it`s a song I really like I`ll try and get most of the lyrics. Quote
Bobthedog Posted January 17, 2016 Posted January 17, 2016 (edited) Before I picked up an instrument it was always the lyrics, now I am a bass player and still very much learning, I listen out to the bass and drums. The caveat to the above being when I listen to opera or a solo musician, then I listen to the lyrics as they tend (note "tend)) to have some meaning to them. Edited January 17, 2016 by Bobthedog Quote
lurksalot Posted January 17, 2016 Posted January 17, 2016 Both lyric and music are important to me , and I like to be able to hear lyrics in a mix . There is some pure poetry written to tunes and I think story telling and comments from a social and personal perspective are what brings music to life Quote
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