why do you like the music you like?

[pokerbobo]

I'd need a shrink to find out why I like what i like.... I love the female voice, so Sarah Mc, and Natalie Merchant are big faves of mine. I also love Tool, Korn, Disturbed and Metallica's first 5 albums. REM used to be my fave band in the late 80s, early 90s, but they too failed after a half dozen albums.

Dance/House music all sux to me.... rap/hip hop are along the same lines, but Outkast is the exception, they have soooo much originality, the rest all seems the same to me.

I think there just is something in a song that I like. Sometimes lyrics, other times the drumbeat, other times just the flow of the music as a whole.

[RJT]

[ QUOTE ]
I've been long, a long way from here
Put on a poncho, played for mosquitos,
And drank til I was thirsty again

[/ QUOTE ]

It’s funny you quote this. I had this discussion with a buddy of mine a while back. We never did figure out what “…played for mosquitos…” meant.

[Pete H]

Music is (surprise!) all about music.

If I'd care about the lyrics, I'd read poems instead.

I view vocalist as another instrument and I'm more interested in vocal melodies than rhythms than the actual words.

[KilgoreTrout]

Pharcyde,

I think you're reading too much into my post. When I said, "Not to break any crayons" what I meant was "Not to piss anyone off." Apologies for annoying you.

I guess I don't know enough about the genre, but I'm also not sure I want to know more. My one rap cd, Ice Cube's The Predator, has exactly two cuts that I can enjoy (Can't Trust Em and Now I Gotta Wet Ya). The hip hop my friends listen to all seems to be variations on the themes in these two cuts.

I also said that the only difference between "high" and "low" music is how it is approached. I'm listening to a damn 311 tune as I type this. Intellectually stimulating? No. Fun? Yes.

To put it another way, I can't listen to a symphony or to a complex jazz record while I'm doing something else. It's too distracting. The music grabs my attention. Just the same, I find a good ST or Slackers or Aggrolites record to be the perfect compliment for writing, playing cards, driving, etc. because it helps me tune out other distractions without interfering with my thought process.

I's not just hip hop that the lables are producing assembly-line style, and it's certainly not a recent phenomenon for the labels to be manufacturing songs and talent. I remember well the hair bands of the 80s, and the Stonetemplesmashingpearlvanaofthedoginchains me too bands of the 90's. I'd love to have the money back that I spent on that stuff. I didn't realize that I was being marketed to and that the bands really weren't that good or original. I was too caught up in the trend. Yes, I feel stupid for blowing money on an inferior form.

I see your point that just like with any commercially successful genre there are degrees of goodness in hip hop. I probably haven't heard the best of the bands.

I have similar dislike for country music, but I won't get into that because I've already offended enough here.

[Fishwhenican]

I like music for the music, not for the lyrics. Good Lyrics are really just an added bonus for me.

I think I know why I really only care about the music too.

When I was growing up I was a musician. Played Trombone in the concert bands, orchestra, Jazz band and marching band. Took lots of music theory and history classes and played in a number of "Chicago" style and Jazz bands. I also played in the classic rock wedding/clubs bands and played guitar and mainly sang in those but really still didn't care what the darn lyrics were and actually had a hell of a time learning and remembering the lyrics.

My focus was more on the theory, composition, harmonies and all of that. Vocal was really just another instrument to me. I was interested in chord progressions and really just having a bit of fun. I think this is why I do not care so much what the lyrics are.

Rap and Hip-Hop I just do not get. But music is a personal thing and if someone else is into that well that's fine with me. Heck, I used to hate country music and now I really enjoy it. Whatever, to each his own.

[Pharcyde]

Kilgore,

Thanks for clearing up what you meant. I apologize for having read too much into it and insulting you as a result.

[ QUOTE ]
To put it another way, I can't listen to a symphony or to a complex jazz record while I'm doing something else. It's too distracting. The music grabs my attention. Just the same, I find a good ST or Slackers or Aggrolites record to be the perfect compliment for writing, playing cards, driving, etc. because it helps me tune out other distractions without interfering with my thought process.

[/ QUOTE ]

It's the exact opposite for me when it comes to writing papers/studying. Any music with words forces me to actively listen to it, but I've found that classical, jazz, and some electronic (don't really know how to distinguish between House and Techno) are perfect for those activities. Just thought that was interesting.

[SL__72]

Sound, songwriting, execution, lyrics. In that order.

[Dominic]

the more I think about and read this thread the more I think I'm full of [censored].

While artists like:

Massive Attack
New Pornographers
Spoon
Veruca Salt
Zero 7
Deep Purple
Air
Bad Religion
David Bowie

are fantastic ear candy to me, I rarely pay attention to their lyrics. But certain artists are incredibly meaningful to me BECAUSE their lyrics speak to me.

Dire Straits, Nick Cave, Fleetwood Mac, Liz Phair, etc. all interest me lyrically first, sound second. Hell, even AC/DC wouldn't be as great as they are without their incredibly brilliant yet juvenile lyrics!

Then there's Tom Petty & The Heartbreakers...some songs are great simply because they sound incredible: American Girl for example...but as great as it sounds, Listen To Her Heart becomes a classic of rock & roll for it's simple yet poignant lyrical content:

You think you're gonna take her away
With your money and your cocaine
Keep thinkin' that her mind is gonna change
But I know everything is okay

She's gonna listen to her heart
It's gonna tell her what to do
She might need a lot of lovin'
But she don't need you

You want me to think that I'm being used
You want her to think it's over
Can't you see it don't matter what you do
Buddy you don't even know her

She's gonna listen to her heart
It's gonna tell her what to do
She might need a lot of lovin'
But she don't need you

And you just can't creep up behind her
And you can't understand that she's my girl
She's my girl

She's gonna listen to her heart
It's gonna tell her what to do
She might need a lot of lovin'
But she don't need you

[MrWookie]

KT,

For the most part, you and I are on the same wavelength. However, I have to agree with your critics somewhat that you're a little dismissive of what you call the "low art" music. I think there's definitely a place for it, and that people shouldn't necessarily feel guilty for rocking out in the privacy of their rooms to Whitesnake's Here I Go Again. I view your low art music like a hamburger. Nope, it's not a steak. It's not sushi, nor is it a 5 course meal at a fine French restaurant. It's just a burger. But you know what? Sometimes "just a burger" is exactly what I'm hungry for. Maybe I'm on the road and need to get somewhere. Maybe I'm out at a bar having a godo time with my buddies rather than putting on my best and going to the opera. There are plenty of places when a burger is more appropriate than something fancy. I'll grant you that Americans eat too many burgers, both in reality and in my analogy, and that there is too much influence from the media pushing burgers instead of pushing things that are a little more nutritious. But even in the world of "just burgers," some burgers are clearly better than others, and there's nothing wrong with appreciating In-n-Out over McDonalds.

[AceLuby]

Most of the songs that I love have little to no lyrics.