General Music Chat

Long story short, I went to see an ex-cohort of mine play the other evening and he played well enough.

They did a mix of covers and some original stuff.

They did "Tales of Brave Ulysses" and I liked it.

BUT the originals left me wanting.
I.e> The music itself was very good, but the content of the lyrics was not so good. (imo)

One tune in particular was about some donkey and his master. I am unsure but I think he was intimate with the donkey etcetera.

"Molebury Ding-Dong" and either I didn't get the gist of it or I feel like the tune was "chop-blocked" at the knees because the lyrical content was questionable at best.

I spoke to a few others about this and got wishy washy answers, well and 1 that was flat out indignant.

What I really want to know is whether you think that inappropriate content makes a tune less good...

(IMO) I think if your lyrics don't match the tune, you have nothing but garbage. I also think to inject comedic humor into your rock tunes is just plain daft.

I think of that tune "Judith" by A Perfect Circle. It's a great tune to me, but when i understood the lyrics that was the final straw for me.

Your thoughts?

I'm fairly indifferent to content, but I can't stand lazy writing. My number one pet peeve is using awkward, unnatural syntax to force a rhyme -- my favorite example is "Paranoia strikes deep / Into your life it will creep" from Buffalo Springfield's "For What It's Worth." (That one's all the more painful because it's otherwise such a great song.) I'm certainly no Ian Anderson or Bob Dylan or Robert Hunter myself, but I like to think I put a bit more effort into my lyrics than that...

I'm not sure ... http://youtu.be/lyViqlFEKUI

Good Question Scott!

I think bad Lyrics can kill a song faster than a cyanide pill on a Bieber track... Conversely, Good lyrics can elevate what was banal melody into a new tier of artistic importance. Note: All Porn Songs are bad examples... Having said that:

Brilliant Lyrics, artistic importance with absolutely no melodious merit:
1) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TXZMZ-XvvzI

Bad Lyrics, Great Beats! and Earworming melodies:
(Seven examples )
2) http://thatguywiththeglasses.com/videol ... march-2012

Probably because I'm a songwriter I pay a lot of attention to lyrics. My preference for Metal doesn't keep me from liking acts like Leonard Cohen.

The lyrics that really make me laugh are in the realm of "Come on baby, I'm hot for you," and "Lets get down and Rock and Roll." Very few people can make that sort of thing work and it usually ends up sounding silly.

Cream was an example of a band that combined excellent musicanship with interesting lyrics.

Talbot

If a song has words in it, they are equally important as the melody. Bad lyrics can ruin it for me, regardless of how good the music is.

Absolutely.

That's a big part of why I do what I do.

Thank you gentlemen for giving me a little validation.

I had to listen to a barrage of verbal nonsense when I spoke to someone I thought was rational and it turned into a "sh*t storm".

It made me think that maybe I had the wrong idea about it and I really felt the need to ask people that know better, lest I was talking "out of my ass".

(sigh)

I have to agree, I've never cared for inappropriate lyrics. Much less bad lyrics...but I've never liked anything with much obscenity, witht he occasional exception like Roger Daltrey on Who Are You or Steely Dan's Show Biz Kids, one word here and there is not too bad. But htings like Frank Zappa sometimes just don't do it for me...Dynamo Hum...(betcha 20 dollars I can make you come) things like that just don't do it for me. As much as I liked Zappa, I realy didn't care for some of his lyrics...distasteful.

Unfortunately I can't think of any really good examples...I guess they're just not that memorable...

Humor, great...some of Jimmy Buffet's stuff is excellent, and rarely do you hear any vulgar or offensive language. It's usually just not appropriate. Then again, sometimes if it can be tastefully done, it can work. Rod Stewart's "Killing of Georgie" is an example. Form what I understand, it's about the murder of a gay guy. Pink Floyd on The Wall..The "I need a Dirty Woman" song...not bad at all, well done. Not distasteful as far as I remember. (Don'[t remember the proper title there either.)

Oh yeah, while I'm on Rod Stewart, the song You're in my Heart You're in my Soul (not sure of the name) is about a SOCCER TEAM...it's not the love song everyone thinks it is.

Good lyrics can make an otherwise mediocre song. Bad lyrics can kill a great one.

A Boy Named Sue - Johnny Cash

Some days its ok

Some days... WTF

Any song with the F word is off my play list in a heart beat.

Our band never ever uses foul language at any gig. EVER!

I always laugh when a DJ at a wedding gig plays a break up song or some country song about my babe left me and I miss her.