Reply To: Music or Lyrics?
I know I’ve already replied to this thread, but I’ve been talking to my brother about this lately and I’d like to expand my thoughts.
Rather than say “I come for the music, and stay for the lyrics” (which would imply that horrible lyrics can get me interested in a song – quite the opposite, if a song’s lyrics annoy me initially I’ll find a way to get rid of it ASAP), I will make the following statements:
1. A song that gets me interested must meet a minimum threshhold of quality both in music and lyrics for me to get initially interested in. My threshholds are quite low, actually, and a catchy pop song with decent lyrics would fall into this category.
2. If the song exceeds my minimum threshhold on the music (but not lyrics) front, my interest will increase, but falter after a while. There’s only so long that I can stay interested in a catchy tune. If it’s particularly passionate or emotional I might think of it if someone asked me about a passionate or emotional song, but that’s about it. Examples: A lot of the old-school Dance Dance Revolution soundtrack, some of Hendrix’s stuff.
3. If the song exceeds my minimum threshhold on the lyrics (but not music) front, I will have the song stuck in my head for a couple of days and sing it under my breath, often without realizing what I’m doing. If I’ll ever hear it on the radio, even years after it stopped being popular, I will sing along unabashedly, in front of others or alone.
Examples: too many to count, but one of them is Eminem.
4. If the song exceeds my minimum threshhold on both fronts, well, I’m in trouble. I will obsess over the songs for an extended period of time, memorizing them, watching Youtube videos of performances, participating in fan forums, trying to get my friends into it. I have a bit of an addictive personality when it comes to music and videogames.
Examples: JoCo, Dr. Horrible soundtrack are the most recent.
So there you have it folks. Did this post answer the initial question? (Not really)