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GMC Forum _ CHILL OUT _ Are Lyrics Important For You?

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Sep 5 2013, 03:57 PM

We talk a lot about music here, songs, composition but I wonder what you think about lyrics...

Are lyrics important for you?

Which songs has your favourite lyrics?

Which are your favourite songwriters?

Posted by: Caelumamittendum Sep 5 2013, 04:07 PM

QUOTE (Gabriel Leopardi @ Sep 5 2013, 04:57 PM) *
We talk a lot about music here, songs, composition but I wonder what you think about lyrics...

Are lyrics important for you?


It depends a lot on the genre. In classical music and jazz fusion or even other genres that have good instrumental songs, it matters less so. But there are a lot of songs which would not be the same without the lyrics.
QUOTE
Which songs has your favourite lyrics?


The art of Navigating by the Stars by Sieges Even, the whole album, has always been one of my favorite set of lyrics, but there are many other great ones. Brothers in Arms by Mark Knopfler, High Hopes by Pink Floyd. And then here comes the surprise, most lyrics by rap artist Saul Williams. Here's one of them:



And in the same genre, Immortal Technique:



QUOTE
Which are your favourite songwriters?


I guess I answered this above. Oops! laugh.gif

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Sep 5 2013, 07:15 PM

QUOTE (Caelumamittendum @ Sep 5 2013, 12:07 PM) *
It depends a lot on the genre. In classical music and jazz fusion or even other genres that have good instrumental songs, it matters less so. But there are a lot of songs which would not be the same without the lyrics.



Good point, it's true that there is music that communicates a lot without any word. This is a good example:




Posted by: bleez Sep 5 2013, 07:22 PM

QUOTE (Gabriel Leopardi @ Sep 5 2013, 03:57 PM) *
We talk a lot about music here, songs, composition but I wonder what you think about lyrics...

Are lyrics important for you?

Which songs has your favourite lyrics?

Which are your favourite songwriters?


I can get put off a song if I dont like the lyrics, not always but if they are really awful then I tend not to listen to it. There are so many rock songs with terrible lyrics mellow.gif .... really really terrible lyrics!
Some of my favourite lyrics are in comfortably numb and shine on you crazy diamond but one of my all time favourite lines is from Spirit of radio by Rush - "His mind is not for rent to any god or government" always liked that one smile.gif

Favourite songwriters are probably pink floyd. Geezer Butler has wrote some great lyrics as well, some are a bit odd but he's got some really amazing stuff.
Also recently started listening to Opeth and I actually got more into them when I started reading their lyrics.

Posted by: PosterBoy Sep 5 2013, 08:25 PM

Bad lyrics and lazy rhymes turn me off and I appreciate really good lyrics but often the sound and shape of the lyrics against the melody are important to me than the actual content.

Favourite songwriters that come straight to mind

Jackson Browne
Ryan Adams (mainly his earlier works)
Jeffery Foucault

I'll have to have a good think about Favourite song lyrics

Posted by: KenA Sep 5 2013, 11:24 PM

If I may put my 2 cents here, I believe it all depends on the goal or context of the music. eg, when I hear Satriani or Vai singing I really don't think that's so substantial/relevant artisticly speaking for their own domains, but in the other hand Rolling Stones without lyrics, hum. But that's just an argument about having or not lyrics in your music, I'm not even considering 'good or bad' lyrics for this post.

In the same vain I would add that I do prefer bands with 2 guitarrists instead of one guitar hero. ( yes I'm not into the guitar hero bandwagon with few exceptions like musicians like Harry K. Cody and Steve Stevens) and I do prefer bands with singers over instrumentals, but that's just taste and preferences :-)

Posted by: Caelumamittendum Sep 6 2013, 12:30 AM

Vocals can be used in great ways as well for musical value. Harmonies and melodies. Pure Reason Revolution use quite a lot of nice harmonies in their music. Especially from 1:30 onwards in this example:


Posted by: klasaine Sep 6 2013, 12:45 AM

If it's a vocal tune then yes - lyrics and the voice are very important.
There's so many great writers out there. I could never pick a favorite. Plus, it changes as I get older.
Chuck Berry was a genius. somebody mentioned Jackson Brown. Tom Verlaine, Ian MacKaye (Fugazi), Bob Marley, Paul Weller, James Taylor, Harry Warren, Cy Coleman, John Lennon, Paul Simon, Brian Wilson, Geezer Butler, Johnny Cash, Carol King, Smokey Robinson, Todd Rundgren, Willie Nelson ... it's friggin' endless. I'm still trying to figure what the hell the meaning of 'Blinded by the Light' is. Maybe nothing but it's fun to keep interpreting.

I'm the worst singer on the planet. That may be why I love songs and singers so much.

*I've literally thrown Steve Vai and Joe Satriani cassettes out of my car window while driving (this was in the late 80s) because their vocals and lyrics were so bad that I couldn't take it. And I really like those guys ... really, really!
Thank god Joe doesn't sing anymore. He doesn't need to - he never needed to.


Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Sep 6 2013, 02:01 AM

QUOTE (Caelumamittendum @ Sep 5 2013, 08:30 PM) *
Vocals can be used in great ways as well for musical value. Harmonies and melodies. Pure Reason Revolution use quite a lot of nice harmonies in their music. Especially from 1:30 onwards in this example:



Thanks for sharing that track, I really liked the vocal job on it.


QUOTE (klasaine @ Sep 5 2013, 08:45 PM) *
If it's a vocal tune then yes - lyrics and the voice are very important.
There's so many great writers out there. I could never pick a favorite. Plus, it changes as I get older.
Chuck Berry was a genius. somebody mentioned Jackson Brown. Tom Verlaine, Ian MacKaye (Fugazi), Bob Marley, Paul Weller, James Taylor, Harry Warren, Cy Coleman, John Lennon, Paul Simon, Brian Wilson, Geezer Butler, Johnny Cash, Carol King, Smokey Robinson, Todd Rundgren, Willie Nelson ... it's friggin' endless. I'm still trying to figure what the hell the meaning of 'Blinded by the Light' is. Maybe nothing but it's fun to keep interpreting.

I'm the worst singer on the planet. That may be why I love songs and singers so much.

*I've literally thrown Steve Vai and Joe Satriani cassettes out of my car window while driving (this was in the late 80s) because their vocals and lyrics were so bad that I couldn't take it. And I really like those guys ... really, really!
Thank god Joe doesn't sing anymore. He doesn't need to - he never needed to.


hahaha it's true, they can say too many things just with their guitars. I don't think that their singing is a strong point.

Posted by: Slavenko Erazer Sep 6 2013, 08:44 AM


1. Most important.

2. Song with best Lyrics



3. Joey Di MAio, John Oliva, Jeff Loomis

Posted by: Cosmin Lupu Sep 6 2013, 08:58 AM

Well, strangely enough, before getting into singing, I didn't give a darn rat's behind on lyrics tongue.gif Things have changed tho and I realized I like playing with words a lot and if you develop a certain skill for matching music with words, aside from a powerful message, you can get a great musical vibe going on. Words can be percussive, aggressive, soft, sad, happy, it all depends on how you sing them and your pronouncing.. As I said many times, the voice is an instrument and it should be used, practiced and taken care of as one smile.gif

As for favorite songwriters... there are many, but if I were to state three of them, that have both great lyrics and awesome songs I'd go for:








Posted by: Caelumamittendum Sep 6 2013, 10:51 AM

QUOTE (Cosmin Lupu @ Sep 6 2013, 09:58 AM) *
Well, strangely enough, before getting into singing, I didn't give a darn rat's behind on lyrics tongue.gif Things have changed tho and I realized I like playing with words a lot and if you develop a certain skill for matching music with words, aside from a powerful message, you can get a great musical vibe going on. Words can be percussive, aggressive, soft, sad, happy, it all depends on how you sing them and your pronouncing.. As I said many times, the voice is an instrument and it should be used, practiced and taken care of as one smile.gif

As for favorite songwriters... there are many, but if I were to state three of them, that have both great lyrics and awesome songs I'd go for:

(Youtube links deleted for easier reading)


You can't mention Chris Cornell and not mention Eddie Vedder either. That's just heresy! laugh.gif

This is just an exhibition in perfect singers:


Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Sep 6 2013, 02:22 PM

QUOTE (Cosmin Lupu @ Sep 6 2013, 04:58 AM) *
Well, strangely enough, before getting into singing, I didn't give a darn rat's behind on lyrics tongue.gif Things have changed tho and I realized I like playing with words a lot and if you develop a certain skill for matching music with words, aside from a powerful message, you can get a great musical vibe going on. Words can be percussive, aggressive, soft, sad, happy, it all depends on how you sing them and your pronouncing.. As I said many times, the voice is an instrument and it should be used, practiced and taken care of as one smile.gif

As for favorite songwriters... there are many, but if I were to state three of them, that have both great lyrics and awesome songs I'd go for:










Fantastic list Cosmin. not only great songwriters, they are truly amazing singers.

Posted by: Cosmin Lupu Sep 6 2013, 02:44 PM

QUOTE (Caelumamittendum @ Sep 6 2013, 09:51 AM) *
You can't mention Chris Cornell and not mention Eddie Vedder either. That's just heresy! laugh.gif

This is just an exhibition in perfect singers:



Take a look in the far right corner and tell me who you see tongue.gif


Posted by: Caelumamittendum Sep 6 2013, 02:50 PM

QUOTE (Cosmin Lupu @ Sep 6 2013, 03:44 PM) *
Take a look in the far right corner and tell me who you see tongue.gif



The worst guitarist in the entire world? laugh.gif No? Was that the wrong answer? Hmmm dry.gif

Just kidding! Very nice! biggrin.gif

Posted by: Darius Wave Sep 6 2013, 03:41 PM

My father is a poem-wriitter and when he does his music, the lirycs are most important. He tought me to make them count anytime a listen to a music...but...when I hear song like this...I think....Many people don't care...cie cie re re cie ...tongue.gif



Posted by: verciazghra Sep 6 2013, 07:42 PM

Yes lyrics are important to me, but they're not music. Just like paintings are important to me. I prefer music to be interesting on it's own and lyrics to be interesting on it's own or one of the two being interesting in a combination piece.

When I do listen to music with lyrics I prefer them to be poetry or beat-poetry, something like this.



It helps that Dose often raps in polyrhythms and often have very intricate rhymeschemes and metaphorical conceps usually intertwined in longer intervallic constructs.

Posted by: zicco Sep 6 2013, 10:14 PM

Yes lyrics are important and they can also be fun as this old ACDC lyrics...



And here it is

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJ3tqIukBKg

Posted by: PosterBoy Sep 7 2013, 06:47 AM

QUOTE (Darius Wave @ Sep 6 2013, 03:41 PM) *
My father is a poem-wriitter and when he does his music, the lirycs are most important. He tought me to make them count anytime a listen to a music...but...when I hear song like this...I think....Many people don't care...cie cie re re cie ...tongue.gif





I love Gusttavo Lima, my stepson introduced him to me, much to my wife's disappointment, she doesn't like Sertanejo. I put him in the box of fun music that I don't take too seriously though. And let's face it who wouldn't like his audience (so much nicer to look at than a bunch of guitarists waiting to see you make a mistake!)

Posted by: thefireball Sep 7 2013, 07:05 AM

Are lyrics important for you?
Yes, they are the message of the song. It tells a lot about the songwriter.

Which songs has your favourite lyrics?
Songs about Jesus who offers hope to believers. I also like dreamy and deep lyrics like from Owl City.

Which are your favourite songwriters?
RED, Skillet, Demon Hunter, as mentioned above Adam Young of Owl City.

Posted by: Cosmin Lupu Sep 7 2013, 08:43 AM

QUOTE (Caelumamittendum @ Sep 6 2013, 01:50 PM) *
The worst guitarist in the entire world? laugh.gif No? Was that the wrong answer? Hmmm dry.gif

Just kidding! Very nice! biggrin.gif


laugh.gif Well, if we would suppose that now I have short hair tongue.gif Could be laugh.gif

QUOTE (PosterBoy @ Sep 7 2013, 05:47 AM) *
I love Gusttavo Lima, my stepson introduced him to me, much to my wife's disappointment, she doesn't like Sertanejo. I put him in the box of fun music that I don't take too seriously though. And let's face it who wouldn't like his audience (so much nicer to look at than a bunch of guitarists waiting to see you make a mistake!)


I like his public, but without the music laugh.gif This guy is like a plague in here... I would never understand how cie cie re re cie can be such an attractive thing to sing... But then again... Who am I to judge?

Posted by: Slavenko Erazer Sep 7 2013, 09:23 AM

IF the LyricS AREN'T FOLLOWING MUSIC's POINT Or Vice Versa, THan Somethings going VERY WRONG with THE SONG!!!
SIMPLIFIED, BOTH HAVE TO BE COMPACT!!

Posted by: PosterBoy Sep 7 2013, 09:25 AM

I didn't realise he was known outside of Brazil or Latin America.

Posted by: Caelumamittendum Sep 7 2013, 06:24 PM

QUOTE (Cosmin Lupu @ Sep 7 2013, 09:43 AM) *
laugh.gif Well, if we would suppose that now I have short hair tongue.gif Could be laugh.gif


Samson's strength was in his hair, you know! tongue.gif

That said, Hunger Strike is a great song and one I would love to sing with a band etc. Well, Eddie's parts only. laugh.gif

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Sep 7 2013, 10:13 PM

QUOTE (thefireball @ Sep 7 2013, 03:05 AM) *
Are lyrics important for you?
Yes, they are the message of the song. It tells a lot about the songwriter.

Which songs has your favourite lyrics?
Songs about Jesus who offers hope to believers. I also like dreamy and deep lyrics like from Owl City.

Which are your favourite songwriters?
RED, Skillet, Demon Hunter, as mentioned above Adam Young of Owl City.



I have to pay attention to Owl City's lyrics, I like his music but haven't paid too much attention to the lyrics.

I like many lyrics by Dave Grohl.



Posted by: Cosmin Lupu Sep 8 2013, 11:04 PM

QUOTE (Gabriel Leopardi @ Sep 7 2013, 09:13 PM) *
I have to pay attention to Owl City's lyrics, I like his music but haven't paid too much attention to the lyrics.

I like many lyrics by Dave Grohl.



Because Dave is the godliest of the gods laugh.gif Kidding aside, I am one of the big fans! I sung this one at the karaoke last week!

Posted by: Caelumamittendum Sep 8 2013, 11:07 PM

I don't listen much to Dream Theater these days, but Kevin Moore was very good at writing lyrics come to think of it (or songs in general):

]

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Sep 9 2013, 01:03 AM

QUOTE (Cosmin Lupu @ Sep 8 2013, 07:04 PM) *
Because Dave is the godliest of the gods laugh.gif Kidding aside, I am one of the big fans! I sung this one at the karaoke last week!



Cool!! I would like to hear a cover sang by you mate!

Posted by: Cosmin Lupu Sep 9 2013, 08:13 AM

QUOTE (Gabriel Leopardi @ Sep 9 2013, 12:03 AM) *
Cool!! I would like to hear a cover sang by you mate!


It shall be done with - Times like these - the acoustic version smile.gif

Posted by: dcz702 Feb 25 2014, 11:54 AM

QUOTE (Gabriel Leopardi @ Sep 5 2013, 02:57 PM) *
We talk a lot about music here, songs, composition but I wonder what you think about lyrics...

Are lyrics important for you?

Which songs has your favourite lyrics?

Which are your favourite songwriters?

lyrics are very important to me, i listen to such a wide range of differnent music and mostly it has to do with what my favorite bands and musicians are trying to express how they feel and beleive in.over the past year ive been finding my musical tastes change because of listening and reading lyrics that i find go along with what i feel is important in out world today.
really got into bands like SOJA and Rebulution[/youtube]

Posted by: Gabriel Leopardi Feb 25 2014, 03:03 PM

Nice band Soja! I didn't know them but we shared stage the last December with my band Cirse in a fest called Summer Break Fest. smile.gif
I will get more into their lyrics.

Posted by: Monica Gheorghevici Feb 25 2014, 04:01 PM

I always liked Depeche Mode lyrics. This song have lyrics which caught my attention very much wink.gif





Posted by: jstcrsn Feb 25 2014, 04:36 PM

to me, it is as important as guitar(please don't send a hit squad after me) and I am not one for instrumentals , once and a while is fine for me, but a whole album is to much.I guess thats why I haven't got into growling much can't understand them and don't have the time or energy to.
and songs like Big Balls are the pinnacle of songwriting, poundcake By van-hagar.to write about something thats means something else , and when people get past rhyming every other line and still keep a groove shows maturity in my book

Posted by: bleez Feb 25 2014, 07:09 PM

QUOTE (Monica Gheorghevici @ Feb 25 2014, 03:01 PM) *
I always liked Depeche Mode lyrics. This song have lyrics which caught my attention very much wink.gif

I dont listen to Depeche Mode much but I really like 'Stripped'. blew me away when I first heard it, such a vibe about both the music and lyrics.


I know Rammstein have covered it and made it a bit more metal but the original is the best version IMO.

Posted by: gregc1 Feb 25 2014, 07:25 PM

I honestly rarely pay any attention to lyrics anymore, it's all about the overall musical composition for me. Vocals do play a part in that but it's no different than a guitar melody for me. What is being said doesn't matter at all, only what notes are being sung.

That's my view at least. I get much more moved by a nice guitar phrase/lick than I do by a line of vocals.

Posted by: Monica Gheorghevici Feb 26 2014, 08:22 AM

QUOTE (bleez @ Feb 25 2014, 06:09 PM) *
I dont listen to Depeche Mode much but I really like 'Stripped'. blew me away when I first heard it, such a vibe about both the music and lyrics.


I know Rammstein have covered it and made it a bit more metal but the original is the best version IMO.


I also like "Stripped", great memories to listen again this song. You have right , the original version is the best version smile.gif I was and I still remain a big fan DM. I grew up with DM and I know all their discography and all the lyrics of the songs smile.gif Few years ago I meet Andy Fletcher when he was in my country for a separately concert (as DJ). Was one of the best day in my life smile.gif I had a big luck because in that period I worked at UnicreditTiriac Bank and the branch was in the most expensive hotel from my city. So, was more than easy to meet Andy because I had unlimited access in that hotel. When I was face to face with him for few seconds I forgot all the words in English biggrin.gif But after this awkward moment I asked him an autograph wink.gif




Posted by: Cosmin Lupu Feb 26 2014, 11:09 AM

As I get older, I am more and more into lyrics then before - I think I stated this a lot of times so far, but when a few years ago, I had NO CLUE about my own band's lyrics ... I find this thing inadmissible nowadays and if a certain tune is not instrumental by default, I usually listen to all the details, especially if it's something I want to learn as a whole or simply understand what's going on with each instrument.

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