Which is more important? The LYRICS or the FLOW?

[Zoots]

I've always preferred songs with great music and average lyrics to songs with great lyrics and average music. That's why I'm not a huge fan of Springsteen. *dodges flying objects* I'd rather listen to Kraftwerk or something.. that has average or goofy lyrics but amazing music.

 

[corianderstem]

Usually I go for the flow over the lyrics. Lyrics are secondary to me. If I love an artist who usually has music I enjoy, the lyrics are just icing on the cake (REM, U2, Springsteen, Dylan).

 

[corianderstem]

Then again, I'm amazed at how easily people understood what the hell you were talking about when talking about "flow" which has more to do with liquid dynamics than anything remotely music-related.

Since it was an either/or kind of thing, I took "flow" to be the part of the song not about the lyrics. I wouldn't have chosen "flow" for the word to use in the poll, but I'm not going to nitpick semantics, either.

Me choosing "flow" over "lyrics" should not be surprising to anyone who knows my love for big, dumb pop songs. I ain't listening to them for the words.

 

[redhotswami]

i just think that flow is the first thing i hear when i hear a song. that's what opens me up to it and gets me to continue listening instead of flipping the channel. the lyrics then take me on the journey. but the flow is what grabs me first. theres loads of songs that start with a musical intro before the lyrics come in. if the flow doesn't grab me right then, i'm less inclined to stay for the lyrics.

 

[phanan]

I've always preferred songs with great music and average lyrics to songs with great lyrics and average music. That's why I'm not a huge fan of Springsteen. *dodges flying objects*

Granted, Springsteen has always had amazing lyrics (and his debut album is probably a bit too wordy), but that's not to say his works don't have any flow to them. The Born To Run album is probably the best example, as Thunder Road comes across as the beginning of a day, and the album goes through all these people and places until you arrive at Jungleland, which is an amazing experience in and of itself.

Totally agreed on Kraftwerk, though.

 

[SeattleVertigo]

Lyrics are great, but it's the music that usually stirs my soul.

Of course, if an artist or band can master both.........

 

[angelordevil]

For me, the music hits first, but in order for it to last it better have a great lyric. While there are a few exceptions, I'll usually dismiss a band over the long haul if their music is just centred around a great guitar line or catchy hook. Not naming any names! I also love lyrics that keep revealing themselves on repeated listenings. The great songs are the ones with lyrics I can never quite pin down, and somehow manage to change and evolve as I do the same. It's pure magic when a song you thought you knew becomes more relevant in an instant.

That said, I don't think I could love a song just for its lyrics alone...it has to have some unique sound driving it.

 

[Zoots]

Totally agreed on Kraftwerk, though.

Dude, the Man Machine...

 

[LemonMelon]

Please explain "flow".

I think Beck is a great example of an artist that emphasizes flow over the lyrics themselves.

Check out Loser:

In the time of chimpanzees I was a monkey
Butane in my veins and I'm out to cut the junkie
With the plastic eyeballs, spray-paint the vegetables
Dog food stalls with the beefcake pantyhose
Kill the headlights and put it in neutral
Stock car flamin' with a loser and the cruise control
Baby's in reno with the vitamin D
Got a couple of couches, sleep on the love-seat

OK, what does this mean exactly? Absolutely nothing. Are they good lyrics? No, not really. Do they sound good together and fit with the beat? Hell yeah. That's flow.

 

[Lila64]

Flow FTW!

 

[Screwtape2]

I think Beck is a great example of an artist that emphasizes flow over the lyrics themselves.

Another artist like this is Peter Gabriel. He used to write to the rhythm and beat. This lead to stuff like Rhythm of The Heat, Games Without Frontiers, Biko, No Self Control and Shock The Monkey among others. I remember a quote by him that went something along the lines of...people write bad lyrics but no one writes bad music.

 

[Zoots]

I think Beck is a great example of an artist that emphasizes flow over the lyrics themselves.

Check out Loser:

In the time of chimpanzees I was a monkey
Butane in my veins and I'm out to cut the junkie
With the plastic eyeballs, spray-paint the vegetables
Dog food stalls with the beefcake pantyhose
Kill the headlights and put it in neutral
Stock car flamin' with a loser and the cruise control
Baby's in reno with the vitamin D
Got a couple of couches, sleep on the love-seat

OK, what does this mean exactly? Absolutely nothing. Are they good lyrics? No, not really. Do they sound good together and fit with the beat? Hell yeah. That's flow.

That's a great example! Come to think of it, a lot of rap has great flow!

 

[angelordevil]

I don't like the flow of this thread.

 

[Zoots]

I don't like the flow of this thread.

Example of lyrics > flow...

Me And A Gun by Tori Amos?

 

[UberBeaver]

That's a great example! Come to think of it, a lot of rap has great flow!

Yes, and the results would be much closer if this board were more of a hip-hop / rap scene. Rock and pop can more or less get away with awful lyrics (see the 80s for great examples), but in rap, because the words are generally right up front, they have to at least say something - but if they don't say it in a rhythmic way, in a way that flows well, no one's going to listen.

 

[Screwtape2]

Example of lyrics > flow...

Me And A Gun by Tori Amos?

But isn't it the cold flow of the song that gives it true power over a listener? The lyrics are chilling but the rhythm is what gets me.

 

[Zoots]

But isn't it the cold flow of the song that gives it true power over a listener? The lyrics are chilling but the rhythm is what gets me.

I don't know. It's more or less like a chilling poem to me.

 

[Screwtape2]

I don't know. It's more or less like a chilling poem to me.

Oh the lyrics are chilling but the way she sings it almost makes you wonder after each pause if she will be able to continue on. It is a beautifully brave feeling to have her come back after each moment of silence.

Me...and a gun...and a man...on my back

The flow of that is just devastating because you get the impression of helplessness without having to pay attention to the lyrics. One of Tori's best and most moving.

 

[Zoots]

the way she sings it almost makes you wonder after each pause if she will be able to continue on. It is a beautifully brave feeling to have her come back after each moment of silence.

Me...and a gun...and a man...on my back

The flow of that is just devastating because you get the impression of helplessness without having to pay attention to the lyrics. One of Tori's best and most moving.

I agree. Simply amazing!

 

[Lancemc]

Wait, so is "flow" the rhyme and rhythm of the lyrics, like LemonMelon implied?

Because if it's that, and not just "everything not the lyrics" than this thread just might not be the dumbest thing I've read all week.

 

[Saracene]

Lyrics were always secondary to me even though I learned to appreciate great lyrics a lot more in the past few years. And even then I think that the singer's performance plays just as big a part as the actual words. I can't imagine Velvet Underground's "Heroin" working as well without Lou Reed's delivery which IMO is what ultimately makes the song so chilling.

 

[UberBeaver]

Lyrics were always secondary to me even though I learned to appreciate great lyrics a lot more in the past few years. And even then I think that the singer's performance plays just as big a part as the actual words. I can't imagine Velvet Underground's "Heroin" working as well without Lou Reed's delivery which IMO is what ultimately makes the song so chilling.

Yes! That's actually one of the few songs where I know the lyrics beginning o end, but the way he "says" them is amazing.

 

[Caroni]

For latins, is usually the music But some songs I like because of the lirycs so I´ll save my vote in this one

 

[LMP]

What about 'Hustle'?

 

[No spoken words]

Wait, so is "flow" the rhyme and rhythm of the lyrics, like LemonMelon implied?

Because if it's that, and not just "everything not the lyrics" than this thread just might not be the dumbest thing I've read all week.

 

[LMP]

 

[AtomicBono]

Yes, and the results would be much closer if this board were more of a hip-hop / rap scene. Rock and pop can more or less get away with awful lyrics (see the 80s for great examples), but in rap, because the words are generally right up front, they have to at least say something - but if they don't say it in a rhythmic way, in a way that flows well, no one's going to listen.

Very good point even though lyrics in rap are really more important than they are in rock, I still find myself interested first in the beat and the flow of the rapper, because I'm not gonna pick up on all the lyrics right away. Something's gotta hook me into the song.

I really think the delivery of lyrics is just as important as the words themselves...the way lyrics are sung and the music behind them can make them sound much bigger than if you're just reading the words. I'd say U2 is a pretty good example of this. Bono has compared the lyrics of Where the Streets Have No Name to 9th grade poetry, and just reading them I'd have to agree...but the way he sings them makes them infinitely more powerful than that. When he sings "I want to run," well, I want to run too!

Great example with Heroin, too. I can't imagine the song being sung (well, practically spoken) in any other way. Singing the song "normally" would completely ruin the totally chilling effect.

Also nobody else could make me want to testify like it's a Sunday afternoon activity except Zach de la Rocha... the way he says it how can I resist?

LET'S TESTIFY
IT'S RIGHT OUTSIDE YOUR DOOR

UNNGNHH YEA CMON

 

[Lancemc]

It's ok, your joke was well met.

 

[No spoken words]

What about 'Hustle'?

 

[Lancemc]

Quotey McQuoteface.