Do lyrics matter to you?

Discipline - 5-8-2008 at 03:33 PM

Do you listen to bands you disagree with politically, religiously, etc? Not straight edge stuff, but anything else. I personally will listen to anything that sounds good. The thought came up because I happen to have been listening to a lot of anarchist stuff the last couple of days, which is something I definitely don't believe in. I also enjoy a lot of stuff from Skrewdriver which I don't get behind lyrically. Just curious how others felt.

clevohardcore - 5-8-2008 at 03:52 PM

lyrics mena alot but there are a few bands that suck at it that I still like.

XHonusWagnerX - 5-8-2008 at 04:31 PM

lyrics are important to me too, but if music is good then I can get past what the song is about. If its totally racist or something I will try not to have anyone around that would get the wrong idea if I was listening to it though.

BDx13 - 5-8-2008 at 08:51 PM

not really.
so long as the combination of instruments and vocals sounds good to my ears, i'll listen.
unless it was something that i was truly offended by.

that said, where there are lyrics i dig, i'm that much more into listening to a band.

JawnDiablo - 5-8-2008 at 09:03 PM

I'm not as idealistic as I was lets say 15 years ago.
I really don't listen to bands with much of a "message".
I like music first I suppose, yet good lyrics make it even better.
For example, Joe Coffee.
I love both the band's music, and the lyrics Paul writes have always meant something to me. He "lets his blood flow freely from this pen" so to speak.
I used to dig anarchist shizz but I think my ideas / values have changed a great deal now that I'm older.
I love Clutch. The music is great but the lyrics don't really mean much of anything.

Dave - 5-8-2008 at 09:10 PM

nows adays, its more the music first, if it sounds good, ill listen to it, and if they happen to have something to say, all the better.

Murk - 5-8-2008 at 09:17 PM

to a certain extent.

religious lyrics are a HUGE turn off.

when i really connect with music, the lyrics are usually the last thing i notice.

as long as it sounds good, i'll usally listen.

Six66Mike - 5-8-2008 at 09:57 PM

One Life Crew is the only band I've ever avoided after listening to them and hearing the shit they were saying. I didn't get the joke.

I miss bands that actually sing about something though. Someone list some current bands that actually haven't something worth listening to or reading through the liner notes of the album. Lyrics these days seem to suck and be generic crap.

joemaconmovies - 5-8-2008 at 10:08 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by BD
so long as the combination of instruments and vocals sounds good to my ears, i'll listen.
unless it was something that i was truly offended by.

that said, where there are lyrics i dig, i'm that much more into listening to a band.

clevohardcore - 5-9-2008 at 09:56 AM

lyrics seem to mean more now than before. I dig shit like Springsteen, Bright Eyes, etc. And I would have never given them a chance back in the day. I want more substance than just a kick ass riff. However, Bands like Gorilla Biscuits, CIV, SOIA, H2O, all have great lyrics matched up with the tunes. Along with several others.

CR83 - 5-9-2008 at 10:18 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by BD
not really.
so long as the combination of instruments and vocals sounds good to my ears, i'll listen.
unless it was something that i was truly offended by.

that said, where there are lyrics i dig, i'm that much more into listening to a band.

Exactly. If the lyrics are good and inspriring, all the better.

Siczine.com - 5-9-2008 at 04:58 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Discipline
Do you listen to bands you disagree with politically, religiously, etc? Not straight edge stuff, but anything else. I personally will listen to anything that sounds good. The thought came up because I happen to have been listening to a lot of anarchist stuff the last couple of days, which is something I definitely don't believe in. I also enjoy a lot of stuff from Skrewdriver which I don't get behind lyrically. Just curious how others felt.

How the hell can you listen to Screwdriver. Musically its horrible and the fucking views, uh.

Lyrics mean a lot to me for a band. I like good meaning behind the lyrics but I also love death metal and shit like Anal Cunt because its meant to be over the top and more often than not the bands don't act out or believe their lyrics....unlike Screwdriver.

And I can listen to SxE without a problem and can appreciate SOME of what their say unless its hardliner shit but the one thing that turns me off a band is if the preach religion in their lyrics.

Discipline - 5-9-2008 at 05:07 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Siczine.com

Quote:

I listened to metal from a very young age because I liked how aggressive the music was. When I was in my early teens I switched to punk and hardcore because I got the aggressive music with better lyrics. I like a number of bands for their lyrics because I can relate to them, they're interesting, etc. At the same time i can listen to bands with lyrics I disagree with because it sounds good. As for Skrewdriver, they wrote a lot of really good songs. I know I'm supposed to hate the band, but I don't care because of songs like "The Snow Fell." Incredible song, I would almost describe it as beautiful. Another example would be the band Final War, a national socialist band and proud of it. I don't agree with what they have to say, but lyrics aside I think they're one of the best bands I've ever heard. It's why I started the topic, to see how others felt. Lyrics still mean a lot to me, but these days I'm more likely to listen to something I disagree with, as long as the band is good.

SS76 - 5-9-2008 at 05:29 PM

Lyrics are always cool, but I'd take my 50 favorite cds instrumental anyday. The same feeling is still there, and I can read a book and not lose my concentration.

necrobutcher - 5-9-2008 at 08:19 PM

Being musically retarded, the first thing to catch me when I listen to something new is the vocals/lyrics.

Probably explains why a lot of metallic hardcore (not metalcore) is generic to me and why I was never much of a metal fan.

BDx13 - 5-9-2008 at 10:09 PM

i, too, am a skrewdriver fan.
yes, the lyrics to their later stuff are despicable, but they're also so over the top, they're kinda comical.
their 'alabama' cover is terrific.

Dave - 5-9-2008 at 10:20 PM

early skrewdriver was good straight up 77 punk, good shit, this was before they went all W.P.

DaveMoral - 5-11-2008 at 09:45 AM

I really can't listen to something I find despicable. I just can't.

I really think music effects people in ways that they largely don't realize, and worse yet... you put poetry to music and the poetry sinks in more. I know more song lyrics than I've memorized chapters and verses from the Qur'an and I recite that 5 times a day! More than I listen to any of the songs I can sing off the top of my head.

So for shit like Screwdriver, I don't know dudes. You may find the shit despicable intellectually but I think it's going to subtley shape your thinking if you're listening to them alot.

Voodoobillyman - 5-14-2008 at 01:13 AM

Quote:

Could not have said it better myself, this sums it up for me.

gavin - 5-14-2008 at 09:39 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by DaveMoral[/i

So for shit like Screwdriver, I don't know dudes. You may find the shit despicable intellectually but I think it's going to subtley shape your thinking if you're listening to them alot.

i listen to the geto boys alot
im not thinking every woman is a bitch and im not out killing people which is what much of their songs are about
i have listened to alot of venom and slayer and have yet to worship satan or kill a virgin

thinking like this is what people like the p.m.r.c. and far right censors used to use as an argument.
saying people are not able to think for themselves and their thought process is shaped by movies, music, t.v., and whatever else they deem offensive.

this is just silly

mattybar - 5-14-2008 at 11:40 AM

Each to their own, but as a white Englishman with grandfathers who both fought for England in WW2, Skrewdriver embarrasses the fuck out of me.

DeathByForce - 5-14-2008 at 11:46 AM

I think if you let a band shape your mind than you shouldn't be listening to music at all. You're obviously not listening to it for the right reasons.

Mark Lind - 5-14-2008 at 12:30 PM

It depends on the band. There's nothing about Slayer or Metallica that I can relate to but I still listen to it.

I listen to a lot of Motley Crue and Buckcherry at the gym. But their lyrics are embarrassing.

Some bands I'm really into because of their lyrics: Paul Westerberg, Elliott Smith, The Replacements, Far From Finished, Death & Taxes.

Some bands I'm really into because I agree with their message: John Lennon, Bright Eyes, REM, Springsteen, Ramallah.

But it needs the whole package. Good lyrics over boring music is still boring. Good music with boring lyrics can still get listened to (in the case of Motley Crue etc).

Most of the stuff I relate to nowadays are just songs about classic topics: life, love etc. And that makes the lyrics less crucial.... cuz its all the same.

I don't really get the idea of people digging Skrewdriver (and the like) but not being into the words. The whole point of those bands are the words. Their music and melodies are interchangeable with about 100 other bands out there that do the same thing but have normal words.

clevohardcore - 5-14-2008 at 12:34 PM

REM, write really good lyrics. Every album they turn out is quality.

I listen to many bands simply because of the words.

Siczine.com - 5-14-2008 at 06:00 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Mark Lind
I don't really get the idea of people digging Skrewdriver (and the like) but not being into the words. The whole point of those bands are the words. Their music and melodies are interchangeable with about 100 other bands out there that do the same thing but have normal words.

I agree 100%

gavin - 5-14-2008 at 06:09 PM

there aint anything to "get"
i like skrewdriver up to and including "hail the new dawn"
and no, i dont agree with everything they say
there aint any deep meaning behind it
i like 'em
you dont
whatever

its possible for some people to listen to something and enjoy it without agreeing with it
while it may not be possible for YOU it is for some people
nothing to "get" about that

Discipline - 5-14-2008 at 07:28 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by MrBadVibes
there aint anything to "get"
i like skrewdriver up to and including "hail the new dawn"
and no, i dont agree with everything they say
there aint any deep meaning behind it
i like 'em
you dont
whatever

its possible for some people to listen to something and enjoy it without agreeing with it
while it may not be possible for YOU it is for some people
nothing to "get" about that

Ditto.

Mark Lind - 5-15-2008 at 10:25 AM

No need to get defensive. In the end you're the one listening to it, not me.

I have this really strange behavior quirk where I like to understand the motivations and actions of my fellow man. Call me crazy I guess. I like to "get" things. If at any point you'd like to understand what would motivate someone to listen to Motley Crue then I'd be happy to indulge you.

gavin - 5-15-2008 at 10:34 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Mark Lind
No need to get defensive. In the end you're the one listening to it, not me.

I have this really strange behavior quirk where I like to understand the motivations and actions of my fellow man. Call me crazy I guess. I like to "get" things. If at any point you'd like to understand what would motivate someone to listen to Motley Crue then I'd be happy to indulge you.

i wasnt getting defensive
rereading what i wrote i see how it may have come off that way
wasnt meant to

and in all honesty i do "get" where skrewdriver is coming from.
while i dont agree with them, i get the sort of blind rage and anger that they project
the same way i get it with some rap stuff that i may not agree with 100%
the same way i get G.G. even though i dont agree with 100% of what he said
the same way i get alot of reggae stuff even though i couldnt possibly relate to alot of what they may be singing about

thats all i meant

ps..........i like miotley crue up to and including theater of pain minus home sweet home and smokin in the boys room.