I spent a large amount of time this weekend discovering albums I've listened to many times. In some cases hundreds of times. However we had agreed to see other people for awhile. Part of the brilliance of music is walking away from a band or album for awhile and coming back to rediscover the magic held within. I also got thinking about what makes music great. What makes a perfect song. In some cases it's age. A classic example is Led Zeppelin. During their hayday in the 1970s most rock critics labeled the music as complete trash as it was loud, excessive and in your face. In a singular album they would frequently completely deviate from their staple sound and just have something totally out of left field. However with a bit of age the music has been labeled as groundbreaking and people speak of Zeppelin as the legends of our time.
Another pondering this weekend was the lyrical content of music. It's probably the most commonly overlooked aspect of music. People tend to not really know or understand what the artist or band is trying to convey. It could be that pop music is to blame. The artistry really goes out the window when you have 9 outside songwriters writing the next Britney or Christina song. The lyrics are typically trash that talk about partying or foolish love. Lyrics are also entities that typically don't live well outside a song. We all have facebook friends that quote their favorite lyrics all the time and we get a chuckle at how pretentious or dumb the lyrics sound. However when combined with melody all of a sudden they hold meaning. However typing out the lyrics doesn't convey the picture or emotion that the entire package causes you to feel. There are some standout cases however. Some lyrics that contain power just in the words alone. Combined with melody such songs contain great emotional power and connect with many people across many backgrounds. Here are a few of my favorites.
There you lie like a painting of christ
Bleeding on the heads of the ones who nailed you down
/
Now my foolish boat is leaning, broken love lost on your rocks
For you sang, "Touch me not, touch me not, come back tomorrow"
Oh my heart, oh my heart shies from the sorrow
/
Pleased to meet you
Hope you guessed my name
What's puzzling you is the
nature of my game
/
Looking out the door
I see the rain fall upon the funeral mourners
Parading in a wake of sad relations
As their shoes fill up with water
Maybe I'm too young
To keep good love from going wrong
But tonight, you're on my mind so
You never know
Nice post! Yeah - I have a few of those friends who post lyrics randomly, and sometimes I really do have a hard time understanding what they're trying to say.
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It was well past nine
Our hands came to agreement
As we walked in time
A jealous rose stole a thread
From her skirted thigh
I clipped it quick with a flick
Of this switchblade knife"
A perfect example, posted on one of those friend's walls - I understand the imagery, but what does it mean? It's just relaying a series of events, not the emotion to go with them.
Such lyrics come across as emo and pretentious thats for sure :P. It's really a modern malady, poor songwriting is such a common thing.
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