When listening to music, what's more important?

[Arloest]

"Close to the Edge" by Yes.

Cool points to you!

[klimt]

i'm pretty torn on this. i have a lot of music with absolutely terrible or uninteligable (read foreign) lyrics...and have a fair bit of music with fantastic lyrics and piss poor backing...really the important thing is that it all works together.

[Comrade K]

I find it depends on what kind of music it is.
To compare, take two of my favourite bands: VNV Nation, and ISIS.

VNV Nation is a sort of electro/synthpop type band. They're my favourite band, primarily because of the lyrics. Take those away, and you're basically left with fairly standard EBM sound. The lyrics are what make the songs deep and interesting, and really allow them to elicit an emotional response.
ISIS on the other hand, is much more music oriented. They're a post-MEHTUL/sludge band, with much more focus on how the music evolves throughout the song than on lyrics. Even though most of their songs are over 7 minutes, they have few lyrics, and most of them are unintelligible anyway, as their vocalist Aaron Turner screams them. The music conveys the message, and the lyrics just add a bit to the concept expressed through the music. For example, when I first listened to their latest album Wavering Radiant, I immediately thought of nighttime, darkness, and sort of eerie netherworlds, even though I only caught a few of the lyrics.

So really, it depends. I'm looking for music that sets a mood, or conjures images in my mind; how it does so is irrelevant.

[osprey]

I voted for the music itself. Much of the music I listen to is completely instrumental...however, having said that, the lyrics do mean something to me as well. If a song has horrible lyrics, I generally won't listen to it, even if the music is good, and there are many songs with great lyrics that really speak to me that I greatly love.

[Rooster]

That's what pisses me off about most of Aerosmith's stuff....musically I love it but I can't stand the lyrics.

[Cactus Jack]

Aerosmith calls it straight on. When they see a dude who looks like a lady its not time for poetry, its like to let the world know.

[D-puff]

Because I listen to game music, it's pretty easy to say I could care less about lyrics. When it comes to music with lyrics though, good lyrics are a bonus, but I have some pretty cheesy songs on my mp3 player just because of how catchy they are. In the end though, the cheesy lyrics will grow on me.

[Chris]

If i'm listening to the Beatles..It's hard to say because they all fit perfectly. As for modern music, it varies differently..

[Caoimhin]

Very much the first option. I listen to a lot of classic rock, which tends to have excellent instrumentation but not always top-notch lyrics. I actually thought of this the other day as I was listening to "Close to the Edge" by Yes. The lyrics make no friggin sense, but I'll still sing along with them anyway.

Same here, if I hadn't actually looked up what the concept of the album was I'd have no frikkin clue. Definitely the first option, in Yes's case getting the gist of the lyrics is enough the music just floats you away. I listen to alot of King Crimson (up to Discipline) and some of the songs have intentionally garbled lyrics. And the lyrics are even more obscure. But the way the lyrics combine with the wonderful melodies and rhythems, the pure talent of the musicians makes up for the at times mediorcre vocals, makes the music as a whole much more important.

I actually have trouble singing along, so music listening is very passive for, I'll often sit there and assume a meditative like position. I even do this with punk. Good music always gives me a shivering feeling, I'll get this sweating sensation. But then, as if I was covered in goosebumps, the feeling lifts. Holy shit, this sounds orgasmic . Songs that give me this feeling:

Starless and Bible Black- King Crimson
Siberian Khatru- Yes
Roundabout- Yes
Fallen Angel- King Crimson
Dancing with the Moonlit Knight- Genesis
White Mountain- Genesis
What a Wonderful World- Joey Ramone cover (I know, I know )

And others, just those that come to mind. Several instrumentals. The Dead Kennedy's have some amazing angry lyrics.

[Arloest]

Oh my god, isn't the chorus to Dancing with the Moonlight Knight great! It makes me want to punch my fist in the air and lead a troop of soldiers into battle.

[Caoimhin]

Hell yeah! Knights of the Green Shield stamp and shout!

[likeafox]

For the longest time I didn't think lyrics were important at all. Then I found bands like Ayreon and Project Pitchfork and some others to a lesser extent, and now I feel that lyrics CAN be important. But still not as important as the music.

[sad jazz cantaloupe]

Yeah, I think it's really just that I love to hear the human voice more than any other instrument. I don't care if it's that good of a voice or not, I just like hearing it, and the easiest way for me to explain that without thinking is that I just "like the lyrics". In reality I guess I would like most of the songs/bands I like if they were saying different words.

[nickspoon]

That's a good point. I listen to a lot of foreign music; I like the sound that the human voice makes, especially in languages like Russian. Even if you can't understand the lyrics, the presence of meaningful vocals makes the piece overall sound more meaningful and more interesting. It's quite rare that I listen to music without lyrics, even - it doesn't really speak to me or entertain me in the same way (Ludovico Einaudi and Andy McKee excepted); in fact, I usually find it quite boring.

[Comrade K]

I like the sound that the human voice makes, especially in languages like Russian.

Anything Gaelic or Irish.