Music. Why do you listen to the stuff you do

[mrs minnesotamonster]

Bernie Taupin IIRC does most of his lyrics, while he does most of the music.  Excellent composer he is 

I have various things going on.  Some is lyrics.  I do enjoy the writing style of some writers.  Same goes for music, some composers are just excellent when it comes to creating something.  I'm musically knowledgeable, but can't specify much about specific types of guitars etc.  Sometimes I listen to music to sing, sometimes to be soothed, sometimes to chill....  The list could go on for days. 

In my music collection, you'll find most musical styles represented at least once.

JM

You are correct:) There are a couple albums that were put out when Elton and Bernie were fighting and not working together...Elton wrote his own lyrics...I'm too big of a fan to say that they were bad but well...

[il d00d]

I confess that I am a hook and melody junkie in regards to the stuff I listen to.  I think there is something chemical that happens when I listen to a good one.
I was raised on a radio station in Houston called 98 FM KFMK - it was a format that has come back recently, good music from any (post WWII) decade.  So it was anything from Buddy Holly to modern rock.  I think having that station welded in place on my dad's mechanical push-button preset radio ('member those?) pretty much defined what I will listen to the rest of my life.

On the subject of lyrics, I am not a huge fan of lyrics-driven music like Bob Dylan, but when it dovetails with a nice melody, I think the result is greater than the sum of its parts.  Mostly, I believe that "good" lyrics are simply not as good as I am led to believe they are.  So, lyrics should not get in the way.  If they provide a nice accompaniment or counterpoint, then that's great.

Good forum question by the way 

[TiNi]

In fact if I sing along to something you would hear all sorts of weird made-up lyrics.

[ducpainter]

I'm with Dolph...

I listen to the same stuff I listened to many moons ago, or the same artists at least.

There have been few artists/bands in recent times that have caught my attention.

[Big Troubled Bear]

Mostly I listen to music that mimicks the mood I am in at the moment

[dropstharockalot]

//snipsnip...

I guess it was music that defined a time and attitude that I liked and attached myself to.

///

I'm the same way... it's like my audible diary of how I felt at the time.  There's a lot of stuff in my collection that I'd never break out now, but it reminds me of where my mind was at the time that I bought it.  (This means you, Limp Bizkit...)

As for why I listen to what I listen to, it comes down to the feel.  Lyrics are secondary to teh tingle on the back of the neck and the nodding head.  This is probably why I'm fueled mostly by blues and big IZ_ guitar-driven bands... the genre hasn't evolved in eons, but it's all about the performer's delivery.  They get the wail right or nail the riff, and the horns come out and I'm yelling

\m/ RAWK!!!! \m/

and spilling beer everywhere.

[Jarvicious]

Kinda bugs me, but I can only find this song in two parts.  Then again, if you're not really into metal you probably won't want to listen to that much of it anyway.  At about 28 seconds into the second "video" is one of my favorite licks in music.  If you listen to the first part of the song before you hit that point, the whole thing builds up, subsides, then gradually crescendos into absolute mayhem.  I've come to think of the vocals as more of a rhythm instrument than vocals really.  Oddly enough, this is one band that can get me jazzed as hell or really mellow me out.  There's enough of everything in the album to spread out my emotions. 

It happens again at about 2:28 in the second video.  They break out a really complex, jazz chord based riff followed by a mind melting breakdown that comes out of nowhere.  If you make it to the end of the song, the guitarists are playing opposing arpeggios which dwindles down into the same basic piano riff the album started on (this is the last song on the record).

I can listen to this stuff for hours on end and forget about little things, like eating and other basic necessities   Figured I'd give y'all a taste. 

Between the Buried and Me - White Walls (part 1)

Between the Buried and Me - White Walls (part 2) THE MOST EPIC ENDING EVER

.......

and spilling beer everywhere.

BTW, I know exactly what that's all about