LYRICS - DO WE EVEN CARE?
Firstly, I’d like to explain the huge gap since the last Kubricks blog. I was away playing with another band in the States for a month, and it’s taken a while to get back in the swing of band blogging. If you’re interested in reading any of my tour blog you can here:
http://davethorogood.tumblr.com/post/5320956040/day-2-des-moines-to-iowa-city
Anyway, here’s The Kubricks blog…
Lyrics – Do we even care?
“You, your sex is on fire”
“Whoa we’re halfway there, whoa-oh livin’ on a prayer”
Really, what does this mean? Not a great deal is the answer. Yet people scream it at the tops of their voices in pubs, clubs, at festivals and at karaoke after a skinful of booze without giving the meaning of the words any thought whatsoever. I’ve heard kids as young as 12 walking around singing “Livin’ on a Prayer” and that song is nearly 25 years old. So why? Why does anybody like a particular song?
With so much dross on the radio, I think one thing’s for sure, lyrics are losing their value. Combine that with the fact that you’ve heard the music regurgitated multiple times and you can see why people are being turned off by commercial radio and choosing alternatives such as internet radio, Spotify or even talk radio.
Something that being in The Kubricks has taught me (and God knows I’m still learning) is tolerance of other people and their opinions on music. No one listens to music in the same way. In fact, we often joke that being in a band is like having to manage multiple girlfriends - everyone has different perspective on the music and even life for that matter. A topic that we hotly debate is lyrics. At opposite ends of the spectrum are Pete and myself. Or so I thought.
I asked everyone in the band to answer in one word, what is more important – the music or the lyrics? To my surprise, but a pleasant one at that, everyone said the music. I was certain that Pete would say lyrics. I’ll explain why. If myself of Jon were to express admiration for what might be described as a “cheesy” pop song, Pete will often combat us with an argument involving how awful the lyrics are. Jon and I will argue that this is irrelevant as the hooks are great and it’s just a great song meant for radio. I asked Pete to explain his one word answer to the above question.
“Having to answer in one word veils the complexity though. You have to argue that it depends on the song. Something from Leonard Cohen for example it has to be the lyrics that are more important, that’s the point of the creation. It’s poetry with music. The lyrics would stand up as a poem if you were to remove the music. You go to the other end of the spectrum the big corporate American pop or an “RnB monster hit” It’s all about the music (however naff it maybe) the beat, as most of the time the lyrics are just overdone, formulaic garbage. It ticks boxes - throw in a few “yeah baby’s” or “I’ve got my bitches, got my Crystal rah rah rah” or “You’re the most beautiful girl in the world.” There’s no art to that it’s just a template repeated for the masses. Those lyrics would not stand up if you removed the music.
As you can probably tell I’m arguing the case for the lyric here… The kind of music I usually love has a lyric that makes me want to know what they’re singing about and keeps me guessing. I would argue that the greatest songs written in Pop’s history are ones with great lyrics and of course great music. I ‘spose the point is that lyrics are of course important just more important to some maybe depending on your take.”
I’ve realised that Pete and I completely agree on this matter, but maybe myself and Jon, as song-writing musicians, are more tolerant of the formulaic pop that we hear everyday. It’s really difficult to write a “hit record” and I appreciate that.
The reason I approach this subject in this blog is that Pete is completing his lead vocals today on the album and lyrics have been questioned right up to this point. Ultimately he has to be comfortable with what he is saying in his lyrics – he has to believe it. After all, we will all soon have to live with them forever.
Pete recording his vocals.
I also asked Jon why he felt that the music was more important than the lyrics. His answer was much more succinct than Pete’s – “Can you have a great song with poor lyrics? Yes. Can you have a great song with poor music? No.”
For what it’s worth here’s my take on the matter. I will always believe that the music is the most important element in a song and that great music can carry poor lyrics. I like sing-a-long songs, songs that everybody loves. I can’t listen to music just for the lyrics – maybe I am a little superficial, but it’s hooks, melodies and grooves (which is why James Brown is SO amazing) that excite me when I listen to a record go to a gig, where most of the time, you can’t hear the lyrics anyway. Jon Bon Jovi said (something like) “most people listen to music in cars (and now on their phones or mp3 players) when traveling from “A to B”, referring to it as a commodity to pass the time, an escape mechanism or a way of withdrawing into your own world. Maybe we think too much about the music we write. Pete Townshend said that you’ve got to remember that “the public are idiots” and with all due respect, he may have a point.
To me music should be about having fun and enjoying yourself – who cares if the lyrics are stupid. However I’m not naïve enough to think that they don’t matter. They just don’t matter to everyone. However if you keep returning to great music, you will inevitably listen closely to the lyrics at some point, and for this reason they must be great too.
With the industry changing rapidly, it is becoming increasingly hard to make a living from being in a band. Hopefully this should return music to where it should be – less about being a commodity and more about the art and why we picked up musical instruments in the first place. I doubt we’ll ever see a multi-million selling album like Fleetwood Mac’s Rumours ever again, but who cares? Hundred’s of thousands of people still attend festivals and go to gigs because they love live music. As long as that continues to happen, that’s good enough for me.
I’m going to let Pete have the last word on this blog.
Question: What makes a good lyric?
Pete: “Just one that you love man. No but seriously you can wheel out all the intelligent answers to this; free of clichés, profound or clever lyrics, full of metaphors etc… but all that matters is whether you the listener loves what’s being said for whatever reason and/or you relate to it. Look at Adele’s “21” album - the songs are brilliant and its been such a global success because the lyrics grab you by the emotional jugular. People relate to them, the soul bearing emotion of it all. Those albums by her wouldn’t be half as successful if the lyrics weren’t like they are. Simple but effective. Pretty much everyone can relate to heartbreak and she (and her co-writers) absolutely nailed it… and it’s not a subject that hasn’t formed the basis of song writing before is it!?”
Quite.
(technically means I had the last word)
