Thread: Music and Originality

Yeah i think anyone who listens to music much at all can see the lyrics getting a little repetative. Ive also thought about that a time or two, mainly when listening to rap, because personally i think rap is becoming the most repetative of all music categories.

But i would like to through lil wayne out and say of all rappers now days, he's the one with the most orginal lyrics, things he talks about are never really heard in other rappers albums, so i think he can change rap a little bit.

people give lyrics a bad rap, but I remember watching an interview with the Eagles once and they make a strong point: Language isn't a renewable resource. Granted, we can make new words to some extent, but at the end of the day, there are only so many rhymes, assonance, etc that you can use in lyrics. A catchy tune ususally rhymes, but I've seen artists that didn't use rhyme a whole lot and make it work. If you've ever read the lyrics to a Slayer number, it reads a lot like a beat poem.

Originally Posted by Dark.

people give lyrics a bad rap, but I remember watching an interview with the Eagles once and they make a strong point: Language isn't a renewable resource. Granted, we can make new words to some extent, but at the end of the day, there are only so many rhymes, assonance, etc that you can use in lyrics. A catchy tune ususally rhymes, but I've seen artists that didn't use rhyme a whole lot and make it work. If you've ever read the lyrics to a Slayer number, it reads a lot like a beat poem.

Thats exactly what i was saying about lil wayne in rap, he uses his words much differently than any other rapper, he doesnt even rhyme that much, but his music is doing very good among those who listen to rap. The way he rap's is like he's just speaking, as in a conversation.

Listen to one of his songs; Im Me by lil wayne

Originally Posted by Arrianna

That is why I turned my radio off. There is still good music being made but most of it can't be found there nor is it "popular" at this time.

BRING BACK HAPPY SONGS!!!

What do I mean? The same thing you do. All the popular music these days sing about is little narrow subjects and so if you listen to it you drown in depression and negativity. When was the last time you heard on honest to goodness love song, or a happy everything is good with the world song, or just an I love this place/sport/anything but a party song? If you are going to really enjoy something you need variety or it all just bleeends together and becomes meaningless.

Thank you, Arrianna!! You see what I mean. All these songs these days are the same sh*t, just pushed through our ears with a different beat, or a differed guitar riff. I miss love songs, not just, "I wanna have sex with you baby! Lets do it til we have eight babies!" What happened to songs about our journeys in life? What happened to rap music that actually talked about survival on the streets, not just dealin' drugs on the street or havin' sex on the street, or advertising Nike shoes and various types of liquor?

What happened to songs that uplifted the people? What happened to songs that made people say, "That was beautiful," instead of, "Screw what he's sayin', I like this beat,"?

Originally Posted by Dark.

I also think people generalize way too much when it comes to rap music. Clean, good rap exists, you might not find it on the radio, but it is out there. It saddens me that the ghetto rappers make all the other rappers look bad, I guess.

Maybe it's easier for me to say all this because I honestly could care less about the lyrics of some genres. Because let's face it, in a lot of genres of music, the message in the lyrics does not have to be all that important or relevant.

I can agree with you about how rap is generalized a bit too much. I like rap music, don't get me wrong. My friend and I are considering recording hip-hop together. But--to get to my point--the positive rappers, the MCs with a message, the guys who could care less about a dollar and where his shoes/drink/car came from are massively outweighed by the rappers who are distorting the genre.

Lyrics are ALWAYS important, unless it's techno music. Why do you think so many people are turning off thier radio? Why do you think more people are listening to music from other countries than our own? Because we'd rather listen to a language we either barely understand (unless you'r bi-lingual) than have to listen to some ignorance on the radio. I think that lyrics are very important. When a fan looks up to an artist, he pays attention to his/her lyrics. If they look up to that artist, lyrics are what helps that person understand how to emulate that artist. Eventually they try to live like that artist claims to live in his/her lyrics. The same can be said about any form of media though.

Originally Posted by anime_being_god

Yeah i think anyone who listens to music much at all can see the lyrics getting a little repetative. Ive also thought about that a time or two, mainly when listening to rap, because personally i think rap is becoming the most repetative of all music categories.

But i would like to through lil wayne out and say of all rappers now days, he's the one with the most orginal lyrics, things he talks about are never really heard in other rappers albums, so i think he can change rap a little bit.

Lil Wayne talks about the same sh*t as every other mainstream rapper. Don't get it twisted! He's garbage. "I'm a venerial disease, like the menstral bleed." WTF??? Most his lyrics don't even make sense to me sometimes! If we're gonna compare rappers, Busta Rhymes is WAY better than Lil Wayne! Slug from Atmosphere... Way better! Anthony Kiedis from The Red Hot Chili Peppers can rap better than Lil Wayne, LOL! He's just a rerun in the reality show called 'The Rap Game'.

I respectfully disagree, and I'll try to explain why. This is my kinda theory on music; Music is used to convey two main things: an emotion and/or a message. Here's what I'm getting at. I believe that some genres are designed to appeal to our animalistic tendencies than our intellectual sides. Take most mainstream rap and hip-hop today. They are rapping about things and feelings that most people would define as crude, yet we all behave like that some time in our life, or at least have those thoughts. To not have them is to not be human. Same thing with a lot of metal bands, they ignite irate, angry attitudes in people and are often made to create that emotion. Why not? Music in it's inception, back in the times of early africa and indian tribes, beats were used during rituals, some of them terrible and animal like.

The other end of music is the message. When someone has something to say, and they're essentially reciting a poem with more rthymn and a beat, it's complemented by melodies and harmonies. Sometimes the words are more important than the song. People begin to believe in the message of songs as they would the words in books. Some people are turned off by artists who are very political in their music, while others embrace the ideas presented.

I think the ideal song has a beautiful blend of both, as I'm sure many of us yearn more for. When I'm listening to songs like Get Low, or This is Why I'm Hot, I could care less about the empty lyrics of the rappers. It's all about the feeling. Feeling it isn't wrong or right, it's just a feeling.

Originally Posted by Dark.

I respectfully disagree, and I'll try to explain why. This is my kinda theory on music; Music is used to convey two main things: an emotion and/or a message. Here's what I'm getting at. I believe that some genres are designed to appeal to our animalistic tendencies than our intellectual sides. Take most mainstream rap and hip-hop today. They are rapping about things and feelings that most people would define as crude, yet we all behave like that some time in our life, or at least have those thoughts. To not have them is to not be human. Same thing with a lot of metal bands, they ignite irate, angry attitudes in people and are often made to create that emotion. Why not? Music in it's inception, back in the times of early africa and indian tribes, beats were used during rituals, some of them terrible and animal like.

The other end of music is the message. When someone has something to say, and they're essentially reciting a poem with more rthymn and a beat, it's complemented by melodies and harmonies. Sometimes the words are more important than the song. People begin to believe in the message of songs as they would the words in books. Some people are turned off by artists who are very political in their music, while others embrace the ideas presented.

I think the ideal song has a beautiful blend of both, as I'm sure many of us yearn more for. When I'm listening to songs like Get Low, or This is Why I'm Hot, I could care less about the empty lyrics of the rappers. It's all about the feeling. Feeling it isn't wrong or right, it's just a feeling.

I completely understand. However, it doesn't explain why music is so empty or why every thing must be advertised in music (IE: shoes, drinks, cars). You can get a good feeling from music with or without a message, but music isn't just about feeling to me. It is, when I'm the one creating the music and I'm sure it's like that with every artist. But, I don't think that the feeling you get from music is a long lasting one anyhow.

When you first hear a song like 'Get Low', yeah I admit it's a song that makes ya feel good. But how many people paid attention to they lyrics past "to the window, to the wall" the first time they listened. I didn't, I didn't care at the time time. But when you listen to the song a second, third time around, you notice lyrics that you haven't heard before. Some songs, when I pay attention to the lyrics, I'm like, "Why would he say something like that? It's stupid," or "He got away with sayin' that on the radio?"

I just don't believe that music was made for people to say, "Oh, I like that beat--f*ck what he's sayin'!" Were it like that, we'd have lots of techno and classical music would remain as popular as rap and rock is.