What aspect of music do you like best?

[Argent_Towers]

I’m also a fan of transitions. *Abbey Road * is great for that. As I’ve said in other threads, I think the best one is the transition between You Never Give Me Your Money and Sun King:

Once, I started telling my friend, completely out of nowhere, that the transition between “You Never Give Me Your Money” and “Sun King” was supposed to remind the listener of walking from a crowded party into the house’s backyard. I said, “ok…you’re walking out of the party…you’re out on the porch…you’re walking into the backyard” as the noisy fade-out of "one two three four five six seven, all good children go to heaven " was overtaken by the soft chirping of crickets and the sound of wind chimes (which the ‘protagonist’ of the song was obviously brushing against as he stepped out onto the porch, I claimed…then that little octave-jump bass intro to “Sun King” comes on, and I just felt this feeling of intense relaxation sweep over me…ok, I was high!

Seriously, go and listen to this part, then tell me you don’t agree with my interpretation of it.

I also hate repetitive music, I need layers and transitions. But it can’t just be layers - I’m not a fan of any house or dance type music. I hate aphex twin.

I like rock songs with good orchestral arrangements. Not necessarily whole orchestras, but interesting combinations of instruments. The Beatles were good for that also - they used a lot of clarinet choirs, English-style brass bands, string arrangements that were just transparent enough so that the bowed voice of each instrument really comes out instead of being lost in a general “strings” sound.

[John_DiFool]

I am amazed when people don’t even pay attention to the lyrics, and in fact when I’ve pointed out cliches galore and lazy turns of phrase to fellow fans of a favorite band (The Church, which as some of you know during their “heyday” had some of the best lyrics on the planet), they’ll just slag off the criticism and pretend that they didn’t notice. For me while it may not quite share 50/50 importance with the music it is certainly central to my enjoyment.

[Windwalker]

@John DiFool

I am amazed when people don’t even pay attention to the lyrics, and in fact when I’ve pointed out cliches galore and lazy turns of phrase to fellow fans of a favorite band (The Church, which as some of you know during their “heyday” had some of the best lyrics on the planet), they’ll just slag off the criticism and pretend that they didn’t notice. For me while it may not quite share 50/50 importance with the music it is certainly central to my enjoyment.

Well, for me, good lyrics are usually a plus, not a necessity. The Sundae still tastes good without that cherry on top. But one thing good lyrics will do for me is that they give a song even more lasting power; I’ll want to listen to it more just to really get the entirety of what’s being sung about. Also, certain types of songs need good lyrics to drive them, especially ones meant to be funny.

There are times when bad lyrics do really hurt; for example, Joan Osborne’s What if God was One of Us? could have been much better if the lyrics hadn’t been so trite. I cringed every time I heard that on the radio, even while tapping my toes.