Lyrics vs. Music

Think about today’s music, the mainstream music if you will. It seems to me that when you listen to the music that is “popular” it’s more about the lyrics than the band. Most people only know the name of the singer but don’t pay attention to the background music. In Rock bands you can see this more often. Of course the band wants to influence the audience with the lyrics; they want to make a difference in the lives of the fans through their words, but what about the music. When focusing on the lyrics the band abandons the talent of the musicians. Comparing it to the music of the 70’s such as Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin, or the 80’s music of Van Halen and Def Leppered the audience was much more aware of how good the musicians were and much more engaged in the band as a whole. The audience would want to listen to the 4 minute guitar or music solos and the songs would still have a powerful meaning. People knew the entire band and all the members, as today the only name most people would know is the lead singer. If a band today got a new guitar player no one would notice. Examining this subject closer, bands today that do showcase the talent of the musicians are not as mainstream. Bands such as Avenged Sevenfold or Escape the Fate, are too ‘hardcore’ or too ‘emo’ for everyone to listen to. A person would only know those bands if they listened to that type of music. In contrast everyone knew who Pink Floyd and Led Zeppelin were and still do today. Those bands will live on forever and they still play their songs in today’s generation in movies or at school dances; people still listen to them. The bands of this generation are sure to fade away into the distant horizon for they are not as influential as the bands previous generations before. Why? No one really knows, but one contribution I think is that the bands are too focused on the lyrics. Sure the lyrics are important but why can’t we focus on the music just as much? Why can’t people listen to 3 to 4 minute guitar solos without getting bored? Why can’t they just appreciate the talent of the musician? Pink Floyd found a way to influence people through the music, while including the lyrics. Maybe its society that has changed; no one wants to listen to a 7minute song anymore. But if a 4 minute song can be influential, think what a 7 minute song could do, it could change someone’s life. Okay maybe not going that far, but it can still touch you and be meaningful. This would give the musicians the opportunity to really showcase their talent and be recognized for it instead of being put on the backburner and overshadowed by the lead singer. The musicians of today should be able to be a famous as the lead singer in their band. Because when it really comes down to it, you can’t have a song without the music and you can’t have the music without a band.

Krystal Buchanan