:: Electric Psychedelic Pussycat Swinger's Club ::

:: Tuesday, March 01, 2005 ::

lyrics to go

There are two types of music listeners: those that only go so far as following the beat, and those that take it a step further and pay attention to the lyrics.

There's really no point in doing the latter with hip-hop and rap these days because for the past 5-10 years it's all been shit with a very few exceptions (Black Star, Tribe, Public Enemy, and DJ Jazzy Jeff & the Fresh Prince come to mind). Rap lyrics used to have some meaning behind them, sort of like a social critique of the times put to a beat (Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five come to mind). Nowadays rap and hip-hop can basically be boiled down to hype men like Lil Jon mindlessly repeating the same three words and having it looped throughout a master for 3 minutes, or artists talking about the size and brand name of their rims. What happened? Yeah it's good to dance to, but surely you'd want more from music, right?

The same goes for Pop. I guess music labels are willing to forego the artistry behind music these days in exchange for consumers ignoring the formulaic approach to music that the industry uses (see Lindsay Lohan, Kelly Clarkson, and other no-talent assclowns pushed by a marketing machine) and simply forking over the cash for anything that makes their booty shake and their heads bop.

It's gotten so terrible and predictable that I haven't listened to radio in over 2 years. To steal a line from Reel Big Fish's 'Sell Out', "the radio plays what they want you to hear".

So now my primary source of discovering new music is... myself. I subscribe to various music magazines, read reviews of upcoming releases, and spend endless hours fucking around on allmusic.com - the bible of the musical side of the soul. Perhaps reading other peoples' reviews of music is arguably just as influential as the radio, but it's somewhat better in that it's not forced on you while you're sitting in your car and having to hear the same song 3 times on your drive to work or school. Oh, and word of mouf is a must - but only if you trust your friends' taste. One bad recommendation can blacklist you for life in my book.

So which are you? Someone who just listens for the beat, or finds solace in the words?

In conclusion, the only contemporary genre left that's worth listening to is Rock. Actually, let me rephrase that.

The only contemporary genre left that's worth listening to is _____.

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