What do you look for in music?
 

I was thinking about this question for some time. I got home from my Calculus class and I turned on some J-Pop PV's (Promotional Videos. In Japan, they show the video of some song on TV first before they release the song. They still sell singles over there on mini-CD's because their economy is garbage). After about an hour of watching I asked myself, "What the hell do I see in this crap?! It's in a language I don't fully understand yet, it's from another country thousands of miles away from me, and it's just plain weird." I thought about it for about 15 minutes when I came to the conclusion that I just like it. The music is upbeat, it has nice rhythm, and it puts me in a good mood. My answer to the poll is both beat and lyrics, because they both contribute to the goodness of the song. I'd like to know your opinion on what you look for in a song.

Video Game Music :D

Mostly beat. Sometimes lyrics. Whatever sounds good to my ears, I guess.

The same here

My taste in music is so diverse... I guess if I hear it and like it, then well... it's good to me.

punk.

and the lyrics are THE most important thing to me.

well lyrics are probably the least important to me. im mostly into the beat. even though some good lyrics dont hurt. im mostly into blues though. the style and all.

Neither. Creativity, originality, and getting the feeling that the artist feels their music. Also, having the artist who preforms the song having actually written (or played a non-supervising role) in the writing process.

Yeah, I'm so h4rk0r3 I scare my self.

Anything that rocks.

Lyrics aren't very important to me actually. They're kinda like the icing on the cake. They're not essential to good music, but if they're good, it just makes the song all the better.

Yeah, and I love music that's just different. Everyone I know listens to the same stuff.....that's why the Aquabats are the best band ever. People usually just listen to one song and are like "What the???" and they never hear the good stuff. They really have talent though they sound like total dorks most of the time.

well if y'all don't care about lyrics, then would you listen to a song that begins with "he was a boy, she was a girl" I mean, how pathetic is that song?

Depends on whose mouth those lyrics are coming out of.

All three actually, but the probably the determining factor for me is if it pleases my ears.

I look for sweet riffs, agressive but melodic voices, cool and fast drum beats, funky bass lines, progressive song structures and intelligent lyrics (not necessarily in a single song though).

Yeah, I think it's better I DON'T know the lyrics so I don't hate the song. Here's a sample of lyrics translated into English...

(woo Love Revolution)
Cheers Baby!
with a paper cup yeah, it's good enough, ain't it !?
Oh Yes! Feelings are precious,
To decorate (Baby) those things (Yeah) in the night.
Oh Yes! It's a match of ideas.
Oh My love Tell me Tell me
When I'm lonely Baby Baby
That everyone gets that way Tell me Tell me ?
Is that true ? (YES!)

Now, to me that's more comedy than music.

It's not so much beat, but the guitar riffs. I also listen to lyrics.

But, you'll definately not find me liking any punk music (I mean JUST punk, not punk-rock, etc.).

I look for nice guitar riffs, catchy vocals (not always) and some sort of meaning

And I mainly like punk and ska music (punk/rock like Offspring, MxPx, Lit, RFTCand Jimmy Eat World and ska like Reel Big Fish, Suburban Legends, old Less Than Jake and Rx Bandits)

Ska is most excellent.

Let me say one thing: If more than 50% of a band's music is about love, you can almost always tell that the band sucks. Sorry. Creativity is key. This is excluding the Beatles and the Hippos. They are both above any other band.

Melody, harmony and rhythm. Beat and lyrics are integral too, but shouldn't be overemphasized.

Creativty and progression in music. I hate it when bands make the same album twice, unless it's their own trademark sound (but even that gets boring sometimes). I also look for anything that involves clever, well written, or moving lyrics. The technical skill of the band is also pretty important, but not a deciding factor. Basically anything that sounds good and still has some intelligent thought put into it.

i mostaly look for lyrics, and cool guitar sounds, anything rock is what i like

It's the same with me, too. :)

very similar to me.....my collection includes country/western, new age, classical (both new and old), oldies, light rock, religious

With me, I have two simple criteria. 1) The song must not have a parental warning. And 2) it cannot make my ears bleed.

I'm pretty cool with everything else.

Why is that? A lot of these warnings are idiotic.

Yeah, that is kind of strange.

Well, the parental warning doesn't matter much, as I've never come across a song I liked that had one. It was just a nice way of saying I don't wanna be cussed out by my music, which I don't like in anything I watch/listen/read/etc.

When I listen to music... first off, it better be rap. :tlol:

Secondly, I look into the lyrics mostly, how creative you can get and how you can use punchlines, similies, metaphors, etc. All the elements that make a sick verse rather than a basic one.

Then I look at beats... if it's a boring beat, whatever... I can live. But don't let it be a boring loop. LOL.

I listen to all kinds of music, in all kinds of styles. From rap to classical. So yeah, if it sounds sweet, it has a good beat, and the lyrics are also good... then I'm in music heaven. :D

*presently stuck on Queen*

That's definitely an Everquest character there for your avatar. I miss that game a little...

Lyrics are very important to a song... but it doesn't sound good it just doesn't matter.....

I miss it a little too, but I don't ever see myself going back. And punk does rule.

I like a bunch of stuff. I'm not a devout listener of any certain type of music. I agree with Matt in full.