Simple musical equations ?

[grimtraveller]

a] Poor lyric x Poor music =

b] Poor lyric x Good music =

c] Good lyric x Good music =

d] Good lyric x Poor music =

Is a] always worse than d] ?
Can b] ever be better than c] ?
Can a] ever be better than b] or c] ?
Support your answers with songs, please.

 

[Gtoboy]

Define "better" and "good" please. Popular is almost always dumb lyrics and simple chord sequences. It appeals to the common denominator.

You and I may have completely different views of what constitutes good and poor. So subjective a question makes me hesitant to even think about a response

 

[grimtraveller]

I felt it better to let each responder use their own definition of "good" and "better." It's often the differences in definition and application that make for interesting discussions.

 

[rob aylestone]

I can't answer for a different reason. Lyrics never feature at all in music I like. In all my life I think there was just one song that the words actually clicked due to circumstances at the time. Once that passed, it sunk back to obscurity in my collection. Even odder, in all the years with the band, singing harmonies mainly, I don't think I could recite the words for any of the songs beginning to end. I didn't sing them, so while every note is in my head, the words just don't feature. I can't write them either - I've done hundreds of pieces of music, but two have words, and I can't remember those either. Lyrics just don't impact on me at all. Or famous literature, Shakespeare or poetry.

 

[so-awesome]

Interesting! A bud and I used to have this debate all the time. I would say, "Songs are more popular because of their hook. For proof just look at Nirvana. Certainly fans of Nirvana never had any care for what the lyrics were," and he would say "no songs are mostly popular because of their lyrics, just look at all the great singer-songwriters from Dylan to Springsteen...they don't really have a hook it's the words that matter" and around and around we'd go. Both are right and wrong in hindsight