Great music can pull me in and force me to listen to the lyrics. One example of this is "1979" by the Smashing Pumpkins. The music is instantly catchy, and I love to listen to it. However, once I started to understand the lyrics (and read the liner notes
) I appreciated the song much more than I would have if only the music were present and not the lyrics. "Beneath the sound of hope." Some of the lyrics in that song are quite beautiful.
On the other hand, great lyrics can pull me in and force me to listen to the music repeatedly until I "understand" it. I enjoy complex music that isn't necessarily instantly catchy. One example of this is Portishead's album
Third. At first, it was my least favorite Portishead album. I didn't really like the music; it kind of grated on me and I stopped listening to the album for a few days after I picked it up. However, I liked some of the lyrics so I kept at it until one after one, each song began to click in my mind... "Tempted, in our minds..."
Sometimes, an album is just a hard-luck case with me. For example, it took me awhile to get either the lyrics or music in REM's
Up. However, now some of the songs on that album are favorites of mine. On the other hand, some albums are just bad and never click. I'm not sure
Into the Sun is going to get another shot at it with me...