The Mix: The Lyrics, Music, And Genres

Have you ever heard that song that just has the right chemistry? The music is just the right tone, the lyrics spine tingling, and it all fits into the right art form. So what makes a great song work and does it fit the genre?

The Lyrics

Lyrics are about expressing emotion in music. If a person were just to read them, they'd get a sense of it, but to hear the person sing them that wrote them is different. That's why personally I don't like listening to people sing songs they didn't write because you'll never get the same feeling. Lyrics should have a point and shouldn't be mixed. We're the audience. We want to know what they mean when they say, "The sunshine shone, I'd never again know, what it'd feel like, To be alone." Above all it has to fit the music. Everything has a certain feel to it.

Ex 1: Punk music. The main points of punk is usually political, anarchy, and being rebellious. It's about not caring about what people think. So if it's supposed to be a punk song or album, don't write about your gf breaking your heart on 8 of the 10 songs.

Ex. 2: Blues. This is where you can write about getting your heart broken continually. Most likely you won't find them writing about gangta's and hoes. It just doesn't fit.

Ex. 3: Rap. Usually about how hard life is or how high you can get, but either way, a rapper can write some of the best rhymes in the world, but they usually lack one thing. The music. I think it's cheap to rip off of another person's riff just because they can't come up with anything on their own. Sure they have some great songs, but that's their only downfall and unoriginality.

The Music

Music is the root of it all. It's the base of many lyrics and can be used to express what words can't convey. When I hear Bethtoven's 9th, I think, man, he's mad right now. A song can usually be figured out just by hearing it's first riff, with exceptions of course. Not leaving out drummers, bassist, keyboardist, or any other musician of course. A song doesn't have to be complex to get a point across, just have the feeling. A great example would be Johnny Cash's cover of "Hurt" by Tool. It's stripped down and given a simple part. No impressive solo's or crunching riffs, just plain. But the simplicity made it so much more meaningful and to the heart. Add the vocals and it mixes perfectly. The vocals are itself a part of music. Many people can sing and sing well, but some people make the song all the more awesome. The vocals express the pain, joy, or anger of the lyrics.

The Genres

Ok, you've got the music and lyrics together, now what genre is it? First of all, Genres are totally overrated. Punk, Emo, Alternative, Metal, Grunge, Pop, R&B, Rap. They're all made up. One person decided to classify music and they screwed up. So before I go any further, remember that music is music, it's a language that everyone can understand. So don't get caught up in the genres.

Like I said before, Punk can be described as being very political, but these days it's a market. Punk isn't an image, nor should it be associated with one. It's an attitude and about getting a point across and it's simple. Punk music is the same way. Yes, power chords are used frequently and can be repetitive. You usually won't hear solo's or ballads, because that would take them off task and that's not what it's about. Punk these days, not really punk. Punk because of the music, pop because of the lyrics. Hence the name Pop-Punk, don't bash them because of the music, because early punk bands had the same type.

Nu-metal: Same lyrics, but many are repetitive which gets really old. Ex. Linkin Park. Singing about being the outcast and how nobody understands them. Both albums pretty much the same. Kind of like emo, but with synthesizer effects if you ask me.

Soul, Blues: Music is usually slow, and about the pain they feel. The vocals and music go hand in hand with these especially. They want you to feel their pain, so therefore, the music is either quite depressing and often times, suicidal like. There's little short bursts of energy in the vocals and music, each usually complimenting eachother. ex. Vocals, guitar scale, vocals, guitar scale, and so on. The don't want sympathy, yet they want you to know why they feel like crap.

Well, that's all I have for now. I hope you all liked my first internet article. I'm 17 and have played bass for 2 years when I was 15 and have played guitar for a year and a half. I really just threw this together at the last minute. I tried not to use too many bands as examples just because people like to bash when they see a band they don't like. Even your favorite bands were once influenced by a different genre or band, so be openminded.

I honestly have not looked up anything in this matter and it was all purely my own opinions and thoughts for the most part. We are all influenced by someone else whether we believe it or not. Another contradiction for all of you.

Thanks for your time,
- Ken

Comments

[spazo]

1st post (by the way it was nine inch nails that covered 'hurt', not tool)

[Wasp]

Good article, but you left out some genres.

Three stars.

[chaz man]

Very good article. You made a lot of good points.

[janecoffin27]

Stupid. It seemed like you were rambling about nothing and you didn't come to any sort of point.

[Tijmen]

Poor article, bad structure, bad title and very incomplete bits of information glued together. I wonder how old you are...

[nirvanafan11111]

gd article onlycomplaint was tht it was a very in depth look at the subject u were pursuein and u can kinda distiunguish between rap and punk

[nirvanafan11111]

i meant not a very in depth look sry

[AnotherWanabee]

Hurt is a NIN song you idoit

[the_beastly_one]

Not the best I've ever read, but not awful either.

[icebreakeribs]

FIRST OF ALL, isn't HURT by Trent Reznor. so NIN didn't cover it, right? Secondly, this articles is pure crap. horrible!

[MrLucky77713]

Punk is NOT about not caring. Punks usually care agreat deal about the world around them, they don't tend to care about societal norms because of the inherent close-mindedness of tradition. Therefore, it's a sort of civil disobediance. The "non-caring" is only a shallow glimpse, not the whole thing.

[frigginjerk]

not that great, to be honest. as you said, it's just an opinon piece, but you should back up your opinon with facts, or at elast good logic.

[Valhalla]

An example of lyrics that dont go with the type of song would be "Phish - Gin and Juice"

[jeeba jaba]

I think this kind of sucked, people can write about anything they want to in any genre they want to they dont neccisarily have to write songs like everyone else,

[CHEAPROYALTY]

this is pointless. music is what you want it to be. genres are nothing. no band always has a certain sound and anything with it could change. this article is just what you want it to be which and you even got it wrong entirely.\

[stealthunknown7]

dude what are you talking about!!! Linkin Park has the greatest music ever!!! you don't know what your talking about...

Like Tijmen said...

I wonder how old you are...

[Chalko]

This is the most worthless shit ever written. Incoherant rambing with misassociations, goddamn, I hope that you are not striving to be a journalist. Also, Linkin Park sucks so much, it is incomprehensible, I mean they are so bad, need so much production, and a team to write the songs/lyrics/mu-suck...al
so I heard that they were formed from auditions, a la' *nsync, Backstreet Boys, etc.
HA HA

[Morbid]

Apperantly stealthunknown and Tijmen you havent read the article since he said

I'm 17

right there.

[Ace From Space]

Thanks for describing the genres to me!

(by the way it was nine inch nails that covered 'hurt', not tool)

ummm no... NIN wrote the song... Cash covered it.

[SingingSabre]

Have you ever heard that song that just has the right chemistry? The music is just the right tone, the lyrics spine tingling, and it all fits into the right art form. So what makes a great song work and does it fit the genre?

You never told us. You talked about genres, music, lyrics, and other things...but not how they meld together. Stick to your point with future articles. Good effort.
2*

[CasualtiesArmy]

Youre all wrong. I wrote Hurt, sold it to Trent Reznor,he performed it and recorded it, THEN Johnny Cash covered it.

[will102387]

lol, again with a band bashing. It was NIN that made "Hurt" originally. LP has more talent than most bands today, (and people who bash Brad Delson, read some ***ing columns he wrote in Guitar World and you'll see that he knows more about music theory and the guitar than people give him credit for).

[Shoestick]

Then I covered Johnny Cash`s version. In my room. I had to pay him royalties because my cat coughed up a quarter while I was playing.

[Jimmy_Page_Zep]

^^What?

[ad_lib_oz]

What a piece of ass...

[stealthunknown7]

go will102387... i totaly agree with you. Linkin Park is one of the most talented bands out there. they got 2 great singers, the emcee mike shinoda and lead vocals of chester bennington. the guitarist brad delson is one of the greatest ever, and Joe Hahn is also one of the greatest DJ ever.

[Smashing Aztec]

^no way, you want good vocalists listen to eddie vedder or chris cornell sing. want good rappers listen to zach de la rocha, want good guitars don't listen to nu-metal, want good dj's listen to run dmc

[wAnNabE47]

It seems as if many of you are zeroing in on one point in the article and bashing it....maybe it wasnt that bad if the only thing you can say is "Linkin Park sucks" or "it was NIN dumb*ss" who cares!? He said he did it off the top of his head... everyone makes friggin mistakes, ***. The article wasn't great though it had no point, basically his article couldve been just the last paragraph and it would have said the exact same thing.

[wAnNabE47]

^^or rather the beginning paragraph with the title "the music". oopss

[koreazz7]

O.K. article

[Justin van Uum]

forgot metal

[l24f43l]

kind of like emo?

all emo isnt the same

[titanguy3]

EMO, hah kids look so confused when i say to them "YOUR SO FREAKIN EMO MAN"

[sithian476]

If anybody doesn't know what the article states, then it's good. But almost everyone does. Blam this shit.

[Zeke5000]

that article sucked. there are a lot more genres than that. and before you put something out like that at least look into who originally wrote the songs before you put that tool made hurt

[toolman]

HEY JACKASS NINE INCH NAILS SANG HURT AND CASH COVERED IT AND TOOL HAD NOTHING TO DO WITH IT!!!!....JACKASS

[PapeR CuTTT]

will u make up ur mind people cuz ur confusin the shit out of me was it Johnny Cash covering NIN or the other way around or was it just trent ..OR WHAT!?

[starbomb13]

allright article- it's true-music is music, don't get caught up in the genres("oh,that's not fukin'punk..)

[ILIKEMUSICALOT]

Toolman we've already established that NIN sang Hurt and that Cash covered it. Having said what you said has made you a jackass. You had no point of saying it, he was already informed and realized his mistake, jackass.

[bucketheadshead]

you said you dont like listening to songs that are sung by people who did not write the lyrics...yet you praised Johnny Cash's cover of Hurt

[civildp1]

dude what are you talking about!!! Linkin Park has the greatest music ever!!! you don't know what your talking about...

linkin park is crap. the linkin park bashing was the only good part of the article. hybrid theory was okay bbut meteora is just crap. its the same song sung 13 different ways. here's my linking park impression

" you make me worse. I wanna get away. I need to find out who am. gotta get away from you. (rap the same thing) scream."

utter rubish

[sargasm]

Genres are necessary. Get over it. I could write up a big rant backing that up, but it probably wouldnt even get read.

[zeusplayer44]

ok i know this a little random, but i just read on a different cite a thing on metallica.....and it put them under the catogory 'grunge'.......that pisses me off

[zeusplayer44]

oh yeah by the way linkin park is really awesome.....seriously, listen to their CD a couple times.........ohh.......s
o awesome

[yoski]

For sombody who thinks Genres are overated, you sure do know alot and care alot about them.

[chAos55]

Alright, valid stuff, not really USEFUL info...what were you trying to say? Dont make an article just to chat with yourself.

[Salt For Wounds]

My question is.. what's the point?

[ultimate_punk]

That wasn't great, to be honest....2 stars.

[pepsi_is_evil]

2 stars, pretty bollocks column.

[KeviePie04]

it seems like what everybody here who isn't bashing linkin park or saying whether nine inch nails wrote hurt or not is saying is whats the point. You kinda hinted at getting to one, but it never happened. Next time you write an article, be sure to finish it.

[guitar_string2]

Nice article, but i think in my opinion its mostly about the music style than the lyrics cause anyone can make songs about love, anarchy etc. but the style of the music basically cements the band/song in its genre.

[guitarloser23]

*coughcough***incoughdick
cough*

[Sturtpot]

hey man, the article started off strong with a good subject matter, but then you sort of decended into a mixture of your own opinions and views. Just remember when you are writing a critical analysis of something, ESPECIALLY music wise (because of all the touchy people out there) just confine it to the third person and use evidence to back up your views. A good start mate, for a 17 year old you have a very enlightened attitude to music... something you don't see often in this day and age!

[Xx_banx]

after reading thisx article, i wish i knew you on a personal level and saw u everyday. because i would taunt you and even possibly punch you in the mouth. when i come to UG, i like to read the columns, but fucks like you write stuff like this and make it a complete waste of my time, so i get aggitated and say 'screw it' and go play guitar. the article itself doesnt deserve a rating, you didnt go into detail in any genre but Punk. your nu-metal and blues descriptions where terrible. why dont you talk to B.B. King, and ask him what blues are about? or go talk to that guy John from Korn.
my rants over, peace out flamer.
(wheres the Metal description, huh?!!)=

[downhillbattler]

dude, u only talked about punk, and even that was stereotyped

[GNRfan]

oh my god it took to the 8th post to figure out that Hurt is a NIN song...i thought everyone here was knowledgable(sp?) in music?

[phlikone]

I don't think there's anything wrong with genres. I think you need to label and seperate the music. and about the whole Linkin Park thing, man those guys are so ***king horrible, I almost feel sorry for them. I miss the real music that bands like Pearl Jam , Nirvana, Stone Temple Pilots and Bush would put out. now these little freakin Pop Punk bands and Nu Metal (i.e.Linkin Park) don't know s@#t about music, I honestly think they do it for the money...thats why their music has no "soul"...they put out a song and its dead in a week, like a trend. Look back at songs from Metallica, man those songs are timeless. Jimi Hendrix's music is also timeless. i'm not trying to make a point, just stating my view on music...

[saiyanmetalhead]

your article sucks

[PapeR CuTTT]

phlikone ....U r obviously the one who desnt kno sh!t about music..

[msierragtz]

mm poor article , not very interesting . I respect everyones tastes for music but i still feel sorry for the guys who like linkin park...

[muted_silence]

pretty boring...and stereotypical.

[PychoArtRocker]

Sould have been longer end explained other genre's that where left out. 3 stars.

[monkeyspks]

you left out a lot of genres. and it was a little stereotypical about the emo, punk, numetal, whatever. you should go more in-depth about some of the other genres next time. 3 stars

[equal_heights]

yeah whatever. genres may be "neccasary" in their own way (like... cd shopping) but people still take them far to seriously in a general sense. nothing fits into just one genre, everything is either mixed with or an offshoot of or crosses the border of something else...theres no actual definition for anything really. ive seen slipknot described as nu-metal many times, and theyre nothing like linkin park (they both suck, actually). so there you go

[Dogwillhunt]

Yes, you're correct Hurt is a NIN song, but nobody cares because this article sucks. Personally, I feel that Johnny Cash did a very good rendition of Hurt, seeing as how it was just as believable coming from a man on his deathbed as it was from Trent Reznor. Johnny Cash was the man. R.I.P.

[Dogwillhunt]

Did anyone catch Reznor playing Hurt on the Katrina benefit concert? Awesome.

[Maggot penis]

I'm not sure if you said anything.