How do you perceive meaning in music?

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I need to feel emotion in the music I listen to. Whether it's classical or pop, vocal or instrumental - I really need to feel as though the performers are making an effort (plus, they have to exhibit a degree of mastery over the music - I don't give points for effort if the performers don't have the chops.) An "effortless" performance is worthless to me.

That also goes for words - I'm not a fan of meaningless lyrics. I love to uncover layers of meaning in the lyrics (that's why I love Fiona Apple so much.) Double bonus points if they make be grab my dictionary once in a while.

with my brain

I love lyrics, but not for the social emotional information. That is flat to me. My lyric tastes are to the rhythmic and conceptual. Iggy Pop is my fav. poet. Frank Zappa rulz with language. People who have a sense of usage really get me to respond. Witty and clever lyrics. But not emotional stuff.

I don't listen to music... I FEEL it (or don't). Give me a good gut-wrenching bass-line (NOT the type that makes the trunk rattle!), the kind that I can feel in my ribcage, a stirring guitar that harmonizes my brainwaves, drums that beat in time to my leg-bouncing, and vocals that are like another instrument (that I get to play as I sing along!)

I like the lyrics, don't get me wrong - my favorite lyrics are the poetic type that increase the flow of the song, that roll along the melody and begin and finish a musical sentence. Certain music needs certain lyrics, and when they both mesh seamlessly together, I get transported to another plane, becoming one with the atmosphere...

am I making any sense?

goat

}:)~

I've thought about this before and I was just thinking about it last night so it's funny that this thread popped up today. I love music but I like to actively listen to it, I'm not a fan of having music on in the background just for the sake of noise. I don't really know how to describe my listening experience though, but I know that more often than not I don't pick up any meaning from the lyrics. I know I hear them because I memorize songs really quickly regardless of what language it's in, but it's more the sounds of the words and the melody that stick with me. There are tons of songs I can sing flawlessly through along with the singer, including all the tiniest nuances, and yet have little or no idea what they are saying. I intellectually know the words but for some reason in a musical context I have a hard time understanding them. It's like someone else said, the voice is just like another instrument in the song.

There are of course exceptions, there are lyrics that mean something to me whether it's a whole song or just a line or two from a song, but mostly it's just the way a song flows with all the different sounds working together.

I am totally and completely obsessed with music, and would have to say I'm equally affected by lyrics and tones, but which one affects me more depends on the song.

Lyrics, I'll remember even if I hear a song once and don't like it. That can be massively annoying, especially when I catch myself singing along to a song I can't stand when I'm out. However, if the lyrics are particularly powerful/meaningful or if I simply relate to them, I may LOVE a song even though the music sucks. As a kid (and even now, though I hold myself back from doing so most of the time) I could express myself better using lines from other people's songs than I could in my own words....in fact, for a long time, it was the ONLY way I could express myself. Likewise, people can get their point across to me far better by using song lyrics than by just telling me outright.

Pleasant tones strike me as well, and as a musician, that's usually what attracts me to a song and makes me want to play it (over and over and over and over, ad infinitum) on the piano. That being said, though, I have been known to dismiss many a lovely-sounding song because the lyrics brought about bad associations for me.

Well, I'm quite verbal and like to read a lot, so the lyrics gets my attention, but I don't lay too much meaning in all the songs. I'm a stones fan, and play the guitar myself, so most of my attention lays on the riffs and the way the guitars sounds like. I like other artists too, but I allways pays attention to the guitars. It's only rock'n roll, but I like it

Lyrics matter a lot to me. I was listening to an album recently which I found vaguely disturbing. Sure the music was rowdy and intriguing, but the lyrics kept tugging at my subconscious, song after song. I could not make any coherent sense of the whole album, yet it seemed to have a single theme.

I looked up some sites and discovered the hidden theme. Without paying attention to the lyrics, I might have never known it. Playing the album with this new perspective was like discovering a new dimension. Artists can hide things in plain sight.

Most bands begin with a concept, maybe just a rough outline, then create the music to match the concept, then add the lyrics. Some create lyrics like poetry and then build up music that matches or complements those words. Remove the lyrics from serious pop music and you have one or two broad emotions. So with just a few instruments, there's no way to convey irony, or comedy, tragedy. All you can convey are emotions that are easily felt like mood, tension, pace. With a complex orchestra you can attempt the more complex stuff, but few people listen to classical.

Some artists like only the phonetics of lyrics, David Bowie claiming that he 'just likes the way words sound, there's no specific meaning'. His song "Fall Dog Bombs the Moon" might mean something, but only to David Bowie.

No matter what field you consider, be it painting, music, sculpture... its always about saying something to an audience. So when you have a chance to both say something and use the human voice as an instrument, all the better.