On the one hand, I love music for the music, if I want words I'll look for them elsewhere. And I love bands who are brave enough to do away with lyrics as we conventionally understand them: my favorite band is Can, whose main frontman Damo Suzuki never felt constrained by the tyranny of sense. But Cocteau Twins and MBV also have that.
On the other hand, sometimes lyrics catch my ear and I'm interested. Beefheart's lyrics are a case in point. I love him for the music, the songs, the arrangements, the feel, the sound of his voice. But lyrics are part of the package. Tom Waits too. He's a musical genius and that's why I'm a huge fan. But the lyrics to something like Goin Out West is part of what makes this song so awesome.
And then there's The Fall. I am obsessed with this guy's lyrics. He's so damn good, so sharp and eloquent and original, his delivery is inimitable. With the Fall the lyrics are as important as the music, even when the music is brilliant (and it isn't always the case).
TNWRA (a
“rich and baffling song … about an insurrection in the north of Britain”) is a song I want to extended to novel or film form. It's just fascinating.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mo5a...=TheFall-Topic