What makes music good (in your opinion)?

[Py687]

Personally...

 

I guess melody is almost always my top priority. But I'd wedge in composition and creativity. Songs with vocals need to resonate with me in timbre, or fit the song's mood really well, for me to like them. I vastly prefer artists whose voices sound emotionally strained, and who sound like they're giving all they have into that one song. However, I don't think lyrics are crucial because I do enjoy listening to songs without vocals. I'm also generally not one to seek meaning in songs; I don't feel I have to recognize the artist's intent or message, or even understand the literal meaning of lyrics in foreign languages. Most often, I look to lyrics specifically for comedy, not self-reflection (the latter of which I think can be better represented in other media).

 

My outlook on that is similar to my view on literature: while I can and do enjoy deeper analyses of books, I don't always want to be burdened with dissecting what the author wants to impart--nor should/do I have to, as not all genres lend themselves to critical analysis. I can appreciate that something like Catcher in the Rye is an example of a novel you reflect upon, and mull over, and dissect. At the same time, I also appreciate it as a literal story about one boy's weekend. (Never mind that I don't actually like the book. cough)

 

Whenever someone asks me what genres I listen to, I just say something along the lines of liking every genre. This is me being lazy: what I mean is, I am open to all genres. Of course there exist genres that I naturally gravitate to, and ones I don't actively poke my head around, but for whom isn't this true? I just don't have the willpower to list or categorize them all, nor do I want to give a half-assed reply. To that end, I think people who close themselves to multiple entire genres are close-minded and shortsighted. (I don't piss on people who hate on genres I like, but I do secretly find them plebian.)

 

Ultimately, though, that's just me putting "If I like it, it's good; if I don't, it's crap" into words. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but to some extent I believe that what I just wrote cannot encompass all of what I feel when I "decide" whether or not to like a particular song. There are pop songs I don't like, and there are pop songs that I like but sound similar to ones I dislike. If I had to explain those, I wouldn't always be able to, asinine as that can be. I don't understand myself well enough to answer this question in full, and in many respects I'm okay with that.

 

I feel like I rambled a ton and just went in circles, but there's no way I'm not posting something I spent a good chunk of time on.