Do Lyrics Matter?

On BlogCritics, Bill Sherman muses about Lyrics

Maybe it's because I'm a writer, but this diminution of words can't help but irk me. A great pop song works on both musical and lyrical levels, and downplaying either component is a critical cheat. My uncharitable guess is that some of the blogcrits may be attempting to get around an audience that they perceive as predominately neo-libertarian. (You know the type: their idea of individual freedom only extends to those who agree with 'em.) But perhaps it's just a variation of the ol' rock-is-for-dunderheads-so-why-bother? routine.

It often seems to me that strong lyrics often come with weak music, and vice-versa. I do find a lot of critics (being writers) do pay too much attention to the lyrics, because it's harder to write about the music, and tend to dismiss bands who don't write the sort of lyrics they can write about. For most of my favourite music, it's not the lyrics that are important, it's the music.

This isn't to say I don't like interesting and thought provoking lyrics, I just don't care for those artists that don't have the music to back it up.

Don't know about neo-libertarian audiences, though. I always thought Rush were better once they'd got Ayn Rand out of their system; but that's another subject altogether.