Having grown up in Dartmouth, NS as a teenager during the 70s, there wasn't a hell of a lot to do for entertainment, except smoke pot, drink beer & booze and listen to all the great music being released in that decade. Buying and collecting LPs and amassing a diverse & large collection of LPs was something of a teenage social status for us. Especially amongst my guy friends.
Some of my fondest memories during the mid to late 70's was coming home from a record buying venture, first sneaking off to the garage and smoking a bowlful of hash or a skinny spliff, then proceeding to seclude myself with the headphones on & sitting in my room listening to my newest musical wares. For me, the seduction of the LPs' 12 x 12" graphic art was enough to captivate me endlessly, whether it was expansive painting on Miles Davis' Bitches Brew cover or the exotic menagerie on Santana's Abraxas or any of the Roger Dean, Hipgnosis, Creem designed album covers. They were so beautiful! (This would explain my current obsessive collection of Japan Mini LP CDs). Most all of these albums came with lyrics printed within the inside cover art design or on a lyric sheet included inside, most times printed on the sleeve containing the LP. There were times when lyrics were not included and that was generally just a bummer.
This is what I would consider a connection with the music. One is listening to the music, following the lyrics and immersing themselves in the accompanying artwork. Quite the experience (One reason I have despised the CDs introduction is the complete lack of that experience one gets with a CD). Perhaps this is one reason why so many young adults are now turning to LPs instead of CDs or digital files. They are seeking that some of that same experience.
But all of this is not reason for lyrics to be imperative with every release.
My point for this declaration is simply:
1. We are denying the listener part of the experience of listening to popular music. If that part of the experience is taken away from the music fan, then it becomes just another reason to consider the music disposable.
2. Lyrics engage the listener to read and use their imagination (Something I fear is lacking more & more in this day and age, as I see it in my students. (Thank you MTV, MuchMusic and Video Games for spoon feeding our kids with images, pre-determined stories for the music and denying them the ability to form their own imagination - Yes, I hate slick, record company issued videos now.)
3. Lyrics help tell the songs' story. Sometimes the story and purpose of the songs' story can get lost in the recording process and without printed lyrics alongside, it can often be indecipherable. I guess, if I was a songwriter, I would want my fans and listeners to understand the words and "hear" the meaning of the song. I truly believe a song is more than just chords, melodies, riffs and hooks. A song is personal and has a story with it.
Record companies, labels AND artists need to ensure that the music fan can develop an experience & connection with their music and the only way to do that is through interaction with the fans/consumers (this is happening thanks to the 'Net and events like "Record Day" at retail stores in Canada & USA), good music (not shite), quality packaging (INCLUDING LYRICS) and accompanying live performances/tours.
If you give the people what they want (and deserve) then the labels will find that their sales will increase and could, possibly, be something more of a reflection of the old skool days, which is something I know that many in the business wish for.
I have to confess, when I think about my own love of music, I can't help but access the volumes and volumes of memories stored in my mind under "Good Ole Days".
ReplyDeleteBecause much of my experience as a listener was in the hands of my parents and older cousins as a child, I grew up on a ecclectic diet of The Beatles, Adam Ant, Loretta Lynn, Dolly Parton, Kenny Rogers, The Rolling Stones, and anything my mother could sing, which ran the gammut from early 70s R$B to 50s and 60s popular music.
I memorized songs, listening to them over and over again and writing down the lyrics myself. If it was on the radio, I'd set up my tape recorder and hold the mic to the speakers so that I could have "my own" copy to play and replay. It wasn't until Michael Jackson's Thriller that I realized that lyrics with packaging was even an option. When I got my own copy of Bob Dylan's Greatest Hits Volume II in my teenage years, I went damn-near blind reading and rereading the lyrics included in the cassette case.
As a songwriter, I've wondered at including lyrics. Sometimes I shy away from the idea for the simple fact that songs are just that, personal stories. Sometimes I think that the audience should be able to listen and decipher themselves; that spoonfeeding the words to them will take away from the experience of delving into the song until it's really and truly understood from one's own perspective. Sometimes, I think of the prospect of including lyrics as just plain narcissism.
I suppose if I draw on my own experience as a listener, I do have to admit that I almost always go in search of lyrics, so perhaps you're right. Maybe that really is what the people want!
Love this post, Doug.
Hope you have a great day.