The personal importance of lyrics . . .

This comment was too long to fit in the comment box as a response to Sue's "Same Old Same Old? or a Whole New World?" post, so I was forced to post it separately.

Sue wrote: "And yet, some things are very different than they were. I used to have to listen to a song over and over and over again to try and figure out what the lyrics were. There were endless debates: did he say “Rolled up like a deuce” or “Rolled up like a douche”? (How sophisticated we thought we were to be able to say that work without giggling…) Nowadays, the lyrics are there for you with a click if you want them. I’m not entirely sure why that seems important to me, but it does. I’d welcome others’ thoughts on whether this instant availability of the lyrics matters."

Personally, knowing that lyrics are instantly available (whether you actually use them or not) has been and is somewhat important to me: I'm a fan and frequenter of Lyrics on Demand. Because I came to exist when I did (1983) and started getting into music at a time (early 90's) when lyrics were made readily available in the booklets included in the cases of tapes and CDs (and now as .pdf files when you download an entire album through iTunes), I've never known a time when lyrics weren't at my finger tips and thus have always been able to access and use them in different ways. Before I explain how I use lyrics and why they were and continue to be important to me, I should mention that lyrics were usually available for music that was current and popular (on tapes and CDs) while I was going up, but not necessarily for music prior to the advent of the tape and CD, though not all tapes and CDs guaranteed the inclusion of lyrics. That didn't matter to me when I was a teenager because I didn't really care about music that wasn't popular during that time, but it became increasingly important as I grew older, gained more interest in older music, and wanted to engage with the lyrics more intimately.

I grew up in rural southern Colorado, a half Mexican, half Swedish only child listening to a slue of random music that sometimes seemed to have a place in my life and sometimes didn't. My dad listened to the following: Tejano/Ranchero music out of New Mexico and Texas, traditional Mexican folk music, disco, 80's hits, country (early George Strait, Randy Travis, Reba McEntire, Hank Williams Jr.) and what was then starting to become 'older country' (Merle Haggard, Hank Williams, Johnny Cash, Waylon Jennings). My mom, on the other hand, listened to Oldies (40's through 60's), what is now considered Classic Rock (Beatles, Bachman-Turner Overdrive, Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, CCR, etc) and 70's & 80's hits.

While I was and still am heavily influenced by and enjoy all of these different genres of music, when I was a teenager, the last thing I was going to be associated with was anything that my parents listened to: their music was lame, the lyrics didn't speak to me, and I couldn't relate to words or the music. Instead I was deeply interested in and loved Hip Hop and Rap music. In middle school I was breakin' and jammim' to Hip Hop from MC Hammer, Slick Rick, 2 Live Crew, Outkast, Warren G, and Salt -N- Pepa. As I got 'older' and moved into high school, I got over Hip Hop and became obsessed with Gangsta Rap from rappers including The Wu Tang Clan, Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, The Notorious B.I.G, Tupac, and The Big Tymers.

I was drawn to Hip Hop and Rap because not only was it 'cool' but the sound was one of a kind: the beat rattled my soul, the words penetrated my brain, and the bass stopped my heart. I prided myself on being able to know the words by heart and rap along to the song with my friends. It was fun and rebellious to give my birthday and Christmas money to my friend's older brother so that he could buy me the explicit lyric Rap CDs that my parents forbid me to buy and listen to (they lived in a shoe box in the back of my closet). But given my background and upbringing, which was pretty 'white picket fence' in my opinion, I couldn't and didn't personally relate to the content of the music, but for some reason it moved and inspired me and I was addicted.

Whether the music was bumpin in my car, on my stereo in my room, or through my Discman's headphones into my ears and directly into my cerebral cortex, I could usually always hear the lyrics clearly and understand them, but this wasn't always the case: sometimes the beat was so sick that I was too distracted to hear what the rapper was saying or I only payed attention to certain verses in the song because they were catchy or were my favorite part of the song. Of course situations like this made having the lyrics convenient to consult to clear up ambiguity or to focus on parts of the song that didn't jump out.

But they also went above and beyond that purpose for me: they were poetry when read alone, they were a guide that allowed you to read along and listen closely to the music and experience it in a way different from just listening without them. I could hear the song and enjoy it and I could read the lyrics of the song and understand the message or get the meaning, but listening to the music and reading the lyrics simultaneously brought it all together and could elicit deeper feelings, understanding, and emotions, especially when done through headphones. The beat and melody transported me to another world and the words became more than words, they became truth.

Like other Hip Hop and Rap fans from my generation, I have lost interest and respect in the current direction that Hip Hop and Rap has taken in the modern industry. I yearn for raps and beats from 'back in the day' when there was something to be said, real messages to be delivered, and lyrics worth listening to. Although in my opinion the content/message of songs and the lyrics found in most mainstream music today isn't as poetic or deep as it used to be, having access to lyrics in any form is convenient and can be both enjoyable and meaningful for teenagers or anyone.