I've been wondering this same thing for a long time. For me, the lyrics in music play a large role, but I enjoy music without them as well. If a song has terrible lyrics, I probably won't like it no matter how good the music is, but the converse is not necessarily true. The best, though, is when the music and lyrics are intertwined and compliment each other.

As to the second question, I often try to predict where the melody of music is going to go, but usually I just listen and let the composer/artist take me where they want.

I have recommended Pandora to many folks, and I never get "Yeah, this is like the other services..." Instead, I get "Wow! This is not like other services!"

I was watching the video. I have NO IDEA how you guys make money, but I LOVE the service. Pandora is EXACTLY what I want as a listener.

So, all success to you.

Thank you.

My day is better because I have a sweet place on the web to go to to get the musical strokes I need...

Pandora often is the highlight of my day!

Yeesh, that sounds pathetic! But seriously, I have a palpable experience of control over what I hear, and what I hear influences what I FEEL.

So you are on target. You probably aren't getting rich at this point, but I'm sure you will eventually, because when you find out where people itch...

By the way, I have tons of music at woundedego.com/songs

How do I get it on Pandora?

Bill Ross

Ok, I listened to all 5 YouTubes...

Pandora is cool...tell me something I DON'T know!

I love being in touch with something that is unheard of... but will one day be a household name!

Bill Ross
http://bibleshockers.om
http://woundedego.com

Michael,

If you don't mind, I'm going to quickly answer your question, and then ruminate on it a bit.

Mostly, when I hear music, I hear the music. If I know the performer is one for whom lyrics are important, I will give more attention to them. In many cases, if the arrangement is not conducive to picking the lyrics out, I never bother to try to understand them. Which is fine - Sigur Ros is so great-sounding, I don't mind not knowing if they're singing about sacrificing children to Satan. And if the lyrics of a beautiful song are clear, I may have a very pleasant surprise when I suddenly notice, as sometimes happens, that they are really good.

Now, the interesting thing is (or at least I think it's interesting) is that I was not always this way. When I first started paying attention to popular music, I was a lyrics guy first and foremost. Of course, this was the era of Sgt. Pepper's, when everyone was talking about the lyrics: was this song full of drug references, did that one have a sneaky call for revolution buried in it, and what in the world did Jim Morrison mean in *that* one?

I find, as I've gotten older, that I have ever so gradually drifted from one pole to the other - while I used to listen to music mostly for meaning, I now listen mostly for beauty. It's always been a mixture for me - way back then, I loved Thick as a Brick for its sound, and now I love Mike Scott for his eloquence - but the overall trend is very clear. In some ways, I'm sure this is a loss - I probably wouldn't give much time to Leonard Cohen now (at least, not without Judy Collins to help me along) - but on the other hand, Renaissance completely passed me by when it was hot, so I guess it all balances out.

I imagine another factor is that when I was young, I spent a lot of time doing nothing but listening to music - leaving most of my rational mind free to appreciate the lyrics. These days, I'm almost always doing something else besides listening, and drifting along with the melody provides me much pleasure without interfering with whatever else I'm doing.

I will end by noting that when meaning and beauty come together for me (as in the songs of the Indigo Girls), then I am in the best of all possible worlds, even if I do have to just stop typing and just LISTEN when one of those songs comes up (at least until I get to the point where I know all the words, in which case I can sing along without even thinking about it, and still keep right on typing ;-) .

- Alan -

It depends if I have the music playing in the background or if I am actively listening to it. If it's in the background, I am more likely to focus on the music. If it catches my attention enough, then I will probably listen for the lyrics. If I am actively listening, I will take both music and lyrics into account.

Hello, and thanks for the project! Good times.

My personal experience of songs is initially music-based (that's what will draw me in), but certain lyrics will hold me in thrall long past the time that the music itself may be dated or just no longer of interest. This is not too surprising to me; I am a word person and I love language. I do think the genre influences this one way or another, though -- some songs will make me jump up and dance, no matter how the lyrics go, and some song lyrics are so powerful that they are all I hear despite the instrumentation (I'm thinking of many songs by L. Cohen here).

I'm smiling at your last question - it's funny to me how I'll expect, not necessarily the words or melody in a song to go a certain way, or hoping that they don't, but the song order of an album to follow a known, familiar pattern. My mind will fill in the blanks if I skip songs in an album sequence to play just my favorites. More to your question - some singer interpretations of others' songwriting are just wonderful, while other interpretations feel like a violation of "how the song should go". I'm sure that's all wrapped up in emotion, memory and associations with the original song, which version you hear first, etc.!

Deviating a bit from this particular post... it's fascinating to me that the group who started the Music Genome Project chose to break music down into its component attributes, its "genes"... a new application of science to what seems a nebulous, emotive world. Can what makes a song great, or memorable, or touch a chord deep within us, be quantified, qualified? Will your eventual number of listeners tell the whole tale? While having such a thing as a music genome project is tremendously cool and I'm happy that that people put time and effort and their mind share into the exercise, I wonder if it takes us from a place of perhaps greater interest -- the place where the ordered crystalline sand on the beach (the finely analyzed music) meets the turbulent, chaotic waves of the listener's mind (made up of memories, the mood of the day, of the moment...). How does music (and other art) evoke response? Can that question be answered or explained by "if you like these attributes of this song, then you will probably like this other song which bears many of those same attributes"? Or will science by itself, however precise, fall short of finding a universal constant for joy?

Just in case that last bit implies otherwise -- I love science and mean no disparagement. I'm guessing that as time goes by, as we continue to push boundaries with science, we will possibly get to the point where we *can* explain joy entirely chemically, and reproduce it reliably, and find music and other art that answers reliably to emotion and desires that seem so singular and intangible at this point in our learning and experimenting and wondering.

Thanks for asking questions that apparently inspired so much rambling musing on my part. Cheers,
Jenna

I listen for a hook, anything that grabs me. It's usually musical on a first/second listen, but more likely to be lyrical after a few listens. Sometimes, for more complex productions and compositions, a 3rd phase of musical revelation kicks in. Even with lyrical hooks, rhythmic and/or melodic phrasing is important.

Some hooks appeal to me in their originality, triggering a "how did they come up with that?!?" response as I'm listening, while others seem to reference music I like, tapping into the pool of fond associations I have already built with similar (but possibly more potent) artists. This may be somewhat related to "interactive listening" - part of me wants to be able to categorize music or understand it within its framework, while another part wants the music/lyrics to jump out and surprise with unpredictability. My favorite music has a combination: unique qualities (both lyrical and musical) within a somewhat familiar framework. My least favorite music is generic, watered down mush that, in trying to appeal to everyone's tastes, ignores the most interesting (unpreditable/unique) parts of the music from which it draws its inspiration.

I wonder how this fits into the Music Genome...

I usually pay very little attention to lyrics, at least until I make a concious effort to hear them. Although it's about the opposite when listening to hip-hop; I usually get too caught up in the lyrics to listen closely to the beat the first couple of plays.

I often ask my friends the same question... and more often than not, the lyrics come first. As I've gotten older, I appreciate the music more and more, but the lyrics always hold a special place in my heart. I find that I can't listen to bad music or bad lyrics anymore, but I'm willing to try harder for a song with amazing lyrics.

It also depends on my mood whether I'm actually listening to lyrics. When I'm really tired... I just want something melodic and sweet to carry me home. If I'm feeling hyper, I want to hear something loud and raucous and fun-loving, with lots of hard music and loud lyrics. And on the solitary moments, I'm hardly listening to the musical element and concentrating solely on the lyrics and singing along (badly).

As to whether I'm anticipating where the song goes, not typically. I like music as it is. It's like a story to me, and as with most things in my life, I let it flow as it should and just enjoy the ride.

Hi,

I know when I was younger I didn't listen much for the words, now I do. Also yesterday I was thinking how large part of enjoyment in music is actually anticipating familiar parts ie. you need to know certain type of music to enjoy it. People like to hear familiar songs and hits. You can see that if you rarely listened to hard-core or maybe classical music, it takes some getting used to, then you start loving it.
Pay attention when you listen and you will see that you are always trying to go a little forward and anticipate what is coming next.

Keep up the good work.

This is a big thing to me. Lately I've been listening to Japanese music, in which I can't understand the lyrics. It gives a lot of room to listen to the music and get the mood of whats being played/said. Too many great songs out there are slaughtered by what the lyrics imply, so having the opportunity to just get the "music" is awesome.

Like Faro said, though, it's perfect when the mood of the song compliments the words, because you can (and this brings me to the bonus question) feel the highs and lows. You can feel how the song builds intensity then releases it, and predict when it will happen.

Thanks for Pandora.

For me It really depends on what the true hook of the song is. Most songs today have a lyrical hook, (like Crazy Bi*&$ by Buck Cherry) but when a song with a great musical hook (Like Slither by Velvet Revolver) comes my way I find myself able to listen to it much more than a lyrical hook song. I have found a few songs that have strong lyrical and musical hooks (like Brown Eyed Girl by Van Morrison). These songs in my mind have the chance to stand out among all other songs and become a true classic.

My knee-jerk reaction is that lyrics come first. Most of the songs I've cared about capture through lyrics what I'm feeling, going through or thinking about at any given point in my life.

For instance, when I was a poor, shy, middle-school kid during Reagan's first term, I was shouting "it's not for me", not Mark Mothersbaugh, in Devo's "Beautiful World". As I became a love-struck teenager, it was the lyrics of Depeche Mode, Yaz and Erasure that helped express through mix tapes what I was feeling for my crush-of-the-moment, and that planted the seed in my mind that love and relationships were the most valuable aspects of life. And it was the fist-in-the-air diatribes against the system by industrial artists, such as Nitzer Ebb and Frontline Assembly, that prevented me from succumbing to the anger and frustration of climbing the corporate ladder the past 20 years.

Yet, just about all the music I listen to is electronic - new wave, synthpop, industrial, and trance. So, musical ingredients and characteristics obviously matter a great deal. I think this criteria is what often makes the first cut when I'm actively searching the internet for new music to purchase. But when I first listen to a new CD at home, I'm always reading along with the lyrics in the booklet, and evaluating what the words make me think about and feel. I'm hoping for a CD filled with meaningful lyrics set to powerful music. But, I'll settle for moving music, since that has its time and place.

In fact, lately what matters most--lyrics and/or music--depends on where I'm listening to the music. In the club, music matters most, and whether the musical qualities of a song take over my body. In front of the computer (my primary Pandora time), when I'm working or reading, the songs as a whole must heighten awareness of what I'm doing, and not distract me. So, musical and lyrical qualities are equally important. When I'm in my car and I want to sing, catchy and/or meaningful lyrics matter. When I'm driving in traffic or driving home after a bad day at work, uplifting trance instrumentals help me zone out and heal me.

I've been more intrested in the musical contents of songs than the lyrics most of my life. There was a time when I prefered instrumentals to songs with lyrics, but that stage passed a couple of decades ago.

There are definitely songs that interest me virst because of their lyrics, but I'd say these songs are in the minority of the songs I love. I'd say that I do like a clever turn of a phrase or interesting wording in a song even if I can't figure it out. However I rarely really pay attention to all of the lyrics of a song.

I liked what Jason had to say about hooks, I'm *very* hook oriented. Sometimes I do recognize lyrical hooks but they're usually musical hooks that grab me.

There are definitely artists that I love who always interest me lyrically. I think that Suzanne Vega is one example of such an artist. I love what she has to say and how she says it. I like both the words that she uses and the way she sings the words, her phrasing and emphasis.

I find that some artists have songs where the music seems to be more a scaffolding for the lyrics than an equal part of the song. I can't really think of any such songs off the top of my head, but I do know that I enjoy such songs sometimes. These songs really are only as good as they lyrics and it takes really good lyrics for such songs to hold my interest.

I'd also agree with the people who said that even if a song's lyrics don't catch my attention immediately, it's often good lyrics that keep me from losing interest in the song over time.

Usually the music catches my attention first, then the lyrics if they are well written. If I hear an unusual chord progression or interesting catchy 'hook' motif...it will get my attention, however, it then has to go somewhere or I get bored easily. Wow, what a neat discovery, finding your site. Thank you. Alberti

When I first hear a song I hear it as a whole, music and lyrics combined. The second through 5th times I hear the lyrics (unless there is an extremely good musical line that is what hooked me to the song, but that is rare) After that I disect the song, I hear the guitar for a few times, then listen only for the bass, then only for the drums, then listen for odd sounds such as the violin, horn or triangle. After that I can usually enjoy a song to its fullest for about 20more times, then it gets old and I need a new one =)

I listen for a feeling. The words are first just another instrument. Paul Simon is great at word sounds. Later the words have meaning. Later still, they have more of a feeling again, suffused as they are with all of the places and feelings when I previously listened.

bonus points. it depends. I love the unexpected, the unusual. For me, world music is so fascinating to listen to as _everything_ is novel. Other times, I want to wear music as comfortable as my favorite pair of shoes-when listening just feels so fine, and it comforts too.

I used to be very concerned about the words, but not so much any more. The number one sin music can do, in my opinion, is to grate on my nerves. Surprisingly a wide variety of music can "feel good" - not just stuff that is considered "smooth."

I'm increasingly drawn to playful music, like "Sweet Escape" or "That Thing You Do." It puts me in a good mood. Like the name "Dixie Chicks." I mean, it is a bit non-PC to refer to yourself as "chicks" so it keeps the heavy vibes at bay.

But what I REALLY like is free music! Streamed 24x7, commercial free! So, I like Pandora.

And I like variety, and being able to switch gears when my station starts sounding kind of same-o sameo.

Bill Ross
http://woundedego.com
http://bibleshockers.com

I listen for melody then words, then imagine I'm in the band playing the song, or singing backup, or enjoying a song I've written. Lyrics are not always a concern to me.

Music has always been much apart of me since I started playing in school orchestras in 5th grade. Now I listen mainly to symphonic metal (an obscure genre that's mainly European). But it's just that: a symphony. At least for me, the music is the most important part, and the lyrics are just there to get you into the right mood to best experience the music.

As for the bonus, I just like to sit and hear all the different layers that make up the song. Each instrument playing its part. I like it most when the song takes a new turn rather than just repeating the same phrasing over and over.

Genre does play a important role to my ears. Also how the song is produced or engineered. For instance, As I type this I'm listening to a James Taylor song at work through headphones. I never heard this song before from my station Folk Singers and Acoustic Stories. Anyway as I listen to this upbeat number; Knocking around the Zoo. I'm hearing the time signatures. If i'm looking for lyrical insperation because I'm having a writers block. I'll listen very closely to the words and to see how they make me feel. If need to compose some music. I'll listen to Jazz from my Jazz station; Straight with no Chaser. If i need a guitar bridge for a song I'm working on and the one I built wouldnt support a thought. I'll listen and borrow from the digital masters to see how they would do a similiar song

Usually I listen for both lyrics and music on the first go-round. If forced to pick one, I will usually go for lyrics. I am a words person and that is relflected in my choice of musicians (Elvis Costello, Joni Mitchell, Dylan, et cetera et cetera). I am much more likely to forgive horrible music with great lyrics than horrible lyrics with great music. Something that is too repetitive or cliche lyrically makes me cringe.

As for your second question, genre doesn't matter too much in my love of lyrics, but it matters a bit. I expect stellar lyrics with my rock and pop fare, but I am much more likely to forgive weak lyrics in genres where musicality plays a bigger role. I'm not quite sure what these genres are...big band, perhaps?

And as for the third, if I'm actively listening, I hope that the music will be surprising and innovative the first time, but I do love knowing something inside and out. After a while, even the thing that seemed so different to you becomes just part of that song. And that's not a bad thing, especially if you like to sing along! But if something is predictable the whole way through, well that's just boring.

Thanks for Pandora, you guys are doing a great great job. You have saved my ears from bad music and my cash from whim purchases. I actually have a whole list of things to get thanks to you guys!

I usually first listen to the music and then I try to listen to the lyrics and usually that makes the song better. If it's a Top 40ish station I find I don't really listen to either to closely (except the chorus really). But between music and lyrics, music always wins with me, (maybe because I play a variety of instruments myself).

I love Pandora, it's an amazing idea and because of this site I've discovered some new artists who I've never heard of but now I insist on going to get their entire CD! Plus I have a variety of music tastes and usually I can only find a couple of artists in the genre really, but now I've opened doors that I didn't know existed! Thanks!!!

Oh I hear the music almost exclusively. I don't really hear the words -- I hear the voice and notes, and melody and inflection before I hear individual words.

I think this is partly why karaoke drives me nuts -- people focusing on hitting the words and the pitch goes out the window!

To the second question, I am always predicting and filling in where the music is going in my head. It definitely gets my attention when I hear someone back themselves into a musical corner in the middle of the piece. "Where are you going to go from here?" Sometimes they pull it off...

- ATB

Oh! I love this question!

Personally, the number one factor is that the lyrics and the tune have to match. They need to go together. Except for very specific exceptions (like Saturday Night from the Misfits...and even then I think they make the crooning style work even if the lyrics don't quite match.)

It's why I've never been a huge fan of the "power ballad" *laugh*

Even if the lyrics are nonsensical, but I can understand from the feeling of the words and the way the words are "painted" across the tune (Tori Amos springs to mind as an example) I'm a happy listener.

But to have a Supertramp tune sampled on top of bad hip-hop is a bad idea for me. They don't match. (They also change the meaning of the sample from the original song lyric meaning. This, to me, is bad form.) But the Common song that has the slightly jarring hook "before you lock my love away" manages to work within the paradigm of the song.

Thanks for asking! What's your preference?

I think for me the music unconsciously comes first because there are some lyrics that I absolutely love, but didn't completely pick up on until I listened to the song a few times. However, that's not to say that I'm not paying attention to the melody being sung, but more that I'm hearing the song as a whole musically, before I break down all the words. As a follow up to that, there have been times where I really pay attention to the lyrics as part of a song that musically sparks my interest. For example, I bought a cd about a month ago and I was listening to it while I was cleaning or something and enjoying it all the while, but when the last track started with a really nice piano sound, I just had to stop what i was doing and listen to the song as a whole. In listening to the song as a whole, I discovered, not surprisingly, that the lyrics are just as beautiful as the music, which then lead me to really appreciate more of the artist’s lyrics on the rest of the album. For me, when talking about any vocal music I think the combination of good music with good lyrics will always outweigh a song that only has a great one or the other.
As far as actively listening to music, the most important thing for me is that there is a consistent progression in terms of mood and along the same lines, that the feeling of the lyrics and music are the same. For example, I was listening to samples from a few versions of 'Round Midnight earlier this evening and I heard one that I hated because it had a Latin beat that to me was too upbeat and portrayed too much of a positive feeling; when that song is anything but positive in my mind because I am most familiar and fell in love with the song as Sarah Vaughan or Ella Fitzgerald sing it. And even the original Miles Davis or Davis and Coltrane versions portray that feeling of sadness and loss. I listened to that other version tonight and my initial reaction was "that's wrong." Anyway, I could go on about this forever, but I'll leave it at that for now. Great questions, MZ!

Ok, here is my long answer. . . I think I listen with different levels of awareness and that partially decides whether I hear the music or the lyrics primarily. When I'm hearing something for the first time though, I think I always perceive what I would call 'the music,' first. But to me the music includes all of it though - including voice and lyrics and instrumental orchestration - all of it together.

Somewhere further down the line lyrics stand out. Sometimes I'll even listen to or buy some music just for the lyrics. I'll tolerate music I'm not crazy about if the lyrics are exceptional. But it can't be the other way around. If I detest the words, no matter how great the music is, I'll never be able to listen to the song. Even though I might hear a song many times before I realize what the words are, once I hear them I never forget. Only rarely do I recall having noticed words immediately

Over all, I think I hear the words and music equally and switch between which I pay attention to more. It depends too much on situation and style. And, I enjoy completely instrumental just as much as vocal music.

No matter what type of music, I think it can be and usually is experienced. Is it interactive? I guess I prefer to think I interact - at least in my mind - with what I spend so much time and energy enjoying. I don't own a TV. I thus only listen to the news, listen all day long to talk radio and to music.

I think that probably I experience audio within myself as most people now experience video - as a visceral, physical and emotional set of experiences - movement via art and story. But as apposed to film music is brief, fleeting, nonspecific, nonlinear, and also terribly specific --- like poetry. It doesn't seem to lend itself to being directed. There is not necessarily an ending, you hear the song again and again. There may not be any conclusion, no answer, not even a question. I interact in a commiseration or in a celebration at times, adding a voice to a chorus, an echo or phrase extended - a collaboration with, not a directing of. I can't remember ever wanting to change something. Instead, the interaction is a nodding of the head, a recognition of commonality, of not being alone, remembering, sharing.

Thank you Pandora! Thanks for listening and for giving the wonderful content and service. I'm new here and will be telling everybody everywhere about you.

It depends on my mood on how I hear the songs I play here or any other place. If angery I hear the words not the music. If I am in a decent mood then I hear more the both,as a musican I am able to seperate the two sounds and use the one's I think hit me the best for the thing I am involved in.

Quote: Bill Ross at September 10, 2007 01:38 PM

"In many cases, if the arrangement is not conducive to picking the lyrics out, I never bother to try to understand them. Which is fine - Sigur Ros is so great-sounding, I don't mind not knowing if they're singing about sacrificing children to Satan."

This is why I particularly enjoy listening to music in foreign languages. You catch the melody of the lyrics, not their meaning. In English songs, I can't help but put more emphasis on the meaning of the words.

As for the second question, the first few times I hear a song, I am listening for where it is taking me. If it grabs me particularly, I may begin adding my own influences, humming where I believe the song will go next, drumming my fingers, etc. It doesn't always work out well, but I'm interacting with the song. It makes it more interesting, and memorable.

With me, music is more the whole experience. The whole package kind of creates a mood. I hear the words and I hear the music but they combine into something more. Dam, that sounds spacey but its true.

thank you for this music choose. pandora is my excape.

It depends on the genre of music for me. Sometimes I value a song simply because of its musically quality. Other times, its the lyrics that grab me. However, lyrics can ruin a great musical song for me and cause me to take that song off of my "list". Overall though, I believe I prioritize the musical elements first, and then analyze the lyrics.

And yes, it's interactive, but I usually consciously make a choice if I am going to be "into it" or just allow it to be the background noise for my life at the moment. A great song, however, can force itself from the background into the foreground of my heart and mind. No matter what, however great or small, it is definitely influencing me.

P.S. I love Pandora! Finally a musical outlet that doesn't stick me in a musical category and leave me there! Thanks for adding Hillsong too! I'm telling everyone I know and wish you the best!

In any list of my favourite songs I'd be able to give you the lyrics of pretty much every single song: for me a song like Coldplay's "Fix You" is spectacular because of the rawness of the emotion in the lyrics. But as other posters have said - it is the way the lyrics match the music that is key: so I love Pink Floyd's "comfortably Numb" because the music is almost echoingly empty and mirror's Pink's despair. When the Scissor Sisters remade it, I was amused by the pop style - I actually really like it - but it just doesn't quite grab me the way the original did.

As for your last question - absolutely I interact. I know absolutely zip about music, having given up playing the recorder at pre-school and never given it any further study, but I've got quite interested in that exact question recently. Why do I skip tracks on my ipod (or on Pandora?) - what is it I am looking for? It certainly isn't that *one* song - it is something that happens in songs. A chord change, a change of rhythm, a sweeping instrumental - often a specific lyric - whatever it is, I know the way it makes me feel, really connects, and I like it, and that's what I seek out in music. Of course, mostly that connection is through music that I already know: the best thing about Pandora has been finding new music that has the same ability - so when new songs come on that's where I am hoping the music will take me. But to come full circle, if I can't start by connecting with the lyrics, it'll have a hard task.

I like such a range of music, but generally the music is what i listen to first. Lyrics that are utterly soulless or meaningless (ie don't make grammatical or logical sense) REALLY turn me off to the point just a few notes of the music from that song will make me turn it off. But for me music is a motivator when I'm working. I do repetative keystrokes in Excel and use the keyboard almost like a piano when I have the right music on. Pandora fits all my moods though, and I love it!

Music is an artistic expression.

To me, art needs to be mastered and done well first and foremost. Just because something isn't necessarily beautiful or pretty, in a dictionary definition, does not always mean it is not well executed.

So, when I listen to music, it has to be, first and foremost, a good recording. Even if the recording captures the imperfections of the recording space, those imperfections should lend themselves to the music or be taken care of.

After that, I listen for instrumentation. Does the artist have a good grasp on his/her instrument, or are they just fumbling through and relying on neat sounding effects and a good producer to sound good?

Then comes lyrics and melody. The way a song moves you in this respect should relate to the genre, either by building on previously established methods in a new and interesting way, or breaking new ground.

I can't stand third grade lyrics like Lenny Kravitz. No doubt he can put together a great groove, but his lyrics are insultingly simple. I don't care if you wish you could fly up in the sky like a butterfly, find a better way to say it or hire a lyricist.

After all that, if a song hasn't moved me, meaning it was predictable and not unique at all, then no matter how 'cool' or 'neat' it may have come off, I won't waste my time with it. Bands that just copy more original bands in order to suck off the success of a new genre or niche make me sick. The lack of creativity is what makes those musicians not artists, but leeches.

The final criteria is a band that has a great record but can't perform live. If the music or lyrics are great, but then the live performance is like shoving a pine-cone in my ear, I usually give up on the band. If you can't pull it off live, then why bother?

Let's get this out of the way first:

I LOVE PANDORA!!!!!!!!!

I have never used this service before, but I saw it as an option with my Windows Live Messenger, and decided to try it, thinking it'd be much like Yahoo! Music (VERY disappointing service). I have never been happier to be wrong! I enjoy that Pandora doesn't force me to listen to songs I don't like due to a limited number of click-throughs and no ability to tell the service what I like. Just had to get that out there!

In reference to the question: When I hear a song for the first time, I hear the music only: the match between beat and melody, any interesting hooks, etc. Then I hear the vocalist quality: on tune? good power? etc. Then I'll hear the words: what is the song about? are there witty turns of phrase? Oftentimes I'll find myself liking a song but hating the words!

There have been times that I've been able to anticipate where a melody is going to go, and I've even been able to know the words beforehand a few times. Knowing which lyric is coming only really happens with the cookie-cutter garbage that's attempting to pass for music these days, tho.

It depends. (the universal answer)

Personally, I tend to focus on the music, and I enjoy music that focuses more on music than lyrics (jazz, classical, progressive rock)

For me, there are two main types of music:

1) Instrumental music - This could include lyrics or not. If it does, the lyrics are not particularly important to the overal sound, they blend in and form a complete sound (think scat). I don't really care what the particular words are or mean.

2) Story music / Accompianied poetry - This is where the lyrics are key and the music secondary. To me, this is almost an entire different category of art. (e.g. Harry Chapin)

I'll try to keep this short, seeing everything already posted:

A song's lyrics really do matter to me, and it would be great if the Music Genome Project started to take them into account. I worry about giving a likable song the Thumbs Down when the only thing I dislike are the lyrics, simply because Pandora would not be able to understand or correlate my rejection with its present calculations.

Lyrics that feature beautiful imagery, thoughtful symbolism, mature insights, complex ideas, and deep emotions receive big points from me. Also, I *love* when the lyrics tell a story that progresses in mood, as opposed to being a snapshot of a single frame of mind. On the other hand, songs with selfish, materialistic, petty, or overly-simplistic attitudes are a near-instant turnoff... especially so if they use very blunt, unrefined language. Perhaps my lyrical finickiness is reflected in just how much purely-instrumental music I enjoy. Although, when both the music and sung words match perfectly, the result is quite powerful.

As for how I interact with the music... In most cases, I would prefer to be pleasantly surprised by the variation in a song rather than be able to predict every next word and note. However, like everyone else, there are of course musical and lyrical phrases which beg to be heard a few times in repetition before being satisfied. It's even more gratifying to hear explorations of variation in those very repetitions. That is, provided it's not so varied as to distract from the satisfying elements of the repetition, as opposed to complementing it. A song should not be so unpredictable that it's nearly random, instead, I find it best if a composition uses careful transition and progression that won't jarr, yet be imaginative enough to be unexpected.

Apologies, it seems that I couldn't simultaneously keep this short and say everything that I wanted.

Great comments all - I don't think I could begin to respond to everything that's been said, but a few things do come to mind -

Jenna, I think this is very well-expressed: "the place where the ordered crystalline sand on the beach (the finely analyzed music) meets the turbulent, chaotic waves of the listener's mind (made up of memories, the mood of the day, of the moment...). How does music (and other art) evoke response? Can that question be answered or explained by "if you like these attributes of this song, then you will probably like this other song which bears many of those same attributes"? Or will science by itself, however precise, fall short of finding a universal constant for joy?"

I don't think anyone here sees the music genome project as being anything more than an effective and flexible tool for suggesting music. The factors that determine a given person's reaction to a given piece of music are so far beyond science (and I for one very much hope that they will forever be so).

[side note - if you're interested in one theory of how music becomes emotion and meaning in a listener's consciousness - and if you're feeling ambitious - you might want to pick up a copy of "Emotion and Meaning in Music" by Leonard Meyer.]

as for moo's comment about lyrics and the music genome project - the songs are analyzed for lyrical content, and those are factored into the overall playlist creation. we've looked into ways to make stations based on lyrics, but it seems that listeners react initially to the overall style and genre of the music, such that if they put in a nick cave murder ballad and the next song is a carter family murder ballad, the listener often thinks the station is flawed.

so maybe there's a fundamental difficulty with allowing the lyrics to determine the playlists, which brings us back to the initial question of the blog post. and that seems as good a place to stop as any...

best,
mz

For me the music is primary and then the words. I remember tunes quicker than the words. In some music, however, there exists an exception. It is with great attention that I take in the southern gospel songs, words and all.

I anticipate big band sounds to flood my being. I am swept into the very place where the music is being played. I stand there and watch as the various sections and certain instruments play their parts. Without exception I am left in awe of what I hear and "see".

I listen to the music and often don't pay much
attention to the lyrics. I'm a progressive rock
guy, and lyrics often don't make too much sense,
especially "Yes" lyrics. It's the melody,
harmonies, time signature, percussion, and
instrumentation and hooks that count for me.

For me, the music almost always comes first. Initially, the lyrics are in the background and the singer's voice becomes one more instrument. Later, after I'm familiar with a song, I will then start "listening" more to the actual lyrics. I can easily enjoy a song even if the lyrics are pretty lame, but the reverse is not true. However, it is always very exciting to find a great marriage of lyrics and music. That is optimal. But I walk around with riffs in my head, not lyrics. When I do remember the lyrics, it's typically because of the "musicality" of them and how well they blend with the music.

Great postings by everyone here. It's great to see how people experience and listen to music in so many varied ways!

When you listen to music, do you mostly hear the lyrics or the music?

- Most of the time I hear both, but not really deeply. However, I may choose to really listen to one or the other and when I do that, the one I'm not listening to becomes background noise. If the lyrics aren't very coherent to me I will tune them out in favor of the music, however. I have a higher tolerance for music I like that has lyrics I don't like, than I do for music I don't like but lyrics I love.

Do you hear the words first and then the music, or vice versa?

- Music first, definitely. Unless there is a substantial vocal presence right at the beginning of the song.

Does it depend on the genre of music?

- yes definitely. I don't really listen to the lyrics in music where the singer is screaming, such as death metal, or screamy punk.

And here's a question for a bonus point: to what extent are you interacting with the music as you listen, expecting/hoping for the words or melody or harmony etc to go someplace specific, or not to go to a predictable place, etc? Do you do that?

- I definitely have a tendency towards a certian amount of anticipation of beat or general trend of melody. It's satisfying when a song follows my expectations, BUT I am more intrigued and therefore more drawn to music that surprises me (as long as I like the surprise hehe).

I like this site but you dont have a lot of songs and i really want to hear I'd lie by taylor swift so amybe get more songs

hi this is byfar the best station in the world.

Exactly what was said before, this site is everything I have ever wanted in music quality and service. Just a simple search that creates a playlist specific to your liking, it almost feels like there is another person searching for you, catering to your every liking. I wish this company all the best and hope to see everything it has to offer in its various business ventures :) all the best.

Pandora is so cool. I can hear my Disco and Heavy Metal all in one place. I really dig the blog, it gives me something to do, while I jam.
I may purchase the annual membership if I still love it after a month. Keep up the great work. It is all about the music!

You know, I've been a Pandora listener for almost two years. I enjoy reading the blogs, and blogging I've been to the Pandora's seminar in Seattle. I know I have said this before and probably will say it once more. But really, truly Pandora's is one of a kind internet radio. It has so many facets. I was a music snob before, but now I'm out of control because of this site. I turned on about 15 other people to this experience. Some of them get it and some of them listen and stay with Yahoo Launch. No offence I use to be one of those ordinary people. Because I listen to N.P.R. radio in the car because once again I am a listener snob. I have to call Pandora the N.P.R. of streamers. Instead of falling into rank of being number 3 it should hold the number one spot.Unless there is something better out there in vast digital world of the Net that I haven't heard yet and I seriously dont think so. I may be wrong but I doubt it. Because I spend eight hours a day listening to this site at work because I got it like that and my boss knows I have terms and conditions to get the job done.

hi um angle but if eneyone looks on my profile just deal with it

Pandora u guys Rock!!!
there is only one request that i need im new but im trying to find some D/C Talk the old school christian band...i have desperately been trying to search 4 some music by them...can u happen to put them on here? thanks

A great song to me has both great lyrics AND music. In any song I listen to what is good about it and it a song needs to be good on at least one of those dimensions. What is good? I suppose that is the billion dollar question. Indirectly and at a collective level, I suppose this might be the number of times a song is listened to, or thumbs up, on Pandora. It would seem very tough to tease out from a song database with hundreds of attributes what makes a song Up vs. Down; especially when lyrics may make up half of the equation.

For the Bonus question. I love live, improvisational music because I don't know where it is going and I can live in the moment. Part of the reason I tune in, turn on, and then turn off a song is because after a while it gets stale. Which is why I love Pandora as it finds new, related songs and keeps things fresh.

Best Regards,
John

when i listen to music on pandora i hear the lyrics first. i've always been a lyrics person. then i hear the music. i usually imagine myself singing the song.. and then i know the mood or meaning of the song by the person i imagine myself singing to... is it a friend? or enemy? my mom? ha... that's my interaction with the music.

For me it's very dependant on the type of music I listen to - and actually also what language. If I'm listening to rock music fx, then I definetely focus more on the music than the lyrics. Is there some nice drumming going on, is the electric bass player a little more significant than what they usually are.. stuff like that. But I'm also very attentive to the singers, I often catch myself thinking when hearing a band that is new to me "wow, the singer is great!" and then I automatically like the music as well. A good example of this could be Mark Lanegan's solo cd's, when I first heard it I expected it to be rocking and grungy like what Screaming Trees had stood for - It's not at all, the music actually reminds of John Mayer! But his voice is so cool in my ears that I just like the music anyway. (And I'm not really a John Mayer guy)

On the other hand if I listen to "quiet music" I definetely focus mostly on the lyrics, this is - at least that's what I think - not so strange and I would guess most people feel the same way about. This is obviously because the music is normally not in the front line - instead it's the singer and his or her lyric or vocal capabilities.

As for the bonus thingy, I normally just listen to the music without any pre conceded idea where it's going - that way I guess I'm a little more open and therefore able to truly tell if I like the music or not.

Hi:

For the most part I really like Pandora, but I do not have all day to spend inputing to the music I hear, so although I don't mind a little unpredictability, sometimes I think Pandora throws in something from left field just to get me to come to the computer.... When I have time to input, great, but if I keep getting music that irritates me, forcing me to come to the computer, I'll wander off...

love music

I hear the music first. Some lyrics will change my perception. Songs I didn't care for before might be a song I like now after listening to the words.

I listen to music for both the lyrics and the melody. My taste is fairly eclectic, as I'm sure my stations show, and when I listen I often jump from Enya to Pantera to Frankie Lane and on toward anthems from classic Disney films, LOL.

Lyrics are important to a point. As long as they aren't beyond ridiculous, the music -harmonious or discordant- is what pulls me in, but I seek out the words as I listen.

Sometimes the words don't matter at all. I like a lot of German, Dutch, and Norwegian music, but I can't understand hardly anything that's said.

As far as my interaction with the music, well, I'm a writer. It seems to be a fairly even split amongst my peers with half of us needing music when we write and half of us avoiding any distraction at all. Personally, a fast-paced hard rock rhythm can have me typing upwards of a hundred words a minute and is exceptionally useful when I work through action sequences.

Soft music, though not a favorite of mine, is a must when I'm working through heavy, emotional elements of a story. My word count slows, but the flow and movement of the words almost mimics the emotive qualities of the music I'm listening to at the time. So for me, music and creating go hand in hand, and I'd definitely say I interact with the music quite a bit. I also tend to toe tap, nod my head, and 'seat dance' as my children call it when the music is particularly motivating.

I will admit to agreeing with the poster above me. I find it a bit irritating when I'm listening to a station and Pandora runs out of music or tosses something freaky into the mix. Messes up my concentration, if I'm writing. I don't mind it nearly as much when I'm simply listening to the music for entertainment.

Lyrics and music equally, but the music has to be there, even if the lyrics are dumb. You can still like a song with idiotic words eventually if the music is strong enough. That's what makes pop music so successful. If a song is catchy enough, it will stay in your head forever, whether you want it to or not. ;)

Definitely the lyrics, they are paramount in my book.

P.S. Would it be possible for you guys to allow the music on the play list to have lyrical similarities. For example "the Cause of Death" by Immortal Technique and "Where is the Love" by Black Eyed Peas, because they both rap about world issues.

It's interesting reading through through the responses above. Clearly it's really personal and different for just about everyone. For me it's very much dependant on the particular music being played and the situation in which the listening occurs.

Some music is good background for when there's a bunch of people around - lyrics come to the fore, 'cos people can sing along, even if it's just in their heads. Thick as a Brick is not one of these types of tracks, even though I occasionally play it at a dinner party, just to annoy my wife. There was a time when I knew all the lyrics and could sing along to all 42 minutes of it, but that were a long time ago - I have a life these days...

For a deeper listen, the interplay between the individual instruments (including the voice) becomes more important, not necessarily anything more important than anything else, unless the lyricist or instrumentalist are really exceptional. Even then, the focus may change from lyrics to music and back in different parts of the music.

For the introspective times, the really well recorded complex stuff is best - music that you can play time and again and hear something different each time. There's stuff that's been in the collection for ten years or more that can still surprise.

Creating Pandora stations around specific complex songs can be fun too - just to see what kind of music may be considered "similar". Sometimes there are some absolute gems in there - other times I just want to run away screaming. Kinda shows up just how ambitious the music genome project is.

BIG QUESTION....The type of music first off is a major factor in how it is listend to. If there are lyrics and the vocalist is terrific, they generally take center stage ie Ella Fitzgerald or Peggy Lee.The back-up band should and usually is just that, a back-up band.The band can still be great in it's own right but the band is hopefully trying to spotlight the singer. When listening to a song with a heavier band ie Harry Connick Jr.,the attention is divided more equally between the singer and the band(perhaps because Harry is generally performing with the band musically as well as vocally.
I generally need two or three concentrated listening sessions to decide whether I like, love, or dislike a tune, unless it so obviously great or terrible that it illicits a knee-jerk reaction.
Since I usually listen to jazz/pop ballads, some R+B,and some pop music of the forties through the sixties...this is all I feel confident enough to comment on.
As for getting tired of something....Of course! Music is just like food...if you ate the same food every day you would probably end up hating whatever it was...

My big thing with hearing new music is the melody - does it grab me and catch me "off guard"? I'm not too much of a lyrics person as long as they compliment the melody. The overall sound is what attracts my ears - the song needs to be "melodically visual" for it to engage my attention, make me turn up the volume and listen to it.

I think the music is more important, as Pandora, to have classified. While sometimes the music you enjoy has lyrics you can relate to...But you shouldn't relate music to music by what the lyrics are about. It seems wrong as a listener to subject yourself moreso then you already do to your current beliefs.

I hear lyrics as many might say when it feels like it matters, but when the strongest feeling comes from the melody not the lyrics then the strongest attention goes to that. Sometimes lyrics are more powerful though and the thought goes to them and the melody accompanies it.

I have SUCH a hard time getting past the melodic vibe of music to hear the lyrics for more than 5 seconds....even if I try to listen. There are lots of songs that I know the lyrics of and will even sing them, but don't realize what I"m saying.

To me, music is a completely sensual experience. It's a time to become completely lost in a feeling, sometimes it's ambitious and driving and great for skiing and sometimes it's about the feelings of love or evokes strong memories. When I'm writing (a big part of my profession), I need classical music to inspire and keep me focused and calm.

Years ago, I was a video editor and also dabbled in music production. I learned how to cut music on quarter inch tape with a razor blade. We mixed on giant 24 track tape with giant mixing boards. Those years taught me an acute appreciation for arrangements, especially. When I listen to music it's the melody first and arrangements second. The production values are important as well...but these days, it's not hard to get well engineered products.

Harmonies fascinate me as well. I can become absolutely lost in voices, chorals, especially foreign vibes. The way that African music moves is amazing....down into the earth, never floating above the ground as Euro American music seems to be developed.

And, then of course, there are the anthems of my childhood that continue to move me: Yes, Cream, Jimi.....aaaah, there is still room for air guitar in my life.

And an addendum to my last post:

I laughed at Alan's post about loving the sound of something so much that it doesn't matter whether the lyrics are "sacrificing children to Satan." Oh yes, I know that feeling of losing myself in a melody. It's a feeling of total surrender that is a rarity for me, at least.

I spend so much of each day in my head and letting things / people close to my heart takes a journey through many locks, layers... Aaah, but music just penetrates straight to my soul.

Though the ski area operators of the world will shiver to hear this: there is nothing quite as exhilarating as skiing as fast as I possibly can with loud music in my earphones (I have good eyes). :)