Response to Krystal Maynard

Question - Is your favorite song lyrical or instrumental? If it is a lyrical song, would it mean the same to you if the lyrics did not exist? Why or why not?

I think that our society tends to focus more on the music than the lyrics in a song. Many people listen to songs without ever really hearing the lyrics; they don't even know what message the musician is trying to communicate. While I do value the lyrics in a song a lot, I have to admit that if the song doesn't sound good musically, I probably wont listen to it much. A combination of both well written lyrics and pleasing sounds make a song great. However, a catchy song with little meaning in the lyrics will probably be more commercially successful than a song with well written lyrics but musically boring or unpleasant. A lot of songs played on the radio or on TV have very little meaning as far as lyrics go.
A lot of times the may the music is composed compliments the lyrics. For example, by manipulating things such as timbre, tempo, loudness, etc, you can make a song sound happy sad, or any other emotion. This is usually used to match the lyrics. However, as we spoke about in class, sometimes the sound of the song creates a mood that contradicts the lyrics to be ironic. I like it a lot when artists do this because it is makes the lyrics really stand out.
Lyrics mean a lot to me, and I like a lot of my favorite songs because of the lyrics. However, the sound of the song means a lot too, and it can actually enhance the lyrics.
Question: Do you prefer certain moods in a song? (Example: do you prefer happy songs over sad songs?)