Music Forum / Iris' Top Albums of 2K3

Ah, guess so.
Oh well, thanks for commenting on the list at least.

Great list iris. It was a great read it must of taken you ages to write this. Half of them I never heard of but it was great to read about them. Its good to see outkast's album near the top I'm in love with that, I have listened to it everyday since I brought it. I'll have to go out and get Jay Z album soon I was mean't to ages ago but I have no money.

In a lot of rock music the lyrics are really throw away lines actually. The band writes the music and then the lead singer writes some jibberish to fit the melody and then they have to sing it over and over again as long as they stay a band. It seems to me that rappers, because of the nature of rap, put a lot more into their lyrics than your average rock band will. Besides, there's no rule that says it has to come from an instrument to be music. I love guitars too Blitz, but it pays to expand your horizons from time to time.

I don't listen to your "average" rock band for the lyrical value. However, some songs DON'T have throw away lyrics (for instance, Pig, by dave matthews).

Rap just tends not do anything for me. It's not feasibly philosophical, I can't relate to it emotionally EVER, and it doesn't present interesting melody progressions. Most rap songs i've heard are just ego, trash talk, whining, or some half-witted twist on the world according to them, which is never as clever as they think it to be. Occasionally, someone will get it right, and do one heck of a funny diddy (read: eminem, and i know its hip hop and not rap, but outkast too), and even then, it's still not what I'm looking for in lyrics.

And if rap doesn't have what lyrics I want, what else does it have that I will like?
Mind you, I HAVE listened to a lot of rap, whether by accident, or because someone said they were "good". For instance, I've went through all the names iris named, and downloaded the songs I could find that iris listed. Guess what? they were deleted the next day, I just didn't like them.

Also, ED, I don't JUST listen to obscure prog rock bands. my tastes DO range quite a bit. My take on music is if I find a song I like, I listen to it. When I perscribe to a certain genre, it's because I've found more of what I like in THAT genre, which HAPPENS to be prog metal/neo-classical metal/fusion metal. I don't, however, stop looking for good stuff in other genres, which is why I dl'ed some of the songs listed.

Must I really explain why I dislike every album up there.

Rap [Beat Machines, Lyrics w/ No Meaning *Cough* "Come on Shorty, were gunna party, like its your birthday.. or what the fuck ever he says" its stupid.. There is way to much bass and it just sucks"

Rock [Not Metal, Music I can relate to. Lyrics actually mean something to me. I love the sound of a nice acoustic guitar over a basic bass line that is repeative through out a song, singing actually takes talents over raps talking rhymes]

"Can't spell cRap without Rap"

"Can't spell cRap without Rap"

Wow, there's an insult if I've ever heard one

Lyrics with no meaning? I agree if you're talking about radio garbage. But there are so many great lyrics out there. 2pac, Talib Kweli, Common, K-Os, Rascalz, Kamau, Dl Incognito, Jay-Z (look outside the commericialism). I could list more. But how would you know, or even relate to the music. You can't understand what they say.

As for beat machines, yes, but that is a factor of what rap is. It's like saying I don't like rock because they play instruments. Acoustic guitars are nice, but I would have a hard time finding them in rock music. Latin music (which I love) is the place for acoustic guitars. That said, some rap music uses the acoustic guitar, such as "Follow Me" by K-Os.

Staind
Cold
Ill Nino
Muse
Dope
Steromud
Smashing Pumpkins
Finger Eleven
Alice In Chains
3 Doors Down
Fuel
Bush
Chevelle
Chimaira
Creed
Dry Kill Logic
Filter
Marilyn Manson
Rammstein
Seether
Sevendust
Silverchair
Three Days Grace

All have atleast one song with an acoustic.

You still judge rap off the shit on the radio.
Go to any rap website really and they'll hate on radio rap more then you ever would.

Rappers like Talib Kweli, Common, Mos Def, Pharaohe Monch, etc. are true talents.
Some commercial rappers are amazing too, Nas, Jay-Z, Eminem, etc. but most the songs that make it to radio are just the catchy ones, not the skillful ones.

I don't expect you to pay any attention to what Im saying but whatever.

meaningful lyrics?
If it has anything to do with how HARD it was to grow up or live in the ghetto with gangs and shooting and what not, then it does nothing for me, I can't relate to that sort of thing past anything besides empathy. I can't look for things in it that click with me, because it's a completely different world, and a perspective that isn't new, and isn't interesting. Plus, it tends to be about problems, that as soon as I can hear about them, are probably not even problems to the original artist who had them before anyway. The songs that have most touched me personally are by john mayer, actually. Why georgia why, the entire song comes pretty close to describing what I feel about life at the moment, and no such thing is EXACTLY how I felt about the people around me in highschool, love song for no one is basically my love life in song form . I can't really say that about any of the rap I've heard, ever. Give me a song that you think might, I dare ya.

I think point of view has a lot to do with the whole rap/rock dicotomy. Certain people are more likely to listen to rock or rap growing up depending on a lot of factors. Everyone starts their "musical journey" from one particular place just life everyone starts their life journey from one particular place. Music which is similar to where you started out is familiar to you and easier to like. Music which is very different you have to train your ear a bit to enjoy just like it takes effort to understand the practices of cultures which are very different from your own. Once you commit to exploring all aspects of the musical spectrum though, you start to discover what is similar to all styles of music not just what's different. Blitz, I understand why you would listen to rap songs and then delete them. But if you're really committed to understanding rap than you have to listen to it a lot until you get past the foreigness of how it sounds at first. I didn't like Radiohead the first time I heard OK Computer and I forgot about it for years and when I found it again I couldn't get enough of it. Rap music has a lot of crap radio music but rock music is the same in that regard. If you listen to informed people who know about rap music and give it a chance to sink in a bit, you may find that you enjoy it just as much but for different reasons. Of course, that goes for all types of music, not just rap and rock.

And Blitz, the reason why rock music lyrics speak to you more is that you have more in common culturally with the average rock songwriter than rap songwriter. It's no coincidence that rap and rock tend to split along ethnic and economic lines. But you can respect that a person's lyrics come from their personal experience even if it isn't your personal experience can't you?

you're right ed, sorry bout that.
Looks like I'll be redownloading...

Don't be too hard on yourself, I used to feel the same way you do. It's only my newfound appreciation for multi-culturalism and a conviction that any decent philosophy should be universally applicable that gives me the ability to see the issue differently. I'm still learning to appreciate rap music myself but I can see that it is worth appreciating.

I should know better than to measure everything with one stick >_< I didn't consider cultural relevance in further understanding, only to the point that I didn't relate to it. Doh.

meaningful lyrics?
If it has anything to do with how HARD it was to grow up or live in the ghetto with gangs and shooting and what not, then it does nothing for me, I can't relate to that sort of thing past anything besides empathy.  I can't look for things in it that click with me, because it's a completely different world, and a perspective that isn't new, and isn't interesting.  Plus, it tends to be about problems, that as soon as I can hear about them, are probably not even problems to the original artist who had them before anyway.

A lot of rap has very little to do with ghettos and how hard it was growing up. K-Os, Kamau, Rascalz, Dl Incognito, Classified (let's just say most, if not all canadian rap), and quite a few american artists. There are many rap songs I, or anyone could relate to. For instance, Dl Incognito's "Anticipation". It's about a girl he loves. "She shined like when a diamond hits the right angle/ Very hard to find like a dope sample" and "You see, baby on this planet I'm a man/ But in my dreams I'm a king with acres of land/ I need a queen by my side, love" are examples of lyrics. Dl's "Universal Love" allows me to relate to the crap that's played on the radio, as seen with "Got radio stations, pumpin' one minute sensations/ They wanderin' aimless, with no destination/ Claimin' they amazin', but nobody's movin'/ If that's what you call game, man your plays need improvin'". Then there is 2pac. I can't say I can relate on a personal level with him, but I do agree with what he says most of the time. For example "Give the crack to the kids who the hell cares/ one less hungry mouth on the welfare/ First ship 'em dope & let 'em deal the brothers/ give 'em guns step back watch 'em kill each other". Want more examples, ask.

As for CoasterEd, you're correct. That is ultimately what it comes down to, but don't ruin our fun

the lyrics you listed did nothing for me
ugh, I hope theres something better out there, I'm still looking though.

On the same note: for anyone who wants me to look at rap a bit closer, go check out "ayreon" and listen to an album of theirs.
"Into The Electric Castle" is a pretty neat rock opera album (the hippy singer is hilarious). If you want it, just message me on AIM at Blitzsama and I'll transfer.
Also, you might want to check out the lyrics before listening to the song. The guy who made it is dutch.

http://www.ayreon.co...hp?project_id=1

since asking you to like this is like asking me to like rap, I thought it would be appropriate.