Does anyone else just listen to the beats?

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My brother put some music on my ipod from where I mentioned a couple bands that I thought sounded cool. I don't think I could name a single song name that I have, possibly 3-5 band names.

I think it has to do with if a teacher is speaking, if they aren't using something like powerpoint 5 seconds later I won't remember what they said.

I don't listen to the beat exclusively all the time, but sometimes I do pick out one instrument and listen to just that one through a song. I can sort of separate it from the others, if I think about it.

The beat is one of the last things that I notice. The first thing that I notice is the lyrics and the stringed-instruments.
Sometimes a can really appreciate a good beat.

I've been a drummer, so I do notice the beat, but the thing that can make or break a song for me is lyrics. If the lyrics are brilliant, I'll gladly overlook other weaknesses, and if the lyrics are cliched, the song is ruined no matter how brilliant the instrumentation is. Which is why I tend to dislike a lot of popular music. Not because it's popular, but because the lyrics tend to be retreads of the same old ideas, sometimes even the same lines. I guess familiarity sells, but it doesn't do it for me. I need a bit of unpredictability in lyrics. Which is part of why I quite like Frank Zappa, Oingo Boingo and Busdriver. None of that "actively trying not to be different" crap.

I'm the opposite to you Vince, in most cases I completely ignore the lyrics. I will listen to the singer, the notes and rhythm they use, I'll even notice a rhyming scheme (or lack thereof), but most of the time when a song is finished I'll have no idea what it was actually about. I obviously hear the beat, but am more interested in syncopated rhythms, unusual time signatures etc. I can't stand music where there is a strong beat but nothing else going on rhythmically.

Been playing drums for 8 years, so the drums make or break a band for me. Bad drummer=bad band, no matter how good the rest of the music is.

Lyrical content is garbage these days imo. Some beats do sound cool. I often download the instrumental and listen to that.

I remember my brother put arctic monkeys and black keys on, don't remember what else

I like it all. Honestly more mainstream artists aren't as good as. Many under-rated artists lyric wise, IMO.

As far as beats go I love trance music. Some mainstream songs do have good beats though. I am just into more things that you wont hear on the radio, lyric or beat wise.

I think, for me, the beats are a subconscious thing. I often tap my fingers in time to the beats and think of it as my metronome. I'm usually listening to the strings though - that's the musical segment deeply ingrained in my psyche. I can actually envision the notes being played, as well, which is weird.

I listen to everything simoniously.

I follow the beat pretty regularly. There are so few good lyrics and fewer decent singers out there that I don't have too much choice....

i actually try to actively tune out the beat, usually.
the beat is almost as a rule (too) dominant in modern music, yet i love to hear the other instruments (inclusind voice; that's an instrument in my ears as well).
now i can, like astaut, seperate one instrument and 'enhance' it, but to appriciate the whole song, i'd have to enhance every instrument, except for the beat; a more logical and effictive thing is then to isolate the beat and turn down that volume...

I listen to many things when I listen to music.

Sometimes it's the guitar. Sometimes it's the drums. Or the bass. Or the singing. Or the beats. But not that often.


I think there are many good lyrics out there, but it's hard to spot them. One of the best lyrics I have stumbled upon last year is "Woman In Chains".

I don't mind "bad" lyrics. If I only listened to the lyrics, I would hardly listen to anything at all. A lot of pop lyrics are silly. But I still like the song.

Very rarely, I love both lyrics and song. Usually, when I like lyrics, I automatically love the song.

I think it's good if you don't pay too much attention to the lyrics. I mean... Of course, if the lyrics are discriminiating, maybe you should know what they're actually singing about, but... I don't know. My disregard of lyrics has enabled me to like many songs that other people hated because "they lyrics are just so dumb". And I think, "Yeah, well, music is also about music, you know...".

Thurston Moore once said something about Led Zeppelin. That they did not mean much to him on a lyrical basis and I totally understood what he meant. Still, they're one of my favourite bands. Because they're good musicians, too.

I don't get the attention that people pay to Bob Dylan. I mean, I really like some of his songs, but he is not a cultural good to me.