How I Analyze Music...
Lately, I've been looking back at old songs that I have on my iPod. Realizing that I'm very picky about the music I listen to, I decided to analyze how I examine a song, and I discovered the following:
1.) I look at beat/instrumental first. If I don't like it, then I quickly discard the song. This is the most important aspect of the song for me, and I download a lot of instrumentals as a result. I feel that there are a lot of songs, especially in rap, that have good beats but poor flow or lyrics, but I will still listen to them anyways. Conversely, I tend to disregard those that have good flow or lyrics if they do not have a good beat. Sometimes, I find certain songs downright unlistenable due to a beat I don't like. For instance, Lil Wayne is known to be an extremely witty and clever lyricist, but some of his songs have beats that I don't like much, so I guess I don't give the song enough of a chance because of that (this is why I like songs like "Go DJ" and "Shine" much more than "Dr. Carter" and "Shoot me Down"). The same goes for Eminem, whose lyrics are also incredible, but some of his beats, such as in "Kim" or "Remember Me," are sometimes hard to listen to (usually when he produces the track.)
2.) Once beat/instrumental is satisfied, I start analyzing the flow of the rapping. This is why I tend to like rappers like Bone Thugs N Harmony, Notorious B.I.G., Eminem, and 2Pac. They rap alongside the beat so fluidly that their raps, in addition to the beat itself, stick in my head. One of Eminem's songs, "Square Dance," is the epitome of his incredible flow, and since it has a very interesting beat, is one of my favorite songs. Some of his songs don't have great beats, as mentioned above, but since Eminem has a very listenable flow, he singlehandedly makes the song sound better. Meanwhile, I think Talib Kweli does not have a great flow, and despite his lyrics being politically charged and interesting, I don't like a lot of his songs because the way he raps often isn't in-line with the beat.
3.) The last thing I look at is lyrics. When the criteria above are satisfied, I finally look at the wit of the lyrics and the storytelling abilities. This is where Lil' Wayne, Eminem, Drake, 2Pac, Notorious B.I.G., Common, and Kanye West excel, as they are either extremely clever or tackle interesting subjects. One song, in particular, that satisfies all three criteria is "The Winner" by Drake. This song has an amazing beat, so, "check." Drake's flow is "revolutionary," as he likes to say, so that's a "check." And finally, his lyrics are really witty and he has a lot of good one-liners, so that's a "check" too. Some other examples are "Last Call" by Kanye West, "The Corner" by Common, and "I Got a Story to Tell" by Notorious B.I.G.
There's so much amazing music out there, but I thought it was interesting to reflect on what I find most important in a song. I'm sure everyone differs in these criteria.
1.) I look at beat/instrumental first. If I don't like it, then I quickly discard the song. This is the most important aspect of the song for me, and I download a lot of instrumentals as a result. I feel that there are a lot of songs, especially in rap, that have good beats but poor flow or lyrics, but I will still listen to them anyways. Conversely, I tend to disregard those that have good flow or lyrics if they do not have a good beat. Sometimes, I find certain songs downright unlistenable due to a beat I don't like. For instance, Lil Wayne is known to be an extremely witty and clever lyricist, but some of his songs have beats that I don't like much, so I guess I don't give the song enough of a chance because of that (this is why I like songs like "Go DJ" and "Shine" much more than "Dr. Carter" and "Shoot me Down"). The same goes for Eminem, whose lyrics are also incredible, but some of his beats, such as in "Kim" or "Remember Me," are sometimes hard to listen to (usually when he produces the track.)
2.) Once beat/instrumental is satisfied, I start analyzing the flow of the rapping. This is why I tend to like rappers like Bone Thugs N Harmony, Notorious B.I.G., Eminem, and 2Pac. They rap alongside the beat so fluidly that their raps, in addition to the beat itself, stick in my head. One of Eminem's songs, "Square Dance," is the epitome of his incredible flow, and since it has a very interesting beat, is one of my favorite songs. Some of his songs don't have great beats, as mentioned above, but since Eminem has a very listenable flow, he singlehandedly makes the song sound better. Meanwhile, I think Talib Kweli does not have a great flow, and despite his lyrics being politically charged and interesting, I don't like a lot of his songs because the way he raps often isn't in-line with the beat.
3.) The last thing I look at is lyrics. When the criteria above are satisfied, I finally look at the wit of the lyrics and the storytelling abilities. This is where Lil' Wayne, Eminem, Drake, 2Pac, Notorious B.I.G., Common, and Kanye West excel, as they are either extremely clever or tackle interesting subjects. One song, in particular, that satisfies all three criteria is "The Winner" by Drake. This song has an amazing beat, so, "check." Drake's flow is "revolutionary," as he likes to say, so that's a "check." And finally, his lyrics are really witty and he has a lot of good one-liners, so that's a "check" too. Some other examples are "Last Call" by Kanye West, "The Corner" by Common, and "I Got a Story to Tell" by Notorious B.I.G.
There's so much amazing music out there, but I thought it was interesting to reflect on what I find most important in a song. I'm sure everyone differs in these criteria.
posted by pavYedav at
2:36 PM
1 Comments:
I listened to The Winner...it's sick. Definitely a solid song. But you said that you don't usually like Talib Kweli. I'm curious, what do you think about Blackstar, then?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-hVkorqicw
By
Mansi Shah, At
January 25, 2010 12:04 AM
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