I was binge watching Netflix last night and stumbled across an episode of Vox’s Unexplainable called "Are you a lyric person or a music person?", which also comes as a podcast episode. I was instantly intrigued because this is a particular "issue" I’ve been wondering about for a very long time.
The episode discussed these 2 types, lyrics and music person does indeed exist. As for the exact reason why, it does not seems give us any clear answer. These 2 types are just different on how their brain works. In general we really still have no clue on how our brain works. Bummer, I know.
But the episode also touched on some interesting finds, one of them is about a psychological researcher shared a finding that I found really amusing: having musical knowledge or training, like the ability to play an instrument or read musical notation, doesn't automatically make someone a "music person." It seems logical to assume it would, but it turns out that's not the case at all. Also the Tritone Paradox experiment, which pretty sure I came across similar experiments years ago, is still really fascinate me. For me the first one is descending/goes down, the second one is ascending/goes up.
And for a very long time I convinced that I'm a music person.
Melodies Over Lyrics
For countless songs that I can easily labelled as my "favorites," I can't even recite a single part word to word, let alone the whole lyric. But I will always remember the "feeling," the hook (both lyric and music), and the specific section that interest me. Like my brain processes lyrics as melodies, not words.
I can be singing along at a live concert to a song I'm very familiar with, one that I've listened to hundreds of times, only to realize I’m spitting out the completely wrong words after hearing the person who also singing next to me. This has happened numerous of times. Embarrassing, pretty much, but I don't care :)
This is why I was incredibly happy to discover bands like Igorrr, or the most recent, Angine De Poitrine. Their lyrics are gibberish, using entirely made-up words. If I remember correctly, some of Sigur Rós' songs also feature a made-up language. It's also exactly why I find myself listening to purely instrumental music quite often.
Vocal as an Instrument
My bias toward music over words is probably why I listen to a lot of metal. In metal, growling is a core part of the experience. Singing in a growl style is intensely rhythmic, vocals are intentionally indigestible, acting as if the vocalist is "playing" a percussion instrument rather than just delivering lines of words. It’s the shift where singing changes roles to become an instrumentation.
When I first listen to "Lash By Lash" by Spawn of Possession, or "Stabwound" by Necrophagist that shared some interesting vocal rhythmic/placement. The growled vocals during the chorus are so intricate, and I found the placement of the words in conjunction with the music is fascinating, that it actually drove me to look up the lyrics just so I could try to growl along.
I also have a habit of listening to a song multiple times just to isolate a specific instrument, mentally. One time I might focus entirely on the guitar. The next listen, I’m tracking the drums, and next, the bass, but I rarely just listen to the lyrics alone unless something going on first with the music.
When the Lyrics Finally Kick In
I absolutely appreciate a good lyricist, but to reaches the appreciation level to the lyrics, the music need to passed first.
I enjoy the lyrics from Belle and Sebastian that tell slice of life stories, but after I take a nod to their unique but simple melodies, or Rage Against The Machine that teaches me about modern history, politics, injustice, and inequality through their lyrics, but after my body agrees to its groove and I can head bang to. I love how MF DOOM uses intricate wordplay and his villainous point of view for his rap bars, but after it surprises me with the beat, or how Of Montreal's and Dry Cleaning's odd, non-sequitur lyrics are almost like seeing abstract paintings in the form of words, but after my brain hooked up with their psychedelic tunes and straight rock guitar shoe-gaze music, respectively.
If the music fails to grab my attention, it won't stay on the top of my mind, and I probably won't listen to it again, let alone looking up and try to understand the lyrics.