Do you ever find yourself caught up in a particular lyric of a song? I mean, so lost in the melodies, harmonies, and underlying music associated with the line that you think it is the most meaningful thing you've ever heard? And then, when you actually stop to consider the meanings of the actual words, you find the sentence (or sentence fragment) is actually pointless?

This happens to me all the time. My explanation tends to center on the idea that while there are lots of people who can write great music, there are a disproportionately small number of equally great lyricists. Morrissey is one. Stephin Merritt is another. Jarvis Cocker was one. But then there are countless numbers of bands who are undoubtedly musically gifted, but sing the same old hackneyed love song (or worse, sex song). I've loved New Order since junior high, but most of Barney's are just plain nonsensical.

I could be wrong. I've also said frequently that I don't listen to song lyrics, that I prefer to focus on the music. So it could be that when I find a passage in a song that I find especially moving, chances are the words associated with it don't make much sense outside of the context of the song. In other words, I can't be bothered to listen to ALL the words of the song, so the one lyric just seems lame to me.

Speaking of trite sex songs, I caught five minutes of an A&E program last night where Nikki Sixx of Mötley Crüe was discussing why heavy metal took over the L.A. scene from punk rock in the early 80's. It's always good for a laugh to hear heavy metal-heads (I mean good old, glam rock, hair band heavy metal-heads) try to claim that the genre will make a comeback. I think the scene started in dives, moved to arenas, then stadiums, then down to clubs, and is now terminally stuck in dives. Don't get me wrong, "Kickstart My Heart" still gets me riled up.