"I only write lyrics so that I have an excuse to scream into a microphone." - Steve Albini
"In my opinion the majority of song lyrics are useless and for imbeciles." - Dave Riley, 1996
"The lyrics are definitely not the focal point of the music. They’re the last thing we’re worried about." -
Bob Weston, 1996
"If you’ve ever written a song that had words in it and then written the words down and looked at them on a piece of paper they just look fucking retarded. There’s just no reason to do that. The other thing is that I think that puts too much emphasis on the literal meaning of that version of the lyrics because the lyrics are quite fluid with us. The subject matter is generally pretty stable but the precise words that are sung aren’t. If I were somebody like Bob Dylan who wrote lyrics that were intended to be read in one specific way then maybe I wouldn’t be embarrassed about it." -
Steve Albini, 1996
I agree with all that, and I'd like to make special mention of stuff like Jandek where the lyrics are really the focal point. That's why that stuff is awesome, really. But most rock bands have useless, throwaway, unimportant lyrics. Specifically, the bands I listen to often have the vocals/lyrics buried in the mix. THere's plenty of good lyricists out there (Slint, Captain Beefheart) but really it's hard to mix
melody with good lyrics. Because you end up compromising one or the other and it sounds stupid.
Deerhoof! Their words are just an excuse for the lead singer to sing the same notes she's playing on guitar. And I love them for it, haha.