There are so many styles of music out there, but I always wonder what it is about a certain genre or even just a song that draws people in the most. Personally, I just sum up music with four simple categories: lyrics, vocals, production (i.e. beats/composition), and imagery.

There's a lot of songs that even if I don't really care for the artist, I will actually really like the song because I like the beat, the lyrics, the vocals; hell, even sometimes the imagery used in the video or by the person themselves (very rare occurrence for me). Personally, it's hard for me to just love one catergory the majority of the time, but I will show individual appreciation:

There are songs that I love regardless of who sings them because the lyrics are just soo great. Songs like "Adore" by Prince; "Time After Time" by Cyndi Lauper; and Open Arms by Journey. These three songs are still just a few of my all-time favorites no matter who covers them because the lyrics are amazing. If someone chose to cover "Here and Now" by Luther; "Someday" by Mariah Carey; "Beautiful" by Christina Aguilera; "Fortunate by Maxwell (yes, I'll admit that R. Kelly aka 'the molester', aka 'the pisser', wrote an outstanding song); or "For Real" by Amel Larrieux, I would give them a listen just because the lyrical content of these songs keeps me entranced. "Golden" by Chrisette Michelle is my current lyrical favorite.

"Golden" by Chrisette Michelle:




When it comes to beats, sometimes I find myself not really caring about lyrics, imagery, or vocals. If a beat is good, it's hard for me to ignore the song no matter how crappy the lyrics and vocals may be. I still can't get enough of "Party Like A Rockstar"...love the guitar riff in that song. As much as Lil Wayne annoys me, I just can't switch the channel when "Lollipop" comes on. Yeah, I know Lil Wayne didn't solely make the beat to "Lollipop", but it's under his name and it's a hot-ass beat that makes me bob my head everytime I hear it. I can't stand T-Pain, but "Chopped N Screwed" is my new jam...mostly because of the beat and Ludacris, whose voice just hypnotizes me for some reason...any song with Luda is at least decent to me for the simple fact that he's on it. Love him! From the Neptunes to Timbaland, the production can make or break a song no matter how good (or bad) the lyrics, imagery, and vocals may be. The beats from The Dream have hooked me the most lately.

"Rockin That Thang by The Dream




"My Love" by The Dream featuring Mariah Carey

http://www.youtube.com/wa...qaC_kOsQL4


If someone is an outstanding vocalist, they could literally sing anything and I would be mesmerized. At times, a singer's vocal prowess overshadows all the other categories. If someone can sing the phonebook like Lisa Fischer sang "How Can I Ease The Pain", then I got nothin' but love for them. No matter how much they may annoy me at times, Mariah, Whitney, Celine; and yes, even Beyonce; I have to admit that these ladies have shown that they are totally capable of throwing down some amazing vocals. It's a talent that I just can't ignore. Sadly, the majority of the time, a great voice can make even an asshole look like a saint to me...sad but true. Jennifer Hudson is my current fave vocalist. Her voice is phenomenal.

"Giving Myself" (written by Robin Thicke)




Imagery is something that I feel just takes away from the music the majority of the time. Most of the time, I feel that an artist's imagery or public persona greatly cheapens their music, but occasionally it can compliment the music quite nicely. Image is usually the final part that I consider when making the decision of whether I truly like an artist or not, as odd as that is. As much as I don't like her, Britney has had points where I've felt that her imagery has really made her songs stand out more and be even better...she's a good video artist and performer I'll give her that, but mostly because these two things rely heavily on imagery. There's nothing terribly wrong with being a video artist as long as that person never tries to claim that they are a real musician. I don't mind imagery when it compliments the song. The video to "Thinking of You" by Katy Perry is one of the most recent videos that I've seen that just makes the song even better for me. It's a great video that makes me appreciate the song even more than I originally did when I first heard it. Two other current videos that I love are "Heartless" by Kanye and "Chasing Pavements" by Adele. I really liked both of these songs when I first heard them, and after seeing the videos I was hooked. MJ is still the king of music videos for me. His videos are timeless.

"Rock With You" (still my all-time fave MJ song and video)

http://www.youtube.com/wa...QG4xCeHlj0

So, I was wondering which one of these categories is the most considered when it comes to whether you like a song; and what are some of your favorites in these areas. What's UR Poison?

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[Edited 3/19/09 19:56pm]