Music: What do you look for in an artist?

[Fritz]

So, I'm sitting here tonight watching music videos on Yahoo! and a thought pops into my head, what in an artist keeps people listening to them? So answer me this...

For me, if they suck live, I lose interest. Also I don't focus so much on lyrics as much as how the music sounds, I think this is due to the fact I'm a musician so I think the music part of the songs draws my attention more then the message of lyrics.

How about you?

[domromer]

The only band I've listend to forever is the pixies. I'm not sure why. I been listening to them since I was 12, and I'm 27 now. They just kick ass, I think

[Mr.SmOOOth]

I saw the Pixies along with Janes Addiction and Primus in San Fran. must've been 13 or 14 yrs. ago. The Pixies kick ass!!!! I like it when someone asks who a band sounds like and you're at a loss........ "They sound like, like....ah, hell, they're the Pixies man!!!!!"

[Mr.SmOOOth]

The live show can either make or break the band for me. I used to listen to a band called the Mentors, kind of perverted punk-metal. When I was in high school we listened to them everyday. Then they came to town and really sucked live. Another band on the bill was MDC, who I didn't care for, and they put on such a good show that I became kind of a fan of theirs. It's funny how the energy a band puts out can draw people to them.

[domromer]

pixies rule!

[Amateur]

It's funny how the energy a band puts out can draw people to them.

That's why bands like 311 arent on the charts but every show is sold out deep.

[jmammo]

When I was 13 my dad took me to see Ted Nugent in Las Vegas. It was an amazing show. He may not be able to sing but what he can do with his guitar sure makes up for that.
All of the bands I listen to have a unique sound, well at least I think so. So I think thats what keeps me going back to them is there the overall kickassness of how they sound.
BTW the best site to find new bands you like is pandora.com. You put in the name of the artist or song then it creates a station with songs form that artist and ones like it.

[garublador]

I also tend to listen to the music as a whole rather than just the lyrics, but there are exceptions that are mostly comedy based artists. I'm guessing most people do this, but I tend to base much of my listening on my subjective view of a song rather than on how "good" or "bad" a song is objectivly. For example, I know that Steve Vai is a better player than Jack White, but I own several White Sripes CD's and no Steve Vai (OK, he played on "Jazz From Hell," which I own, but I don't listen to it that much).

Whether or not a group or person performs well live doesn't have a huge impact on whether or not I like the music, but it does have some. I have much more respect for an artist that can sound good live than one that needs everything to be perfect for them to sound alright. It's kind of scary to see how many bands sound good in the studio, but can barely hold together when they're on stage. Even bands that consistantly sound good when rapping over pre-recorded music are much more rare than they should be.

[MR. WICK]

I like it loud, fast and heavy!

[jmammo]

I like it loud, fast and heavy!

Like your women I presume

[Amateur]

I like it loud, fast and heavy!

Like your women I presume

Haha, I like my women how I like my coffee. Ground up and in the freezer.

[MR. WICK]

I don't mind a loud fast or heavy woman. They all need lovin'

[jmammo]

I like it loud, fast and heavy!

Like your women I presume

Haha, I like my women how I like my coffee. Ground up and in the freezer.

Sometimes, but other times I like my women how I take MY coffee: light with lots of cream

[Blake_T]

i can't say there's any one thing that can draw me to music, but generally a combination of things. i believe there's lots of things that can be the dominant factor from any one band, but good bands usually have 2 or more.

ideally, i like bands that are a total package, but those are hard to come by.

i'm not overly snobby with a band having to be great live, but i rarely like bands that suck ass live. with certain genres, i let it slide more than others. i would rather see a band that is a little sloppy live that keeps my "indie rock head nod" goin than a band that plays perfectly, effortlessly, and heartlessly

when you have a psycho memory like i do, i always find that bands have a lot of sound going on to be more interesting since i cannot "play it back" in my head from memory and still get all of the parts at once.

i also tend to get drawn to contrasts and etremities. i.e. if it doesn't rock it better be so pretty your heart bleeds until you vomit blood.

i'm not too concerned with a singer's voice unless it is particularly good or particularly bad. i focus more on the effort they put into it and whether or not they wear their heart on their sleeve.

lyrics can make or break a song to me. lyrics were able to get me liking a style of music that i didn't like before. imo, some of the best lyrics from the past decade were from the band Saetia, who had extremely heavy screaming in the song. the lyrics were so good it got me to enjoy a good hardcore screamer.

[PRES 10]

I like it loud, fast and heavy!

Like your women I presume

Haha, I like my women how I like my coffee. Ground up and in the freezer.

Sometimes, but other times I like my women how I take MY coffee: light with lots of cream

Those are all good but I'd prefer my women how I take my coffee, Hot and Black....J/K