Instrumental Music?

[Retrology]

Lately, I've been listening to a lot of instrumental music, ranging from video games (duh) to classical, to techno, to ambient, to big beat, alternative, post rock, and jazz.

Personally, I really like the lack of lyrics. At times I prefer the music telling the story and painting a picture instead of lyrics. It helps calm stress, and makes me feel more peaceful.

Lyrics are perfectly fine, but sometimes I like to be in an instrumental kind of mood. Thoughts?

[scotland]

Lyrics are slippery things - how often has a catchy refrain hidden lyrics that take you aback when you finally listen to them.

Some instrumental music is so associated with imagery words would get in the way - William Tell Overture, Toccata and Fugue in D Minor, and movie music like Jaws and so many others. Others just need an evocative title like Take Five. Other songs have forgotten lyrics, because they are better without them like Fishing Hole (Andy Griffith Theme Song)

[Retrology]

Lyrics are slippery things - how often has a catchy refrain hidden lyrics that take you aback when you finally listen to them.
)

Pumped Up Kicks by Foster the People is a perfect example. Great pop song that's actually about murder (look it up).

[jon]

This is something I've been thinking about for a while. When my brother signed me up for Apple Music I was excited about listening to popular music, with lyrics. But I soon found myself bored to tears with it, pop,rock,hip hop, etc. I'd heard someone mention before that pop music was a phenomenon, a fad from the beginning of radio and mass distribution channels. And I'm starting to think that's the case. Everything's been done now. Maybe as late as the 90's genres were still being explored and refined, like with hip hop and rock. But now there's nothing new to be done. No pop music frontier yet to be conquered. Ive been listening to classical music. The composers possess incredible talents. And it's exquisite to hear musicians play classical instruments that require far more skill and dedication than your garden variety pop music.

[Robotrek]

If you love instrumental, check out Mr. Scary!

[Herschie]

Call me a weirdo, but I've been listening to a lot of production music from sports videos I used to watch when I was a kid. You know, like NFL Films music. There's thousands of them on Youtube, which can be good and bad; the good being that it's more likely the song you're looking for is out there. The bad is it's a needle in a haystack.

In any case, I've found many of them. If anyone is good at identifying these, I'm looking for a song from "Boys of Zimmer", the first song they play in Game 5 against the Giants where the narrator starts off by saying, "On Monday afternoon, the teams met again at Candlestick Park". It seems like I've been able to find every song but that one.

[scotland]

I'd heard someone mention before that pop music was a phenomenon, a fad from the beginning of radio and mass distribution channels. And I'm starting to think that's the case.

I would hazard there has always been casual fun music, and more technically proficient more complicated music. There have probably always been Bachs, and always Bluegrass. When Sousa was composing for brass bands, someone else was writing Daisy for vaudeville. They both have their place, one more soulful maybe, the other more raw.

The Great American Songbook and Big Bands were a point where they converging, but not much of that these days maybe.

[jon]

The only music with lyrics I listen to are extreme metal bands with indecipherable lyrics that are yelled, grunted etc. I love NFL films music as well, especially from the early 70's, epic stuff.

[scotland]

Round Up was used for years on a HBO program, Inside the NFL. Wow. Its hard to hear that brassy rhythm without getting excited about American football.
http://nypost.com/2015/01/28/the-11-best-over-the-top-tunes-from-nfl-films/

Its hard to imagine lyrics helping that music at all. On the other hand, much pop music depends on lyrics, and is often focused around a lead singer. (even if lead singer is not always fixed, like the Beatles).

[Steve]

Although, music with lyrics can be very enjoyable depending on the artist, my favorite type of music is instrumental. It fits nicely with my favorite genre and that is progressive music (Camel, King Crimson, etc.). Probably one of my favorite groups of all time is Tangerine Dream, a group I think is too often associated with new age and probably neglected as a result. And to tie into the world of videogames, they did some of the music for Grand Theft Auto 5 which is quite excellent.