I thought I'd figured out what I like in music.

This has been in my forebrain a lot lately. Started when I went on that sudden Beatallica kick. Intensified with that "Pretend That We're Dead" bus trip. Then it provoked me while reading Sirkus' comment on her Flogging Molly post.

See, I'm largely devoid of rhythm. Can't dance, and should never play the drums. Back when I played an instrument in school, I could never feel the beat. I understand pitch, and mostly get melody, but not timing.

But lyrics I get. I really love trying to pry the secrets from them. My favorite bands tend to have really clever lyrics. And then there are musicians where I love 2 or 3 songs they've done but just don't care at all for anything else they produce. My favorite songs (by them, or just about any band) are the ones with the most subtle and tricky lyrics. I'm like a lyrical archaeologist or something. The more layers of meaning you can shovel off the top of a song, the more it appeals to me.

Secondary to that (and it's a distant second by a marathon margin) is unexpected quirky instrumentation. If there's one track on an album with accordion, steel guitar, glockenspiel, pan-pipe, double bass and powerdrill, it'll find a place in my heart. If on the fourth listening I realize the lyrics are about something different than I thought they were on my first play-through, I'll be hooked.I get lyrics stuck in my head all the time, but I've never had a rhythm trapped there. Never had a melody on my mind when I awoke, at least not without it being sandwiched between at least two lines of singing. I sometimes try to tap out a rhythm just for practice, but I can never keep it going for more than a couple bars. If a song starts or ends with an instrumental, I won't remember it. The first and last lyric are what defines that piece's borders for me. I guess my brain's just wired wrong.

That's why it blew my mind so much that Beatallica actually appealed to me. While presumably the lyrics have something to do with the Beatles originals, or the Metallica song they blended into it, all you can really make out is a few "Hyeah!"'s and a "Lame-Ass Poser!" where they shouldn't be. I have no real idea what they're singing. And the instruments were just electric guitar and drum. Yet it somehow works for me. That's pretty rare.

And it implies there's actually something else going on in my grey matter to account for what I like - something that just manifests the evidence of lyricism. But I don't know what it is.