By what metric do you gauge whether a song is good or not?

[TheBiggestJerk]

Earworm jingles - can’t sleep because it drones in your head
Counterpoint melodies in all music gets me going
If a song can be recreated in a different arrangement from the original and sounds potentially better. “Wait wtf, I know this song”

Yep… kinda boils down to - is it catchy (?) -
And thus does it make me want to listen to it again?

 

[matttornado]

If I find myself humming the melody after I hear a song, I'll like it regardless of the artist or style of music it is.

 

[Omnipotent1]

I'd say that there's something occurring on a primitive level when we hear a song that we think is good or bad. Does it elicit emotions? Do you feel like head banging or dancing? Does it make your energy levels go up when you hear it?

Our assessment of whether music is good is on an instinctual level. It just grabs you and you start remembering rhythms and chorus words, even if it's the first time you're hearing it.

The way you feel the bass and drums on a sub-sonic or subliminal level as it hits your body is another thing I think can distinguish between a good song and a great song.

Mind you, one man's great song is another man's horrible ode. We're all susceptible to our biases based on experience, which is why a lot of folk who listen to Metallica may think that Britney Spears sucked.

This It’s primitive & programmed inside us. Not something you explain on just a technical level… (Though don’t ignore the technical aspect.) Sometimes the simplest, most poorly produced songs capture people from all walks of life (the masses). The culmination of different sounds/frequencies tapping into the human psyche to evoke distinct emotional & physical responses is a beautiful thing.. How profound of an impact does it leave on you as well as the masses? Always look at both sides of the coin.. Even if it’s something you don’t like- try to understand why others do

My advice to anyone: Diversify your consumption it helps to understand it on a much deeper level.

If I find myself humming the melody after I hear a song, I'll like it regardless of the artist or style of music it is.

This guy knows what’s up lol

If you’re creating music to distribute then you better capture the audience even quicker these days. All the Tik Tok & Shorts are changing the game, & rewiring their brains.

 

[phillybhatesme]

For anything with guitar, “would this be fun to play?”
For music without guitar: is it fast? Is it danceable? Is it slutcore or kpop?

 

[rsm]

If I like it, and want to hear it again.

Some songs take longer to appreciate; some I appreciate but don't really like, some I like but don't really appreciate, and wouldn't go out of my way to hear again, but I also won't turn it off or skip it either.

Some songs I liked years ago don't sound as good as I remember; some songs I didn't like years ago, sound better than I remember.

Some songs from the past became part of that moment or time in life, indelibly linked...

I had a band teacher that asked us what is music? His answer was the creating and releasing of tension (thought, emotion)...I song has to be interesting, make me think, feel, or be associated with a time, place or person/people.

 

[VonBonfire]

Memorable melodies stick....

 

[thegame]

Pretty much all music is comprised of 3 fundamental components; melody, harmony and rhythm. Some people are just predisposed to favoring one of those over the other two, to varying degrees. Ideally the “best” music is strong in all 3 categories. Even 2/3 can still qualify as good music but man, when a song is only batting 1/3 then it’s not very good no matter how “impressive” the dominant trait is.

 

[anomaly]

If it makes me want to smash a buncha shit is one metric.

Yes, I agree with this. There are many Pantera songs that do this for me and they don't exactly have to be all that melodic. Take a song like "A New Level" for example. That song is the definition of heavy to me. It's mostly a rhythmic song though.

 

[anomaly]

There's no universal answer. If there were, someone would have discovered it and written 10,000 number one hits.

I agree 100%

 

[311boogieman]

I feel like it’s way deeper and more profound than equipment and tone.

True, but my comment still holds. The Kinks 'You Really Got Me' has terrible tone to your point but is just a killer iconic tune. Dream Theatre has amazing tone but I don't know one of their songs and would be hard pressed to sit through an entire album. The next person may have the exact opposite opinion of that. You were asking I think what we as individuals consider our criteria. I need something a little more catchy then say Dream Theatre without being gay, like Brian Adams sounds.

Fleetwood Mac = Yes
Killswitch Engage = Yes

Wildly different though

 

[Exo-metal]

"Raised arm hair."

EVH

 

[BABMusic]

Does it linger in your mind in a good way? Are there surprise changes (in a good way)? Do the melodic lines seem somewhat intuitive? There's no exact formula, but these things are helpful indicators.

Most music I hear is not "bad", but rather just dull. It needs to stand out in a good way, and it's harder these days.

This is what I consider "bad" music.

 

[RaceU4her]

By how many times I want to listen to it again

 

[Alpha Stryke]

Like bombing Iran "in my bones".

 

[Devin]

Whether it has a booty shakin/headbangin groove or not

 

[rstites]

Interesting question. I'd say if I like it, but then there are songs I think are just great but I don't really enjoy that much personally......and others I don't think are great songs that have special place for me due to other associations of the time.

 

[TheBiggestJerk]

True, but my comment still holds. The Kinks 'You Really Got Me' has terrible tone to your point but is just a killer iconic tune. Dream Theatre has amazing tone but I don't know one of their songs and would be hard pressed to sit through an entire album. The next person may have the exact opposite opinion of that. You were asking I think what we as individuals consider our criteria. I need something a little more catchy then say Dream Theatre without being gay, like Brian Adams.

Fleetwood Mac = Yes
Killswitch Engage = Yes

Wildly different though

Dissimilarity I think is immaterial. But Bryan Adams ROCKS! There’s something to be said for simplicity. Processing a lot of musical information can be very distracting.

 

[BABMusic]

I need something a little more catchy then say Dream Theatre without being gay, like Brian Adams.

Fleetwood Mac = Yes
Killswitch Engage = Yes

Wildly different though

Funny, because I don't know why, but Brian Adams just doesn't do it for me. I also do like some Fleetwood Mac, but mostly just the Rumors album.

 

[WizardAmpIphoneClip]

Guitar sound isnt important
Production isnt important
For me, does it have similar spirit as alot of the stuff I like?
If so, its good.
Nothing complex about it guys