What makes good music?

This is just to make a point:  there is good music, and there is kitchy (sp?) music.  For me, one of the best indicators of a good song is to take a look a the lyrics.  Let's compare lyrics of one of my favorite (albeit obscure) songs, with one of America's favorite songs.  Reading through the entire lyrics of a single song can become monotonous, so if you're a lazy blog reader, just read a snippet of each song and I think you'll still get my point.

"Furr" by Blitzen Trapper:

When I was only 17, 
I could hear the angels whispering, 
So I drove into the woods and wandered aimlessly about -
Until I heard my mother shouting through the fog 
It turned out to be the howling of a dog. 
Or a wolf to be exact, the sound sent shivers down my back, 
But I was drawn into the pack and before long 
They allowed me to join in and sing their song. 
So from the cliffs and highest hill, 
We would gladly get our fill, 
Howling endlessly and shrilly at the dawn.
And I lost the taste for judging right from wrong 
For my flesh had turned to fur,
And my thoughts, they surely were 
Turned to instinct and obedience to God. 

You can wear your fur like a river on fire 
But you better be sure if you're makin' God a liar 
I'm a rattlesnake, and, I'm like fuel on fire 
So if you're gonna' get made, Don't be afraid
of what you've learned 

On the day that I turned 23, 
I was curled up underneath a dogwood tree 
When suddenly a girl with skin the color of a pearl 
She wandered aimlessly, but she didn't seem to see,
She was listenin' for the angels just like me.
So I stood and looked about 
I brushed the leaves off of my snout, 
And then I heard my mother shouting through the trees -
You should have seen that girl go shaky at the knees -
So I took her by the arm, 
We settled down upon a farm 
And raised our children up as gently as you please. 

And now my fur has turned to skin, 
And I've been quickly ushered in 
To a world that I confess I do not know. 
But I still dream of running careless through the snow, 
And through the howlin' winds that blow, 
Across the ancient distant flow, 
It fill our bodies up like water till we know: 

You can wear your fur like a river on fire, 
But you better be sure if you're makin' God a liar. 
I'm a rattlesnake, and, I'm like fuel on fire 
So if you're gonna' get made, don't be afraid
of what you've learned.

* * *

"Baby" by Justin Bieber

You know you love me, I know you care
Just shout whenever, and I'll be there
You want my love, you want my heart
And we will never ever ever be apart

Are we an item? Girl, quit playing
We're just friends, what are you saying?
Say there's another and look right in my eyes
My first love broke my heart for the first time
And I was like...

Baby, baby, baby oooh
Like baby, baby, baby nooo
Like baby, baby, baby oooh
I thought you'd always be mine (mine)

Baby, baby, baby oooh
Like baby, baby, baby nooo
Like baby, baby, baby oooh
I thought you'd always be mine (mine)

For you I would have done whatever
And I just can't believe we ain't together
And I wanna play it cool, but I'm losin' you
I'll buy you anything, I'll buy you any ring
And I'm in pieces, baby fix me
And just shake me 'til you wake me from this bad dream
I'm going down, down, down, down
And I just can't believe my first love won't be around

And I'm like
Baby, baby, baby oooh
Like baby, baby, baby nooo
Like baby, baby, baby oooh
I thought you'd always be mine (mine)

Baby, baby, baby oooh
Like baby, baby, baby nooo
Like baby, baby, baby oooh
I thought you'd always be mine (mine)

[Ludacris:]
Luda! When I was 13, I had my first love,
There was nobody that compared to my baby
and nobody came between us or could ever come above
She had me going crazy, oh, I was star-struck,
she woke me up daily, don’t need no Starbucks.
She made my heart pound, it skipped a beat when I see her in the street and
at school on the playground but I really wanna see her on the weekend.
She knows she got me dazing cause she was so amazing
and now my heart is breaking but I just keep on saying...

Baby, baby, baby oooh
Like baby, baby, baby nooo
Like baby, baby, baby oooh
I thought you'd always be mine (mine)

Baby, baby, baby oooh
Like baby, baby, baby nooo
Like baby, baby, baby oooh
I thought you'd always be mine (mine)

I'm gone (Yeah Yeah Yeah, Yeah Yeah Yeah)
All I'm gone (Yeah Yeah Yeah, Yeah Yeah Yeah)
Now I'm all gone (Yeah Yeah Yeah, Yeah Yeah Yeah)
Now I'm all gone (gone, gone, gone...)
I'm gone 

* * *

I think if I hear the word "baby" one more time, I'm going to barf.  However, I think I could read the lyrics to "Furr" over and over again.  That song is worth memorizing.  What a clever and beautiful allegory to the life journey of a boy.  My point:  be careful what you listen to.  It may inspire you, entertain you, fill the silence, or even (heaven forbid) make you dumber.  Please, try for the former over the latter.