This, The Howl: Emotional Writing and the Passion Continuum

Today's topic, chilblains, is lyrics. Specifically, the writing thereof and issues associated with it.

So the eternal dilemma I confront is a) How much of myself to put into them, and b) How obvious to make that connection. I'm a big fan of a lot of emotion in a lyric, but I'm also a massive opponent of anything either emo or ballady. So 90% of the reasons for be chucking a lyric in the bin end up being that it's either too dispassionate or too emotional.

But this got me thinking on what, exactly, has made me so specific on that subject. Why is it, on a vast continuum of emotional exhibitionism, that I have chosen a very small midpoint of that range as the acceptable writing area? To be sure, all of my favourite albums tread that line at least part of the time, but is that the cause or effect of my inclination... Interesting.

So tell me, what's your preference? Where's the point where you say "Ugh, no, this is far too emo for my tastes", and where do you start saying "Come on people, a little emotion please". Do you find this limits your creativity or your choice of listening material?

Also, to be discussed: Does it matter that, in the case of many singers, the emotion they're expressing is someone else's?