what qualities make you say "this is a good song"? what about a song makes you like it more than another one that you also think is good? what does a band have to do to keep you interested in them?

personally, I notice the musical complexity of something first. if it's painfully simplistic I probably won't be interested. Next I notice the rhythm. it gets a big plus for being in a weird time signature. finally I notice the catchy tune, if there is one. usually something with a catchy tune and none of the stuff I mentioned before just ends up being annoying to me (like a commercial jingle you can't get out of your head) but this isn't always true. If a song has enough energy to it, that can sometimes bypass the need for musical complexity, BUT it then also needs a catchy tune. I find bands like Superjoint Ritual and December very irritating because they're simplistic and there's nothing to sing along with. The Dillinger Escape Plan can scream all the lyrics and there's enough going on to keep me interested. December is just boring when they do the same thing.

incidently the fact that for something lighter to interest me it has to be somewhat complex means that I listen to both a lot of progressive rock and stoner music. :hmm2: