recent reviews of The Strokes and Arctic Monkeys albums have pointed out a paucity of lyrical skill

This is a positive sign. Pop music was never noted for this part of the songwriting craft - much to my dismay. I have even been told on a number of occasions that my own lyric writing is 'pearls before swine' by people at record labels and publishers.

So, is this a sign of a trend that the general public want to hear more interesting lyrics or just that reviewers are getting tired of the current genre conventions...??
How much do you care about lyrics?
Can a good lyric rescue an average tune?
Can a bad lyric kill a decent tune?
DiScuss