I try to keep an open ear for all genres, I don't play favorites and am always looking for more. I can listen from anywhere from Tech N9ne to Chopin. What makes a great song or song writer is both the sound (ie melody) and the lyrics. One, in my opinion does not do well without the other. Such an example I have found myself returning to constantly is the music from Neko Case. Although country and blues may be most suitable for the genre, (country as in Johnny Cash) it is the dark lyricism I find myself attracted to most. The subject is often of forgotten places of America's past or man's plight with nature and the sound is rich in texture. Each time I listen to an album I find myself finding new things about it or being more lost in her abstract narratives which for me is always a treat. I highly recommend Blacklisted, The Tigers Have Spoken, The Fox Confessor Brings the Flood and Furnace Room Lullaby.
It was the denial of God, the denial of man, and the destruction of the world in miniature form.