eeglug

Sometimes an "intro" is also used as a bridge. XTC's Respectable Street is like this...so yes, it starts with the bridge.

Yes, an intro...like The Beatles' If I Fell.

The basic info on copyright and copyright registration contained in this thread is good but any reference to the old forms used by the US copyright office is a bit out of date now. The copyright office is encouraging everyone to file their registrations electronically. They still accept forms PA & SR but IMO you're just asking for your submission to get lost/mishandled and/or increasing your processing time. The last time I checked, the website interface wasn't all that slick but it did get the job done without the hassle of printing out forms and burning cds etc.

But if that contention was true, I don't think anyone would have given anything past, maybe, the first Dylan album much of a listen. I'll give you that. But there's a difference between you (as a young person) not liking Dylan's sound and you (as a wiser seasoned person) not liking the sound of Them Crooked Vultures. One is a dislike of the unknown/unfamiliar and the other is a dislike of something that's all too stale and (for you) all too familiar. Still, I get your point.

Carry on, my wayward sons and daughters. You're giving me more ammo in support of a notion I have whenever the topic of words vs music comes up: if you hate the music, you won't listen to it even if the words are pure genius. But if the music/groove/hooks are good we are often willing to go easy on the words if they fall short.

There are some interesting bits in the lyrics but man, that music, oof. Why would people my age (apparently) want to play such puerile stuff? Can't they think of anything meaningful to do with their lives? Rock really did die back when... Dood, can't you set aside your subjective reaction for the sake of the discussion? LOL. God forbid somebody brings up Blood On The Tracks in a general music topic. I remember when TCV appeared I was curious to hear them. I actually was quite underwhelmed with the album that emerged. But this song sounds better/catchier than I remembered.

Where does the Talking Heads' I Zimbra fall into this?

I come from a very different angle. I really had no ambitions to write - at first. I was just jamming in the basement a lot. I recorded the jams on regular stereo cassette tape. An older guy I knew who had lots of experience in live sound suggested I get a 4 track porta studio and so I did. At first I just did stuff that was an extension my endlessly aimless pathetic jamming. But after a while I needed to impose some sort of structure and that led to writing.