Originally Posted by: earthman buckI'm exactly the opposite. I need structure. Free verse poetry just drives me crazy. My songs need to be firmly structured, have a consistent rhythm, and they need to rhyme. It's the only way for me.

Yeah, me too. I've tried doing alternate, free structures but the songs always sound wrong. I usually end up editing them down.
It kinda depends on the type of song though... if you're doing top 40 or radio edits, you have to stick to a certain structure or it'll never get airplay.
If you're doing dance tunes, jazz or whatever, you've got more freedom to experiment.