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Fun Stuff => BAND => Topic started by: asyluman on 28 Feb 2007, 12:39
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I really like bands with weird singers like CYHSY, Kings of Leon, NMH, Cloud Cult, etc.
What are some other good bands with unique singing?
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Deeeeeerhoof!
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Joanna Newsom is pretty unique, though I don't know if that's the sort of thing you want.
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Efrim from A Sliver Mt. Zion has such terrible vocals that they could only work with ASMZ and no one else. For odd-sounding singers, I guess I'd have to go with Tom Waits and maybe Congleton from the Paper Chase.
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Devendra Banhart.
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Congleton from the Paper Chase.
ugh
Thom York has weird vocals, although I'm sure you've heard radiohead so you already know if you like them or not. Jonsi from Sigur Ros has a very strange, ethereal sounding voice. In other words it's very different. But he's not all like what you listed so I'm not sure about him either. I'd say you might like The Mountain Goats. John Darnielle sings some very nice songs and plays some very nice guitar with what I would call unique vocals.
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Danny Elfman, Oingo Boingo.
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I feel like I only listen to weird voiced singers now.
Isn't the whole point of Indie Music that you can start a band without knowing how to sing?
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Bjork! :-D
definitely Joanna Newsom
Regina Spektor does some weird things
Stina Nordenstam
Antony (a la the Johnsons) is just totally other, and excellent
Danielson (some would go as far as calling it a crime against ears everywhere)
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Demetrio Stratos (Area)
Mike Patton (various)
Snake (Voivod)
Czral (Virus, etc)
earlier Brent Oberlin (Thought Industry)
A vocoder (Cynic)
Oghr (Skinny Puppy)
edit: also, the Edvardsen sister who was in Atrox
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Avey Tare of Animal Collective
I will STRONGLY second Danielson
Clem Snide
Any freak-folker, I guess including Devendra and Joanna who have already been mentioned, as well as the girls of CocoRosie and Vashti Bunyan
the girl from Mecca Normal, though I think that's just her style of singing more than her actual voice. On that same note-Tam.
Mercury Rev! Clientele!
and Gordan Gano of the Violent Femmes has a pretty wierd voice.
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If we're on metal, Kelly Shaefer of Atheist has a very intresting thrash screams. Not in his voice but in his pronunciation and phrazing.
Lord Worm's (Dan Greening) vocals on Cryptopsy's None So Vile are pretty amazing. You cant make out a word he's saying and its still sounds incredible.
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craig finn (the hold steady)
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Most of these people aren't particularly strange.
How about Anna-Varney Cantonadea (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=287kBg-qEVU), Edward Ka-Spel (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o4YmYYunrxM)*, Dave Tibet (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=481DlxGYph4), Tiny Tim (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skU-jBFzXl0) or Diamanda Galas (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9T29Lqpi2RQ)?
*NSFW
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..why hasn't Sigur Ros been mentioned yet? Surely a guy singing in an impossibly high falsetto is weird.
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Dude, I direct you to Tiny fucking Tim.
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I want to say Daniel Johnston.
I know his voice isn't really weird per se, but the absurdity of almost everything he does musically seems to make him a prime candidate.
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Casey Mercer is dramatic and bizarre. When I hear him sing, I picture some kind of operatic drama playing out as he dashed about a stage and tears at his clothing.
Dan Bejar has what I would call a unique voice and delivery. I know a guy that loves his music and lyrics but hates his voice, so in that regard I guess he's 'odd.'
Bob Dylan deserves the obvious mention, if only because his voice has changed so drastically over time and between albums.
Daniel Johnston. If only because he is often so bad it's incredibly moving and endearing. Songs Of Pain and More Songs of Pain FTW.
DAMO SUZUKI. Somebody second me on this guy. His voice is what makes Can for me.
Captain Beefheart. Duh.
Tom Waits. Duh.
Maureen Tucker. I dunno why, but the few songs she sings with the Velvet Underground as so odd and what I would call proto-twee in many regards.
Ween. Mostly when they use the weird effects and filters on their voices.
David Byrne. Kinda obvious.
Frank Black. Unique, and the screaming is an acquired taste for many.
The guy from Spoon who's name escapes me but he sorta looks like Gary Busey. He's not really odd, but I love this delivery and style. Also the falsetto on 'I Turn My Camera On' is money.
David Berman. Like Dan Bejar, I've known some people who love his music and lyrics but can't stand his voice.
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..why hasn't Sigur Ros been mentioned yet?
Jonsi from Sigur Ros has a very strange, ethereal sounding voice. In other words it's very different.
LOL
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Ooh, if by "unique" you mean "terrible", look no further than Wayne Coyne of the Flaming Lips.
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..why hasn't Sigur Ros been mentioned yet?
Jonsi from Sigur Ros has a very strange, ethereal sounding voice. In other words it's very different.
LOL
I guess perhaps I should read threads a little better!!?
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Looks like nobody mentioned Les Claypool yet. Most people think of bass when they think of him, but he is also incredibly nasal. I like it.
In a similar vein, perhaps Gabby La La?
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All three of the singers in uneXpect. They have this habit of extending syllables mid-word, as well as just screaming in a generally different way from everyone else. The female vocalist (Leiendel) tends to sing in a...how can I describe it? Unconventionally, I guess. Artagoth does the low end screaming, throwing grunts every now and then in the style of Ptoe and Lord Worm. Syriak is the high-end screamer, and he does a bunch of incredibly Scottish lines (talks really fast, with somewhat of an accent). The combined effort is something to behold.
As for Cynic, both of the vocalists create this sort of Caveman vs. Robot thing which I like.
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Surely you know about Wolf Parade? Spencer Krug a rather strange voice. In Wolf Parade he sounds just weird in a normal kind of way, but said weirdness is pushed to the limits in Sunset Rubdown. Your freaky ears will be pleased.
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The guy from Spoon who's name escapes me but he sorta looks like Gary Busey. He's not really odd, but I love this delivery and style. Also the falsetto on 'I Turn My Camera On' is money.
Britt Daniel is in possession of one of the finest voices in rock today.
Conrad Keely of ...Trail Of Dead.
Eddie Argos of Art Brut.
Pretty much all of The B-52's.
The dude who sings for Brakes has a pretty awesome voice on Give Blood.
The guy from Clinic. I guess not so much "weird" as "really intense."
The girls of CocoRosie have a very interesting blend of voices.
Hawksley Workman does some interesting vocal stuff on occasion.
Will Sheff of Okkervil River balances quiet with an absolutely unhinged lunatic howl while hanging desperately to the key (and succeeding).
The lead singer of Mclusky has a stupendous voice that is more lunatic who's completely hinged and will show no remorse.
Jeff Mangum's voice strikes me as a bit weird. So does Colin Melloy.
Scott Walker's voice made me laugh at first but now it scares the shit out of me.
Wax Mannequin has a ridiculous range and combines it with a variety of superbly-realized inflections.
That's all I can think off of the top of my head.
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I'll third Lord Worm he is absolutely incredible. on "Open Face Surgery" he does this incredibly high pitched scream that he holds for about 30 seconds, amazing...
Matthew Chalk the old singer from Psycroptic was really good as well, I've seen him live a couple of times and he's just as good as in the studio, he can switch from an insanely low pitched growl to a shriek all in the same breath. He just has such a huge range of vocals its amazing to watch.
Of course if your talking about odd as in personalty rather then sound, you need look no further then Dead from Mayhem, a truly troubled individual...
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Take a listen to Hocus Pocus by Focus. Certainly qualifies as some fairly strange singing.
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How about Anna-Varney Cantonadea (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=287kBg-qEVU), Edward Ka-Spel (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o4YmYYunrxM)*, Dave Tibet (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=481DlxGYph4), Tiny Tim (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=skU-jBFzXl0) or Diamanda Galas (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9T29Lqpi2RQ)?
Jesus, when I saw the title of this thread I thought of Diamanda Galas, Edward Ka-Spel and David Tibet, in that order. Pretty weird to see all three in one post.
I do have a lot of respect for Diamanda Galas still, don't like the others much. I listened to them a whole lot when I was 18 or 19, but can't stand them at all nowadays. I guess Ed's lisp is pretty endearing, it's just such dreary music. Actually some of that Tear Garden malarkey was OK... and that weird Stockhausen cut-up the Silverman did on one of the Pink Dots LPs.
Anyway, thinking about Diamanda Galas leads me to I Put A Spell On You. Both the original, by Screaming Jay Hawkins, and Nina Simone's version demonstrate the capacity for those singers to get at least "slightly weird". Shit. All 3 versions are great, now I think about it. Got to listen to the original right now!
I think Blixa Bargeld from Neubauten probably fits in here too. Maybe all the Nick Cave fans know him for his may-as-well-be-Nick duet on The Weeping Song, or maybe from the shrieking towards the end of Stagger Lee, but he was pretty insane in the early Neubauten day. He got other bandmembers to stand on his chest while he sang to see what would happen, things like that.
Scott Walker's voice made me laugh at first but now it scares the shit out of me.
Heh, I take it you're thinking of his later stuff? Pretty hard to be afraid of things written by Burt Bacharach et al. :wink:
I do find the song on 'The Drift' where he's riffing on the length of horses' faces or whatever incredibly scary, actually.
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How about Jorge from The Casualties? He's got this Spanish accented garbled scream.
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I do have a lot of respect for Diamanda Galas still, don't like the others much. I listened to them a whole lot when I was 18 or 19, but can't stand them at all nowadays. I guess Ed's lisp is pretty endearing, it's just such dreary music. Actually some of that Tear Garden malarkey was OK... and that weird Stockhausen cut-up the Silverman did on one of the Pink Dots LPs.
I don't find LPD's music dreary. There's bleakness to it certainly, but also a wonderful undercurrent of mischief and psychedelia. They often invite a comparison to early Pink Floyd, and I don't think undeservedly. Dave Tibet is one of my favourite vocalists of all time.
@Scytale: if we're going into BM, I'd mention Varg Vikernes (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fv_uQ7ZT8h0) before dead, his voice is absolutely inhuman at some points. Just listen to that first scream. Though I get what you mean in the sense of 'odd as a person'. A near death experience as a child had convinced Dead that he was, well, dead. And that was the least of it, according to some things I've read.
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Mark Lanegan, if he's not been mentioned already, who sounds like he smokes 200 a day.
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Am I the only person who listens to Can and Captain Beefheart or something??
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if we're going into BM, I'd mention Varg Vikernes (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fv_uQ7ZT8h0) before dead, his voice is absolutely inhuman at some points. Just listen to that first scream. Though I get what you mean in the sense of 'odd as a person'. A near death experience as a child had convinced Dead that he was, well, dead. And that was the least of it, according to some things I've read.
Personally, I always liked Pest.
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Seconding Varg, man that guy can scream.
Also, Jacob from Converge, his scream is absolutely blood curdling, and the out-of-key clean vocals are even spookier.
David Tibet is also weird, with those brittle spoken vocals.
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I'm more depressed that we missed Nico.
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Am I the only person who listens to Can and Captain Beefheart or something??
In my ears Damo Suzuki is not as much weird as carefree and sexy. It is endearing in a childlike sort of way.
Captain Beefheart is "merely" a freaked out blues singer. I don't think that there is that big a gap between him and Leadbelly for example. Leadbelly can be pretty creepy at times.
I think Blixa Bargeld from Neubauten probably fits in here too. Maybe all the Nick Cave fans know him for his may-as-well-be-Nick duet on The Weeping Song, or maybe from the shrieking towards the end of Stagger Lee, but he was pretty insane in the early Neubauten day. He got other bandmembers to stand on his chest while he sang to see what would happen, things like that.
Seconding this! Blixa is(or perhaps was) incredible. Nowadays Einst?rzende Neubauten are a bit boring if you ask me.
Lizzi Bougatsos from Gang Gang Dance is also a candidate. She manipulates her voice to great effect.
Yoko Ono anyone?
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I am ashamed for forgetting Nattramn from Silencer. He delivers some fucked up vocals. I believe he actually throws up during one of their tracks from Death - Pierce Me.
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Okay, I guess this is kind of digitally induced, but I think the Fiery Fiery Furnace's vocalist (Eleanor something?) has a weird voice naturally too.
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seems as if no one's mentioned Mike Doughty/Soul Coughing.
probably my favorite "bad" singer.
pick up ruby vroom and Rockity Roll to start.
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Highway Magic man! The main vocalist is Phillip Zumburm and he has a different voice. Find his band at myspace.com/highwaymagic
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I'm more depressed that we missed Nico.
Nico is good.
As far as throwing up goes, well, Nattefrost has an entire track devoted to that.
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Eddie Argos of Art Brut.
"Yes this is my singing voice, it's not ironic . . ." God that band's so much fun!
In order to make this post a little more helpful, I started looking through my C.D. collection. Almost immediately I came across Louis Armstrong. Then a little further down the way I came across Kate Bush. I couldn't be bothered looking any further.
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"Yes this is my singing voice, it's not ironic . . ."
Stay off... the crack!
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Seconding Tom Verlaine and Nico.
Melt Banana
Michael Gira of Swans (Only that weird, drawling, low-pitched voice he uses on some Children of God and later songs. I don't actually like it much, but it is weird.)