Print

Please login or register.
1 Hour 1 Day 1 Week 1 Month Forever
Login with username, password and session length

[PECOAE]

So we have a thread on sexiest voices... but what about all those who we love even though (or perhaps BECAUSE) we can't understand a word of what they're saying - note, not buried in the mix, but actually not understandable because of style, accent, etc.

I vote for:
Feist in Broken Social Scene.
Michael Stipe (R.E.M.)
Caleb Followill (Kings of Leon)
Hope Sandowell (Mazzy Star) - but who really cares about what she's saying, right?

Anybody got any others?

[Spluff]

I listen to metal, so my list could be pretty damn huge.

[squawk]

Thom Yorke.

[sean]

Jónsi people.

[MadassAlex]

I listen to metal, so my list could be pretty damn huge.

Not really, it's just a matter of experience.

[Spluff]

I honestly don't see how it's possible to decipher some of the death/black metal albums I've got.

[PECOAE]

Thom Yorke.

I do NOT know how I missed this.

Julian Casablancas, circa Room on Fire (The Strokes)
Joey Ramone (Ramones)
Cameron Bird (Architecture in Helsinki)
Jamie Stewart (Xiu Xiu)
Yeah, Patrick Stump (Fall Out Boy) is pretty much incomprehensible - but would you really want to?  I think those videos are awesome.

[KvP]

I still have trouble understanding Dizzee Rascal. Strangely, Skepta is no problem.

Also, Cedric Bixler-Zavala.

[imapiratearg]

Feist in Broken Social Scene.

Fight you.  I love her voice, and I can generally tell what she is singing.  However, Kevin Drew can be a pain, regardless of how good his voice is.

[KharBevNor]

I honestly don't see how it's possible to decipher some of the death/black metal albums I've got.

Mainly you have to listen to the lyrics. You know, those words that folks sing to go with the music.

[monkandmovies13]

Patrick Stewart (Fall Out Boy)

Heehee. I think you're a little confused. Patrick Stewart is an actor. I think that the Fall Out Boy dude's name is Patrick Stump.

Also, Win Butler. I used to hate The Arcade Fire, I really like them now, but I can't understand him a lot of the time. Andrew Bird, quite often, the Battles dude...I really care a lot about lyrics so I don't usually listen to music where I can't understand them.

[PECOAE]

Haha, nice catch.

Feist does have an amazing voice, on her OWN stuff I can understand her perfectly, but not really in Broken Social Scene.

[Nodaisho]

Do people singing in other languages count? Other than that, if I listen to the song enough times, I can usually get it right, and if not, just a few words off. I usually end up looking up the lyrics at some point if some words I am hearing don't make sense, while the rest do.

[pinkpiche]

Well Ounsworth (Clap Your Hands Say Yeah) is pretty much obligatory by now.

As to whether you should count on getting the lyrics right the first time, without looking at the lyrics, while actually enjoying it, I think
most contemporary music is undeciphrable. But Jake Bannon (Converge) is impossible to understand. Seriously. He writes beautifully though.

[Nodaisho]

I actually find that it was very hard to understand even classic rock at first, when I started listening to music, but now I only have trouble with really thick accents slurring words.

[bbqrocks]

Old school/primitive black metal. LLN works, early norwegian demos especially. And any messy grindcore out there, along the lines of meat shits.

[West]

I listen to metal, so my list could be pretty damn huge.

Not really, it's just a matter of experience.

The only two metal/hardcore vocalist I've yet to understand are Lord Wyrm(Cryptopsy) and Jacob Bannon(Converge)

[Scarychips]

Zach Condon... Have you ever heard him on Monna Pamonna? It sounds like he's mumbling.

[bbqrocks]

I listen to metal, so my list could be pretty damn huge.

Not really, it's just a matter of experience.

The only two metal/hardcore vocalist I've yet to understand are Lord Wyrm(Cryptopsy) and Jacob Bannon(Converge)

Define the metal genres more clearly, here. You can understand most heavy, power, thrash singers and some doom, depending on the subgenre.

[Dimmukane]

There's a point in metal where the lyrics weren't meant to be heard, they cease to be sung by humans and are actually recorded by farm animals, and just lip-synced at shows.  If you can't understand the lyrics, this is always the case.

[RedLion]

Mikael Akerfeldt's growled vocals can be hard to distinguish at times. Though I guess they're a hell of a lot better than shit like Cannibal Corpse.

[minkles]

No one has mentioned Kurt Cobain yet.  For shame.

Also:

Damo Suzuki (Can)
Thom Yorke obvs
Nick Oliveri (ex-Queens of the Stone Age)
Bjork
Tunde Adebimpe (TV on the Radio)
Dude from The Wrens

[imapiratearg]

Kazu, from Blonde Redhead.  Even when she's singing in English.

[sean]

Mikael Akerfeldt's growled vocals can be hard to distinguish at times.

Dude you're doing it wrong. Mikael has the most distinguishable death growl I've ever heard (at least on their newest). Then again, I don't listen to much metal.

[Nodaisho]

I listen to metal, so my list could be pretty damn huge.

Not really, it's just a matter of experience.

The only two metal/hardcore vocalist I've yet to understand are Lord Wyrm(Cryptopsy) and Jacob Bannon(Converge)

Please tell me you aren't counting some of the older metal vocalists in that, if you can't understand Halford or Dickinson, I feel sorry for you. Ozzy I can see not understanding, I suppose.

[bbqrocks]

They don't necessarily have to be older, just the genre. As I said a couple of posts ago.

[Thrillho]

Virtually anything Khar listens to? Har.


Incomprehensible voices... a lot of Minor Threat can be tricky to follow, Dylan occasionally disappears completely up his nose. Bruce Springsteen's quiter solo stuff can get like that too.

[Nodaisho]

Good point bbq. I just tend to associate clear vocals with the older bands, though there are exceptions to that (What the hell was up with Mustaine singing for the first... five years or so? Mechanix especially).

[bbqrocks]

Gorgoroth, for definite.

[De_El]

Elizabeth Fraser

[KharBevNor]

I know a guy who sings in a death metal band who makes up all they lyrics on the spot, sort of like "GRRGGGHGH OOGHGHGHGG AAAARRGGHGHGHG CHAINSAW TO THE CUNT AAARGGGGHGHGHG FUCKED HER EYESOCKETS GHOOOOOOOOOR"

[_yoda]

Elizabeth Fraser

Heh, I was scrolling down this thread thinking all the while "how has no-one mentioned Elizabeth Fraser yet??"

[Alex C]

I'd say "Practically every singer ever," but I'm weird because the extent to which I filter out lyrics when listening to music is ridiculous. Seriously, it's to the where I don't even notice Bono when U2 songs are playing because I'm too busy bitching about the utter lack of decent bass playing.

[imapiratearg]

Bono can't sing anyways.

[Alex C]

Agreed. I hate U2, although I'm one of the few people who don't hate them because of Bono. I simply can't listen to ostensibly guitar centered music without decent bass playing pulling everything together. It's impossible. Even the few '80s metal bands that were renowned mostly for guitar heroism secretly had awesome bassists who quietly were responsible for a ridiculous amount of their success if they were any good; e.g. Steve Harris.

[Chad K.]

Chris Higdon (Elliot)

[Thrillho]

Bono can't sing anyways.

Okay, saying you don't like his voice or whatever is fine, but saying Bono can't sing is an out-and-out lie. The guy has a huge voice, a distinct vocal personality, and is one of the most consistent live singers out there. Brother can sing. He just sings utter bollocks.

[Scandanavian War Machine]

sorry don't know their names.

Grimreaper
Deerhoof
Battles

[Chad K.]

Sigur Ros for the win.  But then, it's got less to do with vocal delivery and more to do with the fact that the lyrics are intentionally gibberish.

[monkandmovies13]

the lyrics are intentionally gibberish.

Or just Icelandic

[Chad K.]

Actually, from () on its been all "Hopelandic," their own language made up of gibberish.  It's supposed to allow teh listener to create their own "hopeful" lyrics to the songs. 

[monkandmovies13]

Oh, oops, I wasn't aware of that. Sorry.

But that's actually kind of hilarious.

[Valrus]

Actually, from () on its been all "Hopelandic," their own language made up of gibberish.  It's supposed to allow teh listener to create their own "hopeful" lyrics to the songs. 

Not true, I believe Takk was a mix of Hopelandic and Icelandic. Hoppipolla, for example, definitely has Icelandic lyrics, which have even been translated into English.

[TheFuriousWombat]

Takk had a quite a few songs in Icelandic, a very real language indeed. Hvarf/Heim also had a number of songs with Icelandic lyrics including new songs.

[Johnny C]

I refuse to believe in Iceland.

[imapiratearg]

Tim Armstrong is probably one of the worst vocalists I have ever heard.  My friend Ryan suddenly discovered Rancid the other day, and was going on about how they are great and classic and stuff, and how he can understand Tim Armstrong just fine.  I could understand a word the dude was singing.  I showed him Xiu Xiu, and he couldn't understand a thing Jamie was singing.  Weird, huh?

[sean]

Dear everyone talking about Sigur Ros,

Jónsi people.

Thanks,

Sean

[FracturesOfReality]

Antti Boman of course!

[mfpole]

Brainiac
psychadelic japanese chihuahwhat???

MBV
One of my brother's friends has deciphered a few, but most of them ended up being the word "dreaming".

and I don't know
The last time I was listening to reggaeton, which was me flipping for stations on the radio in my car, I could seriously not tell if the guy was speaking in english or spanish. weird.

[Shadows Collide]

Frazer from Cocteau Twins is the perfect example of a voice that is all the more beautiful for being so hard to distinguish: she creates a wordless, gorgeous new language. The only word (other than the title) that I can understand in "Heaven or Las Vegas" is "carnival".