Singers affecting vocal traits...and what have you.

Mark E. Smith, M. Doughty, James Murphy...

Classic.

Then we wondered what Green Day must think when they go to England and the songs get sung back to them in their native accent.

This seems to bother some people immensly, but I've never really taken issue with it and just gone along for the ride. Probably because many Australian artists will generally (even subconciously) pick a UK or USA accent and these days we seem to increasingly notice that even less. It's like there must be some amorphous parallel universe of singing where it's totally OK to sing in a different accent than whatever's native to you. A global melting pot where anything goes. But the consensus also follows that don't you DARE SPEAK in that different accent or you'll be branded a charlatan. Kind of answering my own question!

So is that it? What about beyond the actual accent? When artists (possibly) affect a style. Joanna Newsom? Kate Bush? Tom Waits? Nick Cave? Does it bother you? I'm kind of reaching the conclusion that singers can do whatever the hell feels right, and if it sounds good, then I'm there. That's entertainment.

Oh, and has anyone mentioned Madonna? Granted, she didn't sing with one, but for a few years, she augmented her speech with a British accent.

a) Behavior that is assumed rather than natural; artificiality.
b) A particular habit, as of speech or dress, adopted to give a false impression.

2. A deliberate pretense or exaggerated display.

We've all been duped!

But I know what you mean. Carry on to other threads - nothing to see here.

I haven't either. My guess is Pleasant Plains meant that English people would sing Green Day songs in an American accent.

Stive Bator of the Lords of the New Church (and Dead Boys, obv.) is however flagrant guilty of affecting a Britaccent.

Sorry to be so pedantic - the name is actually spelled Stiv Bators. Haven't thought of him/them in a long time. I don't think I ever actually heard the Dead Boys, only read that was the name of the band he was in before the Lords. Enjoyed a few Lords of the New Church videos. Can't recall what the accent was like either way.

No, I did mean that Green Day's fake British accent would be sung back to them in their "native" accent. Green Day (well, Billie Joe Armstrong) has been affecting a faux British accent since they were on Lookout. It might not be a particularly good impersonation of the dialect, but it's what they're going for.

Green Day's british accent.

Makes sense, seeing as how they grew up listening to Depeche, Smiths, New Order, etc...

noodle, it may amuse you to know that some of them do at least do the Cookie Monster between songs. There is a live set by Marduk (I think) where the vocalist's between song banter is something like this:

Cookie Marduk: 'You want to hear some unholy satanic black metal???'
Audience: (inaudible)
Cookie Marduk: What???!???
Audience (inaudible)

(bands slams into next first song)

You can fuck with God, but never fuck with the laws of stage patter.

Geddy Lee's speaking voice actually does strike me relatively high, heavily enunciated, and a little nasal. (He kind of sounded like he was affecting a British accent on "Closer to the Heart" though.) Especially the delivery on some of the later stuff like "Dreamline" is probably not all that far removed from his speaking voice. Jon Anderson's speaking voice sounded just like his singing voice to me when I heard him introduce songs on TV.

Yep, that's what I think too. It's really more of a valley-boy twang.