Vocalists. Yay Or Nay?

Message Bookmarked

Bookmark Removed

Avro Part said that the human voice is the most perfect instrument. I've always been a firm believer that vocals should act as an instumentprimarily, and convey a message after. Like one time where I got into a big argument when someone completely dismissed Dagger by Slowdie for "having bad lyrics" and he's still wrong. Either way, what singers, outside of acapella or vocally dominant music have a very instrumental voice. All I can think of that really stands out is Mark Hollis of Talk Talk, a lot of Slowdives stuff as well, especially when it's Neil and Rachel together. Yep. . .

― Tokyo Ghost Stories (Tokyo Ghost Stories), Sunday, 17 April 2005 03:17 (twenty years ago)

Bjork

― Bobby Peru (Bobby Peru), Sunday, 17 April 2005 03:22 (twenty years ago)

Bing Crosby or Billie Holliday...

Opera is another painfully obviously place to look unless you're especially fond of validating libretists.

― M. White (Miguelito), Sunday, 17 April 2005 03:22 (twenty years ago)

Did I mention good singers whose language you don't understand?

― M. White (Miguelito), Sunday, 17 April 2005 03:23 (twenty years ago)

Yma Sumac

― Bobby Peru (Bobby Peru), Sunday, 17 April 2005 03:30 (twenty years ago)

I'm sorry. I just realised how terrible the title of this thread is. It started as unintelligible vocalists nay or vay, then I kind of screwed it up.

― Tokyo Ghost Stories (Tokyo Ghost Stories), Sunday, 17 April 2005 03:53 (twenty years ago)

I think Bjork and Yma would still qualify.

― Bobby Peru (Bobby Peru), Sunday, 17 April 2005 04:44 (twenty years ago)

Edith Piaf?

― Seuss, Sunday, 17 April 2005 04:47 (twenty years ago)

I've always wished I knew of more jazz vocalists who used their voice like a (terribly inaccurate term, I know) "pure" instrument. Like scatting, or that Leon Thomas-style yodeling, or Yma Sumac and her insane (WAY)-upper octaves - in other words, as an instrument of pure sound, without having to worry about distractions like "words" and "lyrics". One thing I really like about jazz (or any instrumental music, for that matter) is filling in the blanks myself. If a piece of music sounds happy to me while the lyrics tell of sad things, it's disorienting, and not always in a good way. I know for a fact that I wouldn't find Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan's music so captivating if he was singing in English - I don't want to listen to 15 minutes of some guy preaching the same half-dozen lines over and over again. (5 minutes or even 10 = just fine!)

― Myonga Von Bontee (Myonga Von Bontee), Sunday, 17 April 2005 05:10 (twenty years ago)

the human beatbox

― s1ocki (slutsky), Sunday, 17 April 2005 05:13 (twenty years ago)

what about mike patton?
he's the master.

and cosmo vitelly
and taylor savvy too

― nique (nique), Sunday, 17 April 2005 10:27 (twenty years ago)

Diamanda Galas
Tim Buckley
Jeff Buckley
Mariah Carey

― m coleman (lovebug starski), Sunday, 17 April 2005 11:36 (twenty years ago)

I'm not entirely sure what you're asking for and am probably not helped by the fact that I usually don't pay the least bit of attention to lyrics, but what the hey.

Demetrio Stratos of Area, I guess. Everything else I can think of (including most singers mentioned in this thread) strike me as being the focal point in the band, so I guess they don't count?
If they do, well, uhh, y'know, let us add Ella, Peter Hammill, Iva Bittova...!

― Øystein (Øystein), Sunday, 17 April 2005 12:00 (twenty years ago)

I'm not sure if Michael Stipe's a great vocalist, but R.E.M. sure were better when you couldn't understand what he was singing.

― Failin Huxley (noodle vague), Sunday, 17 April 2005 12:45 (twenty years ago)

"I've always wished I knew of more jazz vocalists who used their voice like a (terribly inaccurate term, I know) "pure" instrument. Like scatting, or that Leon Thomas-style yodeling, or Yma Sumac and her insane (WAY)-upper octaves - in other words, as an instrument of pure sound, without having to worry about distractions like "words" and "lyrics". One thing I really like about jazz (or any instrumental music, for that matter) is filling in the blanks myself. If a piece of music sounds happy to me while the lyrics tell of sad things, it's disorienting, and not always in a good way. I know for a fact that I wouldn't find Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan's music so captivating if he was singing in English - I don't want to listen to 15 minutes of some guy preaching the same half-dozen lines over and over again. (5 minutes or even 10 = just f"

Exactly

― Tokyo Ghost Stories (Tokyo Ghost Stories), Sunday, 17 April 2005 16:19 (twenty years ago)

Liz Frazier!

― The Ghost of Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Sunday, 17 April 2005 16:47 (twenty years ago)

There's something really amazing about the flexibility and range of the human voice, especially when you come across someone like Bjork or Sinead O'Connor; people who can turn emotion on a dime and seem to be so wholly invested in their vocals that it sounds a little obsessive and frightening, all while retaining pitch and setting up all of these fantastic melodic short stories in every song they touch.

― The Ghost of Dan Perry (Dan Perry), Sunday, 17 April 2005 17:08 (twenty years ago)

Elizabeth Fraser seconded. Throw in Billy Mackenzie circa Associates - Fourth Drawer Down, as a lot of his lyrics were incomprehensible at that time. "Kitchen Person"? Fuck trying to figure that one out...

― Ian Riese-Moraine. To Hell with you and your gradual evolution! (Eastern Mantra), Sunday, 17 April 2005 18:26 (twenty years ago)

In Afrobeat&jazz you hear people using their voices in a more percussive way.

― Bobby Peru (Bobby Peru), Sunday, 17 April 2005 18:41 (twenty years ago)

Eek-A-Mouse!

― Yngwie AlmsteenMay (sgertz), Sunday, 17 April 2005 20:43 (twenty years ago)

i love vocals. lyrics are usually secondary for me -- i know a great line when i hear one, but most lyrics are either terrible or pleasantly ignorable, so i've learned to tune them out and listen to the vocals instead.

― Volker Schlöndorff (Jody Beth Rosen), Sunday, 17 April 2005 21:08 (twenty years ago)

also i love it when songwriters write with certain attacks/timbres in mind, and the song is prefabricated so any singer can just go in there and NAIL it.

― Volker Schlöndorff (Jody Beth Rosen), Sunday, 17 April 2005 21:10 (twenty years ago)

I agree lyrics are secondary. They were for a lot of singers too. For instance, I heard that Mick Jagger would first come up with the sounds and rhythms he wanted to make, and later build up the words around that. That would explain a lot of Stones "lyrics".

― Bobby Peru (Bobby Peru), Monday, 18 April 2005 03:41 (twenty years ago)

I would like to call the court's attention to Exhibit A, Shooby Taylor, "The Human Horn."

― Heidy- Ho, Monday, 18 April 2005 03:49 (twenty years ago)

I'm with the 'instrument-first crowd' and I can't believe Laeticia and Mary from Stereolab haven't been mentioned. I hardly listen to what they're saying in English, much less French, but they always sound lovely.

― tremendoid (tremendoid), Monday, 18 April 2005 07:31 (twenty years ago)

Bobby McFerrin.

― The Mad Puffin (The Mad Puffin), Monday, 18 April 2005 12:11 (twenty years ago)

Antony.

John Grant.

Crosby, Stills & Nash barely need anythin but vocals.

― dmun, Monday, 18 April 2005 12:16 (twenty years ago)

YAY!

― M@tt He1geson (Matt Helgeson), Monday, 18 April 2005 13:19 (twenty years ago)

One of the best voice-as-instrument vocalists that has or will ever be:
http://www.pakistanimusic.com/images/sub/artistes/nfak_writing.gif

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Monday, 18 April 2005 15:03 (twenty years ago)

I might as well point out that his name was Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan for those who don't recognize him. He did sing in...Urdu? or maybe Arabic?...but, as far as examples go of the versatility and power of the human voice as a musical instrument, I can't think of anyone I've ever heard with quite so much gift and devotion.

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Monday, 18 April 2005 15:08 (twenty years ago)

chet baker's voice sounds like a sax. and sex.
nina nastasia's is much like a viola.
conor oberst's sounds like an ass.

― katie, a princess (katie, a princess), Monday, 18 April 2005 16:03 (twenty years ago)

xpost thank you nickalicious and might I say that one would do well to always caption pictures they post of musicians, sometimes I feel like I should be getting the joke when someone posts a pic of "white guy with guitar #453" then I remember I'm not a critic who's been to thousands of shows and pored through music magazines all my life. Not that I'm grumpy or anything.

― tremendoid (tremendoid), Monday, 18 April 2005 16:11 (twenty years ago)

You must be logged in to post. Please either login here, or if you are not registered, you may register here.