Most Distinctive Musicians

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Which musicians, when heard even on an unfamiliar song, cause you to furrow your brow pensively and think "Ah, that is unmistakeably xxxx"? Forgive me if this has been asked before.

― Ernest, Wednesday, 3 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Now remember, we're not talking about quality or talent - just most distinctive. Guitar: Arto Lindsay
Bass: Les Claypool, Peter Hook
Drums: Moe Tucker
Piano: Thelonious Monk

― Ernest, Wednesday, 3 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Wesley Willis.

― Dom Passantino, Wednesday, 3 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Coltrane

― tyler, Wednesday, 3 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

most of the good ones.

― Jordan, Wednesday, 3 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Something recognisable about everything U2 do. And Burzum. Also Keiji Haino.

― Lek Dukagjin, Wednesday, 3 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Richard Thompson - guitar Geordie Walker - guitar Mike Watt - bass Ringo Starr - Drums

― john-paul, Wednesday, 3 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Guitar - Tom Verlaine

― Sinner, Wednesday, 3 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Robert Smith = guitar. Without question.

― Ned Raggett, Wednesday, 3 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Al Jackson. Bernard Edwards. Steve Hanley. Craig Scanlon. George Harrison. Peter Hook (second vote)

― Kris England, Wednesday, 3 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

first thing leaped to mind reading the subject head was Monk, but that's taken. Miles Davis for sure. kind of a left-field pick, but Stevie Wonder is an incredibly distinctive drummer.

― M Matos, Wednesday, 3 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Lene Lovich. I always furrow my brow and think, "Ahhhhh, yes... this is unmistakeably shit."

― Andy, Wednesday, 3 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Andy, them's fightin' words. Lemme get a couple more beers in me and then you come on over and we'll settle this like men. I'm in Iowa, just north of Missouri, you can't miss it. :)

― John Darnielle, Wednesday, 3 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

harry partch

― arc, Wednesday, 3 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Keith Richards's guitar work has that certain sound that's unmistakable. (it's because he tunes it like a banjo)

― Manny Parsons, Wednesday, 3 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Gary Numan. And a lot of saxaphone players: coltrane, parker. Also lots of vocalists: Bowie, Bryan Ferry, Morrissey

― A Nairn, Wednesday, 3 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Jerry Garcia. Only band with two guitars in it where I can always tell who is playing what.

― Mark, Thursday, 4 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

all the chicks from the shags.

― Brock K., Thursday, 4 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

and of course, Jandek.

― electric sound of jim, Thursday, 4 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

The guitar melodies of Anders Nyström (Katatonia)
Liam Howlett
Rank 1 and Marco V
Scooter (Scootah!)
U2
Lemmy Kilminster

― Siegbran Hetteson, Thursday, 4 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Anal Cunt.

And if you don't see that, you're gay.

― Tadeusz Suchodolski, Thursday, 4 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Neil Young. Obvious but still true.

― Tadeusz Suchodolski, Thursday, 4 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

mark is otm.

― chaki, Thursday, 4 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Even though my unrelenting hatred for all things (esp. musical) English rages out of control like an Arizona brushfire, credit where it's due - I always liked Paul Weller's guitar playing. Never mistaken it for anybody else, no matter how bland and generic he attempts to make the backgrounds sound

― dave q, Thursday, 4 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

i was talking the other day to a friend about despite the 'sameness' of some full on techno..i can always hear the production of d.j. rush..remixes..the lot..he writes the book....he's a beautifully raging emotive musician....

― sharivari, Thursday, 4 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Björk. There's no mistaking her vocal style. I once had some of my Danish and German friends listen to a jazz song she'd recorded in Icelandic, and althougth they'd never heard it before, they immediately recognised her.

― Johanna, Thursday, 4 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

beefheart

― di, Thursday, 4 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Dick Dale, mostly because the combination of his severe virtuosity and his involvement in a genre (surf-rock) that doesn't have a ton of guitar gods helps him stand out.

― Nate Patrin, Friday, 5 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Stephen Malkmus.

― ugly casanova, Friday, 5 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Nile Rogers. His guitar playing is the only musicianship I always recognise on albums even when I don't expect it.

Rener has an amusing story about recognising her father's fiddle playing in a pub and realising she might not want to go underage drinking in there.

― DV, Friday, 5 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Al Jackson, Keith Moon, much of Tony Thompson on drums. Esquerita, Jerry Lee Lewis, Art Tatum, Little Richard and Thelonious Monk on piano. Bass is difficult (at least for me): maybe Tina Weymouth, John Entwistle, Bernard Edwards. Organ: Charles Hodges, Esquerita again. Coltrane, King Curtis, Ben Webster on sax. Miles Davis. I'm not going to even start on guitarists, as there must be at least fifty on my list. Then there are the modern types of musicians, DJs and producers of hip hop, techno, drum & bass and the like. I'll recognise Kevin Saunderson or Krust or Alec Empire, for instance, as easily as Robert Ward or Neil Young or Elmore James (but not Elmore Leonard).

― Martin Skidmore, Friday, 5 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Fripp

― b b, Saturday, 6 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Wesley Willis, Daniel Johnston, Tiny Tim, The Shaggs, Nick Drake, The Legendary Stardust Cowboy, Bruce Haack, Hasil Adkins, Anton Maiden (this guy rules!), Captain Beefheart, Wild Man Fischer, Harry Partch...

C'MON!!!

― Philip Gomez, Sunday, 7 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

oh yeah, and Joe Meek!

― Philip Gomez, Sunday, 7 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

Elliot Easton!

― Kris, Thursday, 11 July 2002 00:00 (twenty-three years ago)

five months pass...

The Mountain Goats. When you hear that tape hiss, acoustic guitar, and passionate vocals on things that people just don't usually get passionat about (ie. golden boy peanuts) you know it's the Mountain Goats. Whattaya say john darnielle?

― Frazer Johnson, Tuesday, 31 December 2002 10:08 (twenty-two years ago)

(I'm omitting recognizable voices like Bjork & Kool Keith & Mike Patton, and sticking with instrumentalists)

Rahsaan Roland Kirk, Skerik, Buckethead, Claypool, Hendrix, John Medeski, Billy Cobham, Tony Williams, Vernon Reid, Bernie Worrell, Bootsy Collins, and Bela Fleck.

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Tuesday, 31 December 2002 15:21 (twenty-two years ago)

I do believe that both John Fogerty and Tom Waits have been legally recognized as "Distinctive" sorta like Quebec.

― Horace Mann, Tuesday, 31 December 2002 15:23 (twenty-two years ago)

five months pass...

David Bowie. Hands down.

― bailunrui, Saturday, 14 June 2003 19:53 (twenty-two years ago)

I can ALWAYS tell when Kid Koala is on the turntables. I'm not sure why exactly, cuz even though he has some very key recognizable elements in what he's doing (esp. in regards to his pitch-trickery and his samples-into-passages abilities), he's really pretty chameleonic in how he's always reaching out and there's plenty of surprises in his music. And he's the twee-est DJ.

― nickalicious (nickalicious), Saturday, 14 June 2003 20:07 (twenty-two years ago)

I can tell something is a Lee Perry--esp if it was done at Black Ark--or Madlib production from the first note.

― oops (Oops), Saturday, 14 June 2003 20:26 (twenty-two years ago)

snakefinger, buckethead, the residents, renaldo and the loaf, klaus wunderlich and dozens more probably

― frenchbloke (frenchbloke), Saturday, 14 June 2003 21:48 (twenty-two years ago)

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