This was inspired by my somewhat recent realization that "Nookie" by Limp Bizkit is actually a much better song than I ever gave it credit for. Any complaints I have about it really just go back to Fred Durst. Not only are the lyrics painfully stupid, but his delivery, especially on the verses and the bridge, is really lame. It honestly makes me feel bad for the other people in the band.
So what about you, Guest? What are some songs you think you'd like if they had different vocals (or no vocals at all)? It can be the lyrics or the vocal performance or both.
Well, since you asked me by name... ;)
Off the top of my head I'd say anything by Pearl Jam. Some of their early songs like Once and Even Flow kinda bang but they also have the misfortune of including Eddie Vedder's warbling.
Oh, and a lot of stuff by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, namely anything where Kiedis tries to have any sort of range.
Quote from: Mrs. Waffles on Jun 14, 2023, 02:52 AMWell, since you asked me by name... ;)
Off the top of my head I'd say anything by Pearl Jam. Some of their early songs like Once and Even Flow kinda bang but they also have the misfortune of including Eddie Vedder's warbling.
Oh, and a lot of stuff by the Red Hot Chili Peppers, namely anything where Kiedis tries to have any sort of range.
I like Eddie Vedder but I'd be lying if I said I hadn't done mocking versions of his vocals on many occasions. ;D
I'm also with you on Anthony Kiedis. I like the first four Chili Peppers albums, but once he sang on "Under the Bridge" it was mostly downhill from there.
I don't think the vocals ruin the music, but I've complained before about Sonic Youth vocals (especially Thurston, Kim is bad but also kind of sexy so it works in a way). They're trash and their music deserved better
Agreed on Sonic Youth, though I always thought their vocals at the very least fit with their "snotty hipster" aesthetic. I don't really like many of their songs honestly but the ones I do like are usually the ones with Kim on vocals. "Drunk Butterfly" is a legit banger.
I'd also like to nominate Pavement. Some cool guitar parts, but then Stephen Malkmus opens his mouth and it's all over for me.
Oh, and I guess to put forth a band I actually really like, Neutral Milk Hotel. I'm generally a big fan of their sound and composition, that lush fuzzy psychedelia really tickles my fancy. But god damn if they wouldn't be way, way better if Jeff Mangum had a better singing voice.
Another one for me is "God Makes No Mistakes" by Loretta Lynn. I love the album this is from, and musically this song is fine, but the lyrics are such shallow, preachy Christian horseshit that it makes it borderline unlistenable to me. I almost always skip it when I listen to the album.
One example, from the chorus:
There's no reason for what he does
'Cause God makes no mistakesSo God makes no mistakes because he's too unreasonable? What kind of logic is that? :laughing:
Quote from: Mrs. Waffles on Jun 14, 2023, 02:52 AMOff the top of my head I'd say anything by Pearl Jam. Some of their early songs like Once and Even Flow kinda bang but they also have the misfortune of including Eddie Vedder's warbling.
Eddie Vedder's vocals have always made Pearl Jam unlistenable to me. The one time I was able to get into Pearl Jam was when I was at a music festival and I saw them perform live as Neil Young's backing band without Eddie Vedder.
Quote from: Janszoon on Jun 14, 2023, 02:23 PMOne example, from the chorus:
There's no reason for what he does
'Cause God makes no mistakes
So God makes no mistakes because he's too unreasonable? What kind of logic is that? :laughing:
Huh. God "making no mistakes" says to me like everything he does is intentional, but if he does so for no reason, does that mean he's just toying with us for shits and giggles? Probably not her intended reading, but I like the nihilism of that angle, haha.
Quote from: Mrs. Waffles on Jun 14, 2023, 01:16 PMAgreed on Sonic Youth, though I always thought their vocals at the very least fit with their "snotty hipster" aesthetic. I don't really like many of their songs honestly but the ones I do like are usually the ones with Kim on vocals. "Drunk Butterfly" is a legit banger.
I'd also like to nominate Pavement. Some cool guitar parts, but then Stephen Malkmus opens his mouth and it's all over for me.
Oh, and I guess to put forth a band I actually really like, Neutral Milk Hotel. I'm generally a big fan of their sound and composition, that lush fuzzy psychedelia really tickles my fancy. But god damn if they wouldn't be way, way better if Jeff Mangum had a better singing voice.
oh interesting! I like both Malkmus' and Mangum's singing a lot, although I can definitely see why people don't
Quote from: Marie Monday on Jun 14, 2023, 03:13 PMoh interesting! I like both Malkmus' and Mangum's singing a lot, although I can definitely see why people don't
Honestly I think singers like them who are, I guess I'd say not what you'd call technically gifted, tend to be really hit or miss for me. Sometimes a lack of traditional vocal ability can lead to a kind of unique charisma that I enjoy, some voices just kind of grate on me. Malkmus is the latter, though I'll concede that his voice definitely fits the vibe of their music well.
And in Mangum's case I don't
mind his voice, I do really like the band and his vocals are unique and memorable as they are. But sometimes I can't help but think that I would enjoy their music even more with a different vocal timbre. He also tends to go from zero to 100 from being relatively restrained to being really loud, which is a bit jarring to me. It does work better for me on their more rocky uptempo songs like Holland 1945.
Quote from: Mrs. Waffles on Jun 14, 2023, 02:44 PMHuh. God "making no mistakes" says to me like everything he does is intentional, but if he does so for no reason, does that mean he's just toying with us for shits and giggles? Probably not her intended reading, but I like the nihilism of that angle, haha.
:laughing:
It gets crazier when combined with with some of the other lines. For example:
And why is this little baby born
All twisted and out of shape
We're not to question what he does
'Cause God makes no mistakesSo God deliberately makes babies "all twisted and out of shape" on a whim, for no reason? Sounds like a real asshole. Why would anyone want to "call on him and just believe" as she implores later in the song? Even if it's out of fear, it would be pointless since she's already told us there's no reason for anything he does.
Controversial opinion probably, but I don't care that much for Ella Fitzgerald's voice and style 🔥
Also, I can't quite stomach John Wetton's vocals. They really muck up otherwise great King Crimson songs like Starless and One More Red Nightmare.
I'm gonna go ahead and agree with Mrs. Waffles that Jeff Mangum's vocals suck. As a result, never liked Neutral Milk Hotel. Stephen Malkmus on the other hand I quite enjoy. Wowee Zowee is still one of my favorite indie albums.
Quote from: SGR on Jun 15, 2023, 01:50 AMI'm gonna go ahead and agree with Mrs. Waffles that Jeff Mangum's vocals suck. As a result, never liked Neutral Milk Hotel. Stephen Malkmus on the other hand I quite enjoy. Wowee Zowee is still one of my favorite indie albums.
I'm somewhat in this camp. I find Jeff Mangum's vocals annoying and never really liked Neutral Milk Hotel. I always thought there were other lo-fi indie bands who were more worthwhile (e.g. Guided by Voices).
I do like Stephen Malkmus' vocals and think they suit Pavement's sound really well.
That's interesting to me because I never really considered NMH lo-fi, like that's not a word that crosses my mind when I think of how to describe their sound. To me (with the exception of the couple purely acoustic songs) it feels quite lush and arranged and sonically pretty purposefully layered like a late 60s psychedelic record with all the horns and organs and bagpipes and such. Maybe not wall of sound level maximalist and it does have that 90s indie fuzz to some of the guitar tones, but then again I fully admit I'm no lo-fi expert so I may very well be misinterpreting the meaning of that descriptor.
Quote from: Guybrush on Jun 14, 2023, 09:15 PMControversial opinion probably, but I don't care that much for Ella Fitzgerald's voice and style 🔥
Also, I can't quite stomach John Wetton's vocals. They really muck up otherwise great King Crimson songs like Starless and One More Red Nightmare.
I don't really mind his vocals as far as vocals go, but I think that song would be better without any vocals at all.
I'm not a huge fan of Wetton's vocals either, honestly losing Greg Lake caused them to take a big hit in the vocals department from that point on. I appreciate Adrian Belew for his delightful quirkiness but 80s King Crimson is just kind of apples and oranges to the 70s era in most areas and it wouldn't feel right to compare.
I quite like Adrian Belew, so I've no trouble with him. Plus his upbeat showmanship was an interesting counterpoint to the more dour Robert Fripp.
About XTC, I much prefer the vocals of bassist Colin Moulding over Andy Partridge. Here's a famous example:
I wouldn't say it ruins songs and it's not a deal breaker, but a minor annoyance.
Maybe I worded that poorly, I like Belew too. He's just such a different artist and performer all around (same with post-70s KC as a band really) that it's kind of impossible to really compare him to any of their previous vocalists IMO.
Quote from: Marie Monday on Jun 14, 2023, 10:01 AMI don't think the vocals ruin the music, but I've complained before about Sonic Youth vocals (especially Thurston, Kim is bad but also kind of sexy so it works in a way). They're trash and their music deserved better
The "concessive clause" notwithstanding, file under those rare instances where we
really don't understand one another. She's literally one of my favorite singers, one of the voices that make me swoon the most. Esp when she whispers or recites, like a spoken word type thing, it's incredibly powerful
Shadow of a Doubt is one of my favourite Sonic Youth songs. Their songs with Kim's spoken word vocals are usually great.
It doesn't ruin the song, but Lady Gaga's attempt at being a jazz singer doesn't sit quite right, at least not here.
But kudos for doing it 👍 I'm sure jazz has a bunch more listeners because of it.
Honestly as a huge Lady Gaga fan I never really liked it when she did that jazz stuff either. I appreciate her branching out and showing other sides of her artistry, but at best it's a fun novelty side thing and nowhere near what she's best at.
Quote from: Mrs. Waffles on Jun 14, 2023, 01:16 PMOh, and I guess to put forth a band I actually really like, Neutral Milk Hotel. I'm generally a big fan of their sound and composition, that lush fuzzy psychedelia really tickles my fancy. But god damn if they wouldn't be way, way better if Jeff Mangum had a better singing voice.
I like Neutral Milk Hotel too, but have also found Jeff Magnum's voice annoying. I think my prob is that it's so central, undiluted, in almost every song. The redeeming feature is that his lyrics are often very interesting, but there's one song that really bugs me, where he's going "la la la" for ages, and I want to shout at the producer, "Couldn't you have given us a break here, and put in one of those Salvation Army Band instruments instead?"
TBH, I'm very picky about vocals, both lyrics and singing styles, so my list of songs ruined by the vocals would be looooong indeed.