Good Songs Ruined By the Vocals

[Janszoon]

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.

[Lexi Darling]

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.

[Janszoon]

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.

I like Eddie Vedder but I'd be lying if I said I hadn't done mocking versions of his vocals on many occasions. 

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.

[Marie Monday]

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

[Lexi Darling]

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.

[Janszoon]

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 mistakes

So God makes no mistakes because he's too unreasonable? What kind of logic is that? 

[Psy-Fi]

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.

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. 

[Lexi Darling]

One 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? 

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.

[Marie Monday]

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.

oh interesting! I like both Malkmus' and Mangum's singing a lot, although I can definitely see why people don't

[Lexi Darling]

oh 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.

[Janszoon]

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.

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 mistakes

So 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.

[Guybrush]

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.

[SGR]

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.

[Gandalf]

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.

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.

[Lexi Darling]

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.