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My Favorite Singers Couldn't Sing

jazzercismjazzercism 838 Posts
edited December 2005 in Strut Central
In honor of the debate in the Lay Lady Lay* thread where Neil Young and Bob Dylan's singing abilities were questioned, who are your favorite singers who are not very good singers technically but are dope nonetheless?*Interesting side note: as pointed out in the book Dylan's Vision of Sin by Christopher Ricks, the lyric "lay lady lay" is grammatically incorrect. It should be "lie lady lie".

  Comments

  • RockadelicRockadelic Out Digging 13,993 Posts
    Jimi
  • pickwick33pickwick33 8,946 Posts
    Charles Wright
  • progbeatzprogbeatz 451 Posts
    Janis Joplin
    Bob Mould
    Pete Townsend (early who)
    Joe Strummer
    Cecil Taylor
    Geddy Lee(I should probably get banned for this...guilty pleasure...don't hatt)
    + lot's of blues singers who just emote rather than sing

  • RockadelicRockadelic Out Digging 13,993 Posts

    Geddy Lee(I should probably get banned for this...guilty pleasure...don't hatt)

    I once described an LP on ebay as "Sounds like Rush without the castrated hampster vocals".....I was thoroughly trashed via email by what appeared to be The Geddy Lee Army....next copy I listed said "Sounds like Geddy Lee if you play it at 45rpm"....didn't get a single email???
  • GambleGamble 844 Posts


    one of the G.O.A.T.s, but not the best singer in the traditional sense.
  • SwayzeSwayze 14,705 Posts
    in honor of the title of this thread, i'd say david berman... and leonard cohen.
  • progbeatzprogbeatz 451 Posts
  • SPlDEYSPlDEY Vegas 3,375 Posts


    - spidey
  • jazzercismjazzercism 838 Posts


    - spidey

    He may not have traditional chops but his vocal abilities are impressive as hell. I saw him live once and he was pretty much improvising the entire time, changing dynamics and volume and timbre throughout. It was just a constant flow of ideas. Amazing.
  • jaymackjaymack 5,199 Posts
    j mascis
  • GrafwritahGrafwritah 4,184 Posts
    Jennifer Lopez



    ok i really just like her ass

    and her face before the recent round of plastic surgery


  • mallardmallard 452 Posts
    more recently....





  • funky16cornersfunky16corners 7,175 Posts


    one of the G.O.A.T.s, but not the best singer in the traditional sense.


    HUGE cosign...
  • DJ_NevilleCDJ_NevilleC 1,922 Posts
    John Prine.
  • GenePontecorvoGenePontecorvo 5,612 Posts


    one of the G.O.A.T.s, but not the best singer in the traditional sense.


    HUGE cosign...

    I didn't know who that was from the picture. Lookin' like a somewhat-normal-looking Jimmy Scott.

    Fuck yeah tho. Triple cosign.

  • jazzercismjazzercism 838 Posts
    I thought it was some weird German pop star from the picture. But now that I know I have to agree...I love me some Fagen. (no ayo)
  • p_gunnp_gunn 2,284 Posts
    john lydon
    joe strummer
    lee perry
    george clinton (well, he CAN sing, but he def. makes a so so natural voice sound MUCH better than it is)
  • GambleGamble 844 Posts
    Saw them live a year and some time ago at the Universal Ampitheater...
  • Mongo_SladeMongo_Slade 999 Posts
    Stephen Malkmus-- he's not by any normal technichal measure a good singer and his pitch is mos def wobbly, but damn if he doesn't sound great on all the Pavement songs EXCEPT the ones where he's pseudo-rapping (e.g., "Stereo.")
  • PrimeCutsLtdPrimeCutsLtd jersey fresh 2,632 Posts
    perry farrell and the dead guy from blind melon
  • leisurebanditleisurebandit 1,006 Posts
    what rock/folk singers ARE technically good singers?
  • leolyxxxleolyxxx 446 Posts
    what rock/folk singers ARE technically good singers?

    Bonnie Koloc? Not that i like her music that much but still..

    /Leo
  • Mongo_SladeMongo_Slade 999 Posts
    what rock/folk singers ARE technically good singers?

    That's a fair point. I took the initial post to refer to singers who, your first time hearing them, you might say "his/her voice is terrible," but they somehow put a song across really well-- Dylan and Young being two good examples. There are a ton of rock/folk singers out there who have the technically-trained polished but can't do that.
  • jazzercismjazzercism 838 Posts
    what rock/folk singers ARE technically good singers?



    Did one of you bitches say my name?[/b]
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