EWB's Favorite Singer III: The Results

[gunnar hendershow]

I'm not surprised by Cash. He's got a legendary voice. I expect Morrissey and Bowie to win the next two, in either order, and then it will really become a crapshoot.

[Sousa]

Patsy Cline will win the next one. Or riot.

Eventually we'll get to EWB's Favorite Singer MCCXLVIII and Howlin' Wolf will win one.

[Hobo]

I missed this list.

But John Darnielle got #3! YAY! He is the only artist I know who can effect me via song every time.

The best example:

This song.

This fucking song.

Always makes me tear up. Always.

[apsham]

Darnielle for number one next year for sure. What a friggin' amazing voice and artist.

[VerbalPuke]

Who the hell is John Darnielle?

[KONGO]

Mr. John Garcia. I figure if we're putting up videos.

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

I should have remembered to put Jonas Bjerre from Mew but I think there's only about two other people around here who know/like them. Saw them live the other year and the guy is perfect live.

[SRN]

He's certainly no #6, but I don't know, I've mellowed on that kind of stuff, and at least this one isn't crawling with gravel-throated metalheads like the last one.

Unfortunately, the bad metal singers usually have the biggest followings, at least here on EWB. Or is this another case of 'metal is ONLY about who can play the heaviest music and since I have heard two to three bad songs it is all like that'? Also, Jonas Bjerre annoys me live. He has a great voice yes, but his stage antics annoys the fuck out of me.

[Quom]

Jesus, it just got worse and worse. I thought you meant Chris Cornell would be the one we objected to, then Kurt Cobain, then fucking Patsy Cline. Jesus.

Also Thom Yorke deserves no place in a top 100 singers.

lolololololol oh quom. Even in a singer's thread, you gotta be catty and contrarian. Glorious.

Edit. John Garcia sounds like Billy Corgan and Axl Rose had a baby (I don't mean that in a good way), Mew are just soooo boring, it's the same issue I have with Radiohead.

Darnielle is a great songwriter but is a shit singer truth be told. Like not in a 'he doesn't have a 15 octave range' way, more in a it sounds like he's melodically talking rather than singing way. To me if that counts then rappers should be on this list.

Now for my picks for you all to shit on:

Five Australian female singers (all live so they have nowhere to hide although the sound is shit on a couple).

Lisa Mitchell who is the opposite to Darnielle for me. Terrible songwriter (which is the reason for the cover) but cracking singer. She remains the only woman I would currently turn straight for (although could do with putting on like 15 kgs).

Kate Miller-Heidke who is an ex-opera singer. Just insane cover versions and she makes it seem easy. About the only opera singer I have heard who can also do 'normal' singing (she releases normal songs, she just does kooky covers because she's kooky).

needs to be a link because you can't post lots of clips

Sarah Blasko who I would also consider chucking it up.

still needs to be a link because you can't post lots of clips

Julia Stone from Angus and Julia Stone Veers off into annoying Bjork territory far too often.

Seeker, Lover, Keeper. Super group so I am counting them as one. Sarah Blasko who already featured, Holly Throsby (middle one who does most of the singing), if YI was here he would instantly know the blonde is Sally Seltmann i.e New Buffalo whose biggest claim to fame (arguably) is being the writer of 1,2,3,4 by Feist.

[METALMAN]

Thom Yorke's voice just annoys me. He's easily the weakest aspect of the whole Radiohead package. And I don't even like Radiohead that much.

Tom Waits has a horrible voice, but he wouldn't be the same without it. So I'm in favour of this.

Michael Jackson is a good singer. His over-reliance on vocal tics was a bit annoying though. But he could hold a tune.

David Bowie isn't a technically brilliant singer, which really works in his favour. He sounds best when he's straining to reach a note that is just too high for him, but he decides to give it a go anyway.

I don't like Chris Cornell, and it's nothing really about his voice. I just despise the grungy shouty style.

Whereas I like it when Kurt Cobain does it. No idea why. Familiarity? That being said, I've always thought you could replace Kurt Cobain's voice with anyone else's and I'd still enjoy Nirvana.

I've never listened to Patsy Cline really. I dunno why, cause I normally like that sort of thing. Maybe it's just because she is called Patsy? I hate that name.

I actually gave up listening to the Mountain Goats because Darnielle's voice annoyed me so much. Still, that means it's distinctive so I'm not at all surprised that other people love it. But I'm surprised he finished so high.

Morrissey is Morrissey. I was never particularly thrilled by his voice, but I love the Smiths and a fair whack of his solo work, so I'm hardly opposed to it either.

Johnny Cash is really good obviously.

My reflections on the list? Men with deep voices seem to be in. Technically brilliant singers seem to be out. it's mainly alternative, distinctive voices with yer typical smattering of alt-rock singers who always turn up on these things/ I quite enjoyed the variety.

[ChrisSteeleAteMyHamster]

I can't remember if I voted for Annie Lennox or not but I probably should have.

[apsham]

I don't exactly see where the idea of Darnielle "not singing" really comes from - especially when I would've loved to see Leonard Cohen higher on the list, he's even more of a sing-talker and STILL one of the biggest vocal talents that has ever lived. I don't buy into this whole idea that a great "singer" has to be something along the lines of classically trained or just born with a miraculous voice - that's just like some kind of lottery. A great vocalist to me takes what they have and does something friggin' amazing with it and with that taken into account - you have to look at their song writing process as well. Darnielle and Page rank very highly for me because of the god damn passion that goes into their songs - I buy their voice a hell of a lot more than I do someone with a trained voice who is singing someone else's song.

Probably why "The Sunset Tree" by The Mountain Goats ranks up as one of my favorite all time albums, probably why I have loved Steven Page's solo career as well.

[Sousa]

Or is this another case of 'metal is ONLY about who can play the heaviest music and since I have heard two to three bad songs it is all like that'?

No, last time we just got a lot of really horrible rationalization for some really shitty singers, and--looking at the thread again--the reasoning was daft.

[Liam]

Good metal singers are good metal singers though. If they do what they do well, can't fault them ending up in a top singers list, even if they go against the grain. Admittedly, if the rationalisation sucks, it sucks.

Just looked at the old thread, biggest issue was Taylor. Dio and Dickinson are both fair shouts, even though they also got a bit of a moaning as well.

Also, the complaining about Cornell, Cobain and Yorke is funny.

[Guest mr. potato head]

Also, the complaining about Cornell, Cobain and Yorke is funny.

Not really. Just because you've got a passable voice and chosen a genre full of some of the worst singers known to stage, that doesn't mean you should be graded on a curve.

[Matt]

Or maybe, shock horror, people might like different people's voices. Jesus fuck, not everyone needs to have the same opinion on subjective matters.

Edit: That's not specifically aimed at you MPH.

[Liam]

Also, the complaining about Cornell, Cobain and Yorke is funny.

Not really. Just because you've got a passable voice and chosen a genre full of some of the worst singers known to stage, that doesn't mean you should be graded on a curve.

Or maybe, shock horror, people might like different people's voices. Jesus fuck, not everyone needs to have the same opinion on subjective matters.

And there we go.

My point is just that they aren't exactly abhorrent choices. There could have been much worse on this list.

[METALMAN]

I think I should be commended for being so diplomatic in this topik.

[GoGo Yubari]

I agree. metalman wins the thread.

[MalaCloudy Black]

I double agree, so metalman triplewins.