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NFT: Least Favorite Rock Vocalists

deeee : 5/25/2016 3:48 pm
I didn't want to be negative on the "Best of" thread, but am curious about others least favorites. For me, possibly the top of the list:
Axl Rose - sorry to his fans, but I can't stand it. I like some gravelly voices like Tom Waits, Howling Wolf and Dr. John, but Rose's is just grating to me. I guess it's the high pitched gravelly combination.
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Rick5  
hassan : 5/25/2016 8:04 pm : link
Sure and its a personal taste thing. But to me far worse is the lead singer type with no skills. To me that's indicative of what the thread is really about, but not trying to ridicule your opinion by any means btw.

Springsteen is interesting. He is much better when he is a little more muted and less good with the histrionics as Greg noted.

RE: RE: If I typed who I thought  
feelflows : 5/25/2016 8:14 pm : link
In comment 12971530 Greg from LI said:
Quote:
In comment 12971479 feelflows said:


Quote:


I'd be set on fire by his many worshipers.... I've said too much.



I'll go ahead and say it then - Springsteen. Hate his histrionics.


I meant George Thoroughgood.

Seriously, though. Histrionics is the perfect word.
Rick5  
hassan : 5/25/2016 8:14 pm : link
Sure and its a personal taste thing. But to me far worse is the lead singer type with no skills. To me that's indicative of what the thread is really about, but not trying to ridicule your opinion by any means btw.

Springsteen is interesting. He is much better when he is a little more muted and less good with the histrionics as Greg noted.

...  
Rick5 : 5/25/2016 8:16 pm : link
In comment 12971319 pjcas18 said:
Quote:

then the guy from Counting Crows who was always whining. I would have killed Mr Jones if I could have if it meant I didn't have to hear that song again.

Lol.
RE: The guy from Coldplay  
LauderdaleMatty : 5/25/2016 8:25 pm : link
In comment 12971319 pjcas18 said:
Quote:
is the first one to come to mind. So nasally.

then the guy from Counting Crows who was always whining. I would have killed Mr Jones if I could have if it meant I didn't have to hear that song again.

only things more annoying than Mr Jones were the Spin Doctors and Hootie



Cold play?They arent Rock.

Eddie Vedder. Perry Farrel. The guy from Incubus
A lot of it is how you grew up  
pjcas18 : 5/25/2016 8:30 pm : link
when I was 15, 16, 17 years old my friends and I would get a case of beer if we could get it or steal a bottle of something from someone's house, go in the woods and drink and listen to Bruce Springsteen. Usually 75 - 85 live.

We felt like No Surrender was about us. Nostalgia has a funny way of making the good things from your past better.

Jungle Land (not on 75-85 live), Backstreets, Promised Land, Darkness on the Edge of Town, Born to Run, Badlands, Thunder Road (we all loved the line "It's a town full of losers and I'm pulling out of here to win" as we'd talk about our futures).

and now we all feel like man, Bruce really nailed it when he sang in that same song "So you're scared and you're thinking that maybe we ain't that young anymore Show a little faith, there's magic in the night..."

But...none of us thought Bruce was the greatest singer on the planet, but it didn't matter, it's what we liked. We connected with the music in a way most people probably connect with the music they like.

I'll never begrudge anyone for not liking anything (as long as their respectful to other people), it's what makes music as great and powerful as it is.

on another note...George Thorogood always reminded me of Eddie from Eddie and the Cruisers.
RE: The guy from Maroon 5  
santacruzom : 5/25/2016 10:31 pm : link
In comment 12971457 DC Gmen Fan said:
Quote:
Adam Levine - why is he so popular? Seems he uses auto tune an awful lot,


Shit, that's a good call.
.....  
Route 9 : 5/25/2016 10:32 pm : link
Too easy. That cunt Tom Delonge from Blink-182 immediately came to mind. Pure fucking garbage. When I hear that “I Miss You” song, I can’t help but think back to my days at high school and wishing him and that God awful band to eat a log of shit for making an annoying song, and everyone else for liking that song in 2004. Now, that shit is considered “retro”, fucking bums lol.
and yup speaking of cunts...  
Route 9 : 5/25/2016 10:33 pm : link
Adam Levine of Maroon 5, my ex was obsessed with him. I'm saying they were both cunts.
RE: Axl Rose  
markky : 5/26/2016 5:50 am : link
In comment 12971221 averagejoe said:
Quote:
When I first heard him sing I knew I recognized the voice but couldn't place it. Then it hit me. He sounds like my Mom when she was really pissed.

"you forgot to clean up yer room...I'm gonna tell your father...."


sung to the opening tune of Welcome to the Jungle

RE: David Lee Roth and Freddy Mercury  
I Love Clams Casino : 5/26/2016 7:45 am : link
In comment 12971291 njm said:
Quote:
.


Freddy Mercury


You're outta yer fuckin mind
the guy from radiohead and from oasis  
chris r : 5/26/2016 8:05 am : link
too damn whiny. Also the guy from greenday. Also blink 187 or whatever they're called.

Oh god there's too many. Dylan is a good one though.
RE: RE: David Lee Roth and Freddy Mercury  
Rick5 : 5/26/2016 8:30 am : link
In comment 12971814 I Love Clams Casino said:
Quote:
In comment 12971291 njm said:


Quote:


.


Freddy Mercury



You're outta yer fuckin mind

There can't be any right or wrong answers to this sort of thing. A singer can have great technique, but if an individual listener doesn't like the timbre, it's a done deal. As someone who listens primarily to instrumental music, I don't like most rock vocalists that I hear. I like the voices of maybe 20% or so of the rock singers I've heard.
I've noticed the word timbre used quite a lot here  
deeee : 5/26/2016 8:52 am : link
I'm not a musician so I had to look it up. What I found was:

Axl Rose = Bad Timbre
I agree with a lot of mentions here  
deeee : 5/26/2016 8:59 am : link
the guy from counting crows, I call them Whining Crows. I have to turn the station asap.

Not a fan of Geddy Lee, but I think the difference between him and Axl Rose is that Rush has some good songs, otherwise, as far as lyrics, melodies, musicianship, etc. Kind of like Zeppelin, though I'm not comparing the 2 bands. Just that I'm not a big Plant fan, but I like a lot of their music for other reasons. But there's nothing to like, in my opinion, about Guns and Roses.
Neil Young is an acquired taste  
deeee : 5/26/2016 9:03 am : link
kind of like mushrooms or escargot, etc. His voice is unique and I guess I acquired the taste.. a long time ago.

Maybe some would say Axl Rose's voice is also an acquired taste. But that's never going to happen for me.
Lemmy clearly was not a naturally talented singer  
Greg from LI : 5/26/2016 9:09 am : link
But his voice was perfect for the music he played, even on quiet songs like 1916 and I Ain't No Nice Guy. 1916 is such a fantastic and affecting song.
RE: Neil Young is an acquired taste  
pjcas18 : 5/26/2016 9:15 am : link
In comment 12971907 deeee said:
Quote:
kind of like mushrooms or escargot, etc. His voice is unique and I guess I acquired the taste.. a long time ago.

Maybe some would say Axl Rose's voice is also an acquired taste. But that's never going to happen for me.


Appetite for Destruction is still today the highest grossing debut album in the history of the planet. Sure the band was great and Slash is all-world, but no one was buying Appetite for Destruction because of Slash's guitar licks.

Axl was Guns n' Roses. Like him or not, I don't care, I mentioned this before, people like all different kinds of music and that's the best thing about music, but legions of people did like them. Commercial success <> good vocalist obviously, but the whole package of Guns n' Roses and their rise to the top is unprecedented in the music world and a big part of it, if not the biggest part of it was Axl Rose.

actually, I liked GNR *despite* Axl  
Greg from LI : 5/26/2016 9:20 am : link
He does OK in some songs, usually the calmer ones like Don't Cry or Patience, but when he's screeching to the maximum like Welcome to the Jungle I can't stand him. Still like the tunes, though.
pj, sorry if I seem to be  
deeee : 5/26/2016 9:22 am : link
shitting on one of your favorites. It is a personal, subjective thing. But I wouldn't say that commercial success means much, at least in my opinion. Michael Jackson and Phil Collins sold a crap load of albums...
RE: pj, sorry if I seem to be  
pjcas18 : 5/26/2016 9:28 am : link
In comment 12971940 deeee said:
Quote:
shitting on one of your favorites. It is a personal, subjective thing. But I wouldn't say that commercial success means much, at least in my opinion. Michael Jackson and Phil Collins sold a crap load of albums...


No apologies. You're not being a dick. Though he was not one of my favorites, Michael Jackson was an insanely talented entertainer.

Phil Collins is Michael Bolton to me (which means he's a no talent ass clown), but again that's what makes music great.
McDonalds sells a crap load  
deeee : 5/26/2016 9:28 am : link
of burgers. I used to call Phil Collins "The McDonalds of Music" during his prime years when he was pumping out crappy "hit" songs like he was frying burgers.
I once took a girl on a date to a Kenny G concert  
deeee : 5/26/2016 9:36 am : link
She was pretty hot and she was a big fan of Kenny G! Kenny G's special guest was Michael f*cking Bolton. It was the most painful concert I've ever been to. It became like our second to last date. I finally had all I could stands.
yeah, I'm not a huge Michael Jackson fan  
Greg from LI : 5/26/2016 9:40 am : link
But I certainly wouldn't lump him in with Phil Collins.
Greg  
deeee : 5/26/2016 9:43 am : link
I wasn't a fan of either, I'm just saying they both had a lot of commercial "hits" and sold a shit load of albums.
That's easy.....  
JimboWHO : 5/26/2016 9:46 am : link
....Jon Bon Jovi.
Phil Collins  
feelflows : 5/26/2016 9:46 am : link
Wow. How did I not put him.
I didn't mention her earlier because they were a one hit wonder  
Greg from LI : 5/26/2016 9:47 am : link
and were so far in the past, but the singer from 4 Non-Blondes....god, I hated that woman.
RE: RE: Neil Young is an acquired taste  
x meadowlander : 5/26/2016 9:47 am : link
In comment 12971927 pjcas18 said:
Quote:
In comment 12971907 deeee said:


Quote:


kind of like mushrooms or escargot, etc. His voice is unique and I guess I acquired the taste.. a long time ago.

Maybe some would say Axl Rose's voice is also an acquired taste. But that's never going to happen for me.



Appetite for Destruction is still today the highest grossing debut album in the history of the planet. Sure the band was great and Slash is all-world, but no one was buying Appetite for Destruction because of Slash's guitar licks.

Axl was Guns n' Roses. Like him or not, I don't care, I mentioned this before, people like all different kinds of music and that's the best thing about music, but legions of people did like them. Commercial success <> good vocalist obviously, but the whole package of Guns n' Roses and their rise to the top is unprecedented in the music world and a big part of it, if not the biggest part of it was Axl Rose.
I bought Appetite. And it most certainly was not because of Axl's vocals, it was DESPITE them. I was attracted to the power and tightness of the band, to the first bona-fide guitar hero to pop up in a long time. Without Slash's guitar, that band is skim milk.

In 1987 rock fans were STARVED to near death by the garbage that was out there, Rock Radio was on it's last gasps, turning to techno/dance/poppy crap mixed in with a rotation of shitty hair bands and classic rock. College radio was the only outlet for rockers to find anything decent.

So the success of "Appetite For Destruction" was much more about WHEN it hit that what it was - if it came out in 95', theyd've been an afterthought buried in a sea of superior grunge acts.

But when it did hit in 87', it was a breath of fresh air. Fresh, hair-parting, blow the windows out air. And that was ALL about SLASH.

Fuck Axl. I've said it before, I'll say it again.
Jon Bon Jovi  
hassan : 5/26/2016 9:52 am : link
is an obvious good call that took too long on this thread. So is Phil Collins.....
And  
feelflows : 5/26/2016 10:01 am : link
To me, the second I hear Macy Gray, I convolt.
RE: RE: RE: Neil Young is an acquired taste  
pjcas18 : 5/26/2016 10:03 am : link
In comment 12971984 x meadowlander said:
Quote:
In comment 12971927 pjcas18 said:


Quote:


In comment 12971907 deeee said:


Quote:


kind of like mushrooms or escargot, etc. His voice is unique and I guess I acquired the taste.. a long time ago.

Maybe some would say Axl Rose's voice is also an acquired taste. But that's never going to happen for me.



Appetite for Destruction is still today the highest grossing debut album in the history of the planet. Sure the band was great and Slash is all-world, but no one was buying Appetite for Destruction because of Slash's guitar licks.

Axl was Guns n' Roses. Like him or not, I don't care, I mentioned this before, people like all different kinds of music and that's the best thing about music, but legions of people did like them. Commercial success <> good vocalist obviously, but the whole package of Guns n' Roses and their rise to the top is unprecedented in the music world and a big part of it, if not the biggest part of it was Axl Rose.


I bought Appetite. And it most certainly was not because of Axl's vocals, it was DESPITE them. I was attracted to the power and tightness of the band, to the first bona-fide guitar hero to pop up in a long time. Without Slash's guitar, that band is skim milk.

In 1987 rock fans were STARVED to near death by the garbage that was out there, Rock Radio was on it's last gasps, turning to techno/dance/poppy crap mixed in with a rotation of shitty hair bands and classic rock. College radio was the only outlet for rockers to find anything decent.

So the success of "Appetite For Destruction" was much more about WHEN it hit that what it was - if it came out in 95', theyd've been an afterthought buried in a sea of superior grunge acts.

But when it did hit in 87', it was a breath of fresh air. Fresh, hair-parting, blow the windows out air. And that was ALL about SLASH.

Fuck Axl. I've said it before, I'll say it again.


I totally agree with the timing. They effectively ended hair bands. Motley Crue took off their makeup after GNR became so popular. The Poisons of the world became less relevant - but even with what relevance they had they changed 180 degrees in style and appearance.

I think we saw Guns 'n roses without Axl it was Velvet Revolver. And it was awful.

Obviously going out on a limb here, but if Slash was replaced on Appetite for Destruction with another good guitarist, Appetite for Destruction still sells the same # of records. Without Axl I'm less sure. But..to a man they all credit the sum of the parts for the band's short, but meteoric rise.

Just my opinion.
Blink 187  
Route 9 : 5/26/2016 11:50 am : link
Chris r, you silly bastard lol
The guy from the Killers.  
Section331 : 5/26/2016 2:29 pm : link
I despise that band, and he is the #1 reason why. Just horrible.
Jay Black  
Phil in LA : 5/26/2016 2:38 pm : link
and most of the operatic sounding assholes.
Ringo Starr.  
Section331 : 5/26/2016 2:56 pm : link
I'll forgive a lot of Paul's transgressions, but I'm not sure I can ever forgive him for giving a great song like "A Little Help From My Friends" to Ringo to sing.
See, I'm not sure I agree with that  
Greg from LI : 5/26/2016 3:01 pm : link
Hair bands persisted after Appetite for Destruction. Warrant came around after 1987. So did Skid Row, Slaughter, Winger, and Nelson. Bon Jovi's New Jersey came out at the end of 1988, and that was their best selling record.Dr Feelgood was Motley Crue's biggest hit, and that came out in 1989. Every Rose Has It's Thorn was Poison's, and that also came in 1989. Warrant's Cherry Pie was 1990 or 1991.

What killed hair metal was grunge. Nevermind was released in September 1991. Nirvana was a fairly obscure regional band at the time, and Geffen was hoping the album would eventually sell 250,000 copies. By November, the video for Smells Like Teen Spirit was on MTV constantly and Nevermind arrived in the Billboard top 40. In December the album went platinum, exceeding a million sold, and in January 1992 it hit #1. Badmotorfinger and Ten, which were both released around the same time as Nevermind, both started to take off in sales in 1992 in the wake of Nevermind's success. Later in the year, Alice in Chains released Dirt, which made it to #6. After 1991, hair metal was finished.
^^^  
ron mexico : 5/26/2016 3:04 pm : link
Not to mention GNR wasn't immune from some hair band frivolity

RE: See, I'm not sure I agree with that  
pjcas18 : 5/26/2016 3:18 pm : link
In comment 12972758 Greg from LI said:
Quote:
Hair bands persisted after Appetite for Destruction. Warrant came around after 1987. So did Skid Row, Slaughter, Winger, and Nelson. Bon Jovi's New Jersey came out at the end of 1988, and that was their best selling record.Dr Feelgood was Motley Crue's biggest hit, and that came out in 1989. Every Rose Has It's Thorn was Poison's, and that also came in 1989. Warrant's Cherry Pie was 1990 or 1991.

What killed hair metal was grunge. Nevermind was released in September 1991. Nirvana was a fairly obscure regional band at the time, and Geffen was hoping the album would eventually sell 250,000 copies. By November, the video for Smells Like Teen Spirit was on MTV constantly and Nevermind arrived in the Billboard top 40. In December the album went platinum, exceeding a million sold, and in January 1992 it hit #1. Badmotorfinger and Ten, which were both released around the same time as Nevermind, both started to take off in sales in 1992 in the wake of Nevermind's success. Later in the year, Alice in Chains released Dirt, which made it to #6. After 1991, hair metal was finished.

I mean in style and appearance and even their music subtely changed.


Guns n' Roses: never were into the glam rock/hair band look



The bands existed but not in the same style or appearance.

Motley Crue Shout at the Devil (early 80's?):



Motley Crue by 1990



Poison look what the cat dragged in (1986):



Poison by 1990 (lost the makeup, slowly the hair gets smaller, I even saw CC Deville wear a top hat a la Slash)



the music also slowly became less high pitched squealy like Shout at the Devil to more contemporary classic rock like Girls Girls Girls or Dr Feelgood. Just as examples.

Warrant, while awful, became Judas Priest LOL



My impression is GNR's popularity and truly meteoric rise was a major influence (let's face it the music industry is a copycat industry more than sports - look at all the grunge acts the spawned up just in the Seattle area and were pretty interchangeable) in the shift in style and appearance and slowly the substance of the hair band era.

Grunge came later.

Poison
when was that picture of Warrant taken?  
Greg from LI : 5/26/2016 3:35 pm : link
Because in the video for Heaven, summer of 1989, they looked like this:



This is the image from a Motley Crue Dr Feelgood tour shirt, circa 1990



Yes, the makeup and brighter clothes were gone by the end of the '80s, but that was more of a general societal shift. If you look at most pop acts from the early-mid '80s as compared to 1990, you'd see the same kind of changes.

Before Nevermind, those hair bands were all huge. They were some of the biggest rock acts of the time. After 1992, none of them did much of anything. They just kind of fell off the face of the earth.

I think that's true in general  
pjcas18 : 5/26/2016 3:47 pm : link
of bands, they have a shelf-life. the rare ones last a long time, but most don't.

The grunge phase didn't last too long either. I mean maybe the bands lived other than Kurt Cobain and Nirvana and some of the other deaths much later like Staley, but the new music certainly didn't. Pearl Jam?

Just for reference Poison has sold double the albums that Soundgarden has.

Motley Crue has sold over 100M records to Pearl Jam's 60M.

some of this is skewed now since no one buys records/tapes/CD's anymore, but Pearl Jam's new music is kind of irrelevant anyway.

anyway it's just my view of the era. Guns N' Roses didn't look or sound like the makeup wearing, teased hair, acts like Motley Crue, Cinderella, Poison, Dokken, Ratt, etc. of the hair band era and shortly after GNR's success those bands changed their style and appearance, and in some cases even the music.

I attribute it to GNR, maybe not accurately, but that was the impression to me growing up in that era.
RE: RE: The guy from Maroon 5  
Randy in CT : 5/26/2016 3:54 pm : link
In comment 12971667 santacruzom said:
Quote:
In comment 12971457 DC Gmen Fan said:


Quote:


Adam Levine - why is he so popular? Seems he uses auto tune an awful lot,



Shit, that's a good call.
I don't think he uses autotune. I've heard him sing live on Stern. He has a pretty incredible voice.

Honestly, I don't know what information you acquire from a thread like this? Your personal take on music you don't like?
well, sure, it didn't last too long  
Greg from LI : 5/26/2016 3:59 pm : link
6 years or so I'd say. By 1998 Nirvana, Soundgarden and AIC were all defunct, and Pearl Jam had kind of settled into a different sound with a much lower profile.

It was then the advent of nü-metal *shudder* cursed be its name.
hahaha....Randy likes Maroon 5  
Greg from LI : 5/26/2016 4:00 pm : link
Somehow, that seems appropriate.
RE: well, sure, it didn't last too long  
pjcas18 : 5/26/2016 4:04 pm : link
In comment 12972861 Greg from LI said:
Quote:
6 years or so I'd say. By 1998 Nirvana, Soundgarden and AIC were all defunct, and Pearl Jam had kind of settled into a different sound with a much lower profile.

It was then the advent of nü-metal *shudder* cursed be its name.


LOL, well I do like Disturbed.
Whoever sings for Volbeat.  
732NYG : 5/26/2016 5:18 pm : link
Man, that is a fucking terrible band.
Adam Levine has an excellent voice  
Modus Operandi : 5/26/2016 5:59 pm : link
That's not to say I enjoy commercially-aimed music of late. But if you listen Maroon 5's early work, his vocal range is fantastic. He's just went the Gwen Stefani route is all.
I literally didn't walk across the street to see Motley Crew  
deeee : 5/26/2016 9:06 pm : link
well, technically it was down the street about the same distance as across the street. I was hanging out at a bar on the strip of Ft. Lauderdale, prolly around '99-2000 and some guy came saying - hey come see Motley Crew they're playing at the club next door! I said no thanks.
so it wasn't literally across the street  
deeee : 5/26/2016 9:09 pm : link
point is I easily chose to listen to a juke box while I hung out with my cocktail/beer watching the sights..
On with the Show  
pjcas18 : 5/26/2016 9:11 pm : link
by Motley Crue was my favorite song when I was 12 years old. It was older by then, since too Fast for Love came out years before I heard, but just thought it was awesome.

It gets covered by tons of newer (then) rock bands like the Ataris and Get up Kids.

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