I’ve been meaning to post this for months, even more so since their big win at the Grammys. They’re wildly popular and I must admit I find a certain appeal to the few songs of theirs I’ve heard; that certain appeal being the harmonies. ButI can’t get past the lead singer, who sounds like Kripky (Kwipky) on The Big Bang Theory. Am I the only one that can hear nothing but his speech impediment when he sings?
Ever since the first (of the umpteenth) time I heard “. . .give me just a second I need to get my stowy stwaight” I have been pehpwexed that I’ve never heard anyone else mention it.
God help me when I heard someone compare him to Freddie Mercury I almost plotzed. They may be going for some Queen-like arrangements but to compare Nate J Fudd to Freddie is a travesty.
I’ve listened to We Are Young and Some Nights about 30000 billion billion times since they came out and I’ve never noticed any sort of speech impediment.
I agree that comparing his vocals to Mercury is hilariously wrong though. He doesn’t sound ANYTHING like Mercury and they use autotune a lot to hit artificially high notes (and they don’t even try to make it sound natural, it sounds like auto tune).
I like them. My GFs roommate plays the constantly but I have to say I do love them. I don’t hear the impediment you speak of but I also agree that Nate is no Freddy.
I like every song on their album, my favorite being Stars.
I think you’re hearing an auto-tune hitch. The auto-tune is annoying to me in general, and speech impediments such as lisping I find annoying, too, so I would be surprised if I hadn’t picked up on something like that by now. I just hear an auto-tune issue. I don’t know why they use it so much. I get it as an effect, but they use it even with some of the regular, non-harmonized parts such as the beginning of that song. That’s what my ear hears, anyway.
I don’t get it. Nate doesn’t need it, the track he did with Pink is unadulterated as far as I can hear, and there are other tracks where he sounds fine, too. I guess it’s just part of what fun. uses for their “sound.” I still somehow like them for the most part, but I have to skip that one horrible track with the extra-crazy tuning that gets super shrill, I don’t remember the name.
I’m reasonably certain that the overuse of autotune in Some Nights is intentionally over the top. I think the song is about the compromises he made to finally get an album on the charts after struggling for a decade doing his own thing. Right before the autotune kicks in, he sings “when I hear a song, they sound like this one” and then goes nuts with autotune. Pretty sure he’s making fun of everyone else.
I wouldn’t compare Nate to Mercury either, but they definitely have a theatrical Queen-like sound in their arrangements (I’m listening to “Some Nights - Intro” and it sounds like it could be off of Night at the Opera.)
I wouldn’t compare him to Freddie Mercury, but a friend thought I might like fun. before I was aware of them and loaned me the disc. I listened to about 1-2 minutes of each song, and texted her something along the lines of “Bet you a dollar these guys were a Queen cover band before they got big”.
So my first impression was also a Queen-like proclivity in arrangements.
Edit: Or, what he said but posted before me because I had to go get tea in the middle of typing my post:
Thanks for the feedback; never considered it could be an autotune thing, but then I’m not particularly savvy regarding that stuff. I do know what autotune is, and usually can detect it when I hear it so this is news to me.
Honestly, I don’t mean to belabor the point but everyone’s comments have me even more puzzled. I can’t not hear the singer’s odd pronunciation (or lack of) of "r"s. Even after having it pointed out, none of you listened for it and heard it?
That’s really a rhetorical question; I’m not trying to turn any fans against them, it’s just such a glaring thing to me. Oh well, everyone enjoy!
I like “Carry On” and “Some Nights” a lot, but I have to say I’VE NEVER HAD A SONG GET STUCK IN MY HEAD like “Some Nights.” It’s to the point that I can’t even listen to it. No kidding, it was playing in my head so consistently one night I had trouble performing sexually. :eek:
The first time I heard Some Nights I told my wife that fun. sounded like the bastard love child of Queen and Chumbawamba. I didn’t mean that to sound quite as critical as it does.
I’m not a fan of fun. Mostly because they are severely over-played on the radio stations I listen to. They’ve got 3 songs in rotation right now and it’s just too much. Too much.
I am also not a fan of African drums and autotune in my modern rock. Pretentious to my ears.
(nitpick)
The line is “When I hear a song, it sounds like a swan”- ie, swan song, which ties it into the lines before all being about endings. The line just ahead of the auto tune is “man you wont believe the most amazing things…that can come from some terrible lies” where lies is the auto tuned word.
(/nitpick)
Your interpretation of the song, however, is correct.
I lovelovelovelove Some Nights, have a growing appreciation for whatever the new song on the radio is, think the duet with P!nk is all kinds of awesome, but hate We Are Young with the fire of a thousand suns.
Same here. We might listen to same station(s). They have 3 overplayed singles. “We are Young” seems like it’s been in heavy rotation for 2 years. Whenever someone mentions fun and how they are new I am perplexed. Same goes for a few other newer or recently crossed-over bands I’ve been hearing on alternative rock radio for years.
Really? I could swear it’s “they sound like this one”. And it’s “some terrible nights”, too. “Sound like this one” makes so much more sense, I think
Anyway, they’re my current love. I don’t listen to a whole lot of really any music radio, so it usually doesn’t bother me when something is overplayed. Same happened with Dog Days are Over and Rolling in the Deep. I heard “Some Nights” play once on the radio and instantly loved it. Snagged the album when it was $3.99 on Amazon. It’s okay. I really like some of the songs and others are unbearably poptastic and sound like the stuff I hated a few years ago.
All-in-all, I have a feeling that in about six months, I’ll be pretty much out of love with them and rather embarrassed that I ever listened to them on purpose. For now, though, I’m quite enjoying them.
