# Any Carpenters fans on SDMB? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [January 2, 2011, 8:46pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-carpenters-fans-on-sdmb/566165 "2011-01-02T20:46:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2011, 7:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-carpenters-fans-on-sdmb/566165/21 "2011-01-03T19:11:02Z")
Yes, one of the things I love about her voice is that she sounds so freakin’ _kind_. I think Superstar might have been the Carpenters’ best song…and Calling Occupants of Interplanetary Craft the worst! ---
**Author:** ![KennerTheGreat](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/a8b319/32.png) [@KennerTheGreat](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KennerTheGreat)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2011, 8:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-carpenters-fans-on-sdmb/566165/22 "2011-01-03T20:04:00Z")
I like their version of _Ticket to Ride_ better than the original. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [January 3, 2011, 8:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-carpenters-fans-on-sdmb/566165/23 "2011-01-03T20:37:21Z")
Her voice had such a smile in it. Can’t help but liking to hear it. This seems a goof place to ask: What do the Carpenters fans here think of [Rumer](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvYUfwMBCrU)? As far as I can tell, this isn’t deliberate mimicry, it’s just someone who happens to sound like Karen Carpenter. ---
**Author:** ![Equipoise](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/equipoise/32/151_2.png) [@Equipoise](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Equipoise)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2011, 10:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-carpenters-fans-on-sdmb/566165/24 "2011-01-04T10:44:08Z")
_genuflects at Karen Carpenter’s voice_ One of the most beautiful ever ever for sure. I thought that when I was a teenybopper buying Carpenters LPs (and getting shit from my brother for it), and I think that now. There are singers I like more (Kate Bush, Happy Rhodes, Jane Siberry), for various reasons, but Karen’s voice is very special to me. > [@Mangetout](#): > > This seems a goof place to ask: What do the Carpenters fans here think of [Rumer](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvYUfwMBCrU)? As far as I can tell, this isn’t deliberate mimicry, it’s just someone who happens to sound like Karen Carpenter. She has a nice voice, but she doesn’t sound anything like Karen to me. There are tons of singers out there with as good or better voices. Not to take anything away from Rumer (who I’ve known about since her La Honda days), it’s just that her voice is not that special. Meaning, a beautiful voice, but not uniquely beautiful. Karen is unique. The only singer I can think of who even compares to her, regarding having a voice of liquid gold, is [Eva Cassidy](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZGwDYBWEDSc). ---
**Author:** ![The\_Peyote\_Coyote](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/5f8ce5/32.png) [@The\_Peyote\_Coyote](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Peyote_Coyote)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2011, 6:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-carpenters-fans-on-sdmb/566165/25 "2011-01-04T18:53:02Z")
> [@](#): > > Looking back thirty years later. How well do you think their music holds up? Is Karen really one of the best female 70’s vocalists? What’s your favorite Carpenters song? Did you ever see them live? I think their music holds up very well, especially if you like soft rock. Karen Carpenter is one of the best singers of the 20th Century. “Rainy Days & Mondays.” No. ---
**Author:** ![Shagnasty](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9dc877/32.png) [@Shagnasty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shagnasty)\ **Post date:** [January 4, 2011, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-carpenters-fans-on-sdmb/566165/26 "2011-01-04T23:55:38Z")
Raises hand slowly from the back of the room. I generally do not like any type of soft music but I was captivated with Karen Carpenter’s voice the first time I heard her TV when I was young and it stayed that way. She had a voice that still stops me cold. It hauntingly beautiful. I wish that she could have lived to do more modern types of songs. ---
**Author:** ![Guinastasia](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/guinastasia/32/5751_2.png) [@Guinastasia](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Guinastasia)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2011, 2:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-carpenters-fans-on-sdmb/566165/27 "2011-01-05T02:45:08Z")
Yep. My mom always like the Carpenters and she had a couple of their records, which I always used to listen to. One of my guilty pleasures, since I’m not one for soft rock. ---
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2011, 5:00am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-carpenters-fans-on-sdmb/566165/28 "2011-01-05T05:00:23Z")
> [@Mangetout](#): > > This seems a goof place to ask: What do the Carpenters fans here think of [Rumer](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jvYUfwMBCrU)? As far as I can tell, this isn’t deliberate mimicry, it’s just someone who happens to sound like Karen Carpenter. I’m not hearing the similarity at all. It’s like if you start out with Carpenter, and remove the warmth, the heart, the honey, the smile . . . . Damn, this thread makes me cry. ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2011, 5:58am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-carpenters-fans-on-sdmb/566165/29 "2011-01-05T05:58:13Z")
Yep. I love her voice, and I admit to a sneaking fondness for Calling Occupants, too. B’wana She No Home, on the other hand, I can do without. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/ecccb3/32.png) [@Sam\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Stone)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2011, 7:17am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-carpenters-fans-on-sdmb/566165/30 "2011-01-05T07:17:41Z")
A singer who occasionally gives me the kind of chills Karen Carpenter’s voice does is Neko Case. But it’s a different quality - Neko’s voice isn’t as warm and friendly. From a critical standpoint, the Carpenters had the misfortune of recording in a decade where all the rock critics were just itching to jump all over anything even remotely MOR. I think they would have gotten a much better critical reception ten years earlier or ten years later. If they were around today they’d probably be indie heroes. ---
**Author:** ![F.U.Shakespeare](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aca169/32.png) [@F.U.Shakespeare](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/F.U.Shakespeare)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2011, 11:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-carpenters-fans-on-sdmb/566165/31 "2011-01-05T11:43:20Z")
Karen Carpenter was one of the greatest singers of the century. I was just a kid when the Carpenters were at their peak, but I remember that they were considered the punchline of a joke by young adults, sort of like Michael Bolton or Vanilla Ice years later. As **Sam Stone** says, MOR was out of style then. It didn’t help when President Nixon praised them. There were concert reviews that ignored their music while dwelling on their ‘square’ clothing and haircuts. It was amazing how quickly everyone forgot this in the wake of Karen’s tragic death. The adage of having to suffer to create great art was well-served: as one writer put it, ‘Rainy Days and Mondays’ never sounded the same again. ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2011, 1:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-carpenters-fans-on-sdmb/566165/32 "2011-01-05T13:13:55Z")
> [@panache45](#): > > I’m not hearing the similarity at all. It’s like if you start out with Carpenter, and remove the warmth, the heart, the honey, the smile . . . . On reflection, I think this was very much the wrong place to ask the question. Please (everyone) disregard my post above and the discussion can take place elsewhere, if necessary. ---
**Author:** ![flano1](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/f14d63/32.png) [@flano1](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/flano1)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2011, 1:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-carpenters-fans-on-sdmb/566165/33 "2011-01-05T13:21:09Z")
Shhh! You are not supposed to say you like the Carpenters. Or Abba. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2011, 1:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-carpenters-fans-on-sdmb/566165/34 "2011-01-05T13:34:57Z")
I’m a rebel! You can’t stop me. I like Air Supply too! ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2011, 5:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-carpenters-fans-on-sdmb/566165/35 "2011-01-05T17:26:28Z")
I not only like Abba, I also like John Denver and the Bee Gees. Top that, if you dare! ---
**Author:** ![PapSett](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecc23a/32.png) [@PapSett](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PapSett)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2011, 5:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-carpenters-fans-on-sdmb/566165/36 "2011-01-05T17:29:22Z")
I’ll see your Abba, John Denver, Bee Gees and the aforementioned Carpenters ad raise you a Michael Bolton. Can anyone beat THAT hand?? ---
**Author:** ![Morgyn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/morgyn/32/3041_2.png) [@Morgyn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Morgyn)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2011, 5:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-carpenters-fans-on-sdmb/566165/37 "2011-01-05T17:38:47Z")
I own several Barbra Streisand records, records by both David and Shaun Cassidy, and a Monkees collection. ---
**Author:** ![Dung\_Beetle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dung_beetle/32/7945_2.png) [@Dung\_Beetle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dung_Beetle)\ **Post date:** [January 5, 2011, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-carpenters-fans-on-sdmb/566165/38 "2011-01-05T18:44:38Z")
Barry Manilow has been my imaginary husband since about 1974. ---
**Author:** ![PapSett](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ecc23a/32.png) [@PapSett](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/PapSett)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2011, 5:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-carpenters-fans-on-sdmb/566165/39 "2011-01-06T05:50:52Z")
Oh… how could I forget Barry Manilow??? I think he has one of the most beautiful voices ever. I also like Celine Dione. AND… I have several Monkees CDs, The Partridge Family’s Greatest hits, Shaun Cassidy’s greatest hits,and… The Osmond Brothers. I win. ---
**Author:** ![Khadaji](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/9e8a1a/32.png) [@Khadaji](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Khadaji)\ **Post date:** [January 6, 2011, 10:47am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-carpenters-fans-on-sdmb/566165/40 "2011-01-06T10:47:47Z")
> [@Dung\_Beetle](#): > > I’m a rebel! You can’t stop me. I like Air Supply too! Based on this thread I’m guessing you and I could share a long drive and never fight over what music was playing. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-carpenters-fans-on-sdmb/566165.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/any-carpenters-fans-on-sdmb/566165.md?page=3)