# Bands you'd like (more) but for their lousy singing **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [March 1, 2005, 3:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-youd-like-more-but-for-their-lousy-singing/292384 "2005-03-01T03:08:29Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![interface2x](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/c0e974/32.png) [@interface2x](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/interface2x)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2005, 5:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-youd-like-more-but-for-their-lousy-singing/292384/21 "2005-03-01T17:45:02Z")
> [@Amazon Floozy Goddess](#): > > Babyland. I really like the beats and the synths they use, but I have trouble getting through an album because of the singer’s “I-sound-like-I’m-16-and-my-voice-hasn’t-quite-changed-yet-and-also-I-can’t-really-sing-so-I’ll-just-scream-every-word” voice. Yeah, I can definitely see that. I only have their first album (are they still around?), but that band is CRAZY. Their BPMs are …what … 200? ---
**Author:** ![Indygrrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@Indygrrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indygrrl)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2005, 5:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-youd-like-more-but-for-their-lousy-singing/292384/22 "2005-03-01T17:56:24Z")
Evanescence–without that screaming banshee they might have been decent. Probably not, but maybe. ---
**Author:** ![Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/6f9a4e/32.png) [@Hey\_It\_s\_That\_Guy](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hey_It_s_That_Guy)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2005, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-youd-like-more-but-for-their-lousy-singing/292384/23 "2005-03-01T18:00:42Z")
> [@Indygrrl](#): > > Evanescence–without that screaming banshee they might have been decent. Probably not, but maybe. Funny, I always thought Amy is the real star of the group, and way too talented to stay with a band like Evanescence forever. Not only is she beautiful, but I think she has a very strong, clear, and mature voice, considering her age. Maybe she’ll strike out on her own in the years to come and you will get your wish. ---
**Author:** ![SkipMagic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skipmagic/32/20706_2.png) [@SkipMagic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SkipMagic)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2005, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-youd-like-more-but-for-their-lousy-singing/292384/24 "2005-03-01T18:00:56Z")
The Rolling Stones. I enjoy a lot of the actual music, but Jagger’s voice is about as flat as flat can be. ---
**Author:** ![Indygrrl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/i/58f4c7/32.png) [@Indygrrl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Indygrrl)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2005, 6:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-youd-like-more-but-for-their-lousy-singing/292384/25 "2005-03-01T18:12:07Z")
> [@Big Bad Voodoo Lou](#): > > Funny, I always thought Amy is the real star of the group, and way too talented to stay with a band like Evanescence forever. Not only is she beautiful, but I think she has a very strong, clear, and mature voice, considering her age. Maybe she’ll strike out on her own in the years to come and you will get your wish. I wouldn’t purchase an Evanescence cd with a gun pointed at my head. With or without the screaming cat. ---
**Author:** ![Kizarvexius](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/da6949/32.png) [@Kizarvexius](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kizarvexius)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2005, 6:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-youd-like-more-but-for-their-lousy-singing/292384/26 "2005-03-01T18:56:32Z")
The Cure. If they did nothing but instrumentals, I’d buy every album. But Robert Smith’s wailing and weeping is beyond annoying. ---
**Author:** ![Talon\_Karrde](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c5a1d2/32.png) [@Talon\_Karrde](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Talon_Karrde)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2005, 8:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-youd-like-more-but-for-their-lousy-singing/292384/27 "2005-03-01T20:29:51Z")
I’ve tried to get into some old blues, but the singing drives me away. With persistence, I’ll probably grow to like it, but I don’t know if I want to put in that much time. I actually like the way Bob Dylan sings. I don’t know if I could listen to his singing all day, but when I listen to one of his albums it doesn’t really bother me. ---
**Author:** ![Lisa-go-Blind](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/7c8e57/32.png) [@Lisa-go-Blind](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lisa-go-Blind)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2005, 8:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-youd-like-more-but-for-their-lousy-singing/292384/28 "2005-03-01T20:54:00Z")
> [@Knowed Out](#): > > I’ll have to say Ted Leo and the Pharmacists. > > I can take each song they do individually, but a whole album drives me bugnuts insane. One song sung by a guy with a goofy voice is a novelty. A whole album is torture. Interesting - Ted Leo’s voice is one of the main draws for me. I love it. I’d have to agree with **threeorange** - musically I can tolerate and respect (if not like) Led Zeppelin, but that voice … gah. ---
**Author:** ![Amazon\_Floozy\_Goddess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/779978/32.png) [@Amazon\_Floozy\_Goddess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Amazon_Floozy_Goddess)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2005, 9:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-youd-like-more-but-for-their-lousy-singing/292384/29 "2005-03-01T21:25:23Z")
> [@Kizarvexius](#): > > The Cure. If they did nothing but instrumentals, I’d buy every album. But Robert Smith’s wailing and weeping is beyond annoying. And have you noticed that he’s starting to look like Elizabeth Taylor? 😃 ---
**Author:** ![Flander](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8c91f0/32.png) [@Flander](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flander)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2005, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-youd-like-more-but-for-their-lousy-singing/292384/30 "2005-03-01T21:55:45Z")
The singer for New Found Glory sounds like he’s mocking himself. God I hate that guy. In fact, most pop-punk bands have the same type of high crappy lead singing. I don’t care much for Social-D either, but there’s a cover band that has opened for us a few times that is spot on with the voice. Scott Stapp from Creed has my vote for the worst singer of all time who thinks he’s the greatest. ---
**Author:** ![Bad\_News\_Baboon](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/5fc32e/32.png) [@Bad\_News\_Baboon](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bad_News_Baboon)\ **Post date:** [March 1, 2005, 11:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-youd-like-more-but-for-their-lousy-singing/292384/31 "2005-03-01T23:26:27Z")
Autolux. The music is great until the singer opens up his mouth. ---
**Author:** ![LindyHopper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ebca7d/32.png) [@LindyHopper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LindyHopper)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2005, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-youd-like-more-but-for-their-lousy-singing/292384/32 "2005-03-02T00:57:17Z")
Back in the early '90’s, there was this band from (I think) Seattle (weren’t they _all_ back then?) called Gruntruck. Terrible name, but the music was really pretty kick-ass. And then the singer opened his stupid mouth. It wasn’t even that the lyrics were particularly bad (they seemed OK, as far as I can remember), but the vocal delivery was _execrable_. In a world of Cobains, Vedders, Cornells, and even Mark Arm, it was just too…something. More than a bit whiny, I guess, and no real emotion there. Kind of reedy. Ugh. I gave the band a good try, then returned the tape to the record store. ---
**Author:** ![Sunshine\_and\_Smiles](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a5b964/32.png) [@Sunshine\_and\_Smiles](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunshine_and_Smiles)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2005, 1:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-youd-like-more-but-for-their-lousy-singing/292384/33 "2005-03-02T01:25:03Z")
> [@Lisa-go-Blind](#): > > Interesting - Ted Leo’s voice is one of the main draws for me. I love it. > > I’d have to agree with **threeorange** - musically I can tolerate and respect (if not like) Led Zeppelin, but that voice … gah. Second this notion. I love Ted Leo’s voice and I love the way he uses it. If you sing along with him, you kind of begin to wonder how he thought of singing a particular line the way he did. Or maybe that’s just me. Guns ‘n’ Roses was the first thing that came to mind here. The music is so friggin’ sweet, especially Slash’s sharp tone, and then Axl comes in. Additionally annoying is the fact that people worship him. Yuch. Bob Dylan. Led Zeppelin. Nothing very original, I know. But it is good to get these things out for the first time. ---
**Author:** ![nitroglycerine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/c5a1d2/32.png) [@nitroglycerine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nitroglycerine)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2005, 2:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-youd-like-more-but-for-their-lousy-singing/292384/34 "2005-03-02T02:16:57Z")
After hearing “Private Hell” on Iggy Pop’s last album, I discovered I like Green Day a heck of a lot more when someone else is singing. Of course, I guess it helps when that someone is Iggy. ---
**Author:** ![torie](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/77aa72/32.png) [@torie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/torie)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2005, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-youd-like-more-but-for-their-lousy-singing/292384/35 "2005-03-02T03:16:05Z")
Three words: Cradle. Of. Filth. Ick! ---
**Author:** ![Already\_in\_Use](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/a9adbd/32.png) [@Already\_in\_Use](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Already_in_Use)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2005, 8:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-youd-like-more-but-for-their-lousy-singing/292384/36 "2005-03-02T08:54:39Z")
I keep hearing how the Beach Boys were a really innovative band, but I can’t get past their putrid vocal harmonies. ---
**Author:** ![Marley23](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/45deac/32.png) [@Marley23](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Marley23)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2005, 8:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-youd-like-more-but-for-their-lousy-singing/292384/37 "2005-03-02T08:55:24Z")
> [@Already in Use](#): > > I keep hearing how the Beach Boys were a really innovative band, but I can’t get past their putrid vocal harmonies. A-FUCKING-MEN. The lyrics also bug me, but I wouldn’t be able to listen to Shakespeare delivered the way they do it. ---
**Author:** ![Othersider](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/cab0a1/32.png) [@Othersider](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Othersider)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2005, 10:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-youd-like-more-but-for-their-lousy-singing/292384/38 "2005-03-02T10:36:21Z")
+10 for Guns N’ Roses. Also +1 for Rush. But I must confess, I’ve grown to like both of these bands, or at least some of the music they’ve done, in spite of the singers. I’d like to also add Iced Earth. The first song of theirs I can remember hearing was “The Hunter”, which I liked significantly more before the singing started. Also, I’ll say Linkin Park, because I must confess I don’t hate all of their songs, but I’ve noticed a great distinction - the few songs of theirs I like don’t feature Chester Bennington trying to blast down the world with his voice; instead, he actually _sings_ (well, sort of, anyway…) ---
**Author:** ![fishbicycle](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/aeb1de/32.png) [@fishbicycle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/fishbicycle)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2005, 2:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-youd-like-more-but-for-their-lousy-singing/292384/39 "2005-03-02T14:42:55Z")
Tom Petty. He hit a peak of brilliance and singing ability when he started working with Jeff Lynne and George Harrison. I can’t take much of his art prior to that period, or since. He’s got an annoying, off-key singing voice that, left to his own devices, he makes no effort to improve upon. ---
**Author:** ![WhiteyFoo](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/3e96dc/32.png) [@WhiteyFoo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/WhiteyFoo)\ **Post date:** [March 2, 2005, 3:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-youd-like-more-but-for-their-lousy-singing/292384/40 "2005-03-02T15:23:56Z")
Coheed and Cambria. Loads of people rave about the great stuff they put out. And the music is really good. Great guitar work. Excellent rythms. Good lyrics too. But the lead singer sounds like Getty Lee on helium. Ug! I’m trying, I really am. But I doun’t think I’ll be able to make it. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-youd-like-more-but-for-their-lousy-singing/292384.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/bands-youd-like-more-but-for-their-lousy-singing/292384.md?page=3)