# Most Annoying Affected Pronunciation In Popular Music **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [November 21, 2010, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-annoying-affected-pronunciation-in-popular-music/561389 "2010-11-21T01:22:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Huerta88](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/82dd89/32.png) [@Huerta88](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Huerta88)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2010, 1:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-annoying-affected-pronunciation-in-popular-music/561389/1 "2010-11-21T01:22:36Z")
I’ve posted before about Chrissy Hinde on “Brass in Pocket” putting on, for no reason explicable to me, what sounds like an attempt at a black man, or retard, or retarded black man: "Gohhh use mah . . . " That’s near the top. The Verve Pipe’s “Freshmen” isn’t a horrible song but what, pray, is a “frashman,” which is what the clown actually sings? For that, I actually prefer major league pitcher Bronson Arroyo’s cover, as he pronounces the word right. Finally (and this ends up being as much a thread about singers who annoy me, generally), what the Hell kind of put-on voice is Springsteen using in “Pink Cadillac,” pretty much most of the song, although his use of “Penk” is probably the annoying highlight? ---
**Author:** ![Joey\_P](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/919ad9/32.png) [@Joey\_P](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Joey_P)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2010, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-annoying-affected-pronunciation-in-popular-music/561389/2 "2010-11-21T01:49:03Z")
It’s pretty minor, but when ever I hear Hypnotized by Fleetwood Mac, it sounds to me like they’re saying Hypmotized. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2010, 1:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-annoying-affected-pronunciation-in-popular-music/561389/3 "2010-11-21T01:52:06Z")
_Richard Hung Himself_ by D.I. ‘Your answer is non- **seglitur**.’ ---
**Author:** ![Wile\_E](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/c37758/32.png) [@Wile\_E](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Wile_E)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2010, 1:54am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-annoying-affected-pronunciation-in-popular-music/561389/4 "2010-11-21T01:54:27Z")
> [@Huerta88](#): > > … > The Verve Pipe’s “Freshmen” isn’t a horrible song … You could not be more wrong. It is extremely horrible. ---
**Author:** ![Tess\_Trueheart](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/779978/32.png) [@Tess\_Trueheart](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tess_Trueheart)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2010, 1:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-annoying-affected-pronunciation-in-popular-music/561389/5 "2010-11-21T01:55:43Z")
Let’s get it out of the way: “You can stand under my um-ber-el-la” And I love Regina Spektor, but in the song Ode to Divorce I hate the “I need your muh-ney… wonchu helpa brother out, out, out” section. ---
**Author:** ![bienville](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/4bbf92/32.png) [@bienville](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bienville)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2010, 2:02am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-annoying-affected-pronunciation-in-popular-music/561389/6 "2010-11-21T02:02:32Z")
“I’ll be waiting in Jackson, behind my JAY-PAN fan” O.K., I actually enjoy that one and don’t find it annoying. ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2010, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-annoying-affected-pronunciation-in-popular-music/561389/7 "2010-11-21T02:05:59Z")
“There were birds, in the sky, but I never soar them winging, No, I never soar them at all, till there was you.” mmm ---
**Author:** ![Bites\_When\_Provoked](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bites_when_provoked/32/18073_2.png) [@Bites\_When\_Provoked](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bites_When_Provoked)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2010, 2:23am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-annoying-affected-pronunciation-in-popular-music/561389/8 "2010-11-21T02:23:22Z")
> [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](#): > > “There were birds, in the sky, but I never soar them winging, > No, I never soar them at all, till there was you.” Who sings this? I might need to look it up on youtube, since ‘saw’ and ‘soar’ \*should \*sound identical as far as I know. Edit: Oh, unless you mean the singer is pronouncing all those letters in a long drawl. I’ve heard it pronounced ‘saw-er’ before in songs, and that’s always a little disconcerting. ---
**Author:** ![sulamith](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/f08c70/32.png) [@sulamith](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/sulamith)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2010, 2:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-annoying-affected-pronunciation-in-popular-music/561389/9 "2010-11-21T02:28:41Z")
Why do musicians always pronounce the word “city” as “ci-TAY” in a rock song? I’ve got to get back to my ci-TAY by the bay… You know I wanna be there in my ci-TAY Hot child in the ci-TAY and it just goes on and on… Don Henley evidently gave Stevie Nicks a hard time about her pronounciation of the word “washes” in the song Dreams… When the rain wa-SHES you clean you’ll know He said nobody ever says that word like that. Before rwading that article it never bothered me, but since… it does. And I totally agree about Springsteen and the song “Penk Cadillac”. WTF is that? ---
**Author:** ![Kamino\_Neko](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kamino_neko/32/34_2.png) [@Kamino\_Neko](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kamino_Neko)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2010, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-annoying-affected-pronunciation-in-popular-music/561389/10 "2010-11-21T02:32:43Z")
> [@Bites\_When\_Provoked](#): > > Who sings this? I might need to look it up on youtube, since ‘saw’ and ‘soar’ \*should \*sound identical as far as I know. Where are you from? Some accents would certainly pronounce them the same way, but a rhotic accent, for instance wouldn’t. The vowel is also different in a lot of accents. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2010, 3:01am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-annoying-affected-pronunciation-in-popular-music/561389/11 "2010-11-21T03:01:31Z")
> [@Bites\_When\_Provoked](#): > > Who sings this? I might need to look it up on youtube, since ‘saw’ and ‘soar’ \*should \*sound identical as far as I know. Barabara Cook, originaly, but in film it was [Shirley Jones](http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JLDsLeVxOaU#t=01m12s). Though the Beatles covered it. ---
**Author:** ![Drain\_Bead](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e47774/32.png) [@Drain\_Bead](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drain_Bead)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2010, 3:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-annoying-affected-pronunciation-in-popular-music/561389/12 "2010-11-21T03:03:03Z")
Always thought it sounded more like Pank Cadillac. ---
**Author:** ![cactus\_waltz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/74df32/32.png) [@cactus\_waltz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cactus_waltz)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2010, 3:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-annoying-affected-pronunciation-in-popular-music/561389/13 "2010-11-21T03:04:03Z")
Puh puh poker face. Tuh tuh telephone. ---
**Author:** ![KinkiNipponTourist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e9bcb4/32.png) [@KinkiNipponTourist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KinkiNipponTourist)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2010, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-annoying-affected-pronunciation-in-popular-music/561389/14 "2010-11-21T03:10:03Z")
I always wondered whether Vincent Price’s “to terrorize yourS neighborhood” in Thriller was just a misspeak. He clearly throws that last S on there, and a fair amount of the online renditions of the lyrics add it in too, but it doesn’t seem to make sense. But I can’t hate on Vincent Price, especially since he was older when he made the recording, so perhaps they just left it in rather than making him redo it. Or maybe I’m missing something… ---
**Author:** ![Spoke](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/a88e57/32.png) [@Spoke](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Spoke)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2010, 3:13am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-annoying-affected-pronunciation-in-popular-music/561389/15 "2010-11-21T03:13:44Z")
Yeah, it’s P_a_nk Cadillac. It’s a playful song being performed in a rockabilly style, to which Bruce’s put-on Southern accent is entirely appropriate. ---
**Author:** ![Argent\_Towers](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e8c25b/32.png) [@Argent\_Towers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Argent_Towers)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2010, 3:16am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-annoying-affected-pronunciation-in-popular-music/561389/16 "2010-11-21T03:16:57Z")
> [@KinkiNipponTourist](#): > > I always wondered whether Vincent Price’s “to terrorize yourS neighborhood” in Thriller was just a misspeak. He clearly throws that last S on there, and a fair amount of the online renditions of the lyrics add it in too, but it doesn’t seem to make sense. That isn’t what he says. He says “terrorize y’all’s neighborhood.” ---
**Author:** ![statsman1982](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e79b87/32.png) [@statsman1982](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/statsman1982)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2010, 3:19am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-annoying-affected-pronunciation-in-popular-music/561389/17 "2010-11-21T03:19:25Z")
> [@KinkiNipponTourist](#): > > I always wondered whether Vincent Price’s “to terrorize yourS neighborhood” in Thriller was just a misspeak. He clearly throws that last S on there, and a fair amount of the online renditions of the lyrics add it in too, but it doesn’t seem to make sense. > > But I can’t hate on Vincent Price, especially since he was older when he made the recording, so perhaps they just left it in rather than making him redo it. Or maybe I’m missing something… I always thought it was “terrorize _y’all_’s neighborhood,” in which case the s indicates a possessive form of y’all. Could be wrong though. (ETA: Ninja’d by **Argent Towers** ) My contribution is the song “Use Somebody.” It’s the only popular song that makes me switch the station as soon as it comes on. And that’s saying quite a bit. Here’s the nails-on-a-chalkboard part: “You know that I could use some-ba-DAYA You know that I could use some-ba-DAYA” Grr. I hate even writing that. ---
**Author:** ![hajario](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hajario/32/171_2.png) [@hajario](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hajario)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2010, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-annoying-affected-pronunciation-in-popular-music/561389/18 "2010-11-21T03:27:13Z")
> [@sulamith](#): > > Why do musicians always pronounce the word “city” as “ci-TAY” in a rock song? > > I’ve got to get back to my ci-TAY by the bay… > You know I wanna be there in my ci-TAY > > Hot child in the ci-TAY The worst example of that one is: Livin’ just enough. Just enough for the ci-TAY. ---
**Author:** ![KinkiNipponTourist](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/e9bcb4/32.png) [@KinkiNipponTourist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/KinkiNipponTourist)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2010, 3:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-annoying-affected-pronunciation-in-popular-music/561389/19 "2010-11-21T03:27:55Z")
oooooooh! ignorance fought! I can pull the stake up outta Vincent’s heart now. Thanks! ---
**Author:** ![Maserschmidt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/maserschmidt/32/18829_2.png) [@Maserschmidt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Maserschmidt)\ **Post date:** [November 21, 2010, 3:37am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-annoying-affected-pronunciation-in-popular-music/561389/20 "2010-11-21T03:37:25Z")
I knew I’d read this topic before! [http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/archive/index.php/t-366636.html](http://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/archive/index.php/t-366636.html) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/most-annoying-affected-pronunciation-in-popular-music/561389.md?page=2)