# Non-autotuned singers that really could have used it **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 26, 2020, 8:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-autotuned-singers-that-really-could-have-used-it/913274 "2020-06-26T20:59:32Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![xanthous](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/53a042/32.png) [@xanthous](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xanthous)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2020, 1:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-autotuned-singers-that-really-could-have-used-it/913274/21 "2020-08-03T01:32:46Z")
Tindersticks. [Tindersticks - Tiny Tears - YouTube](https://youtu.be/tU1UmY6gSt8) But I think the sound is purposeful, and I happen to love it. Honestly I think even autotune would struggle with this music… 😂 ---
**Author:** ![nearwildheaven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/90db22/32.png) [@nearwildheaven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/nearwildheaven)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2020, 2:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-autotuned-singers-that-really-could-have-used-it/913274/22 "2020-08-03T02:26:48Z")
And I came here to nominate Liz Phair. That woman just plain old cannot sing. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [August 3, 2020, 3:10am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-autotuned-singers-that-really-could-have-used-it/913274/23 "2020-08-03T03:10:17Z")
Her stuff gets cleaner later on, but it also loses its charm, in my opinion. I just love her voice on Exile. ---
**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:** [August 3, 2020, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-autotuned-singers-that-really-could-have-used-it/913274/24 "2020-08-03T03:32:28Z")
Completely agree. Her voice in her first few albums, in particular Exile, just sounds so earnest and personal. ---
**Author:** ![Gatopescado](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/gatopescado/32/5711_2.png) [@Gatopescado](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gatopescado)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2020, 4:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-autotuned-singers-that-really-could-have-used-it/913274/25 "2020-08-05T16:40:44Z")
> [@Guest-starring\_Id](#): > > Colin Hay. Or, wait, I mean a 16-ton weight dropped on top of him. What you got against Colin? Did he attack you with a raspberry??? ---
**Author:** ![Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/slow_moving_vehicle/32/291_2.png) [@Slow\_Moving\_Vehicle](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Slow_Moving_Vehicle)\ **Post date:** [August 5, 2020, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-autotuned-singers-that-really-could-have-used-it/913274/26 "2020-08-05T19:06:30Z")
> [@Johanna](#): > > Joan Osborne sings “Let’s Just Get Naked” out of tune on the album _Relish_. Now Joan is a very skilled vocalist and sings everything else perfectly in tune. All I can think is that she must have sung “Let’s Just Get Naked” out of tune on purpose. I can’t for the life of me understand why she would do that. Maybe “just for a laugh” like a line in the song says. But it sounds atrocious, unlistenable. Please autotune her on just that one song. Really? That’s one of my favorite songs on one of my favorite albums. Love the growly way she sings it. Now, I have absolutely no musical ability, can’t keep a pitch or a beat (no, seriously, I’ve actually been tested), so maybe I just can’t recognize that’s she’s out of tune. But I love that song. ---
**Author:** ![LLCoolL](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/llcooll/32/3596_2.png) [@LLCoolL](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/LLCoolL)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2020, 8:12am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-autotuned-singers-that-really-could-have-used-it/913274/27 "2020-08-08T08:12:07Z")
Shaun Ryder of the Happy Mondays. Their stuff was just supposed to be trippy, druggy dance music. And maybe the intended melodies weren’t conventional to begin with. But, boy, his “singing” was just all over the map. ---
**Author:** ![K364](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/k364/32/5_2.png) [@K364](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/K364)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2020, 8:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-autotuned-singers-that-really-could-have-used-it/913274/28 "2020-08-08T20:02:22Z")
Joni Mitchell. Her lower register is just fine, but she like to sing a lot in the octave above that and it’s awful. Too bad… great artist otherwise. ---
**Author:** ![pulykamell](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/pulykamell/32/3166_2.png) [@pulykamell](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/pulykamell)\ **Post date:** [August 8, 2020, 8:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-autotuned-singers-that-really-could-have-used-it/913274/29 "2020-08-08T20:41:37Z")
I’m not entirely sure auto-tune would have helped with Shaun Ryder. I like his vocal stylings – they’re very distinct – but I can see why people don’t glom to it – it ain’t the pitch, so far as I can tell. It’s the timbre and phrasing and other quirks with it, which auto-tune ain’t gonna help. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/non-autotuned-singers-that-really-could-have-used-it/913274.md?page=1)