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When I hear a band live or on record if I can't understand the vocals I get ANGRY. Why bother even having vocals if you can't understand the words? To me it's unprofessional to have the instruments drowning out the singers. I've seen some very famous bands live that were guilty in the extreme. What a disappointment to see somebody you idolize for the first time and it's so loud your eardrums melt. Nothing gets me heading for the exit sign quicker...

Holy Moses Bob,
How would you have ever gotten through the 60's?
In those days, the hardest part about workin' out a song was figuring out the words! (the chords and licks were the easy part)

I do have to admit, however, these days, there is a whole lotta hip hop I can't decipher!
later,
Howlin'

It's so common. Listen to anyone whom sings their fav rock song. The lyrics are always all wrong.
Good friend a few years back was always singing "you look like a lady" she loved that Areosmith song. When I pointed out it was Dude looked like a lady she looked as if I'd slapped her with a hand full of cat crap. LOL

We (musicians) really need a dis-invested party to listen to our music.
I can understand every word. But I know them already

One of the greatest complements I feel ever paid to our band after a multi-band show was that we were the only ones your could make out the lyrics.
Being as our message is lyrically based. That's a must.

My pet peeve is NEGATIVE LYRICAL CONTENT

A big fan of classic rock in my day. I no longer care for lyrics glorifying drug abuse, alcoholism, or the cockroach life style.

Vocals are not just about words and being able to understand them. Sometimes bands use vocals as just another instrument, other bands want you to understand the words. Other bands want you to be curious on what is being sung and buy the album to get the words. There's a whole spectrum of how and why vocals are used in music that you're missing if you adopt such a simplistic view. What about bands that sing in German or French or don't even sing words at all? Do you just reject them out of hand? In my band we want the audience to understand the words so we structure the song around the lyrics.

My biggest pet peave is how bland and meaningless music is becoming.

I long for a resurgence of days like the 60's and 70's

I'm getting a little tired of people finger-painting with their own sh*t and calling it "art".

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Hmmm, seems to me sh*t would be just as valid a medium for painting as any other. Art is about the final product, not the tools or methods used to get there. I think that's the beauty part of art; it could take you years of work and thousands of dollars to produce your masterpiece and I could still call it crap. Or you could whip out something in fifteen minutes that will endure long after we're gone. It's all in the eye of the beholder.

jimmydanger wrote:Hmmm, seems to me sh*t would be just as valid a medium for painting as any other.

I actually wondered if someone would say that? LOL

I should have found a better metaphor I suppose.

Although Jimmy... sometimes sh*t is just sh*t, no matter what you call it, no matter how artistic someone thinks it is. It's a little bit of a cop out, to reduce art to something unrecognizeable as art, and hide it under the umbrella of "personal opinion" for the sake of validaing ANY position. It's kind of like validating pedophilia as a perfectly acceptable lifestyle, on par with any other.

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I'm not so much concerned about the lyric content as I am the ability to hear the words clear enough to be able to figure them out. That said there's a lot of songs I can hear the lyrics clearly and still have no idea what they mean (like 99%of rap). That's okay, at least I was given the chance to be able to figure out what I couldn't understand. It's when the song is such a clusterfu*k of garbled noise that I get pissed off. I understand some singers voices are used as another instrument. But if you are going to write lyrics at least give the listener a chance to decipher the words, whether they can figure out the content or not is irrelevant.

Nah I'm not interested in hearing every vowel, consonant, verb or whatever? Just like Vinyl art which I think Jimmy made references too it is sometimes nice to track back and see what was said in a song.

In some other conversation I asked whether bringing drums forward dated a song? Apparently dropping the vocals back is holy other? I don't think I've ever heard a live recording done by a band where I could here every word of every song in any case? Well perhaps if its a solo singer with that conception in mind?

Anyway what do I know? I'm doing VOX or 'Guide Vocal' it depends on how things pan out for sure?

Nothing wrong with anything I think after looking at replies here and there. Worlds a big fat oyster until someone smacks it with a Nuke or Bug. Until that day I like to pick and choose please.

I don't get the vocals as instrument thing.
Whats the diff ??

What the hell is he saying ?
What the hell is he playing ?

What the hell is still what the hell, is it not?

Who are you talking to Sans?

sanshouheil wrote:I don't get the vocals as instrument thing.
Whats the diff ??

What the hell is he saying ?
What the hell is he playing ?

What the hell is still what the hell, is it not?

jimmydanger wrote:Vocals are not just about words and being able to understand them. Sometimes bands use vocals as just another instrument, other bands want you to understand the words. Other bands want you to be curious on what is being sung and buy the album to get the words. There's a whole spectrum of how and why vocals are used in music that you're missing if you adopt such a simplistic view. What about bands that sing in German or French or don't even sing words at all? Do you just reject them out of hand? In my band we want the audience to understand the words so we structure the song around the lyrics.

Everyone and no one Chippy.
Was a general response to the "vocals as instrument" reference as above.
It's like.. if you would intentionally sing vocals unintelligibly why bother tuning your guitar either.
I just don't get it.

Personally, I will take death/black metal cookie monster vocals all day, over ANY weak, lame, typical, below average radio crap. But, thats just my opinion.

I agree to a point Sans but who here has a silver Dollar pressed on the wall that signifies a millions sales in song?

sanshouheil wrote:Everyone and no one Chippy.
Was a general response to the "vocals as instrument" reference as above.
It's like.. if you would intentionally sing vocals unintelligibly why bother tuning your guitar either.
I just don't get it.

Not I sir!

But then again, that is not my goal, nor how I would gauge my bands successes.
Difficult is it for me to outside my own experience view.

Almost as hard as talking like Yoda.