Female vocalists just dont do it for me.

cloptrop

For some reason I find it very rare I would like a band with a female vocalist in it. I never bought a single or album from a female singer or band with a female singer , except once when I bought some dodgy single when I was 10 or so and it was my first single I bought , think it was Eternal or some destinys child type band.
Like ok Ill appreciate the odd Tina Turner/ Janis Joplin/ Jefferson Airplane song but Id never be that moved to go out and buy it.
Does this make me sexist.
Im just guessing that they sing about womens stuff and I just dont get it , somebody just recommended vinegar joe, I turned it on realised it was a woman singing and lost interest.

rcaz

cloptrop wrote: »

Im just guessing that they sing about womens stuff and I just dont get it

lolwut.


Björk, Portishead, My Bloody Valentine, Pixies, Sonic Youth, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The Velvet Underground (with Nico). Just to get you started.

cloptrop

rcaz wrote: »

lolwut.


Björk, Portishead, My Bloody Valentine, Pixies, Sonic Youth, Yeah Yeah Yeahs, The Velvet Underground (with Nico). Just to get you started.

Yeah I stand corrected with bjork , thats all you said there Id be biotheredd with though.

starviewadams

Sarah McLachlan,Cat Power,Tori Amos.

cloptrop

Maybe Id buy a garbage album but Im scared itll be mostly filler.

Shane St.

Hope Sandoval has an amazing voice. Check out Mazzy Star and she did some tracks with Death In Vegas

northernpower

Agree with OP actually, I'm not fussed about female singers either, they work in bands, pixies and sonic youth are 2 good examples someone already mentioned, but for every kim deal there's about 10 like yer one out of paramore

I can't listen to some of the women singer songwriter stuff, all that thinly veiled angst, and don't get me started on lisa hannigan, has anyone done any less to be famous?

cloptrop

Yeah think of your favourite frontman and compare them to the examples above and look at the huge difference.
Like put jim morrison , or thom yorke or jimmy page against yer wan out of the pixies . There is a huge difference in that x factor that makes me wanna run out and buy an album.

rcaz

cloptrop wrote: »

Maybe Id buy a garbage album but Im scared itll be mostly filler.

Let's not confuse being female with being in a mediocre band.

northernpower wrote: »

...there's about 10 like yer one out of paramore

You mean ones really powerful voices and fantastic stage presence? Yeah, shame that :rolleyes:

northernpower wrote: »

I can't listen to some of the women singer songwriter stuff, all that thinly veiled angst

Do you want to make any more outrageous generalisations?

Ash.J.Williams

kate motherf**in bush

prospect

Don't frequent this section much:

Ultimate female vocal:

The Ecstasy Of Gold

Blackhorse Slim

Check out Elysian Fields, or for some powerful blues/rock/soul listen to the Tedeschi Trucks Band. Incredible.

rcaz

Forgot about Sibylle Baier when I made that post last night, really cool stuff. The lines she sings are claaaaass. Cool story too, she recorded this stuff in the 70s and her son eventually made a compilation CD and gave a copy to J Mascis who passed it on to a label.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b5gLZqeCSnE

Technocentral

Lykke Li, Goldfrapp, Warpaint all excellent female bands.

odonopenmic

cloptrop wrote: »

For some reason I find it very rare I would like a band with a female vocalist in it. I never bought a single or album from a female singer or band with a female singer , except once when I bought some dodgy single when I was 10 or so and it was my first single I bought , think it was Eternal or some destinys child type band.
Like ok Ill appreciate the odd Tina Turner/ Janis Joplin/ Jefferson Airplane song but Id never be that moved to go out and buy it.
Does this make me sexist.
Im just guessing that they sing about womens stuff and I just dont get it , somebody just recommended vinegar joe, I turned it on realised it was a woman singing and lost interest.

Hey Cloptrop,

I've been thinking about your post and you're asking if not liking female vocalists makes you sexist...

It's weird - there are a lot of female vocalists that get on my nerves, either with wavering, quivering windpipes or whispered cutesy bullsh*t, or others that sometimes just don't seem to have the same gravitas as a male vocal does. I can see where you're coming from on a lot of these fronts.

I think though, where it does become sexist is where you make a generalisation and say that all women just sing about 'women's stuff' or if you take a whole group of people and decide that you don't like this, a decision which seems to be based more on the group in question than the range of music they produce. I know you say that it's rare that you do like a female vocalist, and hey, who am I to tell you what you should or should not like? However, as a female musician, I do find it a bit of an eye roller that you 'guess that they sing about women's stuff' and discount a rather sizeable group of humankind accordingly :rolleyes:

The other side of the coin is that from my female perspective, I could argue that all men sing about is men's stuff and what on earth has that got in common with me? But I recognise that this would be a fairly limiting argument and would rule out so many brilliant musicians and vocalists that it would really be my loss to think that way. As such, I don't bother with the lads who get on my nerves and do bother with the ones that genuinely move me.

So... what am I saying? I'm not a fan of many female warblers and yet I'm a big fan of many female vocalists. I'm a fan of great music and to me it would be a shame to let a generalisation turn any of us off the possibility of getting into some good music.

So that'd be my two cents on it

Rothko

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WANNqr-vcx0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h4ZyuULy9zs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mZxxhxjgnC0

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-QqArc12juQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7u5nBEb8j2w

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i-zHwkPnr3c

Bodhidharma

If you dont like female voaclists then dont buy their work. You dont have to, its not being sexist to state a preference.

On the other hand it sounds a bit like you're saying female vocalists have nothing relevant to say to you, my advice is buy PJ Harvey's "Stories from the City, Stories from the Sea" that will change your mind.

Irish Guitarist

If you never buy anything by Kate Bush, Joni Mitchell, Billie Holiday, Nina Simone, Karen Carpenter, Emmylou Harris, Stevie Nicks, Rosanne Cash, Dolly Parton, Sandy Denny, Linda Thompson, Grace Slick, Aretha Franklin, PJ Harvey or Kristin Hersh then that's your loss.

I don't really get what you mean by 'womens stuff'. If you mean they often sing about being in love with a man rather than the way a male singer might sing about being in love with a women then I suppose you're right. In which case you could listen to K.D. Lang or Melissa Etheridge.

Latchy

^ A-1 ... you could could also add Mama Cass Elliot ,Judith Durham and Barbra Streisand to that list above to .Female singers from all musical generes rock .

Jim_Kiy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nVLMhNGKq2I

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cH_rfGBwamc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TMy6X5cQul8

Shy?!

'I turned it on realised it was a woman singing and lost interest.'

That speaks volumes! Hello???

meoklmrk91

cloptrop wrote: »

For some reason I find it very rare I would like a band with a female vocalist in it. I never bought a single or album from a female singer or band with a female singer , except once when I bought some dodgy single when I was 10 or so and it was my first single I bought , think it was Eternal or some destinys child type band.
Like ok Ill appreciate the odd Tina Turner/ Janis Joplin/ Jefferson Airplane song but Id never be that moved to go out and buy it.
Does this make me sexist.
Im just guessing that they sing about womens stuff and I just dont get it , somebody just recommended vinegar joe, I turned it on realised it was a woman singing and lost interest.

If you are sexist then I am sexist against my own sex. The vast majority, and I mean vast, of my music collection is made up of males. I don't know what it is, or what it's about but males just seem to grab my attention and keep it for longer. Also I may be killed for saying this but I find that female voices often sound samey, whereas male voices at least with the music I listen to range massively, I think females just need to experiment more.

Shy?!

meoklmrk91 wrote: »

If you are sexist then I am sexist against my own sex. The vast majority, and I mean vast, of my music collection is made up of males. I don't know what it is, or what it's about but males just seem to grab my attention and keep it for longer. Also I may be killed for saying this but I find that female voices often sound samey, whereas male voices at least with the music I listen to range massively, I think females just need to experiment more.

'Also I may be killed...' I'd change that 'may' to a ;WILL' and start running. Really fast. But I will catch you. And I will kill you. Or maybe I won't kill you. I do think you are both being extremely ignorant though.

mikeyboy

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s9FZMHNhJ80

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aNzmwf4QB9Y

Yep, no doubt about it all female singers sound the same

Captain Graphite

Karin Dreijer.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=617ANIA5Rqs

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4F-CpE73o2M

Oh and Victoria Legrand. Beautiful voice.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIGvqxN--aY

northernpower wrote: »

and don't get me started on lisa hannigan, has anyone done any less to be famous?

Yes. Several people, in fact.

Shy?!

Now you have it. I totally agree. All females (excluding my great self) have the same whiny voice when they are singing and nagging the superior males. They should just stick to what they were born to do and we all know that's household duties. Cleaning, cooking, etc.

meoklmrk91

Shy?! wrote: »

meoklmrk91 wrote: »

If you are sexist then I am sexist against my own sex. The vast majority, and I mean vast, of my music collection is made up of males. I don't know what it is, or what it's about but males just seem to grab my attention and keep it for longer. Also I may be killed for saying this but I find that female voices often sound samey, whereas male voices at least with the music I listen to range massively, I think females just need to experiment more.

'Also I may be killed...' I'd change that 'may' to a ;WILL' and start running. Really fast. But I will catch you. And I will kill you. Or maybe I won't kill you. I do think you are both being extremely ignorant though.

Let me explain a little further, I don't think females are bad singers, and I do have some exceptionally talented ladies as part of my music collection, it's just that female singers are not really to my taste personally I just prefer males. I don't know why i just do, the same way a lot of people I know prefer female singers over males. When I say ladies need to expriment more I mean in the genres of music that are to my taste. Not everyone needs to sound the same and I personally think there is a bit more diversity in the singing voices of males than there is females, actually a lot more. But I think that is due more to record companies and imaging.

Latchy

I love the voice of this girl singing on the 02 phone add of Pete Seegers 'Little Boxs ' ...it's very soothing on the ears

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HbbmfB6NZxI

rcaz

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nPsWT_3ypmo

I have this tune on a Christmas compilation CD I was listening to over winter, really like it, anyone know anything more by Stina Nordenstam?

wexie

I dont know OP, you're entirely entitled to your opinion and there's no arguing taste but from where I stand there's a whole world of fantastic music out there you're missing out on.

I'd agree with you that there's a lot of rubbish out there. But if you look a bit harder there are some female vocalists with powerful voices and great presence.

Maybe Destiny's Child was really the place to start though, I'll grant you that :-)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ADDigK8LwyE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EH-RPvJ_9as&feature=fvst
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=q1aksT6b1kU&ob=av2n
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZxByDgpLmss
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HqxMXlqCFZw
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VN_Aq2W2Yi0&ob=av2e

Latchy

'' you've got a really lovely voice love ''

^ John Lennon to Karen Carpenter as he walked past her table at an award ceremony.

Sindri

Bobbie Gentry?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ORfoK5Ap0FA

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ptFpJuJGOgo

Dusty Springfield?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JsuyuU15HDU

Ella Fitzgerald?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MIDOEsQL7lA

Melody Gardot?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLFKKY5RHxc

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F6Dm5hldI-k

I prefer female vocalists for some reason. I don't know why. *shrug*

cloptrop

Never heard of Bobbie Gentry , them two songs are great though , I havnt listened to the other ones Im busy watching a Courtney Love bashing documentary , what Bobbie Gentry album should I download ,,,,,,,,,,,,,legally .:cool:

Ash.J.Williams

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWdHOm256N4

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6a4GVt_T8g

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9AcG0glVu4

Sindri

cloptrop wrote: »

Never heard of Bobbie Gentry , them two songs are great though , I havnt listened to the other ones Im busy watching a Courtney Love bashing documentary , what Bobbie Gentry album should I download ,,,,,,,,,,,,,legally .:cool:

I doubt you'd like a lot of her other songs, it took ages for them to grow on me.

Those songs would be her most popular I suppose. Most are on YouTube but the quality and quantity varies.

Some of her songs would be harder to find but they're usually her better stuff in my opinion.

I'd try Ode to Bobbie Gentry. It by no means contains all her best songs (only a few) in my opinion but it's one that has to be listened to again and again and the songs really grow on you (or they did for me anyway) but those two songs I embedded are quality stuff.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0IB7y3TmyU

cloptrop

Sindri wrote: »

I doubt you'd like a lot of her other songs, it took ages for them to grow on me.

Those songs would be her most popular I suppose. Most are on YouTube but the quality and quantity varies.

Some of her songs would be harder to find but they're usually her better stuff in my opinion.

I'd try Ode to Bobbie Gentry. It by no means contains all her best songs (only a few) in my opinion but it's one that has to be listened to again and again and the songs really grow on you (or they did for me anyway) but those two songs I embedded are quality stuff.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f0IB7y3TmyU

Yeah that one there sounds so cool and fresh like something Id listen to when I steak out banks , I was shocked to see how old it was , although they had banks back in those days too. In all honesty she does yak on about cothes and stuff , but she makes it interesting .
What I did mean when I started the thread though was women in rock bands , which although bjork was good , and yer wan in beautiful south was good < not a rock band really > none of them come close to plant , mercury , daltry , morrison , even Liam Gallagher is miles ahead of any female lead singer in a rock band .

Latchy

My fav Bobby Gentry song ....

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EIVOjfadGf0

Sindri

cloptrop wrote: »

Yeah that one there sounds so cool and fresh like something Id listen to when I steak out banks , I was shocked to see how old it was , although they had banks back in those days too. In all honesty she does yak on about cothes and stuff , but she makes it interesting .
What I did mean when I started the thread though was women in rock bands , which although bjork was good , and yer wan in beautiful south was good < not a rock band really > none of them come close to plant , mercury , daltry , morrison , even Liam Gallagher is miles ahead of any female lead singer in a rock band .

Yeah they wouldn't be as prominent as their male counterparts I suppose.

cloptrop

Sindri wrote: »

Yeah they wouldn't be as prominent as their male counterparts I suppose.

I think the Y chromosome just rocks harder.

the_syco

Ash.J.Williams wrote: »

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n9AcG0glVu4

With such a growl, I was surprised to see a woman singing at Hellfest! Had only heard them on CD before then :pac:

Giblet

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6NXnxTNIWkc

Latchy

From same era as Bobby Gentry ....Mama Cass Elliot

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqOMuR5Z530

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RqCLGWz9-SE

^ Saw her in concert before christmas ...she still has the voice .

LH Pathe

typically men are the adventurers where women are the home makers so... never bn a fan of the cosy stuff myself so lets boldly go. womens music is womens stuff. vocals in particular.. tomboys r alright by me

only women in music i can bear personally are in the gothic, postpunk cruella type magdalene sister style. this is by a woman and i find myself often saying "this is my favourite song!" and it often holds true.. great vocals on the chorus. real passion and sincerity

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1tNDb7h0urE

Da Shins Kelly

I actually prefer female vocalists for the most part.

It all begins and ends with Billie Holiday. She's one of if not the greatest and most influential singer of all time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8jRgPcO7JQ

Janis Joplin was an incredible vocalist. Unmistakable voice. This is an amazing live performance. Mama Cass' reaction is great.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhBFRNBxT_o

One of the best singers ever, man or woman.

I feel sorry for anyone who doesn't listen to Patti Smith.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxygqSTO1lQ

She's one of the best artists out there right now.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nojeYbBpbeU

That's only a few, but there are so many from Ella Fitzgerald to Grace Slick, Lauryn Hill to Cat Power. If you approach with a somewhat more open mind you might get something out of it, rather than writing off an entire section of society because they talk about "women stuff". You're the only one losing out really.

cloptrop

LH Pathe wrote: »

typically men are the adventurers where women are the home makers so... never bn a fan of the cosy stuff myself so lets boldly go. womens music is womens stuff. vocals in particular.. tomboys r alright by me

only women in music i can bear personally are in the gothic, postpunk cruella type magdalene sister style. this is by a woman and i find myself often saying "this is my favourite song!" and it often holds true.. great vocals on the chorus. real passion and sincerity

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1tNDb7h0urE

YYYeeeeeeeeeeeeahhhhhh we will put that in the maybe pile beside the bin , as far away from pinball wizard as possible.

actua11

It depends.....

There are some songs like above that a man could not perform as well as PJ Harvey, and by the same token a woman probably couldn't do justice to Sabbath's 'Paranoid'. I think it's simply that certain styles of music or certain styles of music are better suited to a specific gender.

The first example that comes to mind is how Siouxsie Sioux, The Slits and Patti Smith etc. didn't mimic the more aggressive punk music of The Clash, Sex Pistols or Ramones but rather both genders played to their strengths in their own style.

LH Pathe

oh i do like PJ.. last album / tour was great.

let england shake. Slits, very good too

cloptrop

Da Shins Kelly wrote: »

I actually prefer female vocalists for the most part.

It all begins and ends with Billie Holiday. She's one of if not the greatest and most influential singer of all time.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J8jRgPcO7JQ

Janis Joplin was an incredible vocalist. Unmistakable voice. This is an amazing live performance. Mama Cass' reaction is great.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jhBFRNBxT_o

One of the best singers ever, man or woman.

I feel sorry for anyone who doesn't listen to Patti Smith.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xxygqSTO1lQ

She's one of the best artists out there right now.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nojeYbBpbeU

That's only a few, but there are so many from Ella Fitzgerald to Grace Slick, Lauryn Hill to Cat Power. If you approach with a somewhat more open mind you might get something out of it, rather than writing off an entire section of society because they talk about "women stuff". You're the only one losing out really.

PJ Harvey made me wanna tap my foot , maybe its the industry as a whole that doesnt bother putting a decent backing track to female vocals , there just seems to be intro verse chorus, where pink floyd would have intro , interlude , some more intro , part where the intro rocks , verse , some more awesome stuff , bit more verse , chorus etc etc.
Maybe thats what Im missing with girl frontmen/women.

rcaz

cloptrop wrote: »

PJ Harvey made me wanna tap my foot , maybe its the industry as a whole that doesnt bother putting a decent backing track to female vocals , there just seems to be intro verse chorus, where pink floyd would have intro , interlude , some more intro , part where the intro rocks , verse , some more awesome stuff , bit more verse , chorus etc etc.
Maybe thats what Im missing with girl frontmen/women.

Because only females use simple song structures, and only Pink Floyd have complicated ones?

Da Shins Kelly

cloptrop wrote: »

PJ Harvey made me wanna tap my foot , maybe its the industry as a whole that doesnt bother putting a decent backing track to female vocals , there just seems to be intro verse chorus, where pink floyd would have intro , interlude , some more intro , part where the intro rocks , verse , some more awesome stuff , bit more verse , chorus etc etc.
Maybe thats what Im missing with girl frontmen/women.

Complicated doesn't make it better. There's a lot to be said for simplicity.

cloptrop

rcaz wrote: »

Because only females use simple song structures, and only Pink Floyd have complicated ones?

Da Shins Kelly wrote: »

Complicated doesn't make it better. There's a lot to be said for simplicity.

Yeah I think men push the boundaries of 3 chords verse chorus more than women do .
I think women are still on the page of old style male crooners, apart from the few.
Its not their fault its the industry and their management . Ok it sounds pretty but it doesnt make me wanna pick up a guitar or tell the bus driver to floor it.