Do foreign vocalists ruin your prog experience? - Progressive Rock Music Forum

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Finnforest View Drop Down

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Posted: December 21 2007 at 22:48

Do "foreign" vocals ruin my experience?

No. In most cases, they make my experience.

...that moment you realize you like "Mob Rules" better than "Heaven and Hell"

alanerc

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Posted: December 22 2007 at 00:57

profanatio wrote:

Hey guys, I've been reading a lot of reviews on this site and a lot of CD's are getting 4 and 5 stars that have female vocalists, german vocals, italian vocals, Spanish vocals etc...

I sincerely wish I could be that accepting and get beyond it but I really seem to need my Prog sung in english. No matter how good the music is, as soon as the non english vocals come in it drops the whole vibe for me. Perhaps I haven't heard the right stuff? How do you guys feel about it? Do you actually seek out foreign vocals or do you just endure it in order to have good music?

I only excpect a giid vocalist, no matter where he/she is

One-Eyed Joker View Drop Down

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Posted: December 23 2007 at 13:58

I'm sorry you feel this way. I speak English and a little German but foreign vocalists never ruin my music. Have you ever listened to Harmonium? "Si On Avait Besoin d'une Cinquième Saison" is one of my favorite prog albums ever and i dont understand a word they say! I love Italian prog and i dont understand any of it. You need to be more open minded otherwise you will miss out on some of the best prog there is

Avantgardehead View Drop Down

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Posted: December 23 2007 at 21:46

Foreign vocalists don't bother me at all. Music is a global thing and I think it would be foolish to shun a band simply because of a language barrier. It's also extra fun to translate the lyrics or try to figure out what he or she is saying.

In fact, the foreign music I have is making me want to learn a ton of foreign languages so I can 1) be able to pronounce some of the harder-on-the-tongue things, and 2) have much better translations than what Google can provide.

Edited by Avantgardehead - December 25 2007 at 20:57

http://www.last.fm/user/Avantgardian

eitan daniel View Drop Down

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Posted: December 27 2007 at 16:39

if he music sounds good and authentic than it can only add mystic for me, even if i don't understand the language, isn't it partly why we listen to prog- to find the unexplaned?

stay present, stay attuned

micky

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Posted: December 27 2007 at 16:47

again.... listening to Systematic Chaos earlier today.. which one half of the AR dynamic duo got for Xmas this year hahahhah... I am reminded of a point brought up earlier in the thread. Understanding the lyrics is NOT always a good thing.... prog bands are the haven of good musicians... great songwriters and lyricists generally make for the big bucks and bored housewives everywhere. LOL

Prog is not about the lyrics... it is about the music. Sometimes not understanding them... is a good thing.

The Pedro and Micky Experience - When one no longer requires psychotropics to trip

Garion81

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Posted: December 27 2007 at 17:01

^Jon Anderson stands up and applauds.

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NotAProghead View Drop Down

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Posted: December 27 2007 at 18:04

micky wrote:

Prog is not about the lyrics... it is about the music.

I remember Bernie Shaw (Uriah Heep) said: "You will never make a good song if lyrics are garbage".

I think good balance between music and lyrics is necessary.

Who are you and who am I to say we know the reason why... (D. Gilmour)

Guests

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Posted: December 27 2007 at 18:07

they do not ruin the songs unless they are a crappy singer. If they suck at singing then the songs will suck.

TGM: Orb

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Posted: December 28 2007 at 12:49

Absolutely don't mind, so long as I like the sound. But, if I can understand the lyrics, I prefer them being semi-intelligent.

cookieacquired View Drop Down

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Posted: December 31 2007 at 10:50

Foreign vocals ruining my prog experience? no way!

First off, Magma and essentially any Japanese music.

As for foreign, I must say, British or English type vocals usually enhance my musical experience (I dunno, I guess you guys just invented rock, the vocals seem to fit).

Third off, Mike Patton's vocals occasionally border on human, but that doesn't stop me from enjoying Litany IV!

micky

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Posted: December 31 2007 at 15:57

NotAProghead wrote:

micky wrote:

Prog is not about the lyrics... it is about the music.

I remember Bernie Shaw (Uriah Heep) said: "You will never make a good song if lyrics are garbage".

I think good balance between music and lyrics is necessary.

probably very true... but probably like some here... if I want to hear a good song... I'll go other places then prog... with few exceptions like Floyd, and the Moodies... I listen to prog for great music.. not great songs. The reason why foreign lyrics don't faze me in the least. It is not for everyone obviously.. but should.. and probably does resonate more with prog fans than trying to sell some housewife in the south, Country music sung in Portuguese. LOL

Edited by micky - December 31 2007 at 15:58

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Atkingani

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Posted: December 31 2007 at 16:12

Ops...

Guigo

~~~~~~

micky

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Posted: December 31 2007 at 16:19

Atkingani wrote:

Ops...

don't tell me you moonlight in a 10 gallon hat and sh*tkickers doing Garth Brooks covers LOL

The Pedro and Micky Experience - When one no longer requires psychotropics to trip

Atkingani

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Posted: December 31 2007 at 16:32

micky wrote:

Atkingani wrote:

Ops...

don't tell me you moonlight in a 10 gallon hat and sh*tkickers doing Garth Brooks covers LOL

You won't believe your ears...

http://br.youtube.com/watch?v=NUZlC9eZwLM&feature=related

These guys are so lazy that only sing in duo!

Guigo

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micky

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Posted: December 31 2007 at 16:37

Atkingani wrote:

micky wrote:

Atkingani wrote:

Ops...

don't tell me you moonlight in a 10 gallon hat and sh*tkickers doing Garth Brooks covers LOL

You won't believe your ears...

http://br.youtube.com/watch?v=NUZlC9eZwLM&feature=related

These guys are so lazy that only sing in duo!

AHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The Pedro and Micky Experience - When one no longer requires psychotropics to trip

Gamemako

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Posted: January 01 2008 at 16:03

I like good vocals, no matter the language, and I prefer lyrics that are not erroneous. Grammatical errors are annoying.

Hail Eris!

A B Negative View Drop Down

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Posted: January 02 2008 at 15:40

I recently heard a version of King Crimson's Epitaph by Hector, sung in (I think) Finnish. The non-English vocals were strange to me but wouldn't have seemed as strange if I didn't already know the original version.

"The disgusting stink of a too-loud electric guitar.... Now, that's my idea of a good time."

Norbert

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Posted: January 03 2008 at 08:48

They don't ruin anything.

With some investigation you can find out some clues what are the songs basically about.

Actually some languages sound better than English, which is also a foreign language for me.

jammun

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Posted: January 04 2008 at 21:36

This is a long thread, so I didn't read all the posts, so sorry if this is a repeat of anything earlier:

I'm an English speaker (American, so some would argue otherwise), but aren't Jon Anderson's lyrics, although written in English, essentially foreign? Isn't that part of their appeal?

"A seasoned witch could call you from the depths of your disgrace"...etc.

If that didn't ruin the prog experience (and it didn't in my case), why would anything else?