I have to ask, too, what particularly don’t you like, OP and others who agreed? To me she just sounds like a contemporary acoustic folk singer. It seems that usually older people are complaining about us younger folks avoiding “real” music; acoustic instruments, raw vocals without autotune, very few to no studio effects. But now I’m seeing complaints about just that. So what is it? Is it genuine dislike for something I’m not noticing, or is it just a dislike for younger people or women? Genuinely asking, because as I said, I really don’t hear anything that’s all that awful as someone who considers this style to be my contemporary.
The problem is that they all sound the same. They all copy the same gimmick like monkeys. No personality at all. The gimmick is boring and it wears out quickly
I call it NPR-mushmouth-itis. The indie folks seem to love that garbled sound. Adds "mystery"...remember REM and mushmouth Stipe? Like everything there are moments of greatness though. Big Thief's Adrianne Lenker sings very much like this and she is exceptional.
Funny. The style everybody's bitching about here is the polar opposite of Joan's - she's all vibrato, all the time, while the singers referenced here are straightforward, somewhat plain and unadorned. Grace Vanderwaal's only 16. Maybe you guys could give her a break? I get that big name pop singers are often over processed, and buried under 10 layers of aural glitz, but you guys are complaining about this, which is 180 degrees in the other direction. OK. Whatever.
I hate it too. It seems to be the go-to style for those mellowed out cover versions that you see too much in adverts nowadays. I guess some people find it romantic.
That may be true but the style is contemporary and something people in their 20s would listen to. I played the song in question for my girlfriend and we both thought it sounded like a typical folk singer. We’re both in our early 20s.
this is a style for people who can't really sing and I've definitely called it out here before. there are times when it can be effective (e.g. Lana Del Rey), but most of the time it's no better than that talk-sing thing Lou Reed used to do but with a far higher degree of pretension with feigned emotion/passion. Cringe-worthy stuff.
It's not so much the style in itself, which would be something different if it wasn't everywhere. It's more that there's so many singing like that, usually singing meaningless bollocks as though it has some kind of authenticity. Many of them seem interchangeable, devoid of any real character in their singing and playing. It's not a new thing, plenty of the 70s singer songwriters sang bollocks and were incredibly boring too.
Okay that is a fair criticism and I will admit the singer here does sound a lot like Lana Del Ray who has popularized this style. I think it’s fair to say a lot of modern folk music sounds similar to this. However it isn’t only a modern issue. Listen to a bunch of young male folk singers and even rock vocalists from 1963-1965. Lots of them sound like Dylan. One I notice easily is Lou Reed. Listen to Prominent Men or the demo for I’m Waiting For The Man. Lou is trying his hardest to sound Dylan-esque.
It's because if these people don't create a "new music sucks!" thread every 72 hours, they get horribly constipated.
Does all contemporary folk music feature vocals where the singer sounds half-asleep and like she needs a drink of water? It's an affectation and a choice. It's also not original, if other singers are making the same choice. Other eras had affectations that were imitated (Dylan), so it 's probably not fair to the current generation to only mention their styles. I don't dislike it as much as melodramatic American Idol melismatic singing.
Good call on the Regina Spektor. I hadn't thought of it before, but I can hear it now. I think Feist, also from around that time, might have something to do with this style's popularity. My good friend, who is a trained musician (degrees and everything) and knows quite a bit about vocal technique, sings this way in her one band. I don't have the nerve to ask her why or if it's a choice... I'm sure it is on her part due to the style's popularity. But she is a great person and a good friend, so I don't say anything...
I hate the drummers too, with their crappy drum pads and laptops attached to their kits. Tapping away quietly, politely and boringly, as though they're on life support with a total incapability of coming up with an even slightly interesting idea. Usually they can't even be arsed to shave!
And I guess that’s my main point here. It seems every couple days there’s a new “new music is terrible” thread posted and the points brought up by the OP can usually easily be excused with examples of previous generations’ music that used similar ideas or tactics.
Maybe Norah Jones? In 2002 she sounded like nothing going on at that time. Her voice and music - smooth and from another time. With emotion and feeling. To be clear, Norah Jones is an incredible talent. I’m not commenting on anything else.