Melody Mondays - The Uniqueness of Voices
The Strokes - Under Cover of the Darkness
Even with such a distinct sound as the Strokes have—with their catchy bass lines, and sustained poppy electro-guitar notes— who would they be without Julian Casablancas? It’s unfortunate for the other band members but Julian is The Strokes. Just like Bono is U2. Voices can define a band as much as the music beneath them. Sidenote: Danger mouse is going to be producing U2’s upcoming album.
Julian has a raspy whine to his voice that when described that way should bring up images of Janice from Friends and make you run far far away from his music. But you don’t. He even does the opposite and lulls you in with his note hanging and deliberate nonchalance. When I listen to The Strokes I can almost visualize his voice lifted above the music. Its distinct enough to create spatial separation from something we can’t even observe the space of. I think there are very few “pure” singers that end up being stars or even mildly successful indie acts. Even the classic “crooners” from yesteryear like Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin had at-par voices. They weren’t fantastically good, but they were fantastically unique.
Martin Solveig ft. Kele - Ready 2 Go
Upon first impression, Kele from Bloc Party definitely had one of the oddest voices I’ve heard. It’s ostensibly British, not exactly what you would consider smooth/sultry and sort of sounds like he has a fat tongue. But he hits his notes and that’s all that matters. Again his uniqueness shines and his voice is different enough to be interesting but on point enough to be a lead singer for a band.
Martin Solveig does a great job of what i’ll call “subtle” dubstep. He reels in dubstep from the radical and really dischordant noise that a lot of producers put out. He places a wobble here or there to add to the harmony of sound as opposed to letting it run wild in an isolation play. I’d liken a lot of the “experimentation” with dubstep that we hear to picking up a guitar and strumming your fingers raw. My niece does that—and the practice is only allowed if you’re at least 1/2 as cute as she is. Good luck on that front DJs.
Julian Casablancas - I’ll Try Anything Once [You only live once demo]
PS means PLUS SOUND. Here is a PS. I owe you guys because I skipped out on last week =(. You may have heard this song from the advert for Somewhere by Sophia Coppola. It also may have seduced you into watching the movie. If you haven’t and it hasn’t then don’t bother. Listen to this song 30x instead and get more value for your time.
