Singing in accents
 

So, following on from a recent real-world conversation with people you don't know - there's a worrying trend over here for Brits to sing Punk/ Hardcore in a faux-American accent. I'm not hot on American accents, but do people sing certain genres in a particular American accent, whether they're from there or not?

Applies to British hip-hop as well. British hip-hop often sings in accents that aren't their own. Used to be American, now it's East London.

Is it a bad thing? Idlewild I still like when they do the faux-American singing, but generally I find it annoying. Especially in the genres I've mentioned which so often seem to be about 'keeping it real' or singing from yourself.

Also, I find it infuriating when you get anyone singing in a fake Irish accent (it's never convincing) and Americans singing like the Clash is incredibly annoying. But then I have a theory that in Grindcore and the like there's a universal accent of shouting.

Thoughts?

Oh, I entirely neglected how infuriating nearly anyone singing in patois is if they're not from the Carribean. It's never, ever convincing.

Almost all British singers in the mainstream, with a few exceptions (almost all Welsh, interestingly), feign an American accent whilst singing. It's not peculiar to the genres you cite. Consider, if you can bear so to do, Chris De Burgh's Lady in Red, where 'dance' and 'romance' are made to rhyme...

I haven't experienced any bands singing in fake accents, but it is becoming popular amongst the hipsters and various other summer scarf sub-groups in toronto to speak in a fake british accent.

ohh yeah, the "let's pretend i'm joe strummer" school of punk singing is annoying and horrid.

the only thing more annoying is the "let's pretend i'm eddie vedder" school of singing, and that's not even an accent.

There's a bigger problem with singers not having a distinctive voice that isn't annoying and manages to impose itself on your ears. There's screaming and screaming. Some singers just scream, others scream in a way that gives you a glimpse of their soul, but still avoid coming across as needy or irritating exhibitionists.

Very, very annoying - the very-well spoken Kate Nash singing in a dreadful mockney accent. Shut UP.

What's an "American" accent? Brooklyn? Las Cruces? Baton Rouge?

I don't know, that's the point - it's just a generic everyAmerican accent.

Yup yup, agreed. There's also the ubiquitous karaoke singers thing that affects the like of Shane Ward and whomever. Unfortunately, the likes of the Cribs, the Libertines or, dare I say it, the Arctic Monkeys are bucking this trend. Not to say they're good, but they are English.

Maybe it's for this reason I got into the Glasgow thing of the late-90s - Someone like Arab Strap seems like a breath of fresh air relative to generic everyAmerican voices.

In my part of the USA (upper midwest), you are mercilessly made fun of if you feign a British accent while singing, but for some reason if you're a Roots Rocker Grain Elevator person, feigning a drawl is perfectly acceptable.
I hate that shit too.

I was in a punk band called "Fake British Accent." It was a direct jab at this other local band whose lead singer sang in a fake British accent like he was Joe Strummer or something.

I wasn't aware that there was an "American accent"... all different parts of the US have a different accent, same as Canada...
I can't stand it when (a lot of the time, not always...) British musicians have incredibly big and noticable accents... just as I can't stand hearing Texans singing country or Newfoundlandians singing fucking anything.

But I love a good screamer/shouter. I even like some metal growling and pig-squeals.

Oh, and fuck fake accents, too.

The use of a generic American accent is highly common in Hollywood cinema to make films easier to market to a worldwide audience. Unless a film is particularly based with in a subset of languages (ie New York most Scorcese flicks, Southern American such as A Street Car Named desire, Californian) the generic accent is used.

On side note when Aussies first started making Hip Hop it was always in an American accent but now Aussie hip hop artists have found their own voice and if anyone does this they are slain by all the other acts.

I've said for a long time that I believe there is a universal vocal approach. It probably originated in the USA but it doesn't overally sound like a yanky accent as it does Australian, or whatever. I guess it's harder for the British to rid their accent and you usually can tell the band is from the UK.

Hmmm...

'dance' and 'romance' are supposed to rhyme.... :D

Spot on, good chap, what a fine bloody thread you have here.

Not really that new of a phenomena. Jello Biafra definitely learned to sing along to Sex Pistols records, but then the Mick Jagger did a pretty amusing southern American country twang in his day too.

Fake accents are annoying, but it's even worse when someone sings in english with say, a strong dutch accent. If you can't pronounce it properly, use your own language damnit!

Yes, true what you said about that Glaswegian thing, glice. Hearing a non-typical accent in a song is rather refreshing. I have a record of this scottish band called The Twilight Sad, that I find rather shitty, but I love the strong accent they're singing in and sometimes listen to their music just because of it.

accents are great if 100% legitamate and not made up....

aidam moffat of arab strap has an amazing vice....
johnny fuckface from razorlight has not got an amazing voice
mark e smith has an amazing voice..
the guy from any band sounding like pearl jam and that nasally whine of eddie the eagle vedder hasnt got an amazing voice
kate nash is mockney
beth orton isnt mockney
lily allen is just annoying
as for irish accents.... dolores o riardon and sinead o connor may have legitamite irish accents. i can handle sineads but dolores just sounds awful.

use the voice which lies in your throat, not the voice that lies in your head!

I want her babies.

the fake British accent, once again, is quite annoying.

Phil Collin's singing in Genesis' Illegal Alien is also very annoying.

Yeah most British singers (either in metal/emo bands or that are part of that X Factor karaoke thing) sing in a generic transatlantic accent... but, more recently, I'd say bands singing in an exaggerated regional accent (and using regional colloquiums) are more noticeable.

I'm as Northern as you can be without actually being a whippet wearing a flat cap with flecks of black pudding on it. But when I hear the singer from the Arctic Monkeys singing 'but all of dat is what the point is not', etc, like a pantomime Northerner, I think 'you annoying Northern c*nts'. Then I order a pint of Tetleys.

It's hard to say what is the ideal singing accent. I'd say a natural one which isn't affected in anyway (confusingly, those regional accents are often said to be natural but they're clearly affected). When I'm singing - I'm basically talking in a low, whispery way, like Kevin Shields and a lot of the Scottish indie bands do... that seems about right.

i am presuming that you do know mr sheilds nationality isnt scottish!

They were supposed to be regarded seperately. Shields was born in New York to Irish parents wasn't he? Should I have put a comma inbetween Shields and 'and a lot of'? I'm bad at grammer.

Yeah, that's good points all. It's that fine line between not giving a shit about your accent/ not being able to sing at all (Mark E Smith/ Arab Strap) and over emphasising your accent (Artic Monkeys? I wouldn't know, I've met very few Sheffieldians). Something that always makes me laugh is bands like Napalm Death - you can be so much more convincing in that music if your natural accent is the world-beatingly brilliant Brum accent.

true that. so horrible, especially when it's the accent of your native language that you're hearing.

I saw some bloke doing sort of olde english (or scottish?) folk thing on saturday. I think he linguistically pulled it off well (he was finnish), but god damn it still was a bit dire to watch through.