Modern Rock's Most Distinctive Male Voices

Hey, it's been a few weeks since I last posted.  When you're writing a blog sometimes the inspiration doesn't come at you immediately and frequently.  I suppose if I made a million bucks a year doing this blog I would probably invest a lot more time into it.  Anyway, I digress.  Onto this week's blog post.

You know their voices.  You turn on the radio and you hear their song.  You may not know the song but you know the voice behind the microphone.  They have true style and uniqueness to their voice.  They can sound painful and melancholy and luscious all at the same time  They are modern rock's most distinct vocalists.

The List

Robert Smith in his 20's

Robert Smith - The original gothic hopeless romantic.  He was "emo" (I hate this word by the way) before it was even a word.  From the love struck melodies of "Close to Me" to "Friday I'm In Love" to the obsessive "Why Can't I Be You?" there were fewer artists that could capture the ecstacy of falling in love for the first time.  The excitement and raw emotion in his voice and the vulnerability were original and different for their time.  Robert Smith is arguably one of the greatest pop songwriters of his time. 

Robert Smith in his 50's (yeesh!)

Smith's vocal styling is bizarre but interesting at the same time.  The amazing thing is he can still sing as he did in his twenties.  Check out this collaboration with Crystal Castles released late last year and you'll see what I mean.  Unfortunately, his appearance has stayed the same (see the picture on the right).  It's weird seeing a 51 year-old man still dressing like a 21 year-old man (are you listening Green Day? This will be you in 10 years).  He now looks like an out of work Vegas drag-queen who stopped caring about his appearance 10 years ago.  Look at that picture!  He can't even put on lipstick very well!

To Robert Smith:  It's okay to dress your age and still be a rock star.  Your Friend, Billy Corgan.

Billy Corgan - The Obsessive Compulsive lead of the Smashing Pumpkins.  Billy Corgan could sing for a Kellogg's cereal commercial and people would recognize his voice.  His voice IS Smashing Pumpkins.  However Billy, I don't recommend TV commercial music as an upward career move.  Billy's nasally whine used to drive me crazy.  I took me a few times before I really liked the song 'Disarm' when I first heard it 17 years ago.  However I learned to love and appreciate his style and passion, and they became arguably my favorite band of the 90's.  Their uprising from the Chicago music scene in the early 90's drew more from the likes of Cheap Trick and Sonic Youth than their grunge counterparts from Seattle who were more influenced by the likes of Neil Young (Pearl Jam) and The Pixies (Nirvana).  Billy Corgan was a control freak, and it worked to their benefit with their breakthrough album Siamese Dream (produced by the legendary Butch Vig), released in 1993 and their follow up double album released in 1995 "Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness (co-produced with NIN producers Flood and Alan Moulder)."
After two good, although not as successful albums in released in 1998 and 2000, they broke up in late 2000 after the release of their free internet only release "Machina II: The Friends and Enemies of Modern Music."  By this time bassist D'Arcy Wretsky had left and was replaced by then Hole bassist Melissa Arf De Meur.  However, the remaining members of the band followed shortly thereafter.  After a 5 year hiatus and experiencing a lack of success with the band Zwan (perhaps Corgan's attempt to match success of Chris Cornell with Audioslave?), Billy Corgan took out a full page ad in the Chicago Sun-Times asking the band to get back together.  Attempts were nearly unsuccessful, as drummer Jimmy Chamberlin was the only one who was willing to come back.  After the 2007 release of "Zeitgeist" (my favorite album of theirs since 'Mellon' strangely) Chamberlain left the band and now you have a nearly 44 year-old Corgan performing with kids nearly half his age. 

Only David Byrne can pull off the Hoodie

David Byrne - I remember as a 10 year-old sitting in the back seat of my station wagon with my Dad driving listening to KBCO as "Burning Down the House" is piping through the stereo.  As an attempt to impress my musician father, I coolly asked if this was the Talking Heads on the radio as the song was pretty new at the time.  He said it was, and I felt awesome that I actually could tell.  David Byrne is the epitome of nerdy lead singers.  He was the original.  The Talking Heads long-time collaboration with legendary producer and audiophile Brian Eno (considered by many to be the father of Ambient music) cements his nerdiness.

I always thought it was impressive how a man with such an awkward presence on stage could pull it off.  His style physically is as herky-jerky as his voice.  "Once in a Lifetime" is a perfect example of this singing style as the lyrics take us through what sounds like a mid-life crisis.  A quick fact on this song also is it is the first to ever use a loop, which has become the staple of electronic, hip hop and pop music since.  Listen to the bass part of the song and you will hear it.

David Byrne is as busy now as he was as a member of the Talking Heads.  Since their breakup in 1992, Byrne has released several solo albums and collaborated with well-known DJ producers such as X-Press-2 and Fatboy Slim among others.


Thom Yorke - Many know him as the "Creep" guy.  In the last decade, Radiohead has become incredibly and trendy to like.  A lot of people seem to gravitate to Radiohead as if they're trying to make a statement about the music they listen to.  That is by no means a knock on the band itself, but rather people buying into hype.  The good thing is Radiohead is a great band and it's nice to see a band that isn't like Nickleback get some well deserved recognition.

Thom Yorke chilling with his homeboy David Byrne

Thom Yorke looks like he woke up one morning with a hangover, put his clothes on that were sitting on the floor from the night before and walked onto a stage or recording studio.
His voice is haunting and powerful, vulnerable and yet stoic.  I fell in love with Radiohead in 1995 the first time I heard "Fake Plastic Trees."  I was familiar with the band but this song made me a fan of their music.  The album "The Bends" is a roller coaster of personal discovery tethered throughout.  It's my favorite of there's.
Yorke has also released solo albums, including 2005's "The Eraser."  This was an album given to me by my sister who knew I was a Radiohead fan and not knowing what I wanted for Christmas.  She struck gold on that (Thank you Andrea).  The album has a dark Portishead-type feel to it without the trip-hop.  It's fantastic electronic music without being to dance or club oriented.  My favorite track is Harrowdown Hill (there is a tremendous bootleg remix of this song by Aussie DJ PQM I strongly recommend).  Apparently this album was nominated for a Grammy, which I had no idea until today.

So that's all I have the energy for.  I am sure there are artists I left off this list.  Tell me in the comments who has been omitted and I will create a second post.

Sorry Morrisey, I will add you to a second list.