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Broad English Accents In Songs??


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Old 13-08-2007, 18:08
THEMANWITHSAT
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Is it just me or does anyone else find this really horrible sounding , A few examples being that Lilly Allen/Mark Ronson Track, Also that Kate Nash Track.. The broad London accent really spoil the songs.
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Old 13-08-2007, 18:24
muguguyman
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I wouldn't mind it if the accents in question were actually real but I seriously doubt that is the case with any of the people you mentioned.
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Old 13-08-2007, 18:31
Scottnoodle
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Lily and Kate's accents are fake. They are both upper-middle class girls and their accents are completely fake mockney.
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Old 13-08-2007, 19:21
SGE
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What I really don't get about all this is this: No-one seems to complain when British singers put on horrible Yankie accents. Surely that's far more worthy of your scorn? Prime examples are Borrell, Ashcroft and especially Beverly Knight but there are 1000s of others. Is it because you are so used to hearing fake Yankie accents that you actually don't even realise they are fake anymore?
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Old 13-08-2007, 19:26
Scottnoodle
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SGE you bring up a good point.

I have thought about this before. I always wonder why when a an artist/band write original songs together why they always put on an american accent?
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Old 13-08-2007, 19:33
SGE
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I wouldn't mind it if the accents in question were actually real but I seriously doubt that is the case with any of the people you mentioned.

Does Bobbie Gillespie sing in his own accent?
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Old 13-08-2007, 19:39
Dark Drums
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The problem is though SGE, the style in which the likes of Nash, Allen et al sing in is far more pronounced and unrealistic to that of any of the artists you mention.

I can put up with a subtle American twang to that of a ghastly Dick Van Dyke/Eliza Doolittle-esque cockney accent.
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Old 13-08-2007, 20:09
SGE
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The problem is though SGE, the style in which the likes of Nash, Allen et al sing in is far more pronounced and unrealistic to that of any of the artists you mention.

I can put up with a subtle American twang to that of a ghastly Dick Van Dyke/Eliza Doolittle-esque cockney accent.

A complete nonsense if you don't mind me saying, DD. Firstly, the US is many thousands of miles away so at least the artists mentioned are 'adopting' an accent that is more 'local' to them (i.e the country in which they live), and, secondly, I would imagine unless you are a US citizen or some linguistic genius, deciphering whether a fake Yankie accent is acceptable or not is impossible.

Oh, and thirdly, the example you mention is a particularly bad one as Van Dyke is an American putting on an English accent, the artists mentioned previously are at least English.
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Old 13-08-2007, 22:36
Fuzzy Warbles
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Is it just me or does anyone else find this really horrible sounding , A few examples being that Lilly Allen/Mark Ronson Track, Also that Kate Nash Track.. The broad London accent really spoil the songs.
I too think it sounds horrible, not sure whether its the accent or if its because the music's shi*e though.
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Old 13-08-2007, 23:15
Croissantlover
 
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Sounds horrid, some can get away with it (Alex Turner).
but worse with the women.
I don't think some of the people mentioned here do "put on" an accent..You not sing in the same voice you speak with, unless like Kate Nash, all you are doing is speaking anyway,not singing.
Van Morrison has a strong Irish accent, but he does not sing in it
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Old 13-08-2007, 23:34
pipwood89
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What I really don't get about all this is this: No-one seems to complain when British singers put on horrible Yankie accents. Surely that's far more worthy of your scorn? Prime examples are Borrell, Ashcroft and especially Beverly Knight but there are 1000s of others. Is it because you are so used to hearing fake Yankie accents that you actually don't even realise they are fake anymore?
You are soo wrong about Beverley Knight.

I think when real singers with talent i.e. Beverley Knight sing, they actually lose their accents and so what ever comes out is natural not 'put on' (possible reason as to why you think there are 1000's with fake accents !??)
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Old 13-08-2007, 23:53
SGE
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You are soo wrong about Beverley Knight.

I think when real singers with talent i.e. Beverley Knight sing, they actually lose their accents and so what ever comes out is natural not 'put on' (possible reason as to why you think there are 1000's with fake accents !??)

I'm not saying she isn't a good singer (I think she is, although I still find her work boring), but she's from bloody Dudley! Trust me, she's putting that accent on. Which makes her no better than Lilly Allen/Kate Nash etc. We are just so used to our singers singing in a Yankie accent that when some actually sing in an English accent (their own or not, as the case may be) we find it odd/annoying etc. A POV which I find odd.
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Old 14-08-2007, 00:00
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Trouble is, singing with an English accent normally won't sound good..most people (Southerners) will sing 'daance', not 'darnce'.
It just sounds better, its not putting on a accent.
I listened to that AMs track you posted.I didn't think he was trying to sound American. He was just trying to sing, which he has now given up for 'talking in a singsongway' ( an improvement on his singing)

Remember Chris de Burgs terrible 'darnce/romarnce' cuplet?
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Old 14-08-2007, 00:05
Croissantlover
 
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Worse culprits for American sounding accents are Joss Stone and Amy (I' tol ya) Winehouse
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Old 14-08-2007, 08:11
SGE
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Trouble is, singing with an English accent normally won't sound good..most people (Southerners) will sing 'daance', not 'darnce'.
It just sounds better, its not putting on a accent.
I listened to that AMs track you posted.I didn't think he was trying to sound American. He was just trying to sing, which he has now given up for 'talking in a singsongway' ( an improvement on his singing)

Remember Chris de Burgs terrible 'darnce/romarnce' cuplet?


Another thing I don't get . So, if Lilly Allen sings in a Cockney accent, she's putting an accent on, but if she sings in an American accent she isn't? Do explain. Like I have intimated before, you are falling into the trap of thinking that's the way to sing because the vast majority do it and always have. We've become de-sensitised to it, but that doesn't make it right.

One of the worst perpetrators of the fake Yankie accent is definitely Richard Ashcroft, the bloke is from Wigan and sings in some silly American drawl...why??
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Old 14-08-2007, 10:17
starsailor
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I like it....I prefer English singers singing in an English accent, singing about English things, rather than rubbish US accents talking about stupid American things..
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Old 14-08-2007, 11:47
pipwood89
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I still don't believe that they are singing in 'Fake Yankie Accents'. Singing isn't the same as talking you know, if people try to sing in english accents it'll sound even more enforced, i.e. Lily Allen, Kate Nash etc. It's not even true singing really what they do, it's more talking with a tune.
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Old 14-08-2007, 12:08
Croissantlover
 
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yep
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Old 14-08-2007, 12:55
RegCox
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Pit Man!
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Old 14-08-2007, 14:09
Alex91
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I don't like the Cockney accent in songs (Lily Allen / Kate Nash) but most other accents are fine IMO - Kaiser Chiefs are. However the Arctic Monkeys are truly unlistenable, not just because they're the most overrated band of the 21st century but because the lead singer's accent is just annoying!
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Old 14-08-2007, 14:49
awsw2005
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HERES A QUESTION AND A HALF...

Do be honst with the spread of accents that we currently hold in this country, what could you describe as a Broad English Accent.........
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Old 14-08-2007, 14:52
Sloopy
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All I can say is I find Kate Nash's voice incredibly grating. I'd find it difficult to sit through one song, let alone an entire album.
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Old 14-08-2007, 14:58
awsw2005
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i agree with you there sloopy, she sounds like a spotty 15 year old hoody who has'nt attended any english classes and been listenin to too much lady sovereign lol
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Old 14-08-2007, 15:19
Eraserhead
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I must admit I find Lily Allen / Kate Nash very irritating to listen to but I'm not sure whether it's the accent or it's just because the songs are rubbish.

Singing in British regional accents has been a staple of indie music for decades. It makes bands sound more authentic on the whole, with the adoption of American accents being regarded as more mainstream (exceptions being bands like the Jesus and Mary Chain.)

A number of artists have been criticised for fake accents, notably Blur during the Parklife era singing in "mockney" but there are dozens of artists, from The Smiths to the Wedding Present to Pulp to the Arctic Monkeys who sing in their native accents and sound authentic.
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Old 14-08-2007, 16:20
bumpandgrind
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Sophie Ellis Bexter has an interesting accent when singing.
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