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penningtron wrote: Mon Feb 24, 2025 11:10 am One of those things I recognize is good and other people like, but never really landed for me. Maybe a bit too well-mannered.

hence my C

Getting back to how good The Cars are - what is up with Ben Orr doing his best to sound just like Ric Ocasek when singing? Ric wrote the songs, I know, but there's no way he dictated the diction. I think Orr has the "prettier" voice, mostly because Ocasek isn't bothered to garble like the "weird" kid in a dumbass John Holmes 80's romcom. But seriously, I've never heard two singers so tonally similar in the same band.

You can accuse them of being joyless or rigid new wave or whatever, but there's clearly an inside joke going on when the other sunglasses singer gets up to the mic and the same odd voice comes out.

gotdamn wrote: Fri Feb 28, 2025 7:03 am But seriously, I've never heard two singers so tonally similar in the same band.

Yes, they are very similar, though I can think of a couple of others that might be just as similar, at least to my ears:

Curt Smith and Roland Orzabal of Tears for Fears
Richard Wright and David Gilmour of Pink Floyd

gotdamn wrote: Fri Feb 28, 2025 7:03 amJohn Holmes 80's romcom

Wait, what?!?

Do you mean John Hughes?

That could be a good separate thread. On some Blonde Redhead records I get the voices mixed up, which is weird because the 2 singers are physically different in every way but sometimes seem like they're striving for the same range.

When you're listening to The Cars, and you want to have sex with the lead singer, that would be Ben Orr.

JohnAlbert wrote: Fri Feb 28, 2025 7:24 am

gotdamn wrote: Fri Feb 28, 2025 7:03 amJohn Holmes 80's romcom

Wait, what?!?

Do you mean John Hughes?

Pretty In Pink?
She's Having A Baby?
Ferris Bueller Gets Off?
Eighteen Candles?
Uncle *uck?
The Breakfast Rub?
And those sweet sweet Lampoon movies?

I think I got my guy, alright?



I had no idea Tears for Fears had two singers.

gotdamn wrote: Fri Feb 28, 2025 9:56 am I had no idea Tears for Fears had two singers.

Yeah. The casual listener probably has no idea. Roland Orzabal has a little more character in his voice, but their tone and range sound almost identical.

Nina and Louise from Veruca Salt also sound very similar, it's hard sometimes for me to tell which one is singing.

jfv wrote: Fri Feb 28, 2025 10:12 am

gotdamn wrote: Fri Feb 28, 2025 9:56 am I had no idea Tears for Fears had two singers.

Yeah. The casual listener probably has no idea. Roland Orzabal has a little more character in his voice, but their tone and range sound almost identical.

I knew Tears for Fears and the Cars did because of the videos.

But it was only in the last year or two that I learned there are two singers in Golden Earring and that they trade lines in their hits.