Arcade Fire Pixies Kings of Leon John Lennon Kurt Cobain Flaming Lips

Arcade Fire (of Montreal) is great and somehow reminiscent of the Pixies.I really love their bass lines, general overall sound and moodiness. The passion in the singing and how it melds with the heartfelt lyrics makes this band truly great. I ,for one, am not a big fan of Kings of Leon and I know this is a crime for many (they won a Grammy in 2008) but I think it boils down to the fact that there is something about Anthony Followill's voice that reminds me of Sammy Hagar! Just too Ultra American for me. I tend to prefer voices that are unique and a bit off kilter rather than a voice that might hit all the right notes and impress as far as vocal range goes. To me an imperfect voice that has more raw emotion and uniqueness (think of how John Lennon's voice cracks when he sings "In My Life" on the Rubber Soul lp) expresses the lyrics more perfectly. Lennon's voice , I think everyone would agree, is perfect because it is has a nasal quality; he is so human ~ we can all relate with him. His voice conveys a simple honesty in its imperfection. When someone sounds too "trained" it somehow loses that sincerity. Another great example of a voice just charged with raw emotion that we all love for its sincere imperfection is Curt Cobain (his voice cracks in so many songs that I don't have time to list them all here). I hate to say it but I think with a different singer, I would actually like Kings of Leon but the smarminiess of Anthony's voice just kills it for me. One last side note: there are LIMITS to the imperfection that the voice can have. For example Wayne Coyne on most occasions WAY crosses over that line which is why, although I do occasionally enjoy listening to them, I still don't own a Flaming Lips CD....LOL!