Poll: Layne Staley vs. Kurt Cobain

[Sacman]

There's one thing everyone is forgetting something important... Alice N' Chainz...<.<

​

Honestly though... as inconsistant Kurt's vocal performances were, I just found his lyrics more relatable, his penchant for simple pop melodies a lot more inviting, despite the screaming snarling vocals, and all of the imperfections in his voice just gave him more character and sincerity, in my opinion... The fact that he's singing like he has no idea how to sing just grounds him a lot more... <.<

Though, honestly I like both bands and both singers... being a grunge fan... but I've always loved Kurt's voice... even though Nivana aren;t my favorite band, just the way it builds from this wimpy crackling whisper into a gravely barely understandable scream... always powerful...<.<

Besides it doesn;t really matter anyway, because no one compares to Lou Barlow...


Oh, Lou Barlow... I'm glad you finally learned how to sing... xD [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5wlzr6HCtKo]

Though, can;t exactly say the same for J...<.<

 

[Rooster893]

Layne Staley, without a doubt. I love Kurt and Nirvana, but this has been one of my favorite songs ever since I was a small child.

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And for good reason. Jerry and Layne's harmonies give me chills.

 

[Michael826]

Layne Staley any day of the week.

 

[crotchdot]

Really depends on what sort of a mood I'm in.

I was lucky to see them both perform live (no pun intended). Both were smacked out of their brains, but Staley's voice suffered for it, particularly during Rooster. Cobain on the other hand put in a good vocal performance. The guy barely moved an inch the entire gig, but at least his voice held up.

 

[Sexual Harassment Panda]

In terms of chord structure and melody, there's nothing in it... not that Staley could claim full credit for that shiz in the AiC songs anyway. It's basic stuff on both sides.

I think you need to give Alice a little credit here. While none of their songs are exactly Dream Theater, they have some surprisingly intricate songs.

Them Bones, for instance, a song based around a quite fiendish riff in 7/4.


As well as that, the vocal harmonies between Staley and Cantrell were always done with an incredible sense of musicianship. They didn't just harmonise all the lead vocals by a fifth, they actually varied the harmonisations based on the context of the songs.

I

f you want to compare voices and claim that's why Staley is better, you should consider the vocal range that Mariah Carey(opera singers even more so) has. I'm guessing you don't rate her despite it. Which opens the door to the idea that the intangibles of a musician are very-very important, and very open to personal interpretation.

Actually, I've got a lot of respect for Mariah Carey. I can't stand her music, but I cannot fault her ability at all. She has got a truly outstanding vocal range, so purely on ability, I do rate her quite highly. Doesn't mean I have to like her, but I can certainly respect her...

And I have to be honest... a lot of the time when people talk about the 'intangibles' of music, in my experience, they're talking about stuff they're projecting onto the music. Music is not some out-there intangible thing. It's a thing we created. We took soundwaves, attributed mathematical principles to them, and voila, we got the 12 interval chromatic scale. Having jammed with a lot of musicians in my time, the ones who talk the most about the 'intangibility' of music are generally the ones who know least about it, and tend to be the ones who are no fun to jam with at all.

That's just my philosophy though. It don't think it hurts the beauty of music one iota to recognise that it is a tangible, man-made thing based on mathematic and theoretical principles. If anything, I think it makes it even more beautiful. I listen to the way artists and bands as diverse as Mozart, Miles Davis, Yes, Pink Floyd and AiC have taken the 12 interval chromatic scale and done so many wonderful things with it, and I think to myself "That's something we created as a species." Music is an entirely human invention, and the fact that it is able to offer so much beauty and emotion reflects only the best things about human ingenuity and craft.

Ok.

I'm really thinking "intangible" - &#9656; adjective: hard to pin down or identify ("An intangible feeling of impending disaster"). I don't at all think it's weird or magical, just that it's hard to explain why some things are so damn good.

You don't need to sell AiC to me, I give them full credit for being awesome... I just don't in turn give Layne full credit for that awesomeness. Kurt was known to be chief architect of Nirvana's output, I'm certain I've seen him be pouty about that in an interview at some point.

You playing with anyone these days?

 

[ElectroJosh]

Good to see this thread is still going.

I notice a few people wanting Cornell to be considered. Personally Soundgarden was (and still is) my favorite of the grunge bands. I loved Cornell on the albums but always found him inconsistent with his vocals in a live setting - sometimes he nails the songs but usually he drops an octave and doesn't sound as dynamic as on the albums (which makes sense considering a touring schedule can play havoc with vocal cords). I've seen him solo, with Soundgarden and with Audioslave so I've heard him live quite a bit.

I actually never saw either Nirvana or AiC live so I am wondering what people thought of them (please weigh in if you have actually seen them or have information from someone who has been; not the "friend of a friend of a colleague" sort of thing).

 

[Smolderin]

Considering I have an undying hatred for Cobain and what he has done to todays modern rock music, I'll go with the guy I have never even heard before until now.

 

[Imthatguy]

A lot of that 'pain' can be attributed to Heroin use. Still Layne takes my vote.

(Nice Stirner avatar OP)

 

[DisasterSoiree]

A lot of that 'pain' can be attributed to Heroin use. Still Layne takes my vote.

(Nice Stirner avatar OP)

Thankee, thankee.

 

[disgruntledgamer]

I in no way feel comfortable calling someone a better musician. I grew up with Nirvana and related to his music and loved his voice. I personally like Cobain better, music is all about personal preference.

I don't mind Alice in Chains, but I never really got into them majorly. I never found them as grungey.

A lot of their stuff is very similar, it's just with Alice in Chains you need to put them through a bigger filter since some of there stuff sucks. Don't get me wrong I love Cobain before the... shotgun, but they are just as grungey, in fact some songs like "Your Decision" is indistinguishable from Nirvana's I find (although not done by Staley), in fact sometimes I hear a really good song and I don't know it's Alice in Chains until I look it up.




Although Kurt could sing other peoples songs and make them better something I haven't heard Staley do so I have to give it to Cobain.

 

[flarty]

well hes a thread by someone trying to maintain his opinion is right over others.

I only like a couple AiC songs, so nirvana wins for me.
I thought Ten was a brilliant album, just because you don't like a band doesn't mean they suck.

 

[disgruntledgamer]

Nirvana is better if you ask me, but Cobain deserves no honours for anything. Dude killed himself while he had a child. If you have kids, taking your own life is quite simply no longer an option, and the guy's a selfish asshole that he did anyway.

Give the guy some slack if I was married to Courtney Love I'd want to kill myself to, that is of course assuming that "She" didn't do it.

 

[Jazoni89]

Chris Cornell, cmon the guy looks like Jesus, and he pretty much sings like the son of god.

Hipster Choice: Andrew Woods from the reflectively obscure Grunge and Glam Rock crossover band Mother Love Bone. Such a brilliant singer. It's a shame that he died so young too.

Spoiler

I always found out the more obscurer Grunge was much better than Cobain and his crew.

I kinda grew out of the AIC phase (I was suffering from a huge depression a couple of years back), but i still think Jar of Flies is possibly the best EP ever made.

You do know that Pearl Jam IS Mother Love Bone but with a different lead singer (since he died of course)?
You probably already did, but unknown thru your post

Yup I knew that, but Pearl Jam, and Mother Love Bone are two completely different styles of grunge.

You could call me a know-it-all when it comes to 90's British and American Alternative Rock. I live and breathe the stuff. Grunge used to be my favorite Alt-Rock genre until I discovered the incredible noise of the early 90's Shoegazers.

 

[Bravo Company]

I'm going to have to go with Cobain here, simply because Cobain was a musician and when you're a musician you can play more than just one instrument, from what little I've heard about him (and I don't claim to be a nirvana expert) Cobain would write the music for every instrument in the band. Also, I like Nirvana; I can't say the same for AiC, I don't call them terrible, but there's a reason why I have Nirvana's discography and only a few songs for AiC.

Just my 2cents

 

[disgruntledgamer]

Cobain would write the music for every instrument in the band.

I don't know if he did all that. Although it would explain why I don't like the Foo fighters very much.

 

[Snownine]

While both men were incredible talents, I have to say that I enjoy Staley's vocals more than Cobain's.

 

[woodham]

I loved both bands and both singer/songwriters but my vote is definitely for Layne. he was an unbelievably talented man. he is my favorite all time singer and his poetry and his lyrics were as deep as his voice. if you haven't checked out mad season you should definitely do so! they were an amazing combination of alternative rock and blues and layne did some of his best work on the above album.. mad season live at the Moore is incredible. take the time to check them out!