History TheUnintelligible / Music

* Though Music/BobDylan's songs themselves aren't particularly unintelligible, he will always be portrayed as such in parodies. A particularly notable example is the last verse of Music/EricBogle's "Do You Know Any Dylan?" which simply doesn't have any consonants at all.
** Probably more accurate to say that all the words themselves are perfectly legible, but the whole makes less sense than the [[WordSalad sum of its parts.]]

** You can add "Kommienezuspadt" from ''Music/RealGone'' to that list.
*** That's German, actually, meaning "Don't be late, ever." Probably [[AliceAllusion refers to the White Rabbit from Alice]].

** Speaking of which, '''Series/{{MadTV}}'' did [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Et63XsMZJas a spoof sketch on this]], featuring the boy from The Calling, then featuring the guy from Music/{{Creed}} accusing him of stealing the way he sings. Then "the guy from Pearl Jam" Eddie Vedder shows up to accuse them all of stealing from him. It then ends with Ray Charles (who was still alive at the time) showing up and claiming they all stole from him first.
*** Vedder's voice has made him a major source of {{Mondegreen}}. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ePjESN9pRdg "Heathen frog, owns a road like buttered fries. Oh, eat a gnome. So he chases them away-ay"]]
*** [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ezqza_5OK5I "I said, I don't want a whale on a box or a bag!"]]

** Same for Music/OzzyOsbourne. Oddly enough, understanding his songs isn't too hard, but some people have trouble understanding him when he talks. He once made a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iS7jbUDktKw video]] where he drove this one into the ground. In reality (I.E. not that video) he is mostly intelligible, though he does mumble sometimes. (note: the link doesn't work anymore)
*** Neurologically, people use different areas of the brain's language center for speaking and singing. That's why people who stutter (such as country singer Mel Tillis) can sing without doing so, and why Ozzy's much easier to understand when he sings.

* Same for Tom Petty, as he has a similar speaking voice to Dylan.

* Music/CocteauTwins.

* Brian Johnson of [[Music/{{ACDC}} AC/DC]]. Just listen to the album version of "Thunderstruck."
** His destruction of his vocal chords in the mid-'80s (which isn't surprising, given his, erm, "singing" style) compounded this quite a bit.
* Music/LilJon. Other than [[MemeticMutation YEEAAAH! WHAAAT? OKAAAYYY!]]
* [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U2CIKIB-O34 Sting]].

** BlackMetal is often even worse at this, due to the (often intentionally) under-produced and lo-fi recording style, and due to many bands choosing to sing in the language of the country they are from, as opposed to English, or often, when English is used, extremely thick accents, not only make what is being said nearly impossible to understand, but it is often difficult for listeners to determine ''what language'' the songs are being sung in.

* Shane [=MacGowan=] of Music/ThePogues. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tHDX9qb2-BQ]]

* "Louie Louie" by the Kingsmen is so unintelligible that after a complaint that it was obscene, the '''FBI''', after two years of investigation, concluded that the recording could not be interpreted, that it was "unintelligible at any speed," and therefore the Bureau could not find that the recording was obscene. Your tax dollars at work with the FBI laboratory...
** And yet, somehow they managed to completely miss what is often the most overlooked f-bomb in music history. About a minute into the song, you can hear drummer Lynn Easton accidentally hit his sticks together, and he swears in frustration and what he says is quite clear - if you know what to listen for. See for yourself: [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RZJ4ESU52U @ :55 seconds]] in.
* I ''dare'' you to listen to the Touhou song [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_R5U4F8Zv2M&feature=related Bewildering Impending Spiriting Away ~ Border of Life and Death]] and realise that around half of it is in [[GratuitousEnglish English]]

** Same for Music/OzzyOsbourne. Oddly enough, understanding his songs isn't too hard, but some people have trouble understanding him when he talks. He once made a [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iS7jbUDktKw video]] where he drove this one into the ground. In reality (I.E. not that video) he is mostly intelligible, though he does mumble sometimes.

* El Chombo. [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ED_pU2oDnug Macarron Chacarron]] is the crowning example of what happens when a deaf guy raps. This one is also known as ''[[FanNickname The 'Tard Song]]''.

* The opening theme to the ''Series/{{Hellsing}}'' TV series, "World Without Logos," has lyrics that appear to be sung by someone in a later stage of aphasia.

* ArianaGrande is well-known for this, despite people noting that her actual vocals are fantastic - it's just that her enunciation is awful. She's also quite good at doing impressions of other singers, and sings much more clearly when mimicking them, leading people to joke that she's only coherent when she's pretending to be someone else.

* Music/MyBloodyValentine are famous for burying their vocal legibility under walls of guitars and asynchronous harmonies. Unless you have the original mix tapes on hand, good luck figuring out the lyrics.

** And yet, somehow they managed to completely miss what is often the most overlooked f-bomb in music history. About a minute into the song, you can hear drummer Lynn Easton accidentally hit his sticks together, and he swears in frustration and what he says is quite clear - if you know what to listen for. See for yourself: [[www.youtube.com/watch?v=1RZJ4ESU52U @ :55 seconds]] in.

* Shane [=MacGowan=] of ThePogues. [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tHDX9qb2-BQ]]

* Some of the more obscure {{Metalcore}} bands (or bands that started out metalcore in their early days) are notorious for invoking just about every metal trick in the book to garble their vocals. Try deciphering more than a single line per song on Music/AsILayDying's first album ''Beneath the Encasing of Ashes'' without a lyric sheet on hand, I ''dare'' you.

* Patrick Stump, of Music/FallOutBoy, is so bad at enunciation, that mondegreen website kissthisguy.com has over a hundred misheard Fall Out Boy lyrics archived. When Patrick recorded a [[{{Conlang}} Simlish]] version of "This City" for ''VideoGame/TheSims3'', fans joked that it [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kcv_9jLNz2w didn't sound any different from the normal version]].

* Patrick Stump, of Music/FallOutBoy, is so bad at enunciation, that mondegreen website kissthisguy.com has over a hundred misheard Fall Out Boy lyrics archived. When Patrick recorded a [[{{Conlang}} Simlish]] version of "This City" for ''VideoGame/TheSims3'', fans joked that it didn't sound any different from the normal version.

* Patrick Stump, of Music/FallOutBoy, is so bad at enunciation that mondegreen website kissthisguy.com has over a hundred misheard Fall Out Boy lyrics archived.

* DeathMetal is the genre most famous for embodying this trope, especially during its "GoldenAge" in [[TheNineties the early-mid '90s]]. It's hilarious how much controversy bands like CannibalCorpse and {{Deicide}} got for lyrics that no one could make out anyway. More recent vocalists such as Music/AmonAmarth's Johan Hegg and ArchEnemy's Angela Gossow have somewhat averted this trope over the years.

** Speaking of which, '''Series/{{MadTV}}'' did [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Et63XsMZJas a spoof sketch on this]], featuring the boy from The Calling, then featuring the guy from {{Creed}} accusing him of stealing the way he sings. Then "the guy from Pearl Jam" Eddie Vedder shows up to accuse them all of stealing from him. It then ends with Ray Charles (who was still alive at the time) showing up and claiming they all stole from him first.

* DeathMetal is the genre most famous for embodying this trope, especially during its "GoldenAge" in [[TheNineties the early-mid '90s]]. It's hilarious how much controversy bands like CannibalCorpse and {{Deicide}} got for lyrics that no one could make out anyway. More recent vocalists such as AmonAmarth's Johan Hegg and ArchEnemy's Angela Gossow have somewhat averted this trope over the years.

* Some of {{Slipknot}}'s earlier work suffers from this at times. Namely Corey's fast-paced rapping that was exclusive to their self-titled album. Then there's their self-released debut ''Mate, Feed, Kill, Repeat'' in which Anders Colsenfi handled lead vocals, often in the tried-and-true "cookie monster" style so often associated with this trope.

* German singer [[HeyItsThatGuy Herbert]] [[Film/DasBoot Grönemeyer]]. Less so in the studio records, very much so in live performances. Often parodied.

* Music/TomWaits is sometimes accused of this. He seems well aware of it, as at least two of his songs - "Let Me Get Up On It" and "Dog Door" - have no printed lyrics, and the former may not include any actual words at all.
** You can add "Kommienezuspadt" to that list.
*** That's German, actually, meaning "Don't be late, ever." Probably refers to the White Rabbit from Alice.

* Though BobDylan's songs themselves aren't particularly unintelligible, he will always be portrayed as such in parodies. A particularly notable example is the last verse of EricBogle's "Do You Know Any Dylan?" which simply doesn't have any consonants at all.

** In Conversations with Tom Petty, Petty himself gives an example: "When Music/LindaRonstadt did 'The Waiting,' she phoned me, because she couldn't figure out all the words. It was the line 'No one could have ever told me about this...' She couldn't figure out what the hell it was. And I thought, 'Damn, I've got to try to enunciate better.'"

** When John Flansburgh of TheyMightBeGiants did his own accordion cover, he just sang "Mnyeh mnyeh whooah" noises. It sounded remarkably convincing.

* The opening theme to the ''{{Hellsing}}'' TV series, "World Without Logos," has lyrics that appear to be sung by someone in a later stage of aphasia.

* CocteauTwins.

* LilJon. Other than [[MemeticMutation YEEAAAH! WHAAAT? OKAAAYYY!]]

* Dave Mustaine's vocals on the first Music/{{Megadeth}} album ''Killing is My Business... and Business is Good'' is a garbled mess thanks to a mumbled delivery made even worse by a blurry production job that drowns it in an endless sea of reverb. ''Peace Sells... but Who's Buying?'' isn't much better in this regard. ''So Far, So Good... So What!'' shows substantial improvement, however, despite Dave being at the apex of his drug addiction at this point, as well as some of the reverb that plagued ''Killing is My Business'' making a comeback. By ''Rust in Peace'' (his first record after getting clean), Mustaine's singing is pretty clear, with only a few "break out the lyric sheet" moments.

* {{Grindcore}} in general. Especially frustrating since it's genre built on quirky lyrics. When deprived of both a lyric sheet ''and'' a track listing, AnalCunt become more of a prank than a joke band.

* Eddie Vedder from Music/PearlJam, the TropeCodifier for NoseYodeling.

** Probably more accurate to say that all the words themselves are perfectly legible, but the whole makes less sense than the [[WordSalad sum of it's parts.]]

* Early Music/{{REM}} albums (''Murmer'' was named for this phenomenon) had Michael Stipe singing in a slurred, "mumbly" style, which was one of the reasons they stood out as much as they did in the divided 80's. Thy broke away from this approach with their 1986 album ''Lifes Rich Pageant'', coinciding with both a change in producer and shift in lyrical focus from cryptic poetry to sociopolitical musings. Stipe has gone on record saying that "the early albums didn't have lyrics", a reference to his penchant for taking a stream-of-consciousness approach to lyric writing and singing at the time.

** Speaking of which, '''Series/{{MadTV}} did [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Et63XsMZJas a spoof sketch on this]], featuring the boy from The Calling, then featuring the guy from {{Creed}} accusing him of stealing the way he sings. Then "the guy from Pearl Jam" Eddie Vedder shows up to accuse them all of stealing from him. It then ends with Ray Charles (who was still alive at the time) showing up and claiming they all stole from him first.

* TomWaits is sometimes accused of this. He seems well aware of it, as at least two of his songs - "Let Me Get Up On It" and "Dog Door" - have no printed lyrics, and the former may not include any actual words at all.

** Speaking of which, MadTV did [[http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Et63XsMZJas a spoof sketch on this]], featuring the boy from The Calling, then featuring the guy from {{Creed}} accusing him of stealing the way he sings. Then "the guy from Pearl Jam" Eddie Vedder shows up to accuse them all of stealing from him. It then ends with Ray Charles (who was still alive at the time) showing up and claiming they all stole from him first.

** In Conversations with Tom Petty, Petty himself gives an example: "When Linda Ronstadt did 'The Waiting,' she phoned me, because she couldn't figure out all the words. It was the line 'No one could have ever told me about this...' She couldn't figure out what the hell it was. And I thought, 'Damn, I've got to try to enunciate better.'"

* Not only is KoRn frontman Johnathan Davis a major offender with his psychopathic vocal style, but the band further compounds the matter by offering ''no lyric sheets''. Go look online for lyrics, you'll find no two websites offer anywhere near the same results.