Here's where you can ask how to pronounce exotic band names

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Oops; i see you knew that.

― Kris, Monday, 21 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

They're hardly exotic, but I used to refer to Mojave 3 as Moh-Jayve for a loooong time. Rather embarrassing.

― electric sound of jim, Monday, 21 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

anton. brecht = brekt.

me'shell ndegeocello

― Tracer Hand, Monday, 21 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Melbourne 80s post-punkers _?¨?ª^?¨ always intrigued me. Pronounced "Tsk-tsk-tsk" apparently.

― electric sound of jim, Monday, 21 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

that soooo didn't work. that should have been three arrows going right - up - right

― electric sound of jim, Monday, 21 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

http://www.corduroy.com.au/chapter/tchtlogogrey.jpg

― electric sound of jim, Monday, 21 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Fritz, Caetano Veloso is pronounced as follows: 'kaiTAHnu' with the 'ai' pronounced as in eye; Veloso is 'veLAWzu'. Autechre was the one I had most probs with before this brilliant thread.

― Daniel, Monday, 21 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I'm not sure about these

Fennesz
Jan Jelinek
Luomo
Hakan Libdo

― Honda, Monday, 21 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Fennesz = fhen-ez?
Jan Jelinek = yan yhel-i-nehck?
Luomo = loo-o-mow?
Hakan Libdo = hah-kahn lib-doh?

― jess, Monday, 21 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Umm, it's pretty bad, but I have a real problem with Plaid. I want them to release a box set called Plaid In Full, but I think maybe it should be Plaidyshack?

I had this problem with the word before the band was even around, but I never bothered to check. Actually, don't correct me, I like saying both, just like I like saying Georgy Borges just cos I'll never be able to pronounce it properly...

I can't say Baccaruda.

― emil.y, Monday, 21 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

labradford...i ask again--on what syllable is the empasis placed on?

― cybele, Monday, 21 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I remember a college basketball player called luh-BRAD-ferd Smith, only it was spelled LeBradford, IIRC. Maybe the band is named after him, like Lucius/Luscious Jackson. Anyway, how else would you say it? LUH-brad-ferd? luh-brad-FORD? Try them out at the record shop and see if they don't laugh hysterically.

― Curt, Monday, 21 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I used to pronounce it LAB-rad-ford, but realised pretty quickly that was wrong. I think La-BRAD-ford is correct.

― electric sound of jim, Monday, 21 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Sigur Ros.

― bnw, Monday, 21 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

NO-twist or NOT-wist?

And has anybody heard their new album yet?

― Curt, Monday, 21 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Fennesz = FENN-ezz
Jan Jelinek = yahn YELL-in-eck Does anyone know about Jetone? How about Cylob? Monolake?

― Clarke B., Tuesday, 22 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

cibo matto? syd barrett (is it barrett as in beret?) moog (does it rhyme with vogue?)

― A Nairn, Tuesday, 22 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I always thought Einsturzende Neubauten was: ein-SHTUR- tsend NEW-baw-ten (neu like in Neu!) and with a long 'a' not long 'o' in bau. Am I wrong?

― A Nairn, Tuesday, 22 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

see bo ma t to

― anthony, Tuesday, 22 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Loren Mazzacane Connors? Lamonte Young?

― dave q, Tuesday, 22 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Neu is pronounced Noy. Though its rare for anybody to pronounce Kraftwerk in german (...verk) so maybe you get to be free and easy with it.

(and nearly tying up two parts of this thread!)

I always pronounce Labradford 'La Bradford' like the band "La Dusseldorf" except moved to just north of Leeds.

― Alexander Blair, Tuesday, 22 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Funny, I've always pronounced Autechre "AW-tek-rah'

― Dare, Tuesday, 22 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

ow do u prononce catatonia. dunno wot happen to them decent band has she topped herself yet?

― XStatic Peace, Tuesday, 22 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I think Notwist are pronounced No-Twist. What I have heard of their album on German radio is very very good. The album took them 15 months in the studio. They are already spoken of as one of the best rock albums in 2002!

― alex in mainhattan, Tuesday, 22 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

anton. and tracer hand: Brecht <> Brekt. "ch" does not sound as a hard k at all. It is soft. I think it exists also in Greek. The German "Milch" does not sound like "milk" either. It sounds like a "sch" (which sounds like "sh") without the "s". ;-)

― alex in mainhattan, Tuesday, 22 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

cibo matto? syd barrett (is it barrett as in beret?) moog (does it rhyme with vogue?)

I thought it was CHEEbo Matta
Barrett = barrett, like ferret or parrot
Moog => vogue, yeah.

I thought Labradford was like Labrador (but never really cared.)

― Dave225, Tuesday, 22 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Mego? And again, Ayler? John Tchicai?

ps ending Autechre with Rah and not Er is just plain silly.

― ennui, Tuesday, 22 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Coming back to Kraftwerk, I have a German friend here in England who insists on pronouncing their name in the most British way imaginable: /Krahft-work/. That's ridiculous, I told him. That's like me going to Germany and saying /Ah-fex Tvin/ /Preemahl Scream/ (replete with gutteral german 'r' sound)' etc.

― Daniel, Tuesday, 22 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Hmm, I say the NOT-wist. On the few occasions I say it at all, that is.

Doesn't everyone say Kraft-Verk? Although I tend to pronounce every W as V and every J as Y (ie Yan St Verner). Well, a lot of them, anyway, I wouldn't say Veen or Yoy Division. That would just be silly.

One thing I would like to know- Otomo Yoshihide. Is it YOSH-I- HEEDE? YO-SHI-HIDER? This is probably really easy, but I just want to check...

― emil.y, Tuesday, 22 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Further evidence of collapse of NME: last time they did an all-time top 100 album list ('92/93?) there was an artists' faves section - under Mercury Rev was listed "Isle of Sun Ra (in brackets - '60s jazz)." I worked out they probably said Ayler and Sun Ra, but everyone I've spoken to goes for the Isla (as in "St Clair") pronunciation. Richard Cook would never have made that mistake.

― Marcello Carlin, Tuesday, 22 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I've never known anyone to say anything but Krahft-work. Except northerners, who'll make the 'af' of Kraft rhyme with that of 'daffodil', obviously. Do you really say 'Kraftverk', emily? That's hilarious! Do you make the 's' in Paris silent too?

― N., Tuesday, 22 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Jandek - 'yan' or 'jan'?

― Graham C, Tuesday, 22 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Nick, what, just a silent 's', without pronouncing it Paree? Like, Parih? I might start. I take it that means not everyone says Verk, then? But it's more natural to do than force a W sound- Kraftverk kraftverk kraftverk. Kraft-work. Very stilted.

― emil.y, Tuesday, 22 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

i have a funny story about the moog pronounciation thing but i'm sure i've told it before.

― ethan, Tuesday, 22 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Hang on a second, do you really say Krahft?? I mean, I can understand glahse and bahth, but Krahft Cheese Slices?

― emil.y, Tuesday, 22 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Ethan, I'm not in the moog.

Emily, you know that's not what I meant re: Paris. But do you pronounce it the proper French way?

― N., Tuesday, 22 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Emily, isn't Kraft Australian originally? Their pronunciation of it is closer to my poofy southern ways than your hard vowels, isn't it? The Australian accent having originated from Cr-ahfty Cockerne Convicts and all..

― N., Tuesday, 22 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

What about Yoyd Cole? (As in cabellero.)

― Dave225, Tuesday, 22 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

No, I don't pronounce it the French way. I do think that the Germanic preference has something to do with ease (rather than just the fact that I prefer, say, Mouse On Mars to Daft Punk)- it seems natural to me to drop the Js into Y sounds where appropriate, and the same goes for W/V (although I actually can't think of anyone aside from Kraftwerk who I would use that on). Things like changing the way of saying Paris seem a lot more affected...

I don't know about the origins, but saying Krahft just makes me think of the Queen eating plastic cheese.

― emil.y, Tuesday, 22 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

You're not one of those people who says 'Yenga' are you?

― N., Tuesday, 22 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

As in Jenga? Nooo- is it meant to be? If it's something that has become so ingrained in this country as an English pronounciation, I'm not going to be that awkward about it. I honestly thought most people do pronounce it Kraftverk.

I guess what it also partly is, is that is your surname were Jones, then (aside from making rubbish music) you'd probably be a bit pissed off if some guy from Swedinia insisted you were Yones. So if there's some German or Swede or summat, I try to pronounce their name properly. Out of courtesy. And it became a habit.

Nobody complains about people saying Neu as Noy, do they? Why? Because it's the right way of saying it.

― emil.y, Tuesday, 22 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

No obvious way of pronouncing 'Neu' so people are happy to find out the proper way. Jenga is not really pronounced 'Yenga' (as far as I know - isn't it supposed to be some African word?) but I have known people to say it.

I think it's cute when Irish people come here and pronounce the 'th' in Streatham and Thames. But I guess that's a different issue. OK then, I like French people calling me Nicola.

― N., Tuesday, 22 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

It says something about my friends that I've never had a conversation about Neu!, and did not know it was pronounced "Noy." It seems so much better to me if its pronounced "New." Is the "eu" always prounounced "oy" in German?

I've never heard that story, Ethan. Moog rhymes with "rogue", right?

― Mark, Tuesday, 22 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

well it's not a very good story, basically a few years ago my friend and i decided moog records were hilarious and went around saying 'fly me to the moog!' and 'in the moog for love!' all the time and we were doing this in this asheville record shop with a surly female clerk who nastily pointed out to us that it's pronounced like 'mogue' and we got really mock serious and said, oh, thanks so much for letting us in on that, and then left the store and laughed at her for her lame (and surely deflected) attempt at making fun of us. only months later did i woefully discover she was actually correct.

― ethan, Tuesday, 22 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I must say I would piss off Robert Moog- his machine is a MOOcowG. Not a MOWgrassG.

I actually don't mind that much people saying 'New', but it isn't the right way. I'm not sure if it is always said like that in German -I can't think of any other words with that arrangement of letters, frankly.

Now how do you say Cica?

― emil.y, Tuesday, 22 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

I just want to take this opportunity to bring up the best fact ILM has ever brought me; that Joy Division's second album is 'actually' pronounced 'clozer', as in that which closes.

― N., Tuesday, 22 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Is the "eu" always prounounced "oy" in German?

Ja.

― Dan Perry, Tuesday, 22 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Do Germans pronounce Jah Wobble 'Yah Wobble'? That would be funny har har har.

― N., Tuesday, 22 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

No - better yet 'Yah Vobble' - how could I have missed that?

― N., Tuesday, 22 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Division's second album is 'actually' pronounced 'clozer', as in that which closes.

Is this from a trusted source? I have never heard that... But I don't want to say it as trivia at a party and then find out it's bullshit. So how do you know?

― Dave225, Tuesday, 22 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-four years ago)

Skipping 454 messages at this point... Click here if you want to load them all.

grachan moncur .... GRA-chin (german style) MON-kurr ?

I have been saying "gra-SHON mon-CURR," but I assume this is incorrect, because when I pronounce it this way it sounds like I am referring to a French delicacy. I need to know though, because I've been listening to him a lot

― Paul Ponzi, Monday, 15 July 2024 12:41 (one year ago)

The latter sounds more likely than the latter tbh. Moncur is a Scottish name and is definitely pronounced mon-CURR.

― Wee boats wobble but they don't fall down (Tom D.), Monday, 15 July 2024 12:50 (one year ago)

... Latter more likely than the former, that is.

― Wee boats wobble but they don't fall down (Tom D.), Monday, 15 July 2024 12:52 (one year ago)

He pronounced his first name “Grayshin”

― Bad Bairns (Boring, Maryland), Monday, 15 July 2024 12:54 (one year ago)

thank you!

This guy does not get his due, possibly because of his choice of instrument. But he wrote some terrific music! Been listening a lot to Jackie McLean's Destination...Out, on which Moncur composed all but one of the tunes, and it's great

― Paul Ponzi, Monday, 15 July 2024 13:00 (one year ago)

apparently he had a personality that kind of got in the way of success/wider recognition

― Bad Bairns (Boring, Maryland), Monday, 15 July 2024 17:06 (one year ago)

It's KRONG-bin, right? I think you know who I am asking about.

― henry s, Monday, 15 July 2024 17:23 (one year ago)

just had two audiobooks back to back have Bert as "Yanch" - but apparently it really was a hard J?

― encino morricone (majorairbro), Sunday, 21 July 2024 09:04 (one year ago)

the only time i saw him play he was introduced at the start with a soft j & thanked after his performance with a hard j (think it is the latter, but i always forget when i actually say it!)

― no lime tangier, Sunday, 21 July 2024 11:01 (one year ago)

I think Bert's attitude was pronounce it how you like.

― Wee boats wobble but they don't fall down (Tom D.), Sunday, 21 July 2024 11:09 (one year ago)

There are two people with the surname Jansch on Wikipedia... Bert and his ex-wife Heather.

― Wee boats wobble but they don't fall down (Tom D.), Sunday, 21 July 2024 11:11 (one year ago)

four months pass...

Maybe I should've guessed this because of Alvvays, but I just learned today that Hovvdy is pronounced "howdy." I've been saying "huv-dee." But maybe I'm also influenced by the fact that I once knew someone with the surname Hovde, and that's how they pronounced their name.

― jaymc, Monday, 16 December 2024 23:49 (one year ago)

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