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

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how come no-one's mentioned Charalambides? I read in a magazine that it was something like shaar-a-lum-bee-daze ????
i say kraftverk (what's weird about that???) and it irritates me a little when people say kraftwork. also incidentally just in case you didn't know, it doesn't translate craftwork, it's powerstation.
another i'm confused on is Gillian Welch, because i've read that it's gill-(with the g like in girl)-ian and the ch in welch hard like in chew. but this seems odd. ? i'm also not 100% sure on borbetomagus.

― elizabeth anne marjorie, Tuesday, 12 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

As far as Kraftwerk, Die Krupps, and Einsturzende Neubauten go, I think it's better to go with the crowd, despite country of origin. Everyone I've ever talked to have pronounced them as, Die Krupps = Dee Kroops Einsturzende Neubauten= Ihne-Shtur-TSEN-duh NOY-bow-ten and Kraftwerk= Kraft-work....afterall, you wouldn't go into an bar and order a LER-ven-broy (Löwenbräu), you would order a Lowenbrau (LOW-en-brow)...no?.

― Kinsley, Tuesday, 26 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

Charalambides - shar-luhm-bih-deez. (Not really knowing phonetics rules.)

I had a friend who used to pronounce Unwound "Unwoond".

― doug, Wednesday, 27 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

i used to pronounce misled 'my-zuld' and i thought it was a whole new word as opposed to mis-led, even though they had the same meaning. it was years before i was enlightened...

a friend's sister pronounced penelope cruz as 'pena-lowp kruzz' for a significant period too.

anyway, i can confirm that cibo matto is pronounced cheebo matto. they say their name in their music, often. it's italian for food madness.

how do you say 'gorky's zygotic mynci'?

― minna, Wednesday, 27 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

how do you say 'gorky's zygotic mynci'?
With a big yawn at the end.

― helenfordsdale, Wednesday, 27 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

Cloth eared clod!

― N., Wednesday, 27 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

How about Apoptygma, as in Apoptygma Berzerk? I've been saying Uh- Pop-Teeg-Muh....that may be completely wrong..this is why I'm asking.

― Kinsley, Wednesday, 27 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

With a big yawn at the end.

Mean.

― Ned Raggett, Wednesday, 27 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

hegel? derrida?

― ethan, Wednesday, 27 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

donnacha costello is pronounced done-ahka...

― robin, Friday, 1 March 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

one month passes...

mirah?

'autechre' is a combination of the words 'audio technical research', so i'd assume it would be pronounced like the respective parts of those words. in an interview, autechre themselves pronounced it aw-TEK-ah (imagine thick british accents)

― tim, Monday, 1 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

Sutekh?

― electric sound of jim, Monday, 1 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

two weeks pass...

Excellent thread..."mowg" shattered my brain, too. Gillian Welch does indeed come with a hard "g", but Ryan Adams seems to pronounce her last name "welsh"; just as well, since welching sounds like something you'd do in a public lavatory when nobody's watching (not ME, natch).

― Tim, Friday, 19 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

hegel = hi gal! (pay attention ethan)

― mark s, Friday, 19 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

I asked some of my Japanese friends how one pronounces Fushitsusha. A big ole ? appeared on their face.

― nathalie, Friday, 19 April 2002 00:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

eight months pass...

*is* it loo-o-mo?

― mitch lastnamewithheld (mitchlnw), Thursday, 16 January 2003 17:54 (twenty-one years ago) link

tom ze = tome zhaya

― gygax!, Thursday, 16 January 2003 18:28 (twenty-one years ago) link

Yoy Division = tribute band available for barmitzvahs

― Snowy Mann (rdmanston), Thursday, 16 January 2003 18:33 (twenty-one years ago) link

what about charalambides? i've been saying it sharra-lawm-beeds.

― fields of salmon (fieldsofsalmon), Thursday, 16 January 2003 18:36 (twenty-one years ago) link

"Mynci" I've heard pronounced as the midpoint between "monkey" and "minky" -- but I could be wrong.

― Jody Beth Rosen (Jody Beth Rosen), Thursday, 16 January 2003 18:38 (twenty-one years ago) link

50 Cent

.. is that pronounced "Fifty Cent" or "fiddy se" ?

― dave225 (Dave225), Monday, 20 January 2003 18:00 (twenty-one years ago) link

Aceyalone?

Avey Tare?

Lene Lovich?

― justswondering, Tuesday, 21 January 2003 00:12 (twenty-one years ago) link

a c alone

im pretty sure

― juiceboxxx, Tuesday, 21 January 2003 01:11 (twenty-one years ago) link

So. Akufen?

― Arthur (Arthur), Tuesday, 21 January 2003 01:40 (twenty-one years ago) link

Lene Lovich?

I've heard it pronounced "LEE-na" or "LAY-na." Last name is "LUH-vitch."

― Jody Beth Rosen (Jody Beth Rosen), Tuesday, 21 January 2003 01:47 (twenty-one years ago) link

Laynah Luvvitch is correct. Man, you lot need German lessons.

Einstuerzende Neubauten has been explained more than enough. Neu! is, was and ever more shall be pronounced Noy, and Moog is indeed meant to rhyme with Vogue or rogue, although mass mispronunciation over the years has rendered the correct pronunciation pretty much obsolete.

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

I'd pronounce Catatonia dead...ha ha ha.

Mynci is indeed either monkey or minky depending on ehre you're from - the band say mernkee, Welsh as they are.

Autechre is Ortekra as far as I know - the band, as I recall, have traditionally left it up to the listener to make up their own minds.

I had a friend who used to pronounce Unwound "Unwoond".

your friend has the right idea.

― Charlie (Charlie), Tuesday, 21 January 2003 05:27 (twenty-one years ago) link

Laynah Luvvitch is correct. Man, you lot need German lessons.

I took German for a year. :-)

― Jody Beth Rosen (Jody Beth Rosen), Tuesday, 21 January 2003 06:26 (twenty-one years ago) link

Avril Lavigne?

― Ferg (Ferg), Tuesday, 21 January 2003 14:33 (twenty-one years ago) link

one month passes...

No, seriously

― Ferg (Ferg), Saturday, 22 February 2003 20:52 (twenty-one years ago) link

Haujobb?

― Paul in Santa Cruz (Paul in Santa Cruz), Saturday, 22 February 2003 21:38 (twenty-one years ago) link

Oh, and Bauhaus

― Ferg (Ferg), Saturday, 22 February 2003 21:47 (twenty-one years ago) link

bow (what you do in front of the queen, if you're not a violinist)- house. accent on the bow.

― nickn (nickn), Sunday, 23 February 2003 05:19 (twenty-one years ago) link

OK, this isn't a pronunciation question, but I need to know: is "Jesus Lizard" or "the Jesus Lizard"? I've been typing the former, but it reads weird to me.

― Nick A. (Nick A.), Monday, 24 February 2003 20:44 (twenty-one years ago) link

LOO MOW???

― mitch lastnamewithheld (mitchlnw), Monday, 24 February 2003 20:48 (twenty-one years ago) link

AH-vrul Luh-VEEN

― jaymc (jaymc), Monday, 24 February 2003 20:54 (twenty-one years ago) link

I believe the "loo OH" sound in "Luomo" is dipthonged -- so it's more like "Lwoah" (one syllable, like "Bjork," WHICH IS NOT FUCKING PRONOUNCED "BEEEEE-YORK").

LWOAH-mo.

Italian for "the man."

― Jody Beth Rosen (Jody Beth Rosen), Monday, 24 February 2003 20:55 (twenty-one years ago) link

yay jbr (pronounced jibber)

― mitch lastnamewithheld (mitchlnw), Monday, 24 February 2003 21:05 (twenty-one years ago) link

So, anyways, Jesus Lizard or the Jesus Lizard?

― Nick A. (Nick A.), Monday, 24 February 2003 21:08 (twenty-one years ago) link

l'rally-zay d'new-day? lay rally-zes de-nudes? lez rall-eye-zes de-new-dess? lara lee da-noids?

― summerslastsound (summerslastsound), Monday, 24 February 2003 21:13 (twenty-one years ago) link

What a great thread. Here's one that I have no idea about and have to pronounce fairly regularly:

Sainkho Namtchylak

She's a tuva singer. Help!

― cprek (cprek), Monday, 24 February 2003 21:45 (twenty-one years ago) link

two weeks pass...

John Tejada? Erlend Oye?

Autechre is pronounced Oh-Teck-ruh, emphasis on the 'chr' bit.. you

may simply by referring to them as " the 'chre ", pronounced

"The Kruh".

― Nik (Nik), Saturday, 15 March 2003 00:15 (twenty-one years ago) link

Tejada has got to be Tay Hah Dah (accent on the Hah). Unless you meant the John part.

― nickn (nickn), Saturday, 15 March 2003 08:09 (twenty-one years ago) link

How about Xiu Xiu?

― Fivvy (Fivvy), Saturday, 15 March 2003 16:18 (twenty-one years ago) link

Shee-you Shee-you?

― phil-two (phil-two), Saturday, 15 March 2003 17:10 (twenty-one years ago) link

How does one pronounce that Super Furry Animals album: Mwng

― phil-two (phil-two), Saturday, 15 March 2003 17:28 (twenty-one years ago) link

Okay so unless anyone can convince me otherwise I'll keep saying it "HOW-yob"

― Paul in Santa Cruz (Paul in Santa Cruz), Sunday, 16 March 2003 02:15 (twenty-one years ago) link

keiji haino = key-jee high-no?
borbetomagus = bor-bet-om-oh-gus?
Yeah Yeah Yeahs = lay-m-as-hell?

― roger adultery (roger adultery), Sunday, 16 March 2003 02:20 (twenty-one years ago) link

Hey Noh, Kay-ee-gee (K E G)

i assume Borbetomagus is said like it's a dinosaur. bor-b'-TOM-uh-gus.

no one has any idea about Rallizes?!

― summerslastsound, Sunday, 16 March 2003 02:33 (twenty-one years ago) link

Rallizes is hard because it's probably wrong no matter how you say it. but DENUDES is probably spoken just that way.

kAy-gee? Really? i always said KEE-ji. and HI-no not HAY-no. But you're probably right.

what about Nagisa Ni Te? na-gee-sa-ny-tay?

― roger adultery (roger adultery), Sunday, 16 March 2003 02:39 (twenty-one years ago) link

poe-pull-voo
ah-mon-dool

it's like a Sumarian chant

― roger adultery (roger adultery), Sunday, 16 March 2003 02:40 (twenty-one years ago) link

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