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

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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-two years ago) link

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

Ja.

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

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

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

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

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

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-two years ago) link

My source. Admittedly, Alex, Ally and Mark.S don't rank alongside Whitaker's Almanac in terms of reference material standing, but hey, they're a lot more fun.

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

I agree with Emily that it's only right to try to pronounce foreign names as the people would wish the to be pronounced. My Krahft-work anecdote was about a german anglicising a german name for my benefit, which I didn't really need. The question, for me, though, is how far do you go in front of your mates. Do you bother with the full-on French pron of Francoise Hardy, with proper back-of-the-throat r sounds? It sounds a mite strange in the middle of a sentence in English to suddenly go all pouty and shruggy just to pronounce one name! And do you pronounce Cornelius /cor-neary-arse/? I guess not.

Daniel, Tuesday, 22 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

Sarah doo-ger is correct (hard g)

Neu! and Swefn G Endlar?

Graham, Tuesday, 22 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

Svefn G Englar is pronounced "sig your ross SEC-und AL-bum"

Mark, Tuesday, 22 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

Svefn G Englar is pronounced "sig your ross SEC-und AL-bum"
I thought it was "fa-LOE up EE-PEE", since Agaetis Byrjum was actually their 2nd album already (3rd if you count the remix album). Woo boy, I am the life of the party.

Sean Carruthers, Tuesday, 22 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

Neu is just "new" aren't they?...

jel, Tuesday, 22 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

NEU! = "noy", not "noo".

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

Isn't Sigur Ros not any of the exotic "See-gure Roase" people come up with, just Sigger Ross?

Graham, Tuesday, 22 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

Neu! should be pronounced Noy. Kraftwerk should be pronounced Kraftverk

That is all.

Chewshabadoo, Tuesday, 22 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

Einsturzende Neubauten = EYEN-shtur-tsuhn-duh NOY-bow-tuhn. ("bow" rhymes with "cow") If someone can find me a webfont of IPA symbols, I will be eternally grateful.

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

"bow" rhymes with "cow"

...as in enivob nez

Dave225, Tuesday, 22 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

I once got corrected for pronouncing the Helvetica Neue typeface as "noy", not "noo". Is that what the extra "e" does?

Curt, Tuesday, 22 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

In German, "Neue" would be pronounced "NOI-uh", not "NOO". So, no.

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

How do you pronounce The Strokes?
Sort of like Linda Blair in the Exorcist

helenfordsdale, Tuesday, 22 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

Dan, your German pronounciation is OTM. Where did you learn those pronounciation syllables from? They include stress (capitals), hyphenation (-) and sound, don't they?

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

Also, doesn't Einsturzende Neubauten mean "the sound of new buildings falling apart?"

nickn, Tuesday, 22 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

Dan, some of the international phonetic alphabet can be found by clicking insert then symbol on Word. I presume that's what you meant by IPA.

Daniel, Tuesday, 22 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

nickn: yes. einstürzende neubauten rule!

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

I say "Kraftverk" and I pronounce Francoise Hardy the French way, but I don't try to sound Japanese when talking about Cornelius.

Robin Carmody, Tuesday, 22 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

but 'neu' means 'new' in english, right? I've seen it on candy bars. NEU!

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

How 'bout Sukpatch? Is it "Sook" or "Suck"?

electric sound of jim, Tuesday, 22 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

Technically, Einsturzende Neubauten means "collapsing new buildings". Which is pretty much the same difference anyhow.

Sean Carruthers, Tuesday, 22 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

I've heard "suck patch" from just about everybody, including bands that have played shows with those guys.

Mark, Tuesday, 22 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

"Gus Gus" or "Goos Goos"? (Not that I'm talking about them all the time or anything.)

felicity, Wednesday, 23 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

Where did you learn those pronounciation syllables from?

They're the closest approximation I can come up with to a phonetic spelling you might find in a dictionary. (BTW, Daniel, thanks for the tip.)

Dan Perry, Wednesday, 23 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

The Gerogerigegege, anyone?

Nate-o, Wednesday, 23 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

Googoogoogle to the rescue:
"Gerogerigegege is a Japanese onomatopoeia for vomiting and shitting diaharrea at the same time. 'gerogeri' refers to a rumbling/spewing colon and 'gegege' refers to the sound you make when you vomit..." (so you, um, figure it out)

Jeff W, Wednesday, 23 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

I am betting Gerogerigegege is Noise, not J-Pop. Or maybe J-Poop? hah!

helenfordsdale, Wednesday, 23 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

I've always pronunced it with hard g's.

Kris, Wednesday, 23 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

Gerogerigegege
Geh-roh-geh-ree-geh-geh-geh. The r should actually be sort of between a rolling r (french r) and an l.

helenfordsdale, Wednesday, 23 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

sigour Ros, translates to victory rose...but that sounds like some pub goth band.

jel, Wednesday, 23 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

Gerogerigegege is a Japanese onomatopoeia for vomiting and shitting diaharrea at the same time.

And I'll bet there's a web site devoted to it.

nickn, Wednesday, 23 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

Candi Staton.

Is it "state-on", or more like Stanton Warriors without the "n"?

Mind Taker, Wednesday, 23 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

Stat Ohn

jel, Wednesday, 23 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

Moog rhymes with "rogue"
I think my brain just shattered.

Vinnie, Wednesday, 23 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

I think it's actually aw-tek-er emphisis on nothing. or maybe Aww- tech-re depending on where your from.

Fidel, Thursday, 24 January 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

two weeks pass...
Drexciya

DeRayMi, Sunday, 10 February 2002 01:00 (twenty-two years ago) link

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


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