"All my favorite singers couldn't sing..."

So "sings" Dave Berman of the Silver Jews in the opening track of this week's mix. I've always liked that line, so I decided to pull together a mix of my favorite less-"accessible" singers/bands. My criteria are little loose: some are talk-singers (like Berman, Serge Gainsbourg, Jarvis Cocker [of Pulp], and Kurt Wagner [Lambchop]), some are famously "off" (Dylan, Neil Young, Brian Eno, David Byrne, Tom Waits, Iggy Pop), and some are straight-up "challenging" (Jeff Magnum [Neutral Milk Hotel], Kim Gordon [Sonic Youth], Wayne Coyne [Flaming Lips], Ira Kaplan [Yo La Tengo], Doug Martsch [Built to Spill], Daniel Johnston, and Ian Brown [Stone Roses]).

Whatever their vocal issues, however, all these singers have managed to earn my respect and admiration. But it wasn't easy, and not everyone agrees with me -- these guys tend to have a very polarizing effect on listeners, most people either love 'em or hate 'em. With that in mind, I've tried to pick out some of the more accessible tracks from their catalogue. I hope you find them worth the effort. Let me know in the comments which ones work for you, and which ones I should file under Not Fit for the Blogosphere.

Enjoy...?

Can't Sing Mix