great likeness -- especially their vocal harmonies.

very competent! vocal harmonies were spot on.

hey, DillingerEscapePlan! I've seen them a halfdozen times. Jeez, probably ten years ago,... I'm getting soo old soo fast...

Anyhow, my musical taste kept going into weirder directions this year;

Sufjan Steven's made a tremendously interesting and personal album (Age of Adz) that took this consistently well done electronic turn, like it was produced by Reznor or something ('I Walked' is a highlight for me, with a weeeirdly cool, staggered melody that I'd never really heard done successfully before...). His vocals grow on you after a while... really the whole album gets a lot better with repeat listens (good night-driving album).

Yeasayer shared a (free) live album... I saw them twice in 2010, so might be biased, but they are just the right amount of experimental with a dash of pop so that people get down at their shows. 'Madder Red', 'Tight Rope', '2080', a lot of good stuff. Bit of an 80's throwback with the synth drums and such, but I like it as a child of the 80's.

Beach House (Teen Dream)... oooh beach house... listened to their album for all of Jan and Feb of 2010... great driving cd... love minimalism with build-ups, which is basically every song by them, and her distinct smoker's voice is just rad. Very different band doing its own thing. If you're into As I Lay Dying and all that business right now this cd might be a stretch... however I used to be way into The Locust, so, you never know! (ok, I still listen to The Locust from time to time...)

Local Natives cd was good. The ladies dug this shit a lot because of the vocal harmonies and whatnot; as a drummer, I thought it was pretty rocking at times, and had some nice minorkey guitar themes and buildups. Also caught them live, and they were excellent. 'Wide Eyes' is a good one.

Lastly, she didn't put out a cd, but I listened to a lot of Neko Case in 2010. 'Star Witness', 'The Pharaohs', 'Blacklisted','Deep Red Bells', 'Things that Scare Me',... all these darker, noir tracks really work for me, and I don't think anybody else is doing anything like this successfully. Plus Neko has the greatest voice possible.

Thanks for sharing your top 10; I'll check 'em out!

Comment hidden because you are ignoring dag. (show it anyway)

Awesome. I'm a sucker for impromptu vocal harmony. Moar please.

They claim to hail from the planet Kero Kero. They are described as psychedelic, space rock, jazz fusion, jagged alternating vocal harmonies, sugary synthesiser pop, punk, prog, epic/atmospheric, noise-rock, wavering 3 part a capella, borderline operatic vocals, often in the space of a single song. Live performances are known to include home-made costume during the show, synchronised robot dancing and frog-related items. Enthusiastic supporters include Mike Patton and Jello Biafra:
"eX-Girl are a beautiful example of information overload. Jagged 3 part vocal harmonies, adventurous arrangements, and songs that hook you like the sucker that you are. Take all of these treats, wrap it in an ultra-bright technicolor live show with surreal homemade costumes, and you've got the sensation of being strapped in on an out-of-control carnival ride that will leave you standing in line waiting for another turn."
—Mike Patton
- wiki

I just kind of play guitar and sing, got a band together this year. No videos since I don't have a camera, and the only recording equipment I have is a pirated copy of audition and a cheap 15 buck microphone, so I don't really have any recordings worth mentioning, lol. I just enjoy playing and writing music, mainly. I could send you a song or two if you want, I guess.

In reply to this comment by SilentDilemma:
Thanks man. You mentioned that you're an amateur musician yourself - what sort of stuff do you do? Do you have any recordings or videos?

In reply to this comment by JAPR:
Haha, awesome, thanks. I figured it might be a little bit of reverb (just a touch of that can make a huge difference in vocal sound ) and overdubbing. Nice harmonies in there by the way, I enjoyed that video.

In reply to this comment by SilentDilemma:
Hey JAPR,

Thanks for the comment! My recording/videoing method is usually along these lines:

1) Record a live take with guitar and lead vocals. In this video, all the verses and the first chorus are just that.
2) Overdub vocal harmonies for certain parts. Occasionally, also double some vocals if I want to beef it up a bit.

In this one, for the last two choruses, I doubled the lead vocal, and added two vocal harmony parts (both doubled also). No vocal processing is used, except for a touch of reverb.

Hope that answers your question!

- Steve

In reply to this comment by JAPR:
Oh, awesome. I'm a bit of an amateur musician myself, so it'd be interesting to hear what program he uses and how he utilizes it.

In reply to this comment by my15minutes:
you'll get to ask him, yourself, when he gets here. he's one of the people i recently endorsed the sift to.

presumably, he'll have the same login here, as at youtube.

In reply to this comment by JAPR:
wow, great voice. i wonder how much he played with that on his music editing program and how much of it is just his voice.

Thanks man. You mentioned that you're an amateur musician yourself - what sort of stuff do you do? Do you have any recordings or videos?

In reply to this comment by JAPR:
Haha, awesome, thanks. I figured it might be a little bit of reverb (just a touch of that can make a huge difference in vocal sound ) and overdubbing. Nice harmonies in there by the way, I enjoyed that video.

In reply to this comment by SilentDilemma:
Hey JAPR,

Thanks for the comment! My recording/videoing method is usually along these lines:

1) Record a live take with guitar and lead vocals. In this video, all the verses and the first chorus are just that.
2) Overdub vocal harmonies for certain parts. Occasionally, also double some vocals if I want to beef it up a bit.

In this one, for the last two choruses, I doubled the lead vocal, and added two vocal harmony parts (both doubled also). No vocal processing is used, except for a touch of reverb.

Hope that answers your question!

- Steve

In reply to this comment by JAPR:
Oh, awesome. I'm a bit of an amateur musician myself, so it'd be interesting to hear what program he uses and how he utilizes it.

In reply to this comment by my15minutes:
you'll get to ask him, yourself, when he gets here. he's one of the people i recently endorsed the sift to.

presumably, he'll have the same login here, as at youtube.

In reply to this comment by JAPR:
wow, great voice. i wonder how much he played with that on his music editing program and how much of it is just his voice.

Haha, awesome, thanks. I figured it might be a little bit of reverb (just a touch of that can make a huge difference in vocal sound ) and overdubbing. Nice harmonies in there by the way, I enjoyed that video.

In reply to this comment by SilentDilemma:
Hey JAPR,

Thanks for the comment! My recording/videoing method is usually along these lines:

1) Record a live take with guitar and lead vocals. In this video, all the verses and the first chorus are just that.
2) Overdub vocal harmonies for certain parts. Occasionally, also double some vocals if I want to beef it up a bit.

In this one, for the last two choruses, I doubled the lead vocal, and added two vocal harmony parts (both doubled also). No vocal processing is used, except for a touch of reverb.

Hope that answers your question!

- Steve

In reply to this comment by JAPR:
Oh, awesome. I'm a bit of an amateur musician myself, so it'd be interesting to hear what program he uses and how he utilizes it.

In reply to this comment by my15minutes:
you'll get to ask him, yourself, when he gets here. he's one of the people i recently endorsed the sift to.

presumably, he'll have the same login here, as at youtube.

In reply to this comment by JAPR:
wow, great voice. i wonder how much he played with that on his music editing program and how much of it is just his voice.

Hey JAPR,

Thanks for the comment! My recording/videoing method is usually along these lines:

1) Record a live take with guitar and lead vocals. In this video, all the verses and the first chorus are just that.
2) Overdub vocal harmonies for certain parts. Occasionally, also double some vocals if I want to beef it up a bit.

In this one, for the last two choruses, I doubled the lead vocal, and added two vocal harmony parts (both doubled also). No vocal processing is used, except for a touch of reverb.

Hope that answers your question!

- Steve

In reply to this comment by JAPR:
Oh, awesome. I'm a bit of an amateur musician myself, so it'd be interesting to hear what program he uses and how he utilizes it.

In reply to this comment by my15minutes:
you'll get to ask him, yourself, when he gets here. he's one of the people i recently endorsed the sift to.

presumably, he'll have the same login here, as at youtube.

In reply to this comment by JAPR:
wow, great voice. i wonder how much he played with that on his music editing program and how much of it is just his voice.

When Frank Zappa Produced an Album....he did it the only way possible, the Frank way...
Musicians

* Frank Zappa – guitar, keyboards, vocals, arranger, producer, main performer, assistant
* Tommy Mars – keyboards, vocals, soloist
* Patrick O'Hearn – wind, bass guitar
* Scott Thunes – vocals, Minimoog, synthesizer, bass guitar
* Johnny "Guitar" Watson – vocals, guitar
* Ray White – guitar, vocals, backing vocals, choir, chorus, harmony vocals, harmony
* Moon Unit Zappa – vocals
* Ed Mann – percussion
* Chad Wackerman – drums, vocals
* Ike Willis – vocals, backing vocals, choir, chorus, harmony vocals, harmony
* Arthur Barrow – bass guitar
* Napoleon Murphy Brock – saxophone, vocals, harmony vocals, harmony
* Brad Cole – piano
* Roy Estrada – vocals, backing vocals, choir, chorus, harmony, bass guitar
* Bob Harris – keyboards, vocals, harmony vocals
* Thana Harris – vocals, harmony
* Steve Vai – guitar, soloist, fills
* Dweezil Zappa – soloist, guitar
* George Duke – keyboards, vocals, piano
* Bobby Martin – keyboards, saxophone, vocals, falssetist, harmony vocals, harmonica