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

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Since it has been a few years and more people know of them now:

Notwist:
NOT-wist or
NO-twist?

― Zach S (feedback), Friday, 12 March 2004 06:23 (twenty years ago) link

I would say pair oboo, père being French for father

I think you meant to type "pair OOboo" (and while pere does mean father, here it does not--it's a familiar way to refer to someone, like "Mr./Monsieur" but without the respect that implies)

― no opinion, Friday, 12 March 2004 08:35 (twenty years ago) link

I always feel vaguely stupid attempting to say Einsturzende Neubauten - usually I just pause in the conversation and someone else will fill in for me :-)

I get annoyed with Shellac Of North America emphasising the wrong syllable in Shellac.

Should Xymox be Zim-mox or Zie-mox?

― Onimo (GerryNemo), Friday, 12 March 2004 12:53 (twenty years ago) link

So what's the given pronunciation for "!!!" ?

― mark grout (mark grout), Friday, 12 March 2004 12:57 (twenty years ago) link

Not exactly "exotic", but: J.C. Chasez, anyone?

It's pronounced: Justin-wannabe

Mark, it's pronounced as chuk-chuk-chuk, if I remember correctly.

― jesus nathalie (nathalie), Friday, 12 March 2004 13:01 (twenty years ago) link

I think chik chik chik. But I also heard once that they wanted people to pronounce it with any sound they felt good about.

― roxymuzak (roxymuzak), Friday, 12 March 2004 13:02 (twenty years ago) link

"Location Location Location."

I say "Note-vist", but I'm making fun of them when I do. It's "No Twist".

― Colin Meeder (Mert), Friday, 12 March 2004 13:14 (twenty years ago) link

Onimo, Einsturzende Neubauten was given upthread as:
ein-SHTUR-tsen-deh NOI-bow-ten
Which is almost right. Should be EIN-shtur-tsen-deh

― no opinion, Friday, 12 March 2004 16:53 (twenty years ago) link

Not where I live, buddy.

― Colin Meeder (Mert), Friday, 12 March 2004 17:03 (twenty years ago) link

I knew someone who pronounced Mogwai's name as "Mow-gwai". I was like, dude, have you ever fucking seen Gremlins?

haha, was he chinese? "mo gwai" (roughly rhymes with "snow guy") means "monster" in cantonese.

― gygax! (gygax!), Friday, 12 March 2004 17:07 (twenty years ago) link

Also, the second sylable in Einstürzende is more like Shtyoor than shtur -- hold your lips as if you were going to say "shtoor" but say "shteer" instead.

― Colin Meeder (Mert), Friday, 12 March 2004 17:12 (twenty years ago) link

This has been bugging me for years now. How do you pronounce Curt Boettcher's last name?

― maypang (maypang), Friday, 12 March 2004 17:31 (twenty years ago) link

BETCH-er

― fact checking cuz (fcc), Friday, 12 March 2004 17:34 (twenty years ago) link

Interesting.

― maypang (maypang), Friday, 12 March 2004 17:36 (twenty years ago) link

Except not really -- the vowel sound is between "oh" and "ee" -- try saying ERT and then leaving out the R sound.

― Colin Meeder (Mert), Friday, 12 March 2004 17:45 (twenty years ago) link

Please explain--where do you live? I thought stress was pretty much always on the first syllable in German.

― no opinion, Friday, 12 March 2004 17:48 (twenty years ago) link

I live in Frankfurt, dude. Emphasis on "ein" and "stürz" are pretty equal around here.

― Colin Meeder (Mert), Friday, 12 March 2004 17:57 (twenty years ago) link

okay so i'm a big amon tobin fan and am torn in regards to the pronouncing of his name.
all my friends call him aye-mon, but kid koala pronounced it ah-mon once - which is it¿

also kinder atom, is it kind-er or is it kin-der¿

― dyson (dyson), Friday, 12 March 2004 17:59 (twenty years ago) link

Not exactly "exotic", but: J.C. Chasez, anyone?

Sha-ZAY

― Lesley, Saturday, 13 March 2004 07:22 (twenty years ago) link

naw, pere ubu is named after the french play.

― emma, Saturday, 13 March 2004 13:18 (twenty years ago) link

this is a bit of an embarrassing one ... how do you say Isley (as in the Isley Brothers)?

is it eye-lee, or could it be (gr)izzly?

― tod (tod), Saturday, 13 March 2004 13:28 (twenty years ago) link

Eyes-lee

― oops (Oops), Saturday, 13 March 2004 13:38 (twenty years ago) link

yeah? thanks

― tod (tod), Saturday, 13 March 2004 13:42 (twenty years ago) link

three weeks pass...

I have noticed my that there is a misprint in the first word of my first name . It's Rose Mary .
Not Roase Mary .Please make the correction as it
won't allow me to do it .
Thank You .

― Rose Mary M . Connors, Wednesday, 7 April 2004 14:26 (twenty years ago) link

???

― gygax! (gygax!), Wednesday, 7 April 2004 14:27 (twenty years ago) link

"Holger Czukay"? Rarely pronounced the same way twice at a multitude of record store counters.

― doug watson (solid air), Wednesday, 7 April 2004 14:34 (twenty years ago) link

T.Raumschmiere, anyone? I should be able to do this, what with my German degree an' all, but people keep correcting me...

― CharlieNo4 (Charlie), Wednesday, 7 April 2004 14:37 (twenty years ago) link

Explain to me why Bruce Cockburn's surname seems to be pronounced "Coburn"

― mookieproof (mookieproof), Wednesday, 7 April 2004 15:28 (twenty years ago) link

Ask the Scottish

― sexyDancer, Wednesday, 7 April 2004 16:03 (twenty years ago) link

two months pass...

T. Rowm-sch-mee-er

Hole-ger Zoo-kay

Pear oo Boo

Tujiko Noriko - Too-je-ko Noh-ri-ko

― Rob McD (Rob McD), Thursday, 10 June 2004 07:40 (twenty years ago) link

Purl Jamm
Creeeeeeeed
nik ul back

― latebloomer (latebloomer), Thursday, 10 June 2004 07:46 (twenty years ago) link

I don't think anyone seriously answered this waaay upthread so....
Gore-key's Zye-Goh-Tick Monkey=Gorky's Zygotic Mynci

― AaronHz (AaronHz), Thursday, 10 June 2004 08:15 (twenty years ago) link

Was Not Was

Someone once told me it was WAZ NOT WAS, s'this true?

― mzui, Thursday, 10 June 2004 08:50 (twenty years ago) link

three months pass...

SUNN O)))

― W i l l (common_person), Thursday, 7 October 2004 14:34 (nineteen years ago) link

I would say "sun." The 0))) is silent.

― n/a (Nick A.), Thursday, 7 October 2004 14:38 (nineteen years ago) link

Kemialliset Ystavat?
(is it Kim-ee-ALL-is-set EE-sta-vat?)

― Sean Witzman (trip maker), Thursday, 7 October 2004 14:52 (nineteen years ago) link

Shouldn't there be a bit more german aggression in Csukay? Like Hole-ger chuu-kie (pie)?

― strom (strom), Thursday, 7 October 2004 15:11 (nineteen years ago) link

KEH-me-ah-lih-set ÜH-stae-vaet. In Finnish words the emphasis is always on the first syllable. The Finnish y is prononounced like the German ü, there isn't a clear English equivalent for that. The Finnish ä (the real name of the band is Kemialliset Ystävät, it means "Chemical Friends") is pronounced like the letter a in the word cat.

― Tuomas (Tuomas), Thursday, 7 October 2004 15:12 (nineteen years ago) link

Actually, you can pronounce the y like Inspector Clouseau pronounces the o's in the word "room".

― Tuomas (Tuomas), Thursday, 7 October 2004 15:14 (nineteen years ago) link

I mangle the complexities of the Finnish language with my clusmy American tongue. The Germans on the Can DVD clearly pronounce it "shoo-kay."

― Sean Witzman (trip maker), Thursday, 7 October 2004 15:55 (nineteen years ago) link

so it's not "ZUE-kay"?

― dave225 (Dave225), Thursday, 7 October 2004 16:03 (nineteen years ago) link

Haven't heard the definitive answer for Kelis yet. I say Key-less, I've heard Kellis, & Snrub upthread says Kuh-leece. Let's make sure on this one, 'cause I'd hate to make a play and be all like "Hey, Key-less, I'm Brian."

― briania (briania), Thursday, 7 October 2004 16:31 (nineteen years ago) link

there's that one tune on her album where her man nas pronounces it for us:

keh-leece, but say it fast cuz time's wastin' and all

― andrew m. (andrewmorgan), Thursday, 7 October 2004 18:18 (nineteen years ago) link

what about Titonton Duvante?

― ken taylrr (ken taylrr), Thursday, 7 October 2004 20:28 (nineteen years ago) link

this thread is depressing. some of these questions could be easily solved by looking in a dictionary.

― pfeffernuesse (Jody Beth Rosen), Thursday, 7 October 2004 21:04 (nineteen years ago) link

How about Urusei Yatsura?

― Geir Hongro (GeirHong), Thursday, 7 October 2004 21:30 (nineteen years ago) link

SUNN O)))
-- W i l l

I would say "sun." The 0))) is silent.
-- n/a

Since the O))) is a pictograph for the sun, perhaps it ought to be SUNN Sun...

― max davenport (axehead), Friday, 8 October 2004 03:16 (nineteen years ago) link

Ciara = Chara???

― AaronHz (AaronHz), Friday, 8 October 2004 03:23 (nineteen years ago) link

i should know this one, but the pronunciation has always eluded me: toto coelo. is it KOI-lo?

― pfeffernuesse (Jody Beth Rosen), Friday, 8 October 2004 06:50 (nineteen years ago) link

I've heard it as co-AY-lo.

― nickn (nickn), Friday, 8 October 2004 18:05 (nineteen years ago) link

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