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

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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

I thought the 0))) came from the logo for Sunn amplifiers. Like this:
http://www.fender.com.au/sunnamps/images/sunnlogo_sm.jpg
And I'm not sure that's supposed to be a sun, it looks more like an eye. But I guess a sun would make more sense.

― n/a (Nick A.), Friday, 8 October 2004 18:07 (nineteen years ago) link

how about exotic album names? how do you pronounce aoxomoxoa?

― fact checking cuz (fcc), Friday, 8 October 2004 18:08 (nineteen years ago) link

Agaetis Byrjun?

I think "Ciara" is pronounced like "Sierra"--I'll listen more closely to the dialogue at the beginning of the "Goodies" vid next time.

― The Good Dr. Bill (Andrew Unterberger), Friday, 8 October 2004 18:09 (nineteen years ago) link

I have always heard Deadheads pronounce it "Ow-zuh Muh-Zoh-Uh," with the accent on the first syllable, FCC.

― Taxi Dancing in the Soft Prison (Ben Boyer), Friday, 8 October 2004 18:19 (nineteen years ago) link

fascinating. thanks taxi!

― fact checking cuz (fcc), Friday, 8 October 2004 18:21 (nineteen years ago) link

How about Urusei Yatsura?

OOD-sayee yachts-da.

― gygax! (gygax!), Friday, 8 October 2004 18:25 (nineteen years ago) link

whoa gygax, I just said that out loud and it came out in perfect japanese accent.
Good job on the phonetics there.

― AaronHz (AaronHz), Friday, 8 October 2004 18:41 (nineteen years ago) link

hehe, thanks! ^_^

― gygax! (gygax!), Friday, 8 October 2004 18:44 (nineteen years ago) link

I thought I was possesed by Toshiro Mifune or somebody for a second.

― AaronHz (AaronHz), Friday, 8 October 2004 18:49 (nineteen years ago) link

mego = may-go
keiji haino = KAYeejee HIGHeeno
Nagisa Ni Te = Na-gee-sa Nee Tay (

― gygax! (gygax!), Friday, 8 October 2004 19:05 (nineteen years ago) link

--Joao Gilberto
--Antonio Carlos Jobim

I know how to pronounce the Gilberto (the g is pronounced the same is it is in "gee, whiz" right?), but it's the Joao I'm not so sure about.

And I know how to pronounce the Antonio Carlos, but the Jobim throws me. "joe-BEAM"? "hoe-BEAM"?

― Lingbert, Friday, 8 October 2004 22:18 (nineteen years ago) link

I still look at Ummagumma and think "uhm-MAG-yewm-ma"

― Pleasant Plains (Pleasant Plains), Friday, 8 October 2004 22:25 (nineteen years ago) link

I think Joao = Huwow?

― AaronHz (AaronHz), Friday, 8 October 2004 22:30 (nineteen years ago) link

The Portuguese Gi is pronounced zhee (like Zha Zha Gabor, but with ee as the vowel) so it's Zheel-bair-toe, with accent on the bair. And it may be that J is pronounced the same, but is used in front of a, o, and u, so Zhobeem and Zhaow.

― nickn (nickn), Friday, 8 October 2004 23:08 (nineteen years ago) link

I thank you.

― Lingbert, Friday, 8 October 2004 23:12 (nineteen years ago) link

Oh, that's right I forgot. "Zhaow" sounds right, I've heard that before.

― AaronHz (AaronHz), Friday, 8 October 2004 23:12 (nineteen years ago) link

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