"Cookie Monster singing"

March 3, 2006 9:56 AM

Betcha didn't know: "While the extreme branch of heavy-metal music known as death metal is defined in part by often-vile lyrics about violence, catastrophic destruction, nihilism, anarchy and paranoia, its singing style is associated with a beloved goggle-eyed, fuzzy blue puppet." The Wall Street Journal considers death metal and Sesame Street in an article I'm sure Lester Bangs would have enjoyed.
posted by scratch (27 comments total)

All right, maybe you did know. I don't get out much, though. Oh, and I know there's supposedly a difference between death metal and black metal, but I couldn't resist the "ridiculous photos" link. Can't have too many of those.
posted by scratch at 9:57 AM on March 3, 2006

*sigh*
posted by Space Coyote at 10:02 AM on March 3, 2006

CANINUS
posted by driveler at 10:04 AM on March 3, 2006

Death-metal singing takes a toll on vocalists, according to Ms. Gussow, who joined Arch Enemy in 2001. She says that despite the characteristic rock-salt-and-razors growl, the sound doesn't originate in the throat. It gets pushed up from the abdomen.

"If you use the right abdomen muscles, you get a lot of power," she says. "It's a primal form of vocalizing, but it's also a very controlled style of singing. You can get weak if you don't have muscle power."

Wow. I guess death metal really is screamed from the bowels of your lungs.
posted by CrunchyFrog at 10:22 AM on March 3, 2006

Better than the "lungs of your bowels."
posted by sonofsamiam at 10:23 AM on March 3, 2006

Cooooooooooooooooookieeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee.
posted by ZenMasterThis at 10:29 AM on March 3, 2006

Don't forget San Francisco's own Cookie Mongoloid. Sesame Speed Metal at its finest. Featuring songs like "Me Lost Me Cookie in the Mosh Pit".
posted by debris at 10:30 AM on March 3, 2006

Nothing's more ignorant and uninformed than an article about death metal in the Wall Street Journal, unless it's one in which the reporter clearly didn't bother to listen to a single death metal album.

Oh, and I know there's supposedly a difference between death metal and black metal...

Oh, no, wait, that beats it.
posted by vorfeed at 10:33 AM on March 3, 2006

JIM FUSILLI walks in on his 12 year old daughter listening to Napalm Death.

"Honey, what IS that?"

"It's The Cookie Monster from Sesame Street, Daddy."

"Really?"

"No, of course not."

"Hmmm, that gives me the idea for an article."
posted by three blind mice at 10:47 AM on March 3, 2006

'nuff said.
posted by hypocritical ross at 10:53 AM on March 3, 2006

DEATH TO FALSE METAL COOKIE

Alternately: The Death Cookie
posted by sklero at 10:55 AM on March 3, 2006

This thread reminds me of a documentary I saw the other day. They were interviewing the lead singer of Gorgoroth (#8 in that ridiculous pictures link), and it went something like:

Interviewer: "So, like, what's the driving force behind Gorgoroths music, would you say?"
Lead singer: (stares intensely for 15 seconds, then sips goblet of wine dramatically) "...Satan"
Interviwer: (stunned silence) "Uh...huh. Okay, next question..."

Classic.
posted by Drunken_munky at 10:57 AM on March 3, 2006

Nothing's more ignorant and uninformed than an article about death metal in the Wall Street Journal, unless it's one in which the reporter clearly didn't bother to listen to a single death metal album.

Oh, and I know there's supposedly a difference between death metal and black metal...

Oh, no, wait, that beats it.

Fuck you too, vorfeed.
posted by scratch at 11:15 AM on March 3, 2006

Local radio station has some sort of death metal show once a week, late at night. First time I heard it "cookie monster" immediately sprang to mind.

I am not an overweight gray-haired dude who writes for the WSJ. 'Nuff said.
posted by caution live frogs at 11:25 AM on March 3, 2006

Cookie Monster does death metal and Miss Piggy does TV pizza ads. Oh Jim Henson, look what has happened to your wonderful world.
posted by Cranberry at 11:29 AM on March 3, 2006

the "Sesame Street" puppet that blurts in a guttural growl, his words discharged so rapidly that they tend to collide with each other.

He's apparently never watched Sesame Street, either.
posted by mikrophon at 11:37 AM on March 3, 2006

muted electric bass;

I'm guessing he meant palm muted electric bass. I'm also guessing I'm going to just stop reading there.
posted by mikrophon at 11:40 AM on March 3, 2006

I love the canned surprise when WASPs go native. And how they tend to pick up on cultural trends about 20 years late (at least The New Yorker is only about 2 years late, at best). Next he'll go to a NASCAR race: The thunder of the pistons and the heady aroma of engine oil fills the stands of stout, good-natured common folk sipping from cans of beer. This is considered a good thing among this lot.

So yeah. Fuck him and fuck the WSJ.
posted by bardic at 11:46 AM on March 3, 2006

I always thought metal vocals sounded like farts forced through the throat.
posted by cellphone at 12:19 PM on March 3, 2006

Sometimes there's a fair ration of intelligence and/or poetry hidden behind that growl. Quick examples that spring to my mind: 1, 2, 3, 4; and Chuck Schuldiner - one of the earliest cookie-monster vocalists - reflecting in terse words about the subject, 5.

Yeah, it's not really unicorns-and-rainbows compatible, but it's not all gore, either.
posted by Wolfdog at 12:22 PM on March 3, 2006

Also, they spelled Angela Gossow's name wrong.
posted by Wolfdog at 12:25 PM on March 3, 2006

Fuck you too, vorfeed.

Sure, any time! Here's a free tip, though: if you like to point and laugh at things you clearly don't understand, maybe you should have thick enough skin to take a little pointing and laughing when somebody turns it around on you. bardic has it -- this article (and your post) stinks of two-dollar cultural anthropology.

For the record: Black Metal; Death Metal.
posted by vorfeed at 12:39 PM on March 3, 2006

Black Metal, like Living Colour, right?

(I know, I know, I stole the joke.)
posted by Snyder at 1:28 PM on March 3, 2006

Hell, Napalm Death is easy listening.

I want evil in my head, I listen to Skinny Puppy.
I miss Nuclear Assault (for tempo), but they lost their edge quick.
I suppose I lean towards Slayer mostly...but really, yes, the hard stuff seems out of style lately.

I saw a high school kid wearing a Led Zep t-shirt the other day. I mean what the hell?

All my mosh friends are gone. I wouldn’t know where to go to listen to this stuff anymore (in Chicago the Exit on North Ave. still plays punk tho...which is nice - I was in a very nice circle mosh there about 1.5 years ago).

But yeah, I’m thinking Jim Fusilli has never windmilled or has been in a circle pit or really got what this music is about. Not that it’s just about that of course. But this cookie monster thing....that’s just kind of a goofy observation. Kinda like noticing all AC/DC songs sort of sound like the Hokey Pokey. It’s really a cute observation, but has nothing to do with what’s going on.

Joe Ambrose might’ve been a better choice for the WSJ.
posted by Smedleyman at 1:46 PM on March 3, 2006

I saw a high school kid wearing a Led Zep t-shirt the other day. I mean what the hell?

Most of my friends' teenage kids are into "classic rock," i.e. their parents' music. Go figure.
posted by ZenMasterThis at 2:50 PM on March 3, 2006

I saw a high school kid wearing a Led Zep t-shirt the other day. I mean what the hell?

The DEA has been largely unsuccessful in its stated goals.


And yes, Fucking Slayer! And yes sometimes dudes sound like cookie monster WSJ in certain kinds of metal, that has always been a saving grace. Oh yeah, also (as mentioned above) fucking CANINUS! (lead singer, two pitbulls) and HATEBEAK !(parrot!) and BLOODHAG! (death metal about sci-fi writers).
posted by Divine_Wino at 8:57 PM on March 3, 2006 [1 favorite]

caninus is awesome. budgie and basil hold it down.
posted by teishu at 8:58 AM on March 4, 2006