MOG

Not being blessed with a singing voice, I have a soft place in my heart for artists who can't sing.

There are many who sneer at bad singers. But to me, the song is more important, and there are many, many songs that are among my favorites that I probably never would have heard if the rules were still the same as they were in the early twentieth century, where only the best singers could get a recording contract.

The man to thank for the change has to be Bob Dylan. His voice is much ridiculed, though some of his stalwart fans will insist that he has a great voice. I don't know -- sometimes it sounds great to me, and sometimes it sounds awful. But whatever you think of his voice, there's no denying that the quality of his songs made people forgive whatever failings his voice had. And truly, inspired a lot of people who thought, okay, my voice isn't that great, but if I write good enough songs, I can be a rock and roll star too. It opened the door not only for not-so-great singers, but good singers with untraditional, character-laden voices. This to me is among Dylan's greatest contributions to music.

Here are some other artists that I think have less-than-stellar voices. Your mileage may vary:

Brian Ferry. He carries it off, though, by convincing everyone he's a big sexy rock star.

Billy Bragg. Many singers lose their accents when they sing, but for some reason Billy doesn't. But he belts it out, and I love him for it.

Bernard Sumner. I was never a fan of New Order but one must give him credit for making hit songs without being able to sing.

Billy Corgan. Truly a bad singer. His ego and general assholishness make me less forgiving, though. As Kim Deal said, "I wish I some of those pills that [Billy Corgan] takes. The ones that make you so fucking important."

Ron Sexsmith. He's an acquired taste, to be sure; it took me a long time to even notice that sometimes his voice does enhance some of his songs. But his songs are so good that I'm always willing to put up with it.

Nick Cave. Like Bryan Ferry, though, he sells it well.

The important thing, obviously, is to try. And believe in yourself. And to write good songs.

Who are your favorite bad singers?