Iconic Seasons Offseason - The Anxious Rambler: The Ultimate Singer Showdown

Welcome to Episode 2 of The Anxious Rambler! If you missed Episode 1, you can catch it on our crossover podcast, Iconic Seasons, or on our new feed search for The Anxious Rambler. Today, Cassie joins me for a lively discussion we've had many times before: who are the best singers of all time? We're diving into our personal lists, debating whether technical skill or personal preference makes a singer great. In a fun twist, we'll be doing a draft where each of us picks our top ten singers, but there's a catch: we only get the songs they performed. Listen in as we banter, strategize, and perhaps get a little competitive over our musical choices. Who will make the cut for our desert island discography? Tune in to find out and join the conversation!

I feel like Cassie won this round with bonus points for originality but text us your list or comment on the YouTube Playlist below. 

LISTEN TO THE MUSIC - https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLDagWLWoz13W6c1bsUHW7EH9PywdeZKuM&si=NGf-EAGNWkP9St53

Transcript

  Welcome to episode two of the anxious rambler. If you missed episode one, you could have heard it either on our crossover podcast, iconic seasons, or you could have checked it out on this brand new feed for the anxious rambler. We've been talking about doing these series of musical podcasts or a podcast just with.

Uh, my wife for a long time, she's graciously allowed me to record her and, uh, today agreed to get into a conversation that we've had many times, um, about the best voices or best singers of all time. Right. We've often argued about, about this in the past, 

the basis of it, is it actually like trained, great vocalists  with. 

Their range is incredible, by, by someone who has  the credentials to grade them, or, which is more how you've picked your list in the past, but mine is, to me, the best to me, who I could listen to for the rest of my life and not hear anyone else, so. 

Right, I think it is not just a standard list of these are the greatest vocalists of all time.

So the way, and we're going to do a draft because who doesn't love drafts? Uh, now she's  

really unhappy with, 

you can't see her, but you frowned at me and put on, put on perfume to try to sway me to not choose her, , favorite singers. 

Because some of these people I have turned you on to. So if you steal them from me, I'm going to be really unhappy, but I've got a whole nother list of you've got backups 

because you know that I'm 

still going to be mad because there's a couple that mean a  large deal to me and I'm trying not to use foul language. 

Yes. Let me set this up. So we're going to do it. , top 10.  That you're going to pick  will argue why, why, why it's your pick you also, the setup is that you get their discography. So because I know we're unlikely to pick this band, I'm going to say like the Grateful Dead, you could, if you picked the Grateful Dead, you would get the entire catalog.

So you don't bring the person with you, the person doesn't come with to the island that they could sing  another band or ing that music's 

right, but you only get the songs that they s on. Which kind changes 

it too, because.  

I know. I'll explain why later. But you only get the songs they sing on because, like if you pick John Lennon, you don't get the whole Beatles catalog.

You only get the songs that he sings on in his solo career. Does that make sense? 

Yep. 

Now, if you picked both of them, you know, McCartney and Lennon, now you could get almost all the Beatles songs. Right. You'd use up two. 

So that makes sense. But that leaves  one solo person that the other person 

could pick.

That's right.  And you, but you do get their solo career too. So if you pick John Lennon, you get any song that the Beatles that he sang on plus his solo album. So you would, that would be like a separate collection. 

I would that wasn't the case anyway. Good, 

good.  Good. I'm glad. Um, and we'll go, we'll just go back and forth.

I know I was trying to explain the snake draft to you, but we'll just go back and forth. 

Oh, that'd 

be, that'd be, that'd be a lot easier.  Yeah, that was, that was stressed. Yeah. So we'll just go back and forth 

doing that though. If we have the same person on our list, it cancels it out. That's right. 

Yeah. You can't, so you can't pick the same person, so that will make it more competitive because we'll definitely have some, there'll be some.

People and then that way at the end, if people want to look at the list and they could pick who had the best list, like who would, who would they want on their desert Island? That would be the conversation to continue because this is it. You, your discography, you're on a desert Island. You're stuck there forever.

These are the, these are the singers. These are the songs that you have. So it's not necessarily best band either. Cause these are, these are about the voice more than more than the band, but you know, the band is a part I feel like,  and I think you would agree with this.  Voices. with a band is what really makes it.

Like you don't have to have the best voice if it fits the best with the music. Right. That's a truism. That's 

very much how I did my list. 

What else do you have? Do you have any rules that you need to insert into the process here? 

But I'm allowed to interject at any point and explain why I should have gotten that person on my list, if it is someone of great value to me.

Since 

it's your podcast. I'm very, 

I'm very worried about  two  people for sure. 

Okay.  Oh yeah. One we've 

had an argument about before that we both love very much. 

Well I'm giving you the first pick so you're at a distinct advantage because I get the second fourth sixth pick. So I won't get. I'll 

be devastated if you take either one of these people.

I know. 

One really. Let's 

hope because I know one's going to be on your list. 

And I feel like if I start off this way you're going to. Get me with the next one. And then I'm going to cry.  

All right. 

Okay. 

You're, you're up with the very, the very first 

particular order either. 

Well, so it's not because you're really, you're game planning against me too.

So you might want to take like my favorite first or you might want to take the one, take 

one of my favorites because I think we're going to have two of the same. 

So that's the other thing. You 

also. Do you really love me? So you might, 

I've got a couple that I've got to take though. So we'll, we'll see. I mean, it might, you might force my hand, 

but when you say gotta, then I'm going to argue about who's the bigger fan.

person. Okay. That's all right. That's 

the, that's the idea. 

Okay. Are you ready for my first one? 

I'm ready for the first bit. 

Do you think you know who it's going to be? 

I do. Unfortunately, it might be number one on my list too. That's gonna, that's gonna hurt me, but I've got backups  and you gotta be careful because I've got my backups might be your second 

pick.

There's going to be no question going forward though, that.  How much of a fan I am of one of these.  So if you steal it. Okay. Okay, I'm gonna start with Mr. David Ruffin. 

Oh man, that was number one on my list. Oh my gosh.  All right. Why, why him? Because I saw for context, I looked up, , the Rolling Stone top 200.

I wasn't 

happy about that because I thought it would sway you. 

A couple of other, , you know, top 100s. He's around like 60 on there, which 

is insane. 

Yeah. He's pretty high on the Rolling Stone one, a little bit higher up. I think he's in the top 40, 200.  

Yeah, I mean, that's good. 

Yeah. So he, so he's in the top five 40.

They probably 

also consider like opera singers.  I didn't, yeah. I mean, like, I don't know if it's opera, right? I just dunno. But people I've never heard of. Yeah, so David Ruffin. I mean 

to get his solo career. You get the temptations. Yeah,  that's pretty nice. 

Oh my gosh. So the the temptations my favorite Motown group  David Ruffin has my absolute favorite voice  of all time.

So I guess I can say do for sure have a number one  It's that  he has that voice. For one, you absolutely  can read all over him how much he just genuinely loves  singing, being the front voice,  how much passion and pride he has in what he  was doing, even though he had quite a  tumultuous life  shortly after and maybe during  the beginning of The Temptations,  And what I love so much about his voice is that  he's got that like,  like sandpaper y  sound to his voice, but it's so beautiful. 

And it sounds like he's crying sometimes when he's singing  that. I love that.  And for me, when I journey on to another realm, I feel like that's what all of the angels will sound like. It's David Ruffin, carrying me home.  That's what I want to hear when I leave this world and into the next life.  

He's got to be at the top of the list for someone whose voice may not match what they look like.

I remember the first time I saw him, I'm like, he's like 

Black Buddy Holly. Yeah, exactly. Because he had those like very early years, 

old school square rim glasses. 

And he'd do like the spin and the split. Yeah. And my  Parents were born in the late 40s, so Motown was very important and special to them, and they, I think that might be their favorite genre of music, especially my mom. 

So they loved The Temptations, and The Four Tops, and Smokey Robinson, and  More than I'm not going to give away in case they're on my list. But,  um, yeah, the temptations were our wedding song was it's growing by the temptations, which was not a popular temptation song. And then of course, but Ruffin is the lead 

featured in that. 

He's the lead. I mean, he's at the front of that song. And then my dad and I danced to my girl, which also Ruffin,  Is that the front of? Definitely. 

Probably, probably the most well known song. We had 

when we first started dating and  Ruffin was going to be our dog's name.  True. And we thought about it for kids and yeah.

So  he, there, there's a clip of him. I could talk about him the whole time. There's a clip, I think it's from like 1990. It was shortly before he passed away.  And after, and probably during, you know, when he was  broke and struggling with addiction but it was like a Sounds of Motown, um, something that was on TV where they went to  the recording studio and talked to Smokey Robinson and the Temptations and the Four Tops and the Supremes.

At that time and I think that was one of the first times that, well, David Ruffin had left the temptations and then got back with them toward the end of his life,  but they revisited one of the, the sets that they, I'm not sure what, you know, like evening variety show that it was on, but they walked in and he just started breaking into since I lost my baby.

Which, you can just hear, hear his voice, just the crying in his voice, and he's an older  man at this time, and you can just see on his face, like, while he's singing it, all of the memories flooding in from, and then I think it clips to that show, you know, whatever year that was, maybe, like, 64, 65 when he's a young man.

And yeah, it's so beautiful and so gut wrenching. And I probably watched that clip like 40 times in the last like 12 years, but it's incredible. So. So that I don't take up the whole time talking about David Rutherford and that's, I'm going to start with him. Alright. He deserves the time. 

Alright, I'm going off the top rope with my, my second pick.

You know, you're going to have to forgive me for this. Oh, 

no. 

I'm going John Lennon. You. I get the Beatles. I did 

not think you were going to take him. I know, 

but I love the Beatles. That's my 

boy. Can I add something? Aaron did not know anything. any Beatles songs until we started dating. Well, 

that's part of the reason why that.

And 

my introduction to meeting him back in the day was giving him all the information about John Lennon and why I believe I'm John Lennon reincarnated.  So 

true story. 

How dare you? 

I know, but his voice again, I 

gotta, I gotta go to the reserve. It would 

remind me of you. And I, And his voice combines a lot of the things that you said.

Great gravelly voice has rock, has a rock and roll to it. 

When when he does his like screams, that's I love that. 

I never get I never get sick of it. Like it's one of those voices that if you put. I'm taking you 

down. 

Any Beatles song, any of his solo songs. I'm not like going in full attack mode on the next 

one. 

I like how upset I've got you on this.  John Lennon though, uh, I'm very happy with that as the second pick. I had to. You got my first pick. I had to get my pen out and 

make an arrow up to where John Lennon was. You 

got my first pick. Alright, what do you got for your second pick? I don't 

know. I'm going to go with Adam Granduciel from The War on Drugs.

Oh, man.  So explain why because I think that he they have certainly been a very popular band and are you know Still current band putting out music, but why pick him so high? I think that he has  Uh, a voice that we both love, but yeah, maybe like, 

and that's what, like what I've said is that it is important to me as well, especially when you said you take the catalog with you.

What do you, what do you like, what do you like about it? Because you,  uh,  Also have talked a lot about the way people see. Yeah. And his voice, I saw, I did see again, looking at the top 200, Bob Dylan is on there. Also some just, 

he's a better singer than Bob Dylan. There's 

also some other people who I was a bit surprised by.

And I wonder if they use like unique voice because they had Lou Reed on there. And Neil Young, who aren't classically trained vocalists. 

I do like Bob Dylan. The sound of Lou Reed. I did consider him because I was a big Velvet Underground fan in college and Lou Reed. But yeah, so that was one of the things I considered.

And I sort of did do with one of my picks was that I listed  all of the, the people that sort of have this sound. But then I decided to pick the  maybe who pioneered this or which I maybe didn't do. And I don't, I don't want to say that about Adam because I think  some his, his sound sometimes also we've talked about sounds like Bruce Springsteen.

I think he has sounded like Don Henley in, in the way that he sings and spaces. It's, but for me, I mean, obviously, you know, lyrically I love. everything that he writes and I feel everything that he writes. He sings 

very emotively. 

That's right. But that's a note that I made that he, like another person that I actually have just right up in my, my two and three spots that I thought of immediately is that like vulnerability in their voice as well. 

I like that word. And that he, yeah. 

You hear in his voice that he believes what he's singing as well. Like, that he's felt it. He's not just, like, writing music and singing words. I mean, aside from the fact that, like, the whole band together  gives your ears and your soul a feeling that moves you with it, but his words do as well, and the way that he sings them.

And I also, like, sometimes live. He sings differently to, you know, like kind of changes the pattern of his words, but  which I love because it sort of puts you in what they're feeling in that moment as well. But I love that  he writes lyrically from experience, but then he  seems like he's singing in a way that he's feeling.

But I love  I can't give away other people on the list. There are other people who sing in that way as well. That there's such a vulnerability. That they're almost in a different way. You can almost hear like a crying in his voice sometimes as well. But it's in a different way in which David Ruffin does it.

But  Yeah. 

Okay. Well, I think that makes sense.  Okay. I am going, I got to go with a Motown legend myself with my second pick. I'm going Smokey Robinson with my, with my second pick. 

Good, good. 

Love Smokey. Tons of, yeah,  

tons of great guy. Yeah, 

exactly. He wrote a ton of the songs. Yeah. So then, and then, um, um,  just has a lot of emotion in his voice.

I think you hit on that last and there's something about if I'm going to have just these albums with me on my deserted island, I want to be able to feel something and to feel like I could be anywhere in the world or in any moment in time. And there's something very timeless about his voice too. It definitely places tracks with the Motown stuff, but it doesn't matter that it's that it's Motown, the  The way that he tells stories in, while singing, um, just has always connected with me.

So, Smokey Robinson was my second pick. Man, 

back to me already? 

Yeah, I know. Okay. You've got, you've got the better storytelling.  

Okay. So, this one,  which is one that I, I said earlier,  that I didn't think that you would pick. We didn't share our lists with each other, but I was a little worried about some of the rules and,  and uh, maybe spitefully taking some of my people that you've agreed with. 

If I've pointed out who have incredible voices. So  this person is a drummer.  He's no longer with us either, which is devastating.  Mr. Levon Helm, the drummer from the band. Okay. One of definitely top three favorite voices of all time. And  the way that I would explain it is the same way a quote that Robbie Robertson of the band,  the band, the band also said his truth in his vocals could tear your heart out.

And that's  perfectly said.  The night they drove old Dixie down. 

Third pick. Wow. 

Just listen to him sing, or watch a video of him just dri his eyes are closed the entire time. He looks like he's crying when he sings it. I love that gravelly but sweet and powerful voice that has all that emotion behind it.

Also, one of my heroes, Mr. Glenn Gass, who was a Was the professor at the school of music, um, at IU and one of my professors who taught several of my different history of rock and roll classes, also one of his favorite voices. So he actually cried in class. playing he would set apart vocals from the music just so that we could hear that alone And it was one of the most beautiful and incredible and precious things that I carry with me that I that I heard I think that's something too If you separate the vocals from the rest of the music and it hits you as hard as that hit me That's enough to tell you  

If you get the stem of the vocals.

Yeah. He reminds us, we were talking about of that type of voice. Um, Nathaniel Rayliff has some of those qualities in his voice. Um, you know, I definitely think that that type of voice is something that if you heard it, you'd be like, Ooh, I'm probably going to like this band. 

Which going back to the war on drugs,  It's some of like the earlier stuff that sound almost like demos or something or home recordings where Adam's voice is more forward, like that very first version of Brothers,  that that's my favorite version.

And I think you pointed that out. You like when his voice is more forward, right? There's less like production.  Yeah. It's not 

masked behind the wall of sound. And I just 

like it. Cause it, yeah. It's.  His voice is so vulnerable sometimes and I just if when it hits you in your gut which I  say  So many times but yeah, that's why I love that if you can pull the voice out and it punches you in the gut then  You're on my list  

Love it.

All right. I'm up.  This is my third one. I'm going with Eddie Vedder  I'm doing a little, a little nineties rock, a little pearl jam.  

He's 

got a couple. You 

also sound just like him. 

I could play along with 

him. 

I could play along and imagine  that I'm singing along. He's got his solo stuff too, that he's done, uh, which is more like ukulele and, um,  You know, acoustic. So I think that would be a nice change of pace too on my desert island. But he's a, he's absolute legend. His vocal styling is very interesting.

Again, my, my thing was, when I was thinking about this, like, who do I, have I listened to for 20, 30 years now? And I don't get tired of hearing the voice. Cause there are a lot of voices that I love and who I think are amazing singers, but I also.  After a little while, I'm like, wow, it's a, it's a lot. It's, it's like the experience of it is almost overwhelming because it's so good.

But 

yeah, like you called, you called me out to on, uh, uh, Florence who in Cray, I could agree. Incredible vocalist, like Celine Dion, incredible vocalist, 

Mariah Carey. 

Exactly. But I, I, If I had to listen to them for like a couple days straight, I'd be like, wow, I feel like, I feel exhausted. There's something exhausting about like how good of a vocalist they are.

Yeah. 

Florence is incredible. 

Incredible. Yeah. I know. She is 

on my backup list. Maybe a Kate Bush quality 

too in there where I'm just like, wow,  amazing vocalist and the, the uniqueness of their voices is incredible too. I've also 

seen her live and she's almost better live, which is great. Insane 

that is weird 

and has so much just energy and she's like a little fairy floating around on the stage But like speaks with the softest quietest voice.

That's the most powerful singing voice, which I love because some times I'm you know, I feel that like Sort of social anxiety with people But when you're doing something that you love and feel passionate about you shine and I love that quality about her as well  But yeah, just an honorable mention.

You're up, you're up. Okay, who am I gonna go with next?  Um,  Cause this guy's not been  off of my list for 20 years, I'm gonna go with Jim James. 

Oh wow. Yeah. Okay.  I like that. 

Yeah. His voice, I think I've always used the term as haunting. Haunting?  Not to mention he's a precious smiley guy. You get the, you get My 

Morning Jacket plus his pluses.

Yeah. Yeah.  

He  is  an incredible human being. I love him. He's so happy and precious. I think I already said that, but yeah, his voice is so haunting. And those like first My Morning Jacket albums, From like 1999 to 2003 means so much to me at a time when I was really becoming the person that I always wanted to be and have moved away from my small town and was making friends that were more like me and liked the same music I liked and, I mean, I feel like I went to more concerts between 2001 and 2005 than I did go to class.

So,  yeah.  My morning jacket. So many incredible memories that are locked in for the rest of my life seeing them live. 

That's an amazing page. Yeah.  You're going off the board a lot here. I like, I love it. I am off the board. I know.  I'm going, uh, super lame, but I'm going to complete my, uh, set here. I'm picking Paul McCartney with my fifth pick.

See, I thought you'd pick him. I get John Lennon. I 

thought about that, but see, I was gaming it out. You're going to get the steep guy 

for the rest of the day. Thinking 

that you would want that. I wanted to get Lennon first, probably because you wouldn't pick Why wouldn't you pick McCartney? I was kind of surprised.

I kind of figured you'd bounce back and pick him. 

I like Paul. 

I mean, you get wings. You get,  yeah. 

Because I  am loyal to John Lennon. Not that there's anything wrong between him and McCartney. You know, 

some great, great cuts there. 

But they're, they're very different. They 

are different. I agree, but, 

and I, I am the 

vocal quality, but it's the Beatles, you know, that  what's, what's missing from him that you wouldn't, that you, 

I don't know, I just, I have such an attachment to John Lennon and it kind of, and I love Paul McCartney, but  it just feels wrong.

It's like choosing one sibling over the other.  I don't, I can't, but you 

can choose John over Paul.  

Yeah, but I'm saying if I  Know Paul, but no, I just wouldn't I'm gonna pick Paul over John. John's my guy. 

Okay, I'll let it go  All right, what you got my 

next 

you're you're up. 

Uh, i'm fifth 

pick 

brian wilson 

He was on there.

Yeah, 

I feel like no one can see this because it's audio only but it's like you're picking the albums above  

That's funny you 

got david ruffin the war on drugs you wanted the beatles didn't get it And now you got now you got brian wilson. 

That's funny. I just looked up there. 

Yeah. 

Yeah brian wilson. So You  The Beach Boys, that, that sound also is a big part of my childhood.

My  parents love the Beach Boys.  And, yeah, which, you know, kind of the same time period as Motown as well. But I also love, like, the surf rock sound in some of their songs. Um,  Brian Wilson was so talented and such a tortured artist. And I, you know how I feel about the tortured artists. Those are my people.

He, very tortured. Very tortured. We haven't watched the, the, there's a Beach Boys documentary out, right?  I think it's on app. 

I'm sure there is 

Disney. We're going to watch that when 

I was in elementary school on Sundays there would be like four part Series like made for TV like four part series. There's one about the Jackson 5 I remember I watched with my parents and there is one about The Beach Boys, and most specifically, I think it told the story of Brian Wilson, and I remember being in like second grade and just being locked into that, and I don't, I think it started, you know, it was on for like two or three hours, like two or three nights in a row, and I got to stay up to like eleven and watch that with my dad and just remember feeling so much for Brian Wilson as a little girl.

His voice is, you know, so distinct as well, but he's so talented and just one of those people that could sit in a room and probably write an entire album in a day and not be interrupted.  But he also sort of falls in that like with a band I like today, Lord, you're on. So Ben Schneider kind of has that.

Like sort of a Brian Wilson essence to his voice. Sometimes he doesn't go high, quite as high as Brian Wilson, but  Yeah. 

We've got some surf rock influences to their, to their music as well. 

Yeah. Brian Wilson's just,  just a neat character in my brain. 

I like it.  All right, I've got, I'm going for a vibe change with my next one.

I'm going Frank Sinatra. 

Oh, 

did I get one of yours again?  Nice. I'm glad. 

Nice. 

Nice. You know, confederate, just a amazing voice.  You get the Christmas songs, which I don't know if you thought about that. I did 

because the Beach Boys Christmas album was probably the most played Christmas album in my household growing up. 

But also Frank Sinatra is my grandmother and I's guy. 

Okay. Frankie, 

remember she used to say she loves those crooners just like her mans. Yeah, 

I do. But I've loved him for a long time. And I think again. 

Wow. Shots fired. What did I do? I just pick, I've got to pick somebody. His vibe though is a great, is a great vibe change. He was 

who was going to slip into John Lennon's place, now I've got to 

go with another one. That's good. I'm picking, picking yours off. Uh, he's excellent. The quality of his voice, a lot of emotion in his voice too, but he's got a smoothness to it that I think is a,  is very different from the other people that I'm picking and I wanted to have a little variety in the things that I've picked as well. 

What do you got next? 

Okay, let me see. I'm jumping around. Um, Otis Redding. 

Okay. He was on my list as well. Yeah, 

that's my mom's. I think other than like, Group wise, but like as a, as a Motown singer sitting on 

the back of the bed, my mom 

really loved Otis Redding. But yeah, 

I don't know his catalog as much as I was looking through some of his songs because his voice, his name came up a bunch, 

but it doesn't matter.

You know, sometimes there are songs, there are like temptation songs that when Ruffin doesn't sing on them, sure. I don't like them as much. I do love the temptation, but Ruffin's not in the front. 

Yeah. 

Sometimes I have to say Alexa next song.  

Okay. Fair. But Otis though, you're not, you're just letting it go.

I don't 

care if it's a song that I don't know all the words to. That's an interesting way to think 

about it.  

His voice makes my head tickle. All right. Yeah. It gets in my ears and makes my head tickle. I literally feel like I'm sitting on the dock of the bay at sunset every time I hear him sing.  If they can, if their voice can, or music can transport you to a place that makes you happy then. 

Perfect. I'll 

take you with me on that desert island, deserted island. Deserted island, yeah we're 

arguing about that too.  Okay, uh, I'm picking, uh, I had a funny one that I don't know which way to go on it. I wanted, uh, I had Bob Marley, George Strait, and Snoop Dogg.  

You're not allowed to say all three. No, 

I got to pick, I got to pick, but that was on that same line.

Uh, just I had to, I had to shout them all out. I'm going to go a little off brand, but I'm going George Strait. I'm going with, uh, the, uh,  Yeah, the country. I gotta get a little country in there. He's got a huge catalog, love his voice,  Has a certain kind of vocal quality to it, and just a ton of, 

yeah, a 

ton of mel just a ton of melody, ton of sing along ability, which I think is underrated.

I feel like it's a little underrated that people got away from that. I love indie music. He 

still sounds great. Like he always has to sometimes voices change a little bit 

for sure, 

but 

and I think that That's an underrated thing that I, that I missed for a long time. And like getting really into indie rock that when I, you got me back into like the Beatles and some of the other songs, it's like the ability to sing along or even remember, you know, listen to the lyrics and understand them or not, or bring the vocals to the front.

It's just fun. Sometimes like that is part of what makes music fun is, is connecting with the singer in that way. 

Okay. Since you went with country, I'll. really the only country singer I had as well, which is Hank Williams senior. I should have just looked at 

the wall behind you.  I saw, I was surprised. I saw his, his, him as a vocalist on a lot of those lists.

Very high. What about his voice specifically? Do you like, cause he does have a very unique 

voice.  Some 

people don't like it. 

I don't know. Oh, my mom can't stand it. But, I love it. 

I'm not going to try it right 

now, just to spare everybody. And I don't, I don't know that I have, like, the,  the, the training to speak correctly about what it is about his voice that I love, but I think it's also just a feeling and a place that it transports me to. 

Country music from that time is such a blanket of comfort for me because of my grandparents. I mean, a lot of the music and voices that I love have to do with  the family and memories and times that were important to me. And my,  my mom's mom is the Grandmother that I always speak of, but that I have been speaking of, and she loved the old country classics, country music, Ernest Tubb, Hank Williams, I mean  So it's funny that that my mom and I think her three sisters I'm pretty sure all three of them can't stand music like that, but my dad loves it as well So that was also something special that he and I could sort of have while my mom complained that it was playing But he and I you know She could tell him to turn it off, but she could never tell me  to turn it off as well, but  my Grandparents love they man's and paps actually wanted to move to the Smoky Mountains You That was something they thought they'd retire and go do so there's so much country music there as well So we used to travel there like three times a year we had  Chalet that we  always it was the same one we always stayed in and  the whole way down, you know, cause Mams was in the car with us.

We listened to that music everywhere we ate, everywhere we went in the cabin. That's what we listened to. Um, my great uncle lived just in, he had like a nice little trailer on my grandparents property and that was his favorite music as well. And he was such a special person too. So, um,  Yeah, it just takes me to a time and a feeling.

It's like a, like a  blanket wrapped around me. I was about to say 

a blanket. It sounds like a blanket. It 

is. And I, I love it. And I, I think Hank Williams is a cool, I mean, the fact that everything that, that he learned and the time period that he grew up in, he credits like all, like, Black musicians and I just think that's very cool because I don't think that's what people think of especially When they think of like Hank Williams jr.

So  

I'm going are you good for me to go? Yeah, I'm going with Sam cook with my next pick  Really? He 

was in like my list of 20, but I do. Well, yeah. Why, why farther down for you? I think he and Otis,  it's not, again, like I think the maybe like 11 through 20 maybe fell a little lower than one through 10, but one through 10, I don't know that there's a super particular order other than  I, if I only had to take one with me, it might have to be David Ruffin. 

But.  Other than that, uh, yeah, some of it's not super particular order. Cause they're so different. 

Yeah. He has a pretty voice. I liked that, uh, quality to it. Very different from the rest of the singers that I have in the list. Not that they don't have pretty voices, but there's something lighter, uh, about the way that he, his affect on the way that he hits the notes.

Also 

interesting story and story of his death. 

Yeah, I know. Heartbreaking. Yeah. Yeah.  Terrible. 

Incredible singer though. 

Yeah. All right. Number eight. 

Um, okay. Let me see. Where am I at? So Michael Jackson.  

I mean, 

I, I know. What do I even say?  Michael Jackson was maybe my first favorite  singer.  There is a photo of me as a toddler.

I think I'm Barely walking and don't have a lot of hair, but I could  sing and Talk a little bit and I'm wearing a Michael Jackson shirt that's down to my ankles For my third birthday. 

Do you think it is the time that you grew up? So in the first episode you talked about the 80s and how you kind of can't  Came into music or connected with music.

Do you think because he was the voice of that generation? Yeah, 

I think because When I was 1, years old We were getting his first solo stuff really and solo stuff that was really successful and Thriller and my siblings were teenagers then  and And You know, they toted me. That's all, that's all I knew was whatever they were doing.

So  Michael Jackson was it and everything. And he was all over TV. He was doing, you know, Pepsi commercials and his MTV  was really growing. And that was on at our house all the time. And I think when you're that little too, and you hear music,  those, that music and those beats and that voice.  Cause there is also something, was then especially still something very childlike about his voice as well.

So I think it caught my ear and everything, every production of everything he did was so fun and so exciting and eye catching. So 

what's a, what's a song that exemplifies his, his singing 

human nature, my favorite Michael Jackson song.  

What about human nature? 

Okay. You know, I love the breathiness in the voice as well.

Yeah. We talked a little bit about that in the first episode. 

He's got some, some breathy runs in that. You also his,  the music in it, we get like  the keys and sort of the eighties sounds in there. That song is also one of those  Standing with your arms out and your eyes closed on a cool summer evening. Not a hot summer evening, but a cool one. 

And you're just letting the wind hit you in the face and you're listening to human nature. Go try it and tell me that human nature won't be in your top 10 favorite songs of all time. 

Create your own memory.  Yeah. Anywhere. It 

feels like the time that it came out. But it. But it also feels  like it kind of makes you just want to take off running into the night.

Yeah. The production 

of it is very of its time, but the melody of it is very like you can connect it to any time.  Yeah. 

I want to break out into song. 

Yeah. 

Do all my hand motions. 

Okay. I have, I have a question for you before I make my next pick.  If the person is singing backing vocals, do I get that song as well?

Or do they have to be the lead, the lead singer? No, I 

think if you like their voice,  You get it. 

Okay. Okay. So I'm picking Stevie Nicks. Uh,  

okay. She's an honorable mention because I went with a different female, but my God, 

I know. Well, I think 

you're, let's talk about who we're influenced by  heavily influenced by me.

I was Stevie Nicks for Halloween a few years ago, by the way. I nailed it. You did nail it. That's a great, great picture. I Didn't buy a cheap top hat either. 

No, you didn't. A very nice one. I got on Edy. You went for it. You went for it. No, I think that again, uh, the type of music that she, that she sings also one of our favorite TV programs, it would make me, uh, think of Daisy Jones.

Mm-Hmm.  Oh God, that's my God. No one's watched that on Amazon. I am Daisy Jones. Yeah. Great. Great show. Mm-Hmm. and very, uh, Stevie Nicks inspired, I feel like. 

Yeah, for sure. 

Um.  But I think that, 

I thought you were gonna say American Horror Story, the 

way, the way that she sing. Oh, she's in that, right? She's 

in.

I wouldn't say that. Yeah. Coven. Yeah. That's my favorite. Yeah. I wouldn't say that. That's my favorite season. 

So yeah. , 

the white witch. The white witch. Mm-Hmm. . Perfect 

for her 

and me. All right. Love witches,  and vampires. Okay. 

What do you got? Okay, so I'll pick nine. 

I'll go with with one. I think my, wait.  Is it?

Yeah, you're at nine. I have three more. 

No. 

Yes, I do. 

Do you want me to read off your top eight right now? Number one David Ruffin. Number two, Adam Granduciel. Number three, Levon Helms. Number four, Jim James. Number five, Brian Wilson. Number six, Otis Redding. Number seven, Hank Williams.  Number eight, Michael Jackson.

Oh, shoot. I goofed something up here. So I have two left. 

You got two picks left.  Good recap. 

Yeah. 

Well, while you're, you're looking, I've got John Lennon was my first pick. I've got, uh, number two. Who did I have? Number two. 

This is tough. Who 

did I, who did I pick? Number two. Yeah.  Great. This is great. I'll have to edit this later. 

Who did I have number two? Oh, I had Smokey number two. Smokey number two, Eddie Vedder number three. Um, I had Paul McCartney four. I had Frank Sinatra five, George Strait six, Sam Cooke seven, Stevie Nicks eight.  Well, you get to say a line 

of several people, so I'm gonna, I'm going to do a line as well. I went with Chrissie Hynde, who was the lead singer of The Pretenders.

Oh, wow. Okay, so the reason I chose her on my line with Chrissie Hynde, I had Stevie Nicks, Patti Smith, Karen O,  Debbie Harry, Maya Iverson, who's the lead singer of The Sounds, And Allison Mosshart, who is in the kills. So they all sort of have that sound. I think that was influenced by like Patti Smith and Chrissy Hind.

Wow. 

But this was also at a time. 

Do I know a pretender song? What's a pretender song? That's really good. 

Brass in pocket. 

Oh, okay. Okay. Yeah.  

You know that one for sure. But they sort of all to me fall in that category. So I was thinking of all like, And you know I like the, the like, badass, female. You don't have to do a lot of running and ranging with your voice.

But,  if you look like you look at a man and he turned to stone, and you're a front woman,  front man for that matter.  Female front man. Yeah.  

You're fronting a band. 

But I think Chrissy sort of embodies all of those voices and also is so  effing cool. 

Wow. I'm going to have to, I'm going to have to definitely check, check it out.

Yeah. And she had the like, she'd wear the dark eyeliner and the bangs over her face and the like shaggy hair and just  moved around. Yeah. 

Yeah. Nice. All right. 

So I pick her and all of those ladies fall in ninth, ninth, 

ninth pick there as a bold one. I was, did not have that on my board for sure.  All right, I'm going, I'm going vibes again.

I mentioned him already, but I'm, I'm going back to it. I'm going Bob Marley. Okay.  

Yeah.  You mentioned someone else earlier too, that, but I'm going to have to decide between him and this and another person since I Accidentally had 11 on there. I'm 

going I'm going Bob Marley again. I think just like change of change of vibes Just you know, you can put it on any day.

You said their 

catalog though. So technically One of my people doesn't have much of a catalogue, unfortunately. I know, 

I thought that too. If 

they were still with us, they would have had an amazing catalogue. Right, Hank 

Williams, not a lot of, not a lot of songs to pick from there. 

Yeah, it's true. 

Yeah, so that, that was Well, 

I panicked because you took John Lennon from me. 

I have a list of, uh, You got 

Bono behind you. You could, you could pick him. He's on, he's on the board still. If I 

listen to Sunday Bloody Sunday on repeat, well, this album. 

Joshua Tree too? 

U2 War. Joshua Tree or U2 War. I mean, War is so me though. Yeah, it is.  

But I mean, I feel like Joshua Tree would be all right with that.

Oh yeah, for sure. Okay. Just, just, just confirming. 

Yeah. 

All right. Your last pick. This is it. 

Okay. Well,  I'll say who was on my list. Can I say in the reason that I'm going to boot them off?  This feels hard. Amy Winehouse was on there.  She's great.  Amazing voice. She could sing to me all day, but she did not get an opportunity to record more.

Maybe never, 

maybe never at her best too. Who knows, you know, with the difficult life she had, maybe she never even reached her peak. She 

was so powerful.  Um, so I'm going to go with Nathaniel Raitliff. 

Wow. Okay. Yeah. Okay. 

I considered Chris Stapleton. I do love his voice. He 

was on some lists I saw. 

But I actually listened to both of them to decide between the two, because there is a similarity there,  but Chris Stapleton's voice is a little bit more like, see, like clean. 

And I think I like the, also I, I know  a lot about Nathaniel Raitliff's history and life.  Leading up to now, and I think I hear that in the sound of his voice. He's got a 

new album coming out. Yeah. So you may be. 

Also, can I add. 

We'll give that to you since it's within the calendar year. 

Thank you. Thank you.

Whenever Aaron asked me on the spot, and I wasn't prepared for lyrics specifically that mean something to me. Oh, yeah. Last, last episode. I got really upset afterward that I did not mention. And. Um, from Nathaniel Raitliff in the night, so that's wasting time, the line, think of all the wool I've spun to be here tonight.

It's 

a good one. 

Yeah. And as the anxious rambler goes on, there may be an understanding of why I have spun lots of wool to be here tonight. That's right. That's right. I too have not had an easy time to be where I am today, but yeah, that's actually a, A tattoo idea that I'd like to create 

into a photo. I love it.

That would be a great one.  

Yeah. 

That'd be a great one. 

Yeah, he's, and I've seen him live, he also.  M maybe sounds cooler live.  

Same in that Levon helm. Like I said earlier, I, I'm, I feel like I cry. Inception album. There's a cry in that voice. Put that thought into your head. 

Yeah. Do you have any Also, we went to Louisville yesterday and I think maybe listened to an hour's worth of Nathan.

Yeah. 

Yeah. He's great. 

Do you wanna meant, say any honor? Oops. Honorable mentions . I hit the table.  

Uh, honorable mentions for, for me, I had a really, 

Oh 

yeah, I had a, I had a really hard time. I've got one more pick too, by the way. 

Oh, 

I 

forgot. I'm being selfish. Hey, you are. I stole some of mine.  So 

I'm going to make my last pick first.

I'm picking Bruce Springsteen with my last pick again. 

He falls in the Adam category a little bit with 

me. Uh, really long, you know, big catalog. Bye. ton of different, uh, fun, uh,  fun songs, lots of, lots of different, I could listen to Nebraska, you know, I'm really sad cause I'm by myself on my desert Island,  but I could also get, get pumped up and rock out with him, uh, to got the horn section at points, which is fun when he had the E street band with him.

Um, so lots, lots of fun stuff, but yeah, I had a lot of singers that were really hard. Uh, some of them that were more like. A eras. I don't know if you had this, but I had like eras of my life where I loved a singer, but I don't love him as much. Yeah. Now like I had Tom York that I thought, that I thought about, I thought would be 

on your list for sure.

'cause you've said that before. 

And I love Radiohead, but I was just like, man, 

would you get a little tired of 

Well, he just, not just, it's just they can be so dow they can be so dour. Yeah. And, and so. Sometimes I like to listen to a Radiohead album, but I don't know that I'd listen to like their catalogue straight through, you know, I think that would be, that would be a challenge for me because by the end of it, I'd be like, wow, that was, that was kind of like what I had talked about with some of the powerful vocalists that are so technically beautiful.

Um, it's a lot after a while and they're kind of the same. I 

did not put Freddie Mercury on my list. 

Yeah. No, good. Yeah, that's a good one. 

Like maybe one of the greatest vocalists ever. Yes, 

for sure. I had a real Maybe 

is the greatest. I 

had a real hard time not picking, uh, some rap artists because they're, they're not like I 

almost went with D'Angelo.

Yeah, they're not totally singers. Just to add Totally singers. Not that 

he's 

Yeah, he's more of an R& B. R& B. But just 

to throw that in there. Yeah. But it is 

kind of weird because they don't 

sing as much. I had heavy guilt not putting Elton John on that list. 

Yeah. 

But  

But I love like, like Chance the Rapper sings a little bit more as a rapper I love.

But there's not, there wasn't, there wasn't as, there wasn't that singing quality that I felt was important if I was going to pick singers specifically,  I needed to stick to people who were singing. If I could have 

Benny and the Jets on repeat, or Anne Marina. How did 

Elton John not make your list? 

He was, he was.

He was almost on mine. 

Yeah. Yeah. So.  He is in the, like, next to go up spot. I'm a little 

surprised by that. 

Yeah, I had him in the first draft, but then I was sort of really thinking about  Elton's music and him as a person is one of my favorites, but as a, like just voice itself, I'm not like, Oh my gosh, his voice hits me right there.

Yeah, that's true. But you met one with other people who aren't, again, like specific voice, you know,  voice, I guess, but the band, the band overall feeling 

about Elton John. Yeah. 

Yeah. Just not, not quite. Huh? 

Yeah, I had to have some ladies on. 

Oh, okay. That makes sense. 

My eyes twitching.  

Probably because I got John Lennon.

It's still, I'm so upset. 

You'll be haunted by that for the rest of the day.  All right. Do you want me to recap it one more time?  Your final list. David Ruffin, Adam Granduciel from The War on Drugs, Levon Helm from The Band, Jim James or Yim Yams from My Morning Jacket, Brian Wilson of The Beach Boys, Otis Redding, needs no introduction, Hank Williams, you had Michael Jackson, you had Uh, Nathaniel Rateliff and Chrissy Hine was your ninth pick, okay?

I had John Lennon with the first pick stealing him in the draft, uh, you were pretty upset about that.  I had Eddie Vedder, Eddie Vedder third. Who did I take second? I took Smokey Robinson second, I had Paul McCartney fourth, I had Frank Sinatra fifth, George Strait six, Sam Cooke seventh, Stevie Nicks eighth, Bob Marley ninth, and Bruce Springsteen tenth.

I feel pretty good. I think my list Aaron's 

list heavily influenced by his wife.  

Maybe better than his wife's list. So I don't know. Let the people decide, let the people decide.  

All right. 

Till next time, right? Duet duets. We don't know where we're going next with it, but, uh, we'll keep it musical, uh, for now, unless the anxious rambler starts rambling on a different topic. 

Yeah, well, music helps my anxiety, so, and clearly I tend to ramble on about 

that you got yesterday that, that you, uh, 

We are what we listen to. 

Oh, we are what we listen to, that's a good way to, that's a good way to end it. Yes. We are what we listen to, I agree. Alright.  

Shinx.