nian fiedler ([email protected])
Wed, 30 Sep 1998 10:22:18 -0700 (PDT)
I have just graduated with my degree in Speech and Language
Pathology, and have had discussions with professors about this topic
(smoking - not Bono) The general concensus is that smoking can cause
a change in some people's voices, but this occurs only after LONG TERM
HEAVY SMOKING.
First, I don't think Bono is a heavy smoker. A cigarette now and then
or even a half a pack a day is not considered heavy. Anything OVER
one pack a day would be considered heavy. And long term, we're
talkin' 20 or 30 years!! I've only noticed Bono smoking since Achtung
Baby times, so that's ten years tops! It is also usually the
combination of heavy smoking and old age that produce this effect.
With old age I'm talking around 60 and up.
My professors thought that if we were talking about a singer it is
more likely caused by overuse or abuse.
What I'm saying is this. Bono's singing hasn't changed because of
smoking. He has changed his singing style to perserve his voice. In
my opinion (and others that I have read here on wire) I find the way
he uses his voice to be much more full and expressive. The real cause
of any voice change would be the very thing that lots of you want Bono
to continue to doing -- yelling, and pushing his voice to the limit.
But I really think that the change in singing style is completely his
choice, because during live shows he still does push his voice to the
limits a lot. If some of you think that his voice has gotten plain
bad, than you should take another listen to the live Please single
(popheart) I have rarely heard Bono's voice better than on the live
version of Please and Staring at the Sun.
thoughts?
nian
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This archive was generated by hypermail 2.0b2 on Wed Sep 30 1998 - 10:32:04 PDT