Genre

Spoken Word

Spoken Word on LoudQuietLoud: more than 100 artists, including Saul Williams, Dry Cleaning and William Shatner. It runs alongside avant-garde jazz, standup comedy and poetry.

Album art: Fontaines D.C., Dopamine Chamber

Fontaines D.C.

post-punk · crank wave · indie rock

Cover of No One Was Driving the Car by La Dispute

La Dispute

post-hardcore · screamo · experimental

Album art: Boy Harsher, GET MEAN

Boy Harsher

coldwave · ebm · drone

Slaughter Beach, Dog

indie rock · indie · indie pop

Saul Williams

hip-hop · spoken word · poetry

Protomartyr

post-punk · crank wave · garage rock

Protomartyr

post-punk · crank wave · garage rock

Dry Cleaning

post-punk · crank wave · spoken word

William Shatner

spoken word · comedy · canadian

Sleaford Mods

post-punk · crank wave · spoken word

Album art: Yard Act, You’re Gonna Need a Little Music

Yard Act

post-punk · crank wave · indie rock

King Missile

alternative · avant-garde · comedy

Sneaks

post-punk · crank wave · spoken word

Eddie Izzard

comedy · stand-up · british

Anne Clark

new wave · electronic · female vocalists

Bill Hicks

comedy · stand-up · genius

Chris Rock

comedy · stand-up · stand-up comedy

Cover of The Strange World of Suzie Pellet by Lydia Lunch

Lydia Lunch

no wave · post-punk · experimental

Lewis Black

comedy · stand-up · stand-up comedy

David Cross

comedy · stand-up · stand-up comedy

Folly Group

post-punk · crank wave · art punk

Kae Tempest

spoken word · rap · hip-hop

Hotel Books

spoken word · screamo · ambient

Henry Rollins

spoken word · punk · comedy

The Last Poets

spoken word · poetry · jazz

Billy Nomates

post-punk · crank wave · spoken word

Leonard Nimoy

star trek · folk · comedy

Negativland

experimental · avant-garde · noise

Marc Maron

comedy · podcast · stand-up

William S. Burroughs

spoken word · poetry · experimental

Eugene Mirman

comedy · stand-up · stand-up comedy

Lonnie Holley

experimental · soul · blues

Album art: Antony Szmierek, Decoding Birdsong

Antony Szmierek

spoken word · electronic · hip-hop

Alan Watts

spoken word · philosophy · buddhism

Jerry Seinfeld

comedy · stand-up comedy · stand-up

Matana Roberts

jazz · free jazz · avant-garde jazz

Mhaol

crank wave · post-punk · noise rock

Stephen Colbert

comedy · truthiness · spoken word

Boyd Rice

industrial · neofolk · noise

Thought Gang

dark jazz · free jazz · experimental

H.P. Lovecraft

audiobook · psychedelic rock · author

TV Priest

post-punk · crank wave · indie rock

David Shrigley

experimental · british · pop

Boris Karloff

spoken word · american · actor

Ivor Cutler

poetry · spoken word · scottish

Soundwalk Collective

ambient · experimental · spoken word

The Cool Greenhouse

post-punk · crank wave · art punk

Hesse Kassel

post-rock · art rock · experimental rock

AGF

glitch · experimental · minimal

Shel Silverstein

folk · spoken word · comedy

Jim Jarmusch

experimental · spoken word · usa

Charles Spearin

experimental · jazz · avant-garde

Tig Notaro

comedy · stand-up comedy · stand-up

Robert Ashley

experimental · contemporary classical · avant-garde

Augustus Muller

ebm · drone · coldwave

The Golden Palominos

experimental · avant-garde · alternative

Damon Locks

jazz · experimental · chicago

Blixa Bargeld

experimental · industrial · avantgarde

Noam Chomsky

spoken word · political · nchomsky

Edgar Allan Poe

audiobook · heavy metal · poetry

Barr

spoken word · indie · experimental

Greys

noise rock · rock · post-hardcore

Legss

post-punk · crank wave · post-brexit new wave

Eddie Griffin

stand-up · comedy · all

Mel Blanc

comedy · cartoon · spoken word

Rod McKuen

singer-songwriter · all · blues

Tim Kinsella

experimental · folk · indie

Meryl Streek

avant-garde · punk rock · post-punk

Benjamin Zephaniah

reggae · dub · dub poetry

Angus MacLise

experimental · drone · avant-garde

Sarah Jones

united states · hip-hop · rap

Exene Cervenka

female vocalists · punk · singer-songwriters

John Trudell

spoken word · native american · political

Joolz

post-punk · spoken word · punk

Timothy Leary

psychedelic · spoken word · psychedelic rock

Buddy Wakefield

spoken word · poetry · slam poetry

Rick Holland

poetry · spoken word

Datblygu

post-punk · welsh · wales

Cover of Une brève histoire du temps by Stephen Hawking

Stephen Hawking

audiobook · science · cyber rap

The Firesign Theatre

comedy · satire · humour

David Cain

experimental · electronic · bbc radiophonic workshop

Soli City

ambient · electronic · spoken word

Thandi Ntuli

jazz · psychedelic · spoken word

Aldous Huxley

audiobook · spoken word · british

Bitch and Animal

queer · folk · acoustic

Attila the Stockbroker

punk · political · poetry

Miranda July

spoken word · experimental · kill rock stars

Sylvia Syms

jazz · jazz vocal · female vocalists

National Lampoon

spoken word · humour · boomer humour

Boscoe

funk · soul · deep funk

Sidewalk Chalk

soul · jazz · spoken word

Crispin Hellion Glover

avant-garde · spoken word · experimental

Code of Honor

hardcore punk · hardcore · skate punk

Derek and Clive

comedy · 70s · uk

Ka Baird

experimental · jazz · avant-garde jazz

Squid & Martha Skye Murphy

crank wave · post-brexit new wave · spoken word

Radio

On public radio, last 30 days

Last 30 days · via public radio playlists

Public radio airplay for Spoken Word artists, last 30 days
Rank	Album	Stations	Days on chart	Spins
1	Dopamine Chamber Fontaines D.C. KEXP, KUTX, The Current, WXPN · 30 days on chart	KEXP, KUTX, The Current, WXPN	30	190 spins
2	You're Gonna Need A Little Music Yard Act KEXP, KUTX, WXPN · 8 days on chart	KEXP, KUTX, WXPN	8	46 spins

Press

Recently reviewed

LatestPitchforkSep 23, 2026

GET MEAN (opens in new tab)

On its major-label debut, the industrial-dance duo embraces brighter tones and wider vistas, but traces of the group’s claustrophobic murk remain.

Shop Boy Harsher

Beats Per MinuteAug 27, 2026
Album Review: Antony Szmierek – Decoding Birdsong (opens in new tab)
Antony Szmierek is a romantic.
Shop Antony Szmierek
PitchforkJul 24, 2026
You’re Gonna Need a Little Music (opens in new tab)
The UK band smooths out its characteristically jagged post-punk for a vaguely uplifting album that brings to mind lots of older British rock groups.
Shop Yard Act
New NoiseJul 20, 2026
Album Review: Yard Act – You’re Gonna Need A Little Music (opens in new tab)
Yard Act open their third album by basically telling us they have absolutely nothing new to say, which is a choice.
Shop Yard Act

Related genres

Avant-Garde Jazz Standup Comedy Poetry Comedy Art Punk Underground Hip Hop Dance-Punk Minimal Synth