How can I explain it.... on the one hand I can't stand to hear people misuse their voices, because it hurts me! but then, some people without excellent voices, like Amanda, are such excellent performers that I just skip that technical part. I guess to use a visual metaphor, John Barrowman would be Ingres, while Amanda Palmer would be, like, Van Gogh -- presenting a very rough surface that is nonetheless striking and vividly alive. :)

Her voice is swallowed, but it registers to me as on pitch :)

What irritates me most in singers is little mannerisms that are not justified by the performance. whereas Amanda's performances are very powerful and very honest feeling. :)