Amy Winehouse - Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow

 

 

 #Amy Winehouse #R&B #jazz #soul #blues #pop rock #1960s-retro #neo-soul #singer-songwriter

 

Amy Winehouse, the British singer who almost single-handedly revived a mass appreciation of soul and R&B, was found dead in her Camden home in London on July 23. Media in every form – blogs, magazines, newspapers – often scrutinized her abuse of drugs and alcohol instead of focusing on her unmistakable talent as a singer and songwriter. While the idea of a young person rising all too quickly to fame and crashing is alarmingly expected, the loss of Winehouse is still incredibly tragic. Fans and fellow musicians have posted their tributes, and here at Cover Me, we look back at a few of her stand-out covers in memoriam.
Winehouse’s career started at an early age after she dropped out of school at the age of 15 and she started performing her own songs at jazz clubs. By 2002 she was signed to EMI and in 2003 her jazz and hip-hop infused debut, Frank, was released in the U.K. The album contained two jazz covers:  Isham Jones’ “There Is No Greater Love” and James Moody’s “Moody’s Mood For Love.” Tracks like this garnered countless Billie Holiday comparisons for the young singer. The album itself did not gather much commercial attention with its initial release, but earned critical accolades and proved a fantastic start to what anyone who heard it was sure would be a long and successful career.
Shortly after Frank’s release, she covered The Shirelles’ “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow” for the film Bridget Jones: The Edge of Reason. As if the two aforementioned covers did not already paint Winehouse as a painstakingly talented soul singer, this stripped-down version gave us a glimpse of the self-deprecating, honest, and lovesick traits that would make Winehouse’s next album. 2006’s Back to Black solidified her budding star status. The album earned six Grammy nominations and won five, including Best Pop Vocal Album and Best New Artist. She also won a slew of other accolades for the album, making it on nearly every major music publications’ “Best Of” list at year’s end. The first single, “Rehab,” gained massive attention not only for its undeniable catchiness, but also because of what in retrospect seems an early sign of her downfall. Oddly enough, one of the top songs Winehouse is known for is her rendition of The Zutons’ Valerie. The song appeared on Back to Black producer Mark Ronson’s covers album, Version. Rolling Stone called the track the only “notable recording” of Winehouse’s since Back to Black.
In 2008, a deluxe version of Back in Black was released, trying to maintain the hype while the world waited on a new record. Various editions included several covers, including Phil Spector’s “To Know Him Is To Love Him,” performed with his first group the Teddy Bears, and The Specials’ “Hey Little Rich Girl.” Unfortunately for fans, Winehouse’s addictions prevented her from completing another studio album. One of her final projects was a cover of Lesley Gore’s “It’s My Party” for the Quincy Jones tribute album Q Soul Bossa Nostra, which was released last November. The track epitomizes Winehouse’s media-hounded private life and her couldn’t-care-less-attitude about what others thought about her destructive lifestyle choices.
Now, in July 2011, Winehouse joins other musicians who died too soon in the 27 Club. It is easy to ridicule her seemingly-cliched and drug-infused life, but it should be remembered that it was her music that made her a star in the first place, not the addictions. Her songs were steeped with an inherent and genuine ache and punchy self-criticism that few others have been able to emulate.  From: https://www.covermesongs.com/2011/07/remembering-amy-winehouse-through-her-covers.html

Nil Lara - Baby

 #Nil Lara #indie/alternative rock #singer-songwriter #Latin rock #rock en Español #world music #1990s

Nil Lara accomplishes an innovative lyricism rooted in traditional, Latin rhythms in this self-titled follow-up to his debut album My First Child. His Cuban heritage serving as catalyst, Lara weaves English and Spanish lyrics to communicate universal themes. From the first song, "Money Makes the Monkey Dance," which reflects upon the struggles and suffering of selling out, to the celebratory last, "Mama's Chant," the track titles consistently allude to the passion embedded in the melodies and words. The album's highlights -- "Baby," "Fighting for My Love," and "Vida Mas Simple" -- each distinctly explore love and liberation. Lara's incorporation of the Cuban three-toned tres guitar, the cuatro (a small, Venezuelan four-stringed instrument), the electric guitar, and various percussion instruments -- congas, chants, beads, and a pandeiro -- enhances his music's originality and eclecticism sprung from Cuban roots. Whether or not listeners comprehend Spanish is irrelevant; Lara's style is compelling and understandable in any language.  From: https://www.allmusic.com/album/nil-lara-mw0000183498

Nil Lara (born 1964) is an American musician from Miami, Florida who is a singer, guitarist and songwriter, playing the tres, the six-stringed Cuban guitar, and the cuatro, a Venezuelan guitar. Lara was born in Newark, New Jersey, the son of Cuban immigrants, but much of his childhood was spent in Venezuela, moving to Caracas at the age of 7. At 8, he had mastered cuatro - a four-string Venezuelan instrument from which he graduated to the guitar. He moved with his family to Miami when he was in junior high. While studying electrical engineering at the University of Miami in Florida, he rediscovered his Cuban roots in guajiro, the Cuban equivalent of country, and "Son" - Cuban music's answer to the blues. This led him to the tres, a Cuban instrument with a unique sound and with the status of a grassroots instrument in Cuba.
Lara's music is based on Cuban and Venezuelan folklore, with inspiration from Western musicians like Stevie Wonder and Pink Floyd. He formed a group called K.R.U. while at the University of Miami, with whom he released two albums before they disbanded, after which he became a teacher at New World School of the Arts. In December 1993 Lara released My First Child with his new band, Beluga Blue. He signed to Metro Blue/Capitol Records in 1995, releasing Nil Lara in 1996, produced by Susan Rodgers. He wrote little new material for the next few years,[4] finally releasing Testimony and Da in 2004.  From: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nil_Lara

Maria McKee & The Jayhawks - Precious Time - Live 1993

 #Maria McKee #The Jayhawks #alternative rock #alt-country #folk rock #roots rock #singer-songwriter #1990s #ex-Lone Justice #music video

Maria McKee – You Gotta Sin To Get Saved Tour 1993
November 21st 1993 – Leicester University
I had no interest in the support band on this day. This gig had been a long time coming. I’m fairly sure I went on my own to this one, as I don’t recall anyone else being interested in the singer of “Show Me Heaven” from the Tom Cruise film “Days of Thunder”. That wasn’t why I was there, good job too, because in the true spirit of rebel rock and roll, she didn’t play it anyway - in fact, she very rarely plays it at live gigs as the audience is not demanding of it’s playing and doesn’t really fit with her music generally. No – we had unfinished business here. I was a big fan of her band, Lone Justice and had been so looking forward to seeing them supporting U2 back in 1987. Things didn’t go to plan that day, due to Wembley’s inability to open gates on time and get us into the stadium in time for the first band, which Lone Justice were. So we only caught a couple of tracks that day. Unfortunately, Lone Justice also split up later in 1987, so this would be a new band, but Maria was the leader, so this was still a very good thing. Much as I love a good male singer in a band, I do have a penchant for a brash, full on female singer, who mixes passion, anger and softness into their music and Maria Mckee is probably the greatest of these (Listen to the albums and live music before you try and debate this with me). Obviously a few years had passed since the brash 18 year gave us the superb country/rock and roll debut album “Lone Justice” and then later the classic album “Shelter”.
I was looking forward to seeing this loud, confident, talented, maybe arrogant LA Girl coming strutting on stage, but she just walked on with her band, waved and spoke really quietly and politely thanking us all for coming and hoped we enjoyed the show. Well, no need to worry, first song was the powerful Lone Justice song “East of Eden” so the quiet Maria immediately turned into the stage persona I’d been expecting - brilliant start! What you get with Maria McKee is a great voice, with a mix of anger, passion, melody and fun behind it. I hate comparing singers, so I will: Maria is a strong Dolly Parton type singer with that strong edge of the anger and passion coming through. A mix of Country, Blues, Rock and Gospel - a great mix! Reckon this could be called Country Punk (my own genre). I love small venue concerts and the Uni is the perfect venue for this sound. We get “Shelter” during the set, but sadly, no “I Found Love”. Things slowed down for “Panic Beach” and the start of cover of Patti Smith’s “Free Money” (I’d never heard this before), but the beat gets strong towards the end and a brilliant MC5 cover of “Sister Anne”
Fact: Maria McKee wrote the hit song “A Good Heart” when she was 18 which, became a hit single for Feargal Sharkey - true! The brilliantly titled “Soap, Soup and Salvation” off the first album is so full of energy you can’t help but dance! You need to hear that too! A mesmerising concert from a band of exceptionally talented musicians. The mix of country, blues, rock and roll was brilliant, maybe even a little bluegrass in there too. The stage energy from the whole band turned it into more of a dancehall than a gig. On my top ten gig list.  From: https://fanclubyears.home.blog/1993/11/21/maria-mckee-you-gotta-sin-to-get-saved-tour-1993/

Betty Davis - They Say I'm Different

 #Betty Davis #funk #R&B #soul #funk rock #singer-songwriter #1970s

There is one testimonial about Betty Davis that is universal: She was an artist ahead of her time. From her brief moment in the limelight to her decades of living as a recluse until her death in 2022, Betty Davis was a beautiful enigma. A drop-dead gorgeous model (and one of the first Black models to be featured in Glamour and Seventeen), Betty ran in crowds with Jimi Hendrix and was briefly married to Miles Davis (not to mention she played a large part in his stylistic radicalization). Her demure demeanor in life starkly contrasted with her onstage persona which oozed raw feminist liberation, a truly original punk-funk provocateur in her silver go-go boots and signature afro. One can hardly imagine the genre-busting, culture-crossing, musical magic of Janelle Monáe, OutKast, Prince, Erykah Badu, Rick James, The Roots, or Madonna without the influence of R&B pioneer Betty Davis. Rappers from Ice Cube to Talib Kweli to Ludacris have rhymed over her intensely strong but sensual music. Yet somehow, Ms. Davis’s unique story, still widely unknown, is unlike any other in popular music.
Betty wrote the song “Uptown” for the Chambers Brothers before marrying Miles Davis in the late 60s, influencing him with psychedelic rock and introducing him to Jimi Hendrix — personally inspiring the classic album Bitches Brew. But her songwriting ability was way ahead of its time, as well. Betty not only wrote every song she ever recorded and produced every album after her first but also penned the tunes that got The Commodores signed to Motown. The Detroit label soon came calling, pitching a Motown songwriting deal which Betty turned down. Motown wanted to own everything, but that didn't fly with Betty and her DIY ethos. Marc Bolan of T. Rex urged the creative dynamo to start writing for herself. She would eventually say no to Eric Clapton as her album producer, seeing him as too banal.
In 1973, Davis would finally kick off her cosmic career with an amazingly progressive hard funk, sweet soul, self-titled debut. Betty Davis showcased her fiercely unique talent with such gems as “If I’m In Luck I Might Get Picked Up” and “Game Is My Middle Name.” The album was recorded with Sly & The Family Stone’s rhythm section, sharply produced by Sly Stone drummer Greg Errico, and featured backing vocals from Sylvester and The Pointer Sisters. Her 1974 sophomore album They Say I’m Different features a worthy-of-framing futuristic cover challenging David Bowie’s science fiction funk with real rocking soul-fire, kicked off with the savagely sexual “Shoo-B-Doop and Cop Him”. Her follow-up is full of classic cuts like “Don’t Call Her No Tramp” and the hilarious, hard, deep funk of “He Was A Big Freak.” Betty Davis was riding high in the 70s. A new record label, a series of high-profile relationships, and intensely sexualized live performances made her a rising star. It seemed like everything was aligned to take the music world by storm. So Betty and band got back into the studio where she would act as writer, producer, and performer, creating her definitive release–Nasty Gal. Her entire catalog has now been lovingly remastered from the original tapes by Light in the Attic to sound as ferocious and revolutionary as they did when they first sprung on an unsuspecting world in the early 70s.  From: https://lightintheattic.net/collections/betty-davis

PJ Harvey - Man-Size

 

#PJ Harvey #Polly Jean Harvey #alternative rock #art rock #indie rock #hard rock #punk blues #folk rock #avant-rock #lo-fi #singer-songwriter #1990s #music video

PJ Harvey, the acclaimed British musician, has built her career on thought-provoking and emotionally charged songs. Released in 1993 as part of her album “Rid of Me,” the track “Man-Size” stands out for its raw intensity and powerful lyrical content. This essay aims to delve into the meaning behind “Man-Size,” deciphering its themes, metaphors, and artistic nuances.

1. Unveiling the Lyrics and Overall Message
“Man-Size” presents itself as an exploration of gender roles and expectations, challenging societal norms and drawing attention to women’s struggles for autonomy and identity. Harvey’s lyrics navigate the complexities of modern femininity and the constant pressure to conform. The song tackles themes such as objectification, power dynamics, and the emotional toll of societal demands.

2. Dissecting the Symbolism
Harvey’s lyrics often carry symbolic elements, adding layers of meaning to her songs. In “Man-Size,” the repeated mention of “man-size” can be seen as a metaphor for both physical and metaphorical strength. It emphasizes the societal expectation for women to fit into a predetermined mold of masculinity and highlights the pressure to conform to masculine traits to gain recognition and respect.

3. Analyzing the Chorus
The chorus of “Man-Size” is particularly gripping, with Harvey passionately proclaiming, “I’m coming up man-size / I’ll rip the whole thing down.” This fiercely defiant statement signifies a resolve to break free from societal constraints and embrace one’s own identity without compromise. It resonates powerfully, echoing the struggles faced by individuals attempting to defy gender norms.

4. The Role of Raw Emotion
PJ Harvey is known for her emotionally charged performances and vulnerability in her music. In “Man-Size,” her raw vocals and intense delivery evoke a sense of urgency, amplifying the song’s themes. By allowing her emotions to shine through, Harvey emotionally connects with her audience, enhancing the impact of her message.

5. Socio-Political Commentary
Throughout her career, PJ Harvey has been highly regarded for incorporating socio-political commentary into her songs. “Man-Size” is no exception, as it addresses the feminist movement and stirs dialogue about the challenges women face in a patriarchal society. The song serves as a rallying cry for women struggling to find their place and assert their independence.

6. The Music’s Impact on the Message
The musical arrangement in “Man-Size” adds depth and intensity to the song’s meaning. The heavy guitar riffs and distorted soundscapes reflect the frustration and anger woven into the lyrics. This sonic backdrop serves as a driving force, mirroring the internal struggles addressed in the song and further amplifying its impact on the listener.

7. Historical Context
Considered within the context of its release, “Man-Size” emerged during the grunge and alternative music era of the early 1990s. It was a time of cultural exploration and challenging norms, making it the perfect stage for PJ Harvey’s provocative and thought-provoking music. The song’s themes resonated strongly with the evolving feminist movement and contributed to ongoing discussions surrounding gender equality.

8. Interpretations and Personal Experiences
As with any piece of art, the interpretation of “Man-Size” may vary from person to person. Listeners often project their personal experiences onto the lyrics, finding solace or inspiration within them. The song’s powerful themes can speak to a wide range of individuals, evoking conversations about gender roles and society’s expectations.

9. Critical Reception and Impact
Upon its release, “Man-Size” received critical acclaim for its boldness and socio-political commentary. Rolling Stone magazine hailed PJ Harvey’s work, stating, “Harvey’s fierce voice is fearlessness itself, her wrenching, instigatory rock & roll scrapes the soul to its core.” The song’s impact extends beyond its initial release, as it remains relevant and resonant, inspiring artists and listeners alike.

10. The Significance in PJ Harvey’s Discography
Within PJ Harvey’s extensive discography, “Man-Size” holds a significant place. It represents her dedication to addressing important societal issues through her music and showcases her growth as an artist. The song’s thematic complexity solidifies Harvey’s reputation as a thoughtful and evocative songwriter, furthering her artistic legacy.

11. Cover Versions and Collaborations
Over the years, “Man-Size” has been covered by various artists, showcasing its enduring relevance and impact within the music industry. The song’s powerful message has inspired collaborations as well, amplifying its reach and demonstrating its ability to transcend time and genre boundaries.

12. Global Impact and Social Awareness
The lasting significance of “Man-Size” lies in its ability to provoke conversations about gender roles and societal expectations on a global scale. Harvey’s fearless approach has contributed to raising social awareness, enabling individuals to critically examine their own perspectives and challenge the prevailing gender narratives.

From: https://oldtimemusic.com/the-meaning-behind-the-song-man-size-by-pj-harvey/

Disappear Fear - Priceless

#Disappear Fear #Sonia Rutstein #folk rock #folk pop #alternative folk #indie folk #power pop #worldbeat #singer-songwriter #1980s #1990s

Hi Sonia, we’re thrilled to have a chance to learn your story today. So, before we get into specifics, maybe you can briefly walk us through how you got to where you are today?


I was five years old when my Aunt Laura took me out of kindergarten to attend the Flower Mart near the Washington Monument on Charles Street in Baltimore. It was around noon and for the first time, I saw Louis Armstrong perform, Hello Dolly. I was quite short so looking up at him I was looking directly into the sun rays was like swords of light into my eyes around the black outline of a man playing the trumpet and singing.
It was the first time I saw the sound from a radio come alive. It was REAL. I believe at that moment I decided I wanted to make music that could be heard on the radio and to be real on stages around the world. It made me feel good and that’s what I wanted to do, make folks feel good. I started writing songs when I was 14 and playing downtown at the dingy and famous Peabody Bookstore. my mother would drive me to the gig and my sister and I were paid $50 for two 40 minute sets.
It was a whole lot better than the $1.40 an hour I was making pizza and sundaes at the Beef Inn. So making music was my dream and has become my destiny but that is a bit of how it started. How I got to where I am I am today… was practice practice practice a bit of luck, a lot of naivety, determination, and perseverance. A publishing company in London heard my first record and flew me and my sister (singer/business partner) over to England and we signed our first publishing deal. We continued to play and amass a nice following in the USA and now around the world.

Can you talk to us a bit about the challenges and lessons you’ve learned along the way? Looking back would you say it’s been easy or smooth in retrospect?


The most important thing to me was/is to be true to myself. It is a high price to pay. But it is the only way I can sleep well at night. As a kid, I would see all this glitter and gold on TV Stevie Lawrence and the Las Vegas guys, and that sort of thing and it seemed so phony. I wanted REAL. So folk music with harmonies and guitars that didn’t need a bunch of electricity just authenticity seemed the way to go. My sister Cindy and I had already been singing together for 25 years so starting our own band, disappear fear was a logical step.
But female and out lesbian independent singer-songwriters were not at all present in the local national or international pop or rock or folk music scene. There were out gay performers in the gay market but we wanted to be 100% inclusive so we had to show the world and essentially audition at every club and radio station we stepped foot into and we did just that. Once the folks started coming out we had the upper hand we could call the shots and make the show really great. We did get ripped off financially. There was a club in downtown Baltimore we had a CD release concert and our contract said we got 80% of the door and the owner got 20% of the door and the whole bar tab. We had a counter at each door entrance that calculated our earnings to be $2600.
But at the end of the night, the dude gave us $500.00. we told him that he had shorted us and he said, “that’s enough money for two girls in one night”. The police station was right around the corner and we did file a report but nothing happened and we went back out on the road so no follow-up. Once also in Baltimore, we had a 2 monthly contract with a bar for every Wednesday night. The first night we packed the place and then someone yelled, “KiSS iN” and all these lesbians started kissing. and we got fired at the end of the night. The owner said he, “did not want THOSE kinds of people in his club”. We took the case to court and we met with The Council for Human Relations- they offered us in settlement $2000 to amend the $ we lost but they did not apologize for their homophobic and blatant prejudice.
We did not accept the settlement. At this time. I was still working for the Rape Crisis Center in Baltimore City. My dear friend. Lynnel said to me, “Sonia -show business is crazy and cutthroat. You can either spend your time chasing down the bad guys or move on”. We moved on. Touring in the southeast in the early 90s the sound guys wouldn’t even look you in the eye. They wanted a dude to talk to tell them what was needed for that night tech-wise. And it was not limited to the south it was prevalent across the country. And then on the other end of the career spectrum struggles - once you start making a little money the evil wanna-be’s wanna beat and take advantage of you. I find it is best, to be honest. In the celebrity-mania culture that we live in it is valuable to know the difference between dream and reality. You can’t really buy success - your heart and soul know the difference.

From: https://voyagebaltimore.com/interview/daily-inspiration-meet-sonia-disappear-fear-rutstein/

Paula Cole - Sessions at West 54th 1997 / Live at The 9:30 Club 1997

Sessions at West 54th 1997

Live at The 9:30 Club 1997 - Part 1

Live at The 9:30 Club 1997 - Part 2

 #Paula Cole #singer-songwriter #alternative rock #alternative pop rock #indie rock #art rock #piano rock #1990s #live music video

Twenty-five years ago, singer-songwriter Paula Cole released her sophomore album and major-label debut, This Fire, which spawned the perennial future Dawson’s Creek anthem “I Don’t Want to Wait” and the top 10 hit “Where Have All the Cowboys Gone?” The latter was Cole’s breakthrough single and was nominated for Record and Song of the Year and Best Female Pop Vocal Performance at the 1998 Grammys, but not everyone appreciated its irony or subtext. Cole, a staunch feminist, intended the moody tune — about a disillusioned, barefoot-and-pregnant housewife and her no-good cowboy husband — to be a social commentary on traditional gender stereotypes. But that message was lost on many listeners (including conservative radio host Rush Limbaugh!), who mistook it to be about a woman literally yearning for a macho Marlboro Man-type hero to come rescue her.
“Oh, yes. And they still believe that — there's still those folks holding out!” Cole laughingly tells Yahoo Entertainment/SiriusXM Volume. “It was so bizarre. You put out a piece of work and you know what it means, but then you let it go out into the world and it's like witnessing, I don't know, like an anthropological study. You learn about people. It was one of Rush Limbaugh’s favorite songs; he’d play it on his radio station! In some ways, it was horrific. In the moment, it was galling. I remember even though Spin magazine had been supportive of me, they didn't get it. One of the writers wrote that I was the ‘Tammy Wynette of Lilith Fair.’ And it was so the opposite — I was actually one of the most outspoken feminist dark horses on that whole stage.”
Cole explains that she was listening to a lot of British new wave band XTC at the time of the song’s creation. “Their writing is so funny and smart and clever, and I thought to myself, ‘I want to write something clever and turn it on its head.’ There's irony woven in, there's melancholia woven in, but from a woman's point of view. So, it really was like a gender-role wink-wink- nudge-nudge kind of laugh, kind of an examination of our society with some sadness, and with a little bit of a country song in there too. And then you blend it all together and there's this conversation and there's this learning — and confusion.”
Cole notes that “all the feminists got it” then and now (she’s very proud that indie-rock sister trio HAIM covered “Where Have All the Cowboys Gone?” in 2019), and that the song’s nuances were always better grasped by international audiences. “Another observation is that America has the fundamentalist, puritanical approach to things, but when I went to Europe, they so got it,” she recalls. “I remember in Spain especially, they loved the irony and the laughter — like, the ‘shiny gun’ is a phallic reference, totally tongue-in-cheek. Whereas this ‘shiny gun,’ America didn't get that.”
Along with the three nominations that “Where Have All the Cowboys Gone?” received at the 40th annual Grammy Awards, Cole was an overall seven-time nominee that year, winning in the Best New Artist category and making history as the first solo woman to be up for Producer of the Year. Cole reflects on that year — when some of the other major Grammy nominees were her fellow female singer-songwriters Shawn Colvin, Sheryl Crow, Jewel, Fiona Apple, and Lilith Fair organizer Sarah McLachlan, and playing Lilith Fair “felt like the original feeling of Woodstock” — fondly, even though her whirlwind success was admittedly daunting at the time.
“It you look at the Grammy nominations that year, it was really diverse. It was fantastic. I loved that time,” she says. “And the hip-hop scene then too, with Lauryn Hill and Missy Elliott and TLC and Lil’ Kim, was a really interesting time. Before, DJs were literally told not to play a woman after another woman on the radio, or you couldn't play more than one woman in an hour. It was difficult to move that needle, but we did move it. It did feel like we were changing culture a little bit. I think it kept coming back down to the art of the song and the point of view, being articulate and smart and badass; that perspective was embraced, and it didn't matter even what genre you were in. It was just about, do you have authority and authenticity in your voice? And the thing is, we're still here. All of those artists that we've named are still here. Like, we're in it for life. We're lifers.”
That being said, while Cole has released nine albums since This Fire, and is most definitely a lifer, she didn’t follow-up that double-platinum album with another overtly commercial release, and she has kept a relatively low profile ever since. “I felt like [Peter Sellers’s Being There character] Chauncey Gardner; it all happened very quickly,” she says of her ‘90s success. “I'm a wicked introvert, like a very thoughtful writer and kind of a shy person. And I was incredibly humbled and gratified by the success, but it was a lot to handle. I guess I wanted to shed off that ill-fitting snakeskin and retreat a little bit.” Cole’s third album, 1999's Amen, was therefore a massive stylistic departure from This Fire, a “neo-soul album with neo-soul influences” that, once again, was misunderstood by many fans.
“I didn't know necessarily what the public wanted, and I wasn't making my next album for that. I had no clue,” says Cole. “I just knew that I was listening to a lot of hip-hop and soul and Marvin Gaye's What's Going On album, and it just moved me so much. That album was really like a guide for what became Amen. I think it surprised people. You know, I'm a white girl and I've probably received some unnecessarily harsh criticism around that stylistic influence. But it was authentic to me. I felt like I wanted to sing about spirituality in a soulful way. I wanted to sing about social justice. I didn't want to sing about my boyfriend all the time. I wanted to expand upon lyrical themes, and weaving in social justice is really important to me.”
Cole took a seven-year hiatus after Amen to focus on motherhood, and she confesses, “I definitely thought about leaving the music business.” It was her idol Emmylou Harris, who had taken hiatuses in her own career, who ultimately convinced Cole to keep going. “She said to me, ‘You can't quit. It just happened too fast.’ For me, it happened really fast, and I needed to take myself away from that and find my authentic path and make my eras of different albums. You know, like Picasso had his ‘Pig’ era and his Blue Period, and Joni Mitchell had her Mingus album and everyone dumped on her for doing that. So, I just have to be truthful to myself. I can't predict what people will like. I needed to have my daughter and take some time, and now I'm back and on my own label, and it's much more flowing and prolific and free. And I'm so much happier.”
And so Cole, a self-described “frustrated jazz singer” who says she thinks “about race every day because my daughter's biracial,” continues to follow her own path. She just released her 11th, social-justice-oriented album, American Quilt, a collection of traditional folk covers that includes one original composition, “Hidden in Plain Sight (I Dream),” inspired by historical stories about slave quilts during the Underground Railroad era. She admits she still has some mixed feelings about the This Fire/Amen period of her career, because at the time she “got caught in a corrupt record deal [with Imago/Warner]. I'm still dealing with all that. They don’t reissue or remaster my work from that, even though this year is the 25th anniversary of This Fire, so it's really frustrating. I feel like I'm kind of locked, like that part of my life is locked in a cage, like inhumanely locked in.”
However, a few years ago, Cole decided to re-record her above-mentioned other big ‘90s hit, “I Don’t Want to Wait.” And after the song had not been featured on streaming or DVD versions of that TV series for years because Sony had only purchased the on-air rights to the track, Cole’s new version has finally been restored to all six Dawson’s Creek seasons on Netflix — which, in a full-circle development, has boosted what she describes as her “tortoise”-like career.
“I can feel it at the shows; I can feel it in the new fans that are coming to my socials,” Cole marvels. “The millennials knew “I Don’t Want to Wait” from the original Dawson's Creek, and then it kind of disappeared. And now, again, it's starting. It's really sweet. It's really sweet to see it touch new generations. That's got to be one of the best feelings in the world, when new young people are finding your work — and they find it for themselves, without bias, without context, and they just love it for what it is and in its simplest form. I love it. It's just so beautiful.”  From: https://www.yahoo.com/video/paula-cole-recalls-how-her-biggest-90-s-hit-was-misunderstood-it-was-horrific-184814249.html

Toni Childs - Welcome To The World

 #Toni Childs #alternative rock #folk rock #world music #contemporary folk rock #art pop #singer-songwriter #1990s #music video

Toni Childs’ musical compass has taken her north, south, east and west. Seeking inspiration for her third album, the American singer decamped to Madras, India, with a 24-track digital recording unit. It wasn’t her first field trip though. Childs’ debut, Union (1988), had been partially recorded in Swaziland, where she incorporated African voices into her art pop. (Fun fact: Union also features Marillion’s Steve Hogarth on keyboards.) Working with Indian musicians, Childs demoed four brand new songs in November 1992.
Womb, lyrically about a baby that is apprehensive about leaving its amniotic nest to enter the unknown world, suggested a conceptual direction for the rest of the album.The Woman’s Boat starts with that song of birth and ends with Death. The intervening nine songs trace a lifecycle of womanhood with all its triumphs and tribulations. Heavy stuff. But then Childs had plenty of life experience to draw upon. At 15, she ran away from the religious home she was raised in. Her early music career in Los Angeles foundered when she was briefly imprisoned for smuggling cocaine. A move to London heralded a fresh start. It was there that Childs befriended Peter Gabriel’s guitarist, David Rhodes, who became a key player on her early albums.
The Woman’s Boat was recorded at Gabriel’s Real World studios, which accounts for the album’s credits reading like a WOMAD festival bill. It features players of non-western instruments such as tamboura, mridangam, moorsing and didgeridoo, plus Pakistani superstar Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan and Belgian/African group Zap Mama. Producer David Bottrill also enlisted Talk Talk drummer Paul Webb, Trey Gunn on stick and Robert Fripp on guitar. Oh, and Peter Gabriel himself duets with Childs on I Met A Man.
Toni Childs’ utterly distinctive voice — as earthy and celestial as that of a gospel singer — sits atop the album’s verdant textures. On I Just Want Affection, the sultry desire of her vocal breaks through the cool reserves of the ethereal, bowed notes of an Indian sarangi. Her voice darts between the sinister shadows of Fripp’s soundscapes on Predator, and she sings with force-10 gusto over the heavy artillery of programmed beats on Lay Down Your Pain.
Upon release, The Woman’s Boat sunk without a trace. It would be 15 years before Childs released another record. Now living in Australia, she has since released several excellent albums via her website but The Woman’s Boat remains the album in which her musical compass pointed true north.  From: https://www.loudersound.com/features/toni-childs-the-womans-boat-its-prog-jim-but-not-as-we-know-it

Country Joe & The Fish - She's A Bird

 #Country Joe & The Fish #psychedelic rock #folk rock #psychedelic folk rock #psychedelic blues rock #acid rock #singer-songwriter #1960s

Although Country Joe and the Fish were together only four short years, the band’s political stance and eclectic rock left an important legacy. “Largely forgotten as one of the giants of psychedelic rock,” wrote Joel Selvin of MusicHound Rock, “Country Joe and the Fish towered over their contemporaries….” The band’s 1967 debut, Electric Music for the Mind and Body, remains one of the definitive psychedelic albums of the era, while “I Feel Like I’m Fixin’ to Die Rag” inspired thousands to protest the Vietnam War. The band received equal billing with San Francisco groups like the Grateful Dead, Moby Grape, and Jefferson Airplane in the late 1960s, headlining at the Avalon Ballroom and Fillmore Auditorium. Country Joe and the Fish received their greatest attention and are most remembered for their pivotal performance at Woodstock in 1969 and inclusion in the film, Woodstock. With songs that included references to politics and drugs, the band represented a perfect marriage between the radicals of Berkley and the hippies of San Francisco.
Joe McDonald’s parents were Communist workers who named their son after Russian Communist dictator Joseph Stalin. Born in 1942 in Washington, D.C., he grew up in the Los Angeles suburb of El Monte, California. McDonald learned to play the guitar and joined local folk groups, but later ran away from home and joined the Navy for three years. After his discharge, he moved to Berkley where he played guitar and harmonica in the Berkeley String Quartet and Instant Action Jug Band. “Country Joe and the Fish,” noted Bill Belmont on the Well website, “came about as part political device, part necessity, and part entertainment.”
At the end of 1965 McDonald gathered Barry Melton, Richard Saunders, and Carl Shrager from the Instant Action Jug Band, then added Bob Steele to form the first version of Country Joe and the Fish. This acoustic lineup cut two tracks, “I Feel Like I’m Fixin’ to Die Rag,” an anti-Vietnam song, and “Superbird,” a political satire. McDonald and Melton then played for a short time as a folk duo before putting together a second, electric version of the band with Paul Armstrong, Bruce Barthol, David Cohen, and John Francis Gunning. “Bass Strings,” from their “white EP,” received radio play, and the group’s manager, Ed Denson, secured a record deal with Vanguard at the end of 1966.
When Country Joe and the Fish released Electric Music for the Mind and Body in 1967, it quickly became one of the definitive psychedelic rock albums of the era. “The record documented perfectly their unique conglomeration of folk, blues, country and rock,” wrote Marianne Ebertowski in the Marshall Cavendish History of Popular Music. “It also gave evidence of their involvement with the San Francisco drug and hippie scene on the one hand and the radical political movement on the other.” “Bass Strings” and “Flying High” contained overt references to drug use, while the aforementioned “Superbird” included a barbed attack on President Lyndon Johnson. “I Feel Like I’m Fixin’ to Die Rag” was left off the album at the request of Vanguard’s Maynard Solomon. “An unusual move,” wrote Bill Belmont, “by the company that staged the Weavers’ reunion concert at Carnegie Hall during the height of the anti-left sentiment in the United States.”
Country Joe and the Fish played at the Avalon Ballroom and the Fillmore Auditorium throughout 1967. They performed at “The Human Be-In” at Golden Gate Park in San Francisco, made an appearance at the Monterey Pop International Festival, and even visited the United Kingdom where they played at the Roundhouse in Camden Town. They released their second album, I Feel Like I’m Fixin’ to Die, seven months after their debut. Many critics viewed the album as overindulgent, or as Richie Unterberger described it in All Music Guide, “the kind of San Francisco psychedelia that Frank Zappa skewered on his classic We’re Only in It for the Money.” Nonetheless, the title track was a keeper, noted Unterberger, “a classic antiwar satire that became one of the decade’s most famous protest songs, and the group’s most famous track.” While 1968’s Together received a warmer critical response, it would be the last album by the group’s classic lineup.  From: https://www.encyclopedia.com/education/news-wires-white-papers-and-books/country-joe-and-fish

Emilie Autumn - Opheliac

 #Emilie Autumn #dark cabaret #electronica #industrial #classical #gothic folk rock #singer-songwriter

Emilie Autumn Liddell is a Gothic poet, singer / songwriter, violinist, harpsichordist, performance artist, feminist, and author. She's self described as that she sounds "like the best cup of English Breakfast spiked with cyanide and smashed on your antique wallpaper." Of Emilie's life, very little is known at the moment. What we do know is that she started playing violin at the age of four, a talent that she has continued to this day, and that she voluntarily stayed away from most of the mainstream music communities (both classical and commercial) due to bad experiences and clashes within them: In fact, most of her albums were self published by her own company. Her first album was On a Day - a classical album released in 2000, when she was 20 or 21. The following year she put out the Chambermaid and By the Sword EPs. In 2003 her first full vocal album was released: Enchant, an album filled with a number of songs inspired by fairy tales. Also contained in this CD was the Enchant Puzzle, which no one has ever solved. This was the Enchant era, when Emilie was a faerie.
After going through an extremely awful period in her life that resulted in a suicide attempt and hospitalisation, she was inspired to move in a different artistic direction. This began with the Opheliac EP, followed by the full album Opheliac. This album was far Darker and Edgier than Enchant, and a reflection of Emilie's mental state, as this album was released as an agreement with herself that she'd make the album instead of killing herself. The songs are mostly about madness and suicide, particularly in water. Much of the album is influenced by William Shakespeare, as is made obvious by the title. Many of the songs are not written from the perspective of Emilie, but from Ophelia herself, the Lady of Shalott, and others. Later in 2007, she re-released Enchant along with A Bit o' This & That, which was a collection of previously unheard songs, re-mixes, and tracks from older EPs. Also released that year was Laced / Unlaced. Laced was a re-release of On a Day... while Unlaced was an all-new collection of instrumental songs done in her newer style. In 2009 she was able to release her autobiography, The Asylum for Wayward Victorian Girls. She has also released The Opheliac Companion, which provides information and background about the songs on Opheliac. The Opheliac era is what Emilie is most well known for. And from gaining more muffins (fans), she was able to make more and more theatrical tours which gained more and more theatrics tour by tour. Joining her on stage in the Asylum are her Bloody Crumpets, a group of lovely mad girls.
In 2012 she released another album, Fight Like a Girl, which had been lingering in Development Hell for several years. Despite her initial promises that it was going to be "more metal" than Opheliac was, it ended up being a theatrical concept album based around the fictionalised Victorian story that appeared in The Asylum for Wayward Victorian Girls. According to Emilie, she intends to use the album as part of the soundtrack to the play she's currently writing about the book. The album has created a Broken Base in the fandom because of its differences from the highly popular Opheliac and because the violin plays a much less significant role it in than it had in her previous music. Her current look and shows are generally referred to as the FLAG era by fans. She played the Painted Doll in The Devil's Carnival and its sequel Alleluia! The Devil's Carnival, musical films by the creators of Repo! The Genetic Opera, alongside two of her Crumpets, Captain Maggots and Contessa.  From: https://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Music/EmilieAutumn

Graham Nash - I Used To Be A King

 #Graham Nash #ex-CSNY #ex-The Hollies #folk rock #country rock #singer-songwriter #1970s

Songs for Beginners is Graham Nash's solo debut apart from Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. Released in 1971, it is a collection of songs that reflect change, transition, and starting over. The set was recorded in both Los Angeles and San Francisco, in the immediate aftermath of Nash's traumatic breakup with Joni Mitchell. Unlike the colorful dynamism of Stephen Stills' eponymous debut recording, or the acid-drenched cosmic cowboy spaciness of David Crosby's If I Could Only Remember My Name, Nash's album is by contrast a much more humble and direct offering. It is a true, mostly introspective songwriter's album full of beautifully performed and wonderfully recorded songs that reflect transition, movement, the desire to look backward and forward simultaneously. Like the aforementioned offering, this one is star-studded in its choice of players and singers: Crosby, Chris Ethridge, Jerry Garcia, Rita Coolidge, Clydie King, Venetta Fields, Dave Mason, Neil Young (under the pseudonym "Joe Yankee"), David Lindley, Bobby Keys, Phil Lesh, Dallas Taylor, and drummer John Barbata reflect some of the personnel on this heady yet humble session. The album is bookended by two of Nash's best-known tunes, the anthemic "Military Madness" that remains timeless in the 21st century, and "Chicago," that doesn't. That said, they are among the weakest songs here -- which reveals what a solid collection it is. Unlike many recordings birthed from personal angst, Nash's engages in no self pity; instead, he focuses on the craft of songwriting itself. Despite its personal darkness, "Better Days," with its swirling piano and pronounced bassline, is also an actual paean to self-determination and perseverance, the logic being that there were better days in the past, so there must be better ones in the future as well. "I Used to Be a King," with Garcia on a gorgeous pedal steel and Lesh on bass, is a direct, mature response to "King Midas in Reverse," a song Nash wrote and recorded with the Hollies. "Simple Man," with its sparse melody and strings and a fine backing vocal from Coolidge, was written on the afternoon of the breakup with Mitchell. The violin-cello backdrop to Nash's piano is particularly effective and makes this one of his most memorable songs. The parlor room country waltz that commences "Man in the Mirror," features Garcia's steel, Young's piano, ex-Flying Burrito Brother Ethridge, and drummer Barbata; it shifts keys, tempo, and feel about a third of the way in with a very long bridge that transforms the song's sentiment as well. Ultimately, Songs for Beginners is the strongest of Nash's solo efforts (outside of his work with Crosby).  From: https://www.allmusic.com/album/songs-for-beginners-mw0000197377

Graham Nash & Joni Mitchell

Laura Love - Sessions at West 54th 1998 / Philadelphia Folk Festival 1997

Sessions at West 54th 1998 

Philadelphia Folk Festival 1997

 #Laura Love #folk #Afro-Celtic #Americana #Afro-Carribean #folk rock #funk #R&B #world music #singer-songwriter #live music video

Singer-songwriter Laura Love has seemed like music's Next Big Thing for years now, a Northwest favorite occasionally brushing with national acclaim for her "Afro-Celtic" mix of exuberance, social conscience and heart. At 44, with a decade of comfort-level success behind her, the West Seattle resident has published a memoir with an accompanying CD. But "You Ain't Got No Easter Clothes" has nothing to do with Love's career, her Carnegie Hall showstopper or her folky-bluesy-jazzy soulful sound. Instead, it's about a child's bewildered love for her mentally unstable mother and a childhood so harrowing it could be used to argue for leniency if she ever committed a crime. Consider this, for instance: The scene where Love slips a noose around her own neck on her mother's command -- after being ordered to kill the pet cat as part of a planned family suicide -- is only a crest in the book's hills and valleys of tragedy. The memoir could have been a horror show, but it's eased by wry humor and amazing grace. And for Love, whose music often has been more global than autobiographical, the publishing debut is "just gravy" after the cathartic process of writing down her life. She wrote without expecting anything to come of it, she said, and found a literary agent through an Internet search after the manuscript was complete.
"I just wanted it to be written down somehow, even if it was just for me.” said Love. "There are few experiences in adult life that loom as large in my head and are as close to the surface as those childhood memories." Love and her older sister, Lisa, were raised in Nebraska by their mother, a highly intelligent, gifted teacher who was fearsomely mentally ill. Their father, Preston Love, one-time sax player for Count Basie, they were told, had died in a car crash when the girls were young. With novel-worthy characters and plot twists, Love describes how she and her sister stumbled through youth in an orphanage, a series of foster homes and their unstable home. Their poverty reached the point where a burglar who kicked down the door told the frightened children who were home alone, "Damn, y'all got less than I do."
The breaking point came not with those life-and-death struggles, but when a neighbor girl mocked Love as she walked home from church with her family.
"You ain't got no Easter clothes!" the girl taunted, as if Love's mother walking right beside her could provide no protection. Love attacked the girl like an animal, with claws and teeth. It's a scene that's hard to square now, with her generous voice and laid-back grin. "I just fell from grace that day, so hard," she said. Love knows she could have tipped either way in life. She said she needed to decide in those years "whether I was going to be a thug or enrolled in society." She was saved, she thinks, by the safety net of social programs such as Head Start and WIC, and the loving example of good teachers and social workers. "To be kind has always felt more powerful to me than to be mean and cruel," Love said. That goodness more than balanced the harsh realities she saw, such as the landlords who tried to turn her away when she began supporting herself at age 16, saying "we've never rented to coloreds."
Love committed her own cruelties and mistakes on the way to adulthood and they're also recounted in the book as plainly as if she were speaking from the stage, telling the whole story beginning to end. Where she did end is with understanding and forgiveness for her mother -- and for an unexpected figure, her father. As a teenager, Love stumbled on an advertisement for a Preston Love concert, talked her way into the show despite being underage and saw, in a shocking flash, that her father wasn't dead after all. He had fathered Love and her sister while married to another woman and raising his own family, she wrote. He was pleasant enough to Love, but never a father figure who took responsibility for her and her sister or felt any blame for the catastrophes they suffered. In her youth, "I was very angry about that and bitter," she said. As an adult, she worked on finding her own forms of family instead of brooding on all that she had lacked. College helped give her a broader perspective. "I've always lived better than 90 percent of the world," she said.
Today, Love is focused on those big-picture wrongs, more inclined to be angry about political cuts to the social programs that helped her, for instance, than to brood about the individual wrongs she endured. "For the most part, I'm grateful for all those things that happened," she said. "All the bad things, too." There's a joy in not being a powerless child anymore, she said, in not being forced to wait for the car that will take you to another dreadful foster home or bleak room. "I exercise every modicum, every bit of choice that I have now," whether it means voting in elections or choosing to eat only humanely raised meat, Love said.
Love supports herself full time with her singing career. She said she's hugely fortunate that she can spend only short blocks of time touring and long periods at home with her family. She and her partner, Pam, along with her best friend/business manager and her older sister, share a West Seattle home. They're now building a solar-and wind-powered house in the Okanogan, "swinging hammers" together, hoping to raise their own food and reduce the amount of natural resources they use and even create a cat sanctuary to protect songbirds from Love's beloved strays.
After 16 years of not knowing if she was alive or dead, Love tracked down her mother in Colorado a few years back with the help of fans who read the request on the liner notes of Love's albums. "I just love her dearly and feel like her mind has been like a torture chamber for her," Love said. In a last unexpected twist, Love is now a mother herself, to an angelic blue-eyed toddler who came to her and Pam in 2002 as a 7-month-old foster child with eight broken bones. "It had to be that bad for me to think I could be a better parent than someone," Love said. She has found patience and enjoyment over the past two years that she couldn't have imagined in herself and a happiness in responding to her daughter the way she wishes her mother could have responded to her.
Love describes the genesis of her singing career in her book as a soaring talent show where "I understood that I would never do anything else for the rest of my life but sing." She loves playing shows and festivals and the applause her music brings. And yet she isn't consumed with thoughts of selling out arenas or signing with another major label (she was represented by Mercury records a few years back), or otherwise seeking fame. Music doesn't define her, she said, it's only one of her great loves. She's truly thankful that she can play bass guitar and sing. "But, really, it's thank God I'm alive."  From: https://www.seattlepi.com/entertainment/music/article/musician-laura-love-survived-a-miserable-1151077.php

St. Vincent - Your Lips Are Red

 #St. Vincent #art rock #alternative/indie rock #electronic #singer-songwriter #avant-rock #pop rock #ex-Polyphonic Spree

St. Vincent was born Annie Erin Clark on September 28, 1982 in Tulsa, Oklahoma and spent most of her childhood in Dallas, Texas. She began playing guitar at the age of 12, and picked up some valuable lessons on the life of a touring musician as a teenager when she joined her uncle Tuck Andress on the road with his popular jazz duo Tuck & Patti. After graduating from high school in 2001, she studied at the prestigious Berklee School of Music, and recorded a self-released, three-song EP with fellow students in 2003, Ratsliveonnoevilstar. In 2004, Clark left Berklee and joined the extra-large Baroque pop group the Polyphonic Spree as a guitarist and a singer; she toured with the band, and appeared on the sessions for their 2007 album The Fragile Army. Also in 2004, Clark performed with Glenn Branca's 100 Guitar Orchestra for a recording of one of his avant-garde symphonies. In 2006, she left the Polyphonic Spree and joined the backing band of like-minded pop composer Sufjan Stevens. She recorded a three-song EP to sell at her shows with Stevens, on which she adopted the name St. Vincent (inspired by the New York hospital where poet Dylan Thomas died as well as her great-grandmother's middle name). During this time, she also recorded her debut album with musicians including Polyphonic Spree members Louis Schwadron and Brian Teasley and keyboardist Mike Carson, a frequent collaborator with David Bowie. Arriving in July 2007 on Beggars Banquet, Marry Me won critical acclaim, and in 2008 Clark won the PLUG Independent Music Award for Female Artist of the Year.  From: https://www.allmusic.com/artist/st-vincent-mn0000574035/biography

One of the first things you wanted to learn to play on the guitar was Jethro Tull’s Aqualung – where did that come from?

I think that was my dad’s CD. I saw Jethro Tull three times. Tull – three times! My first concert was Steely Dan. I was never cool. But a lot of that – Crosby, Stills, Nash And Young, Neil Young, The Doors, Zeppelin, Steely Dan, The Crusaders, Herbie Hancock, Traffic – all that stuff would have been my dad’s influence, I guess. How many times have you seen Tull, hmm?

Were they not a bit alarming for a child?

If I’m honest, I don’t love the flute – it ranks as one of my least favourite instruments. I didn’t know that at the time. I didn’t understand the novelty of just how brave he [Ian Anderson] was to bring the flute into prog rock. When you’re going back and raiding the boomer record collection you don’t have the same concepts as they do. “Oh, so-and-so was just a so-and-so rip off, these people are corny” – it’s all just exploration for you. It’s nice with virgin ears.

You’ve said there’s a Stevie Wonder influence on Daddy’s Home – was that from your father too?

I knew the sort of young Stevie Wonder era but actually it was right after 9/11 – which was my first or second day at college – and my friend was like, “Just go deep on Innervisions.” And I was like, “Woah, OK.” So it was music that helped me deal with the depth of what was going on. That was when I really got into Innervisions, Talking Book, Songs In The Key Of Life, that particular era of Stevie Wonder that was super-heavy.

How about Sly Stone?

I knew the hits growing up and then dug in around the same time and went back and revisited it recently. Checked out the Long Beach sound and bands like War. Super groove-based but with other influences whether Latin or, like, wiggly stuff. No straight lines. No right angles at all. Groove and feel are like a house of cards. It’s like this elusive magic trick.

You were into theatre at high school – is that where you learned to become a performer?

It was something that really scared me but I got such a thrill out of it. Let me make a distinction: I wasn’t into musical theatre. I was, like, reading Ibsen. I wasn’t trying to be the lead in Hello, Dolly! Musical theatre, I didn’t understand – I was like, “Why would you break into song right now?” I loved David Mamet.

What were your signature roles?

I had a progressive theatre teacher who changed one of the roles in Our Town to a female role so I could have a part. I think I had about four lines and most of it was to look forlorn, which wasn’t that hard as a teen. And then I was Helen Keller’s mother in The Miracle Worker.

You went on to study at Berklee College Of Music but did you ever play in a guitar-bass-drums school band?

I did a bit. I played in bands in high school and we’d do Jewel covers and such. Then I begrudgingly played in a jam band in high school. And then in college I played in a noise band that was very Polvo, all those Sonic Youth kind of noise bands with detuned guitars. It was really fun. I was doing my own solo stuff in the midst of all this. Writing at least.

Can you remember the first songs you wrote?

One of the first things I wrote I ended up using on the song Saviour [on Masseduction] – I’m picturing pressing play and record at the same time on the Tascam 4-track. I don’t remember exactly the first thing I wrote, but I do remember that I would learn other people’s songs and then about three-quarters of the way through I would immediately start trying to write my own things. I’ve never been that great a student, I guess. I think instinct can take you a lot of great places but at a certain point, if you want to keep trying to get better, you do just have to go back and figure out: “OK, this song is great. Why is it great?” Take it apart like a frog in biology. It’s not the sexiest part, but I just find it crazy, endlessly fascinating.

Do you think you’ve written a standard?

A song like What Me Worry? [on Marry Me] was literally inspired by the Great American Songbook. Maybe my song New York [on Masseduction] can go into the canon of songs about New York. It’s a little bit of a hard sell with the word “motherfucker” in it, but who knows? Maybe that would play in 2040, 2050. The obscenity won’t matter. Nobody will care.

There’s a song on the new album named after Warhol Superstar Candy Darling. When you moved to New York after college, were you in thrall to that Warhol idea of the city?

Yeah, I think New York is full of people who have escaped from wherever they’ve come from, unless they were born there. It’s still my favourite city and I still have so much more of a romantic relationship with New York than any other place. I moved there just after college. When I was in college, I would escape Boston and go on the Chinatown bus for $15 and go to the city for the weekend. Hoped I’d find a place to stay and run around and be drunk and see shows. Every single block of downtown has memories – good, bad, ugly, fuzzy – and you’re alive in that place more than other places. That’s my experience and I know I’m not alone. Candy Darling was just so beautiful and singular and funny and I feel kind of a perfect heroine.

On returning to Texas, you were invited to join The Polyphonic Spree – how was that as a learning experience?

I always wanted to be essentially doing what I am doing now but it was so exciting to go from playing little clubs to – I think my first gig with them was at a Spanish festival called Benicàssim. It was like, the elevator doors opened and there were like 40,000 people. The chaos, it’s hot and sweaty, and there’s just that unpredictable ‘What’s going to happen next? Am I going to hop on top of a road case and be wheeled all over the stage?’ We were mostly on the bill with Sonic Youth and the stuff that was big in those days. Franz Ferdinand was really big, Kaiser Chiefs, The Bravery – are all these things ringing bells? Jet was one of the big headliners.

Beyond music, what did you learn from watching other bands on the festival circuit? Any cautionary tales?

One thing that I think of is when I see people with really massive entourages. I know it maybe seems sexy from the outside but you’re paying for all that. I mean, don’t go bankrupt ’cos you’re bringing your entourage around.

From: https://www.mojo4music.com/articles/stories/i-could-be-anybody-today-st-vincent-interviewed/

Jonatha Brooke - Crumbs

 #Jonatha Brooke #ex-The Story #alternative/indie rock #singer-songwriter #folk rock #1990s

Merging evocative folk, melodic pop, and an edgier roots rock sensibility, singer/songwriter/guitarist Jonatha Brooke began releasing music in the early 1990s, first as a member of duo the Story and more enduringly as a solo artist. Though credited to Jonatha Brooke & the Story, she made her solo debut with 1995's Plumb. Born in Illinois and raised in Massachusetts, Jonatha Brooke was already writing songs when she met singer Jennifer Kimball while they were students at Amherst College in the early '80s. Though they played regular local gigs as Jonatha & Jennifer during their time there, the duo never issued any recordings and took a break after graduation, during which time Brooke joined a dance troupe. By the end of the '80s, however, the group had re-formed under the moniker the Story, and they issued a demo called Over Oceans in 1989. The Story was promptly signed to the independent Green Linnet label, which issued their debut album, Grace in Gravity, in 1991. It wasn't long before Elektra Records expressed interest in the band, in turn reissuing their debut the same year, as well as a sophomore LP, The Angel in the House, two years later. By 1994, however, the Story had split up for good and Brooke began pursuing a solo career. Despite Kimball's absence, Brooke's 1995 solo debut, Plumb, was credited to Jonatha Brooke & the Story. Brooke received sole credit beginning with 1997's 10 Cent Wings, which also marked a shift to a more radio-friendly sound.  From: https://www.allmusic.com/artist/jonatha-brooke-mn0000822742/biography

Ten Cent Wings is one of my all-time favorite albums. Period. It was given to me as a gift over seven years ago and I have been giving it away in turn ever since. It is still as fresh to my ears today as it was when I first heard it and that alone is the testament to its artistic excellence. I am certain that these are among those extremely rare works that will never get old for me. I love all of Jonatha's work as she is truly an artist's artist in my opinion but her efforts here are just masterful. Her ability to express herself with words, melodies, arrangements, and just plain emotional honesty truly set her apart on this album especially. I was prompted to write this review after reading another that disparaged 'Crumbs' as a poor arrangement. This song initially defined Jonatha to me, as the first time I heard it I was completely blown away. Her approach was so new and fresh in trying to express her theme that it just came across as tremendously powerful and affecting. 'Blood from a Stone' about her relationship with her mother is equally powerful. To me, the whole album is fabulous but I guess this goes to show you that, unfortunately, Jonatha is not for everyone. She is not trying to duplicate what has already been done but instead, trying to leave her mark on the world and speak to people in a voice that hasn't been heard before, as all true artists do. I guess not everyone can appreciate that approach. If you are interested in hearing a distinct voice that has the power to affect you again and again every time you hear it, listen to this album.  From: https://www.amazon.com/10-Cent-Wings-Jonatha-Brooke/product-reviews/B000002P82/ref=cm_cr_arp_d_paging_btm_next_2?ie=UTF8&reviewerType=all_reviews&pageNumber=2 

Suddenly, Tammy - Hard Lesson

 #Suddenly, Tammy #alternative rock #indie rock #alternative pop rock #piano rock #1990s

Siblings Beth and Jay Sorrentino began making music from about the age of five. In their Lancaster, Pennsylvania home, Jay would play drums while Beth sat at the piano. Bassist Ken Heitmuller also began playing early on. In 1989, the trio formed Suddenly, Tammy! and recorded two EPs in their basement studio. With the absence of a guitar player, the band provided a fresh sound in indie pop. Both Spokesmodel and El Presidente were well-received, especially in the College Music Journal. Indie label spinArt's first release was the group's own full-length debut. The self-titled album did well and earned Suddenly, Tammy! a spot supporting Suede. Signed to Warner Bros. in 1994, the band recorded throughout the summer and released We Get There When We Do in 1995.  From: https://www.allmusic.com/artist/suddenly-tammy%21-mn0000489735/biography

HEARSAY: We love the way your music seems to allow a lot of improvisation within a certain structure. Do you have a method when it comes to songwriting? Is it primarily a three-way collaborative affair or do you each work on separate parts and bring them to the rest of the band? Are the lyrics exclusively Beth's department?

Beth: Usually we get together and play and many songs grow out of listening; sometimes I bring some ideas I've sketched out on the piano and sometimes with lyrics - many times an idea will grow out of having all of the instruments together and the music just 'clicks' together.

Ken: I'd say that the lyrics are exclusively Beth's department. Her words are always somewhat autobiographical and I'd never presume to put words into her mouth.

Two other notable bands who manage pretty well without guitars - Morphine and Ben Folds Five - seem heavily jazz-influenced. Has jazz been a big influence on ST? Do you all listen to similar things? And do you have any current recommendations for us?

Beth: Personally, I've developed a taste for jazz over the last few years, although I grew up with jazz records (Ella Fitzgerald, Dave Brubeck) mixed up with the Doobie Brothers, Chicago, Carole King, Barbra Streisand, Elton John, Billy Joel - all kinds of stuff. Our band seems to reflect some of all of that from time to time, including more current music - I listened to a lot of Kate Bush in the 80s. Right now I recommend Young Chet Baker and I'm listening to Elton John's Greatest Hits (with Rocket Man, Goodbye Yellow Brick Road...); the best.

Ken: Have you noticed how Beth over-uses hyphens and semicolons and I over-use all-caps and exclamation points? (We both overuse parentheses (well maybe a little (JUST a little!))). Personally, I claim little from jazz. Although I own more jazz recordings than the average jazz fan, I know so little about the genre. I know enough to claim that it's probably the most difficult music to be good at - yes, even more than classical music. To be a good classical musician requires mostly athletic dedication. Rock requires mostly that you really mean what you're doing, even if you suck. Jazz requires music knowledge, innate or schooled, skilled playing with finesse, and style. I'm very flattered when people make jazz references to Suddenly, Tammy!

Your self-titled debut album was tightly packed and highly chromatic. The follow-up seems more tranquil somehow and perhaps more structured. Was this deliberate? Was it anything to do with the move to a major label or the introduction of an outside producer? Or perhaps working in a concentrated burst in a professional studio rather than working at home over a long period?

Beth: Probably all of that is true. I don't really hear the album as 'tranquil', but that's probably lack of objectivity! River, Run is certainly quiet, but Hard Lesson always makes me a little hyper. Working at Bearsville was a departure from home; I think the sound of the album reflects the whole experience.

Why did you choose Warne Livesey as producer and what was he able to bring to the project? Was his role to 'realise' your ideas or did he add something new to the creative process?

Beth: Mostly because of his enthusiasm for the music – he was concerned about keeping the band 'organic' – keeping the three-piece sound clean; using acoustic pianos; more of a 'live' sound. We worked very closely with him, but his influence does come across on the album.

Suddenly Tammy's lyrics always seem alluringly oblique and more about specific imagery and particular moods rather than telling a straightfor­ward story with concrete meaning. Do you find things in everyday life which inspire you to write songs or do you prefer to tackle more abstract themes and ideas through specific angles? The theme of uneven relationships or power seems to appear fairly frequently. Is this a theme that particularly interests you or are we clutching at straws here?

Beth: Things in everyday life became abstract themes for me. Something that seems to be so 'normal' (a ride in the car, a talk with my mom) can turn into very strange mixed imagery in my mind – relationships and the problems within are always being sorted out in my lyrics.

Ken: Knowing Beth, I clearly see what many of her lyrics are about. Sometimes the meaning is very clear. She is not too literal, however, with her words. The things she sings about often seem to have a multilayered meaning. This allows for many interpretations and people often apply her words to their own situations.

And there's a kind of dream-like, hallucinatory – sometimes even vaguely unsettling – quality to lots of the songs (Mt Rushmore, Bound Together, Beautiful Dream etc). Do dreams and/or nightmares influence you? Do you feel lost when you're asleep and found when you're awake, or is it vice versa?

Beth: For me, many dreams are clues, sometimes, to things that bother me during my waking hours sometimes (I guess) I suppress thoughts about disturbing issues, and a lot of my 'bad' dreams leave me with many questions and images, which seem to unfold sometimes only when I play music, accounting for the lyrics, possibly.

Ken: Sometimes Beth drives when she sleeps – a sleepdriver.

What images unfolded on the Cine film you sat down to watch In the middle of your first album? Do you have any favourite films or directors and do they influence your writing?

Beth: I don't remember what movie that was; Ken had his projector running. He shows movies in his yard over the summer. I have many favorite films – 2001 is a great movie to watch outside in the dark on Ken's lawn! I also love Hitchcock films and Searching for Bobby Fischer is one of my favorites.

Ken: I think it was The Cat in the Hat by Dr Seuss. It's the Lancaster Public library's copy and is now half splicing tape. Every few seconds the action jumps ahead like a skipping record. I recorded the sound from that film, with that first tape recorder, as a child. It was splicey then. When I borrowed that same print fifteen years later, I recognized the locations where the music skips from the 15-year-old splices – and noticed it to be much more dashed up since then. I don't think people realize that a print of a half-hour 16mm film costs about $500 to replace. Soon, that Seuss will be only 15 minutes long! It makes me sad that kids today won't know that SOUND! That lovely purring of the Bell and Howell Filmosound in the back of a darkened classroom. It puts our Beth right to sleep.

From: http://www.hearsaymagazine.co.uk/suddenly_tammy/

Savannah Pope - Creature

 #Savannah Pope #art rock #hard rock #progressive rock #glam rock #singer-songwriter #ex-SpaceCream #music video

Rock singer-songwriter Savannah Pope, formerly the lead vocalist of SpaceCream, is proud to announce the release of her new video and single, “Creature.” “Creature” is an explosive, operatic, and hard-rocking song featuring lyrics brimming with both moxie and self-deprecation. Boasting soaring, gorgeous vocals, the song’s melodies cross over to metal while retaining a bona fide glitter rock vibe. Savannah made the video for “Creature” by blending original footage with sophisticated original motion graphics. It took her an entire year to create, frame by frame, and the resulting imagery is beautiful and disturbing.
Savannah makes incendiary, soulful rock music. Her songs boast stunning lyricism and vocal power. Her stage presence is larger than life, and should be experienced firsthand by any music lover. Influenced by such luminaries as David Bowie, Amy Winehouse, Lou Reed, Queen, Joni Mitchell, Rocky Horror Picture Show and Heart, her music blends classic rock elements with a unique modern sensibility.
Savannah has been a fixture in the Los Angeles music scene for over five years. Until one year ago, she was the vocalist and leader of glam rock band SpaceCream, which released the acclaimed album Pterodactyl Sky in 2016. As lead singer for SpaceCream, she played LA Fashion Week and opened for national artists such as Jesse Hughes (Eagles of Death Metal), Nick Oliveri (Queens of the Stone Age), and VOLTO (Danny Carey of Tool). SpaceCream won the Battle for Vans Warped Tour at House of Blues Hollywood, and played numerous live shows at storied venues like the Viper Room and the Troubadour.
Born in LA, Savannah’s background story is definitely different from the average musician’s. Savannah was an angsty, precocious, and unique kid who wound up at a boarding school for wayward teens when she was 14 years old. “I was sent away because I was extremely depressed and wild, and running away all the time,” she reveals. “My parents never knew where I was. I fought them on everything, and they were scared for me.” During her two years there, a friend taught Savannah some chords on the guitar, and she started writing songs.
After graduating high school, Savannah traveled extensively. “I went to Ecuador with some very intense hippies and we lived off the land. We climbed volcanoes, and one guy actually got hit by lightning. No joke. We also stayed with Quechua natives in the jungle for a hot minute. As it turns out, I am entirely unremarkable in the art of being one with nature. I mostly got eaten alive by insects and resembled a leper.” Savannah then went to college, dropped out, stopped by Harlem for a while, spent a year painting/being a wild thing in Barcelona, and eventually landed back in Los Angeles, where her journey began. She fell in love with performing by accident, when she wandered onstage during some friends’ open mic and got an incredible response. And she’s been hooked ever since.
Perhaps the best way to immerse oneself in Savannah’s world is to see her onstage. She utilizes her live performances to present a new brand of art rock steeped in glam and prog; an unpaired blend of riveting musicianship, garish style, and theatricality.  From: https://music.allaccess.com/an-interview-with-the-rock-singer-songwriter-savannah-pope-on-her-newest-music-and-more/

David Crosby - Music Is Love

 #David Crosby #Crosby, Stills & Nash #folk #folk rock #West coast folk rock #singer-songwriter #contemporary folk #ex-The Byrds #1970s

Contrary to popular opinion, the most stacked supergroup of the early 1970s was not Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. CSNY were not even, in fact, the most auspicious collective to include David Crosby, Graham Nash and Neil Young at the time. That honor went to a bigger, wilder, albeit less-heralded amalgam known briefly as The Planet Earth Rock And Roll Orchestra. It’s discography was sketchy, its personnel fluid, but PERRO pivoted around Crosby, Nash and most of the Grateful Dead and Jefferson Airplane, with auxiliary memberships for Young and Joni Mitchell, among others. Named by Jefferson Airplane guitarist Paul Kantner, they convened for his late 1970 album, Blows Against The Empire; a baroque psych gang show that recast the counterculture’s desire to escape urban life as a sci-fi mission to distant planets rather than as a rural property grab in Laurel Canyon or Marin County.
Crosby had moved next door to Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart’s Marin ranch in late 1969, and the Orchestra members had many other things in common, not least a fondness for Wally Heider Studios in San Francisco’s Tenderloin, and for Kantner’s awe-inspiring “Ice Bag” weed. It was at Heider’s that CSNY had battled through Déjà Vu, and where the Dead had crafted the sepia-toned epiphanies of American Beauty. As sessions for that last album were winding down in the summer of 1970, the Orchestra’s amorphous jams began to coalesce into their finest achievement. The stories that have become legend about Crosby and his circle often fixate on feuding, egomania, and patterns of behavior that in most every light look morally unconscionable. But If I Could Only Remember My Name reveals an alternative, parallel truth: a solo album, predicated on one man’s grief, where a musical community came together to help him transcend it.
On the morning of September 30, 1969, the same week that the first CSN album went gold in the States, Crosby’s girlfriend Christine Hinton handed over a few joints to Crosby and Nash, loaded her cats into a green Volkswagen bus, and left their Marin place on the way to the vet. En route, she crashed into a school bus coming in the opposite direction; Crosby would have to identify her body later in the day. The tragedy did not derail work on Déjà Vu, and by the summer of 1970 Crosby was still processing his loss. “I didn’t have any equipment to deal with that,” he told Jesse Jarnow for the Good Ol’ Grateful Deadcast in 2020. “The only place that I knew I wouldn’t be utterly terrified and crying and distraught was in the studio. They all knew that the only time I was happy was when I was singing, so they got me singing every chance they could get. It was an act of kindness, but it was also joy.”
If I Could Only Remember My Name had a large cast, but they moved with great discretion. There were communal healing rites like the opening Music Is Love, and one solemn indictment of The Man – What Are Their Names, featuring a chorale of Nash, Young, Mitchell, Kantner, Jerry Garcia, Phil Lesh, Grace Slick and David Freiberg. Mostly, though, their presence was blurred and indistinct, giving Crosby the space to express himself in the distrait way – abstracted tunings, wordless harmonies, an aesthetic at once psychedelic and medieval – that he’d been finessing since his time in The Byrds.  From: https://www.mojo4music.com/articles/new-music/david-crosby-his-masterpiece-revisited/