Sunday, February 10, 2008

That's My Girl

I'll admit, I first bought Amy Winehouse's album because her name sounded like mine. I read about it in some magazine or online publication - it was before it had been released in the United States. And I bought it as an import - and probably paid way too much for it - without ever hearing anything on it. Like I said, her name sounded eerily like mine and the review said she had a sixties-thing going on with her sound. Everyone knows I love motown and girl groups, so I figured why not?

I buy maybe one CD a year (seriously, I never buy music and half the time still don't even remember to download it) and this was the one I picked last year. And I was NOT dissapointed. I loved that CD from the first minute I played it. It was the only CD in my car stereo for about five months, no exaggeration. I spent a lot of time trying to convince friends to give Amy a listen, but most of them declined (in their defense, it's probably because I do normally have horrible and/or outdated taste in music).

Because I bought my CD as an import, the cover doesn't look like the one released in the United States. Amy hadn't yet adopted the beehive and she either doesn't have as many tatoos or they are not all visible. I don't think she has the cat-eye eyeliner going on yet, either.
I have nothing against her beehive and tatoos - I kind of like the beehive, to be completely honest. But I was slightly disturbed after reading the Rolling Stone article that appeared about her last June (Amy Winehouse On Fighting Her Inner Demons and the Just-Married Life) that chronicled what was at the time suspected drug use and a struggling marriage.

Of course, she proceeded to publicly fall apart after that. However, I hoped that people would continue to appreciate her music and not just her tabloid value. And it appears they did - she was nominated for six grammy awards.

I was glad to see her appear somewhat healthy and happy on the show. I thought she sounded good (although I prefer the slower, torchy arangement of "You Kow I'm No Good" on Back to Black better than the speeded-up television performance) and I thought she looked good, too (although the beehive has to be a wig; not that long ago she had short bleached hair). I kind of enjoyed her shout-outs to Blake incarcerated as well.

That's pretty much it - I don't usually watch the music awards shows unless Bruce Springsteen is going to be involved and I tuned in solely out of fear that Amy was going to bomb her performance Britney-style. But she didn't. I hope this is an indication that she is getting better and will produce many more records in the future.

And for those of you who, like me, can't get enough Amy - download or buy her first album, Frank. It's different than Back to Black (jazzier) but it showcases her voice really well.

4 comments:

Alison said...

I heard she's getting her teeth fixed.

Anonymous said...

My friend got me into Amys music a few months ago. I liked the Album and will have to get her first one! Have you heard Valerie by Mark Ronson feat. Amy?

Unknown said...

That's funny....when I think of her I think of you...Not the Rehab part...the name, reminds me of you. He. he!

Unknown said...

I, for one, would like to congratulate you for your near-sweep of the Grammys. And I *loved* your "THIS IS FOR MY BLAKEY INCARCERATED" LINE. Totally classic.