― Rowlando for the kidz (Sam Rowlands), Friday, 12 January 2007 12:03 (seventeen years ago) link
cross this one off the list, steve.
― the original hauntology blogging crew (Enrique), Friday, 12 January 2007 12:06 (seventeen years ago) link
he cuts out all her verses and just keeps the hook, right? the original is better, even if he does namecheck k clarkson.
― lex pretend (lex pretend), Friday, 12 January 2007 12:23 (seventeen years ago) link
is she shambolic now, then? i saw her a couple of times around the first album, and she was great - looking forward to seeing her again (lex, are you going to the nme show?)
i think ghostface just drops in a verse of his, keeping most of hers, but i don't have my copy to hand... Lex is right though, the original is better.
― i am not a nugget (stevie), Friday, 12 January 2007 12:32 (seventeen years ago) link
― the original hauntology blogging crew (Enrique), Friday, 12 January 2007 12:37 (seventeen years ago) link
the version on more fish doesn't have any amy verses, just ghost ones...i imagine the uk single is mostly amy, keeping one ghost verse (hopefully the clarkson one), but i haven't heard it. ghost sounds a bit out-of-place but it's hardly a disaster...
xp
― lex pretend (lex pretend), Friday, 12 January 2007 12:38 (seventeen years ago) link
― the original hauntology blogging crew (Enrique), Friday, 12 January 2007 12:40 (seventeen years ago) link
dude i'm not interested in what you DON'T like.
― reverto levidensis (blueski), Friday, 12 January 2007 12:42 (seventeen years ago) link
― the original hauntology blogging crew (Enrique), Friday, 12 January 2007 12:43 (seventeen years ago) link
― reverto levidensis (blueski), Friday, 12 January 2007 12:43 (seventeen years ago) link
Back to Black is 9-tenths magnificent.
― Clothing the Gotterdammerung Doors (noodle vague), Friday, 12 January 2007 14:18 (seventeen years ago) link
― the original hauntology blogging crew (Enrique), Friday, 12 January 2007 16:12 (seventeen years ago) link
― Forksclovetofu (Forksclovetofu), Friday, 12 January 2007 16:12 (seventeen years ago) link
Haven't heard anything else that I've even liked, though I haven't heard much. So, like Kelly Clarkson, she's a song to me.
― Adam Beales (Pye Poudre), Friday, 12 January 2007 16:20 (seventeen years ago) link
Okay I know when I've been pwned.
― Clothing the Gotterdammerung Doors (noodle vague), Friday, 12 January 2007 18:26 (seventeen years ago) link
― Forksclovetofu (Forksclovetofu), Thursday, 18 January 2007 11:10 (seventeen years ago) link
eppy you know that 'me and mr jones (fuckery)' is about her crush on nas?
the first album has flaws (it's patchy, and she bellows rather than sings too much) but search 'amy amy amy', 'fuck me pumps' and 'take the box' - they're all fantastic.
― lex pretend (lex pretend), Thursday, 18 January 2007 11:34 (seventeen years ago) link
― lex pretend (lex pretend), Thursday, 18 January 2007 11:35 (seventeen years ago) link
― alext (alext), Thursday, 18 January 2007 13:26 (seventeen years ago) link
She talked onstage about the Nas thing Lex (with Jigga in the house even) and yeah, I've listened to Frank for the past week; "patchy" is the word.
― Forksclovetofu (Forksclovetofu), Thursday, 18 January 2007 15:30 (seventeen years ago) link
― Ned Raggett (Ned), Wednesday, 7 February 2007 06:45 (seventeen years ago) link
― It's Tough to Beat Illious (noodle vague), Wednesday, 7 February 2007 09:01 (seventeen years ago) link
― antidote against poisoning (lex pretend), Wednesday, 7 February 2007 09:46 (seventeen years ago) link
― Ice Cream Electric (Ice Cream Electric), Wednesday, 7 February 2007 13:32 (seventeen years ago) link
― about:coffee (fandango), Wednesday, 7 February 2007 13:38 (seventeen years ago) link
― the original hauntology blogging crew (Enrique), Wednesday, 7 February 2007 13:40 (seventeen years ago) link
― titchyschneider (titchyschneider), Wednesday, 7 February 2007 13:41 (seventeen years ago) link
I guess I always hope when somebody is publicly self-destructing that it's part of the persona they're creating. It would kinda make sense that on the back of an album of melancholy booziness she'd method act the character a bit.
― It's Tough to Beat Illious (noodle vague), Wednesday, 7 February 2007 13:48 (seventeen years ago) link
I haven't heard any of her stuff (apart from 'Rehab') properly yet fwiw.
― about:coffee (fandango), Wednesday, 7 February 2007 13:51 (seventeen years ago) link
― the original hauntology blogging crew (Enrique), Wednesday, 7 February 2007 13:55 (seventeen years ago) link
― titchyschneider (titchyschneider), Wednesday, 7 February 2007 14:02 (seventeen years ago) link
― the original hauntology blogging crew (Enrique), Wednesday, 7 February 2007 14:03 (seventeen years ago) link
― titchyschneider (titchyschneider), Wednesday, 7 February 2007 14:32 (seventeen years ago) link
― Ice Cream Electric (Ice Cream Electric), Wednesday, 7 February 2007 15:14 (seventeen years ago) link
― cybele (cybele), Wednesday, 7 February 2007 21:36 (seventeen years ago) link
― danzig (danzig), Wednesday, 7 February 2007 22:21 (seventeen years ago) link
― I know, right?, Wednesday, 7 March 2007 21:55 (seventeen years ago) link
― Saxby D. Elder, Thursday, 8 March 2007 05:34 (seventeen years ago) link
― The Brainwasher, Thursday, 8 March 2007 05:46 (seventeen years ago) link
― lex pretend, Thursday, 8 March 2007 08:41 (seventeen years ago) link
― I know, right?, Thursday, 8 March 2007 09:32 (seventeen years ago) link
― I know, right?, Thursday, 8 March 2007 09:38 (seventeen years ago) link
― lex pretend, Thursday, 8 March 2007 09:40 (seventeen years ago) link
― I know, right?, Thursday, 8 March 2007 09:57 (seventeen years ago) link
― I know, right?, Thursday, 8 March 2007 09:59 (seventeen years ago) link
― accentmonkey, Thursday, 8 March 2007 13:26 (seventeen years ago) link
― pisces, Thursday, 8 March 2007 19:02 (seventeen years ago) link
― Saxby D. Elder, Thursday, 8 March 2007 19:25 (seventeen years ago) link
― I know, right?, Thursday, 8 March 2007 20:15 (seventeen years ago) link
― fandango, Thursday, 8 March 2007 20:17 (seventeen years ago) link
I've never gotten more of a feeling of an empty, worthless person than from him in that doc.
― on entre O.K. on sort K.O. (man alive), Tuesday, 16 February 2016 02:33 (eight years ago) link
saw this on a plane yesterday. a great documentary, and so terribly sad (not much to add to everyone else in this thread tbh).
― SCROTUS (stevie), Wednesday, 17 February 2016 10:20 (eight years ago) link
Classic always
― Unchanging Window (Ross), Thursday, 22 June 2017 06:32 (seven years ago) link
Maybe I'm old-fashioned but this reeks of exploitation:
https://www.theguardian.com/music/2018/oct/12/amy-winehouse-hologram-tour
― pomenitul, Friday, 12 October 2018 14:27 (five years ago) link
these things are mildly gross but there's worse ways they exploit you when you're dead
― Leon Carrotsky (Noodle Vague), Friday, 12 October 2018 14:33 (five years ago) link
Amy Winehouse has always been one of these acts I've struggled to understand quite why she's so highly rated...
A good voice and an remarkable, tragic history (and RIP of course), but I could never hear much beyond a sanded-down All Bar One-friendly retread of sixties soul-pop with most of the character sucked out by flat 2000s production. Am I missing something? Or is it just not for me?
― YOU CALL THIS JOURNALSIM? (dog latin), Thursday, 5 December 2019 15:08 (four years ago) link
I suspect you're missing something *and* it's not for you. Not sure what anyone can tell you. Soul is in the ear of the beholder, I guess.
― Alba, Thursday, 5 December 2019 15:33 (four years ago) link
Yes, I really like and enjoy soul.. But this is quite hollow-sounding to me. Like a ritzy, gestalt 'La La Land' tribute to soul which doesn't really enhance or improve upon its influences save for chucking in a few swear words and modern references.. Always found 'Rehab' very clunky as a song, while Back to Black sounds like a Shirley Bassey tribute act.. I mean, I get that people like to hear this, but for the level of praise heaped on, I'd have expected something more... original? Perhaps it's down to set and setting. Her music immediately transports me to depressing provincial bars and clubs in mid-2000s UK.
Anyway, I'll shut up now as it's NAGL to denigrate a deceased star on her own thread when clearly she has a lot of stans here.
― YOU CALL THIS JOURNALSIM? (dog latin), Thursday, 5 December 2019 15:53 (four years ago) link
oh man. I'd say so. possibly blunted a bit by all of the retro people that tried to catch the same wave in the early 10s.
I had heard her name a bunch around 2007, but sadly, more for her "lol she's a trainwreck" escapades and less the music, but I remember hearing "Rehab" and being so taken by her voice, every inflection, and the immediacy of the track. so I bought the album.
had it been all "Rehabs", I think I woulda enjoyed it for a novelty and then never listened to it again, but Back to Black has this aire of authenticity without kitsch that many of the other retro acts were missing. and the anachronisms, ie the profanity/modern slang, that she brought to the sound worked, without coming across as ironic or detached. she was just infusing her own personality onto the existing template.
That she was trying to recreate 60s girl group sound was obvious, but a lot of retro acts focus too much on the aesthetics, and hope it'll do the job even with subpar songwriting. Obviously, Amy did care about the aesthetics - the harmonies on "Me and Mr Jones" are produced in a way that practically SOUND out of the 60s, but the songs almost feel like they could also work in a modern context.
"Love is a Losing Game" is so understated compared to the rest of her songs, the lyrics devastating, her voice a bit more muted, the strings gorgeous and not feeling "tacked on". "Tears Dry On their Own" is the type of song I woulda danced to as a kid on oldies radio, and that she later released a different stylistic version of that song that was equally amazing just proved her brilliance.
I couldn't stop listening to this album and only this album for probably two months. I got Frank later and I love it too, but it doesn't quite hit the heights of B2B.
I was legit devastated when she died.
― master of nuggets (Neanderthal), Thursday, 5 December 2019 15:54 (four years ago) link
There's so much to love on Back to Black, not least the nerve (and skill) to write a great new song on the backing track of an old one (Tears Dry/Ain't no Mountain High) and have it sound genuine and personal instead of just a gimmick.
― dinnerboat, Thursday, 5 December 2019 16:12 (four years ago) link
Great post Neanderthal. I'll go back and listen to some of the deeper cuts with that in mind
― YOU CALL THIS JOURNALSIM? (dog latin), Thursday, 5 December 2019 16:23 (four years ago) link
Rehab was the one I never really got into till much later. Until I'd watched the Amy documentary, to be specific.
― Alba, Thursday, 5 December 2019 16:57 (four years ago) link
the production is what’s retro 60’s sounding, and it’s easy to think she’s copping on a trend but it’s her style of singing & natural affinity for it that is what made & makex her specialher voice is more on par with jazz singers like Dinah Washington. that’s what’s special - her voice, and her instincts & phrasing, turning her own voice into an instrument of its oen. check out her live covers of old standards, or any of her early live performances & it’ll make more senseor she’s just not yr bag & that’s ok too
― terminators of endearment (VegemiteGrrl), Thursday, 5 December 2019 17:23 (four years ago) link
damn neanderthal is otm as fuck
― american bradass (BradNelson), Thursday, 5 December 2019 18:12 (four years ago) link
my appreciation of her grew significantly after her death and in my mind Back to Black is one of the greatest albums of the century so far. Ronson's production can be overbearing and gimmicky sometimes but in this case it was in service of an amazing talent.
― akm, Thursday, 5 December 2019 19:29 (four years ago) link
i absolutely love her 2-tone tracks on the expanded edition of B2B.no production excess, just her live in the studio with a band providing her with the sounds she clearly loves.
― mark e, Thursday, 5 December 2019 19:56 (four years ago) link
dog latin, the Al Usher remix of Tears Dry On Their Own (lush disco) or the Mylo or MJ Cole remixes of Fuck Me Pumps might provide a way in for you?
― insecurity bear (sic), Thursday, 5 December 2019 20:18 (four years ago) link
(or the More Fish version of You Know I'm No Good)
― insecurity bear (sic), Thursday, 5 December 2019 20:20 (four years ago) link
I'll check em!
― YOU CALL THIS JOURNALSIM? (dog latin), Thursday, 5 December 2019 22:46 (four years ago) link
also a good reason to finally take a deep dive into Ghostface's catalogue which is long overdue
― YOU CALL THIS JOURNALSIM? (dog latin), Thursday, 5 December 2019 22:55 (four years ago) link
More Fish version of You Know I'm No Good
love this track
― Οὖτις, Thursday, 5 December 2019 23:00 (four years ago) link
i absolutely love her 2-tone tracks on the expanded edition of B2B.no production excess, just her live in the studio with a band providing her with the sounds she clearly loves.― mark e
― an incoherent crustacean (MatthewK), Thursday, 5 December 2019 23:17 (four years ago) link
― dinnerboat, Thursday, December 5, 2019 10:12 AM (five months ago) bookmarkflaglink
Huh, learned from this that the song was written first, and then adapted to Ain't No Mountain:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KKW3upDoxsg
― change display name (Jordan), Tuesday, 12 May 2020 14:48 (four years ago) link
that was superb, thank you!
― an incoherent crustacean (MatthewK), Tuesday, 12 May 2020 21:26 (four years ago) link
I kind of forgot about all my mp3s and have had a few fantastic nights digging through them. I ran across a Rhodes piano demo of Love Is A Losing Game that is A+++
Of course it's on YouTube now:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v8Pn6DH7zlU
― Li'l Brexit (Tracer Hand), Sunday, 5 July 2020 21:14 (four years ago) link
new biopic looks fucking shithttps://www.theguardian.com/music/2024/apr/12/its-a-grotesque-insult-for-back-to-black-to-suggest-amy-winehouse-died-of-heartache-over-her-childlessness
― This is Dance Anthems, have some respect (Camaraderie at Arms Length), Saturday, 13 April 2024 13:51 (five months ago) link
yeah this looks stupid. the nick cave song for it is boring too.
― I? not I! He! He! HIM! (akm), Saturday, 13 April 2024 16:39 (five months ago) link
Neando otm <3
― immodesty blaise (jimbeaux), Saturday, 13 April 2024 21:09 (five months ago) link
Man it's like they think even in death she hasn't suffered enough indignity
― CEO Greedwagon (Neanderthal), Saturday, 13 April 2024 22:16 (five months ago) link
Wait until the AI holo-projection tour, or have they done that already?
― the scouse that roared (Matt #2), Saturday, 13 April 2024 22:23 (five months ago) link
god, I thought that movie looked pointless and clueless, didn't realise it was absolutely fucking poisonous as well.I really wanted to dislike Amy at the time because her stuff was popular with the dummies, but I made the mistake of listening to Back to Black and realised what a great artist she was. Likewise shocked and angry at her death.
― assert (matttkkkk), Sunday, 14 April 2024 00:37 (five months ago) link
First album is a banger too, I think I prefer that one. I saw her in Brighton just before Back to Black came out and it was scary how different she seemed by then - basically had a few mental breakdowns between songs too :( It was still a very good gig.
I liked the actor who play Amy in this film when she was in the Industry TV series… but I don’t have much confidence in this Biopic being good.
― Chewshabadoo, Sunday, 14 April 2024 15:41 (five months ago) link
I saw Amy play just once, Bestival 2008. She was over an hour late on stage and could barely stand. She sung about 20% of the songs, putting the mic in front of the audience to sing the rest. Her band were very professional, but it was all just really sad, it was obvious she didn't want to be there and shouldn't have been there.
― This is Dance Anthems, have some respect (Camaraderie at Arms Length), Sunday, 14 April 2024 16:12 (five months ago) link