amy winehouse - C or D? [RIP 7/23/11]

i'll now cede the rest of my time to the king http://twitter.com/#!/normmacdonald/status/94937365151367168

Assholes gotta stink.

Happy birthday jim in glasgow

Just remembered this happened. My heart's a bit broken today. RIP Amy

Loved the songs I heard and the presence she had

:-(

she wasn't so talented tho, unless i'm missing something.

you are. she was so much more than a amazing voice, which no end of faux-60s retro chanteuses that followed in her wake failed to understand. her songs were great, charismatic, sad, and so full of life, and that's why people give a shit about her.

i keep thinking about a show i saw her play at bush hall around the time Frank came out, and she was so vivacious, so full of life. was stunned to see her circa back to black, all junked out and skinny. i really thought she'd pull it together somehow, and really hoped she would, because, beyond the simple human tragedy of a young girl dying, she was really hugely talented.

she was so much more than a amazing voice, which no end of faux-60s retro chanteuses that followed in her wake failed to understand. her songs were great, charismatic, sad, and so full of life, and that's why people give a shit about her.

yeah this is really the essence of it. she was a great, great songwriter.

so truly sad.

oh mother of earth the wind is hot
i tried my best but i could not

Oh well, we've got lots of people typing RIP now, it's what she would have wanted

also a few people clicking SB

This is actually very good and worth a read:

http://www.russellbrand.tv/2011/07/for-amy/

oh mother of earth the wind is hot
i tried my best but i could not

― estela, Sunday, 24 July 2011 11:43 (1 hour ago) Bookmark

<3

I'll never understand having such a personal emotional reaction to a celebrity's death that snarkiness hurts or offends you. But diff'rent strokes...

I'll never understand having such a personal emotional reaction to a celebrity's death that you think a RIP thread needs snarkiness. But diff'rent strokes...

Stan otm

I'll never understand the sort of personal callousness that leads someone to believe that because a human being is a "celebrity," that somehow precludes basic human decency and dignity with regards to discussing their death. But diff'rent strokes..

I like this new Never Understand/Diff'rent Strokes meme.

I never understood "Diff'rent Strokes."

dropping an e can impair comprehension what a horribly formed joke

Schlump is your dn a reference to the short-lived jewsrock.org?

I'll never understand the sort of personal callousness that leads someone to believe that because a human being is a "celebrity," that somehow precludes basic human decency and dignity with regards to discussing their death. But diff'rent strokes..

― Aphex Twin … in my vagina? (Karen D. Tregaskin), Sunday, July 24, 2011 10:30 AM (9 minutes ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

c/p this into every ilx rip thread imo

Schlump is your dn a reference to the short-lived jewsrock.org?

i think so yeah; i was reading something somewhere which featured a piece by a contributor, containing the snappy description.

I successfully pitched a piece about Norman Greenbaum to that site and never finished it. He was such a boring interview that I couldn't find any angle -- he basically has a script he sticks to and won't deviate from. The script would be interesting if there weren't already several other pieces floating around the net relying on it.

<3 u man

I responded to one friend who made the standard "why do people talk about this when norway etc etc" claim. Not like I knew Amy Winehouse personally but I liked her music and I know enough people who are trainwrecking their way through their 20s to feel slightly more personally connected and vocal.

― mh, Saturday, July 23, 2011 2:54 PM (Yesterday) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

mh, thank you for this. I was trying to put together my thoughts on this matter when I read your post. I quoted you in response to a friend saying he wished people cared as much about Norway's problems as they do about "a boring singer who had every opportunity in life and chose to throw it away."

ppl who tell you that you need to prioritize yr caring or whatever are unbelievably tedious.

Otm. This zero sum gain thinking is stupid. Can we not care about and discuss more than one thing?

Honestly the smugness of such sentiment says more about them than the people they criticize. It's no better than saying "people are starving in Ethiopia, how dare you be upset about something much smaller!"

Sympathy should be hoarded, parceled out, and then elaborately placed in the upturned palm of the deserving like a shiny nickel

brb gotta deliver 7.5 pounds of sympathy to norway

One dude I know last night wrote his typical "I'm sure I'll get shit for this, but good riddance..." rants on Winehouse (sidebar: isn't it funny that these same people seem so eager to hide behind "b-b-but it's my opinion, man!").

His offended me more than most and I couldn't remember why, until this morning I remembered that I did a play with him a few years ago that he disappeared from two weeks prior to closing, never to return...because he had a relapse with designer drugs and was strung out in some remote location.

In short, people are full of shit!

I don't have any deep insights, especially on the topic of celebrity overdose death versus horrendous massacre of ninety people, but three random thoughts:

1. Seeing graphics with "198x-2011" is freaking me out.
2. Shut the fuck up about musicians dying at 27.
3. Those makeshift shrines with bottles of booze are a bit dodgy.

someone was playing a really beautiful acoustic version of "Me and Mr. Jones" backstage last night...I'm guessing it was from AOL Sessions? <3

These people can't accept that you can *know* the massacre in Norway is a bigger, more horrible thing whilst simultaneously feeling more personally connected to and affected by the death of Amy Winehouse. One is - in a way, thankfully - beyond our comprehension, the other is not.

I don't love her music but totally see why others do. I'm really sorry she's died and it's dreadfully sad it couldn't have worked out another way.

TBH, I was not really emotionally affected by the violence in Norway. I did think "man that is terrible" but it hasn't been on my mind as much AW's death. Like I told my friend, an emotional filter based on your connection to a person or place or thing is normal and necessary. (He was calling such a filter selfish.)

these are generally people who can't come to grips with their own flaws and therefore are overcompensating by projecting heavily. They're the same people who criticize survivors for not appearing 'upset enough' when someone close to them dies.

I'll never understand having such a personal emotional reaction to a celebrity's death that snarkiness hurts or offends you. But diff'rent strokes...

c'mon jaymc you're a smart lad and not, as far as i'm aware, emotionally autistic. you do understand this, really. even if you don't, whyever did you think it necessary to tell us that in this thread? i'm sure your thoughts are very profound and insightful but it's not really hard to keep them to yourself at times like this.

I'll never understand having such a personal emotional reaction to a celebrity's death that you think a RIP thread needs snarkiness. But diff'rent strokes...

― StanM, Sunday, July 24, 2011 2:25 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

otm

I'll never understand the sort of personal callousness that leads someone to believe that because a human being is a "celebrity," that somehow precludes basic human decency and dignity with regards to discussing their death. But diff'rent strokes..

― Aphex Twin … in my vagina? (Karen D. Tregaskin), Sunday, July 24, 2011 2:30 PM (1 hour ago) Bookmark Suggest Ban Permalink

and otm

kind of think we should have a seperate thread for discussing the psychology and politics of talking about celebrity death on the internet, since this thread seems to have been a powder keg for the issue, imo

start it. it'll prob take off quickly

i was gonna start a thread for people who wanted to be douches in an RIP thread but were undouchey enough to take it elsewhere

surprised there isnt already a shakey mo tribute thread tbh

xxxp i think Dave is right. i've seen people doing that whole ridiculous 'OMG who cares about DEAD CELEB X' thing on twitter and facebook a million times but i've never seen so many people being so upset and angered by those kind of comments coming from within their own presumed circle. it's been a real eye opener this weekend; a great time for a Facebook 'friend' cull and such.

It does feel a little weird though: before yesterday she was just this train wreck who made a couple of good albums a long time ago (neutral feeling, no real opinion, shit happens, it's her life, too bad but aren't lying awake worrying about her) but now she's dead, it's suddenly very sad because she'll never recover and make new and maybe even good albums for sure now and that's a waste and a shame.

It's like Schrödinger's cat: when she was still both destroying her life and able to recover, vs. the box has been opened and only one reality exists.

(Yes, Amy Winehouse's death and the reactions are related to quantum physics. Time to go to bed, StanM)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JDqfBJgHdwE

This interview kills me, especially when JR asks her if the record company have tried to mold her (i.e. into a more conventional pop star) and she responds: "Yeah, one of them tried to mold me into a big triangle shape, and I went “no!”"

Thanks for posting that, Alex. It's lovely.

Wow. I wasn't familiar with her before she became a mess. It's nice to see her so seeming downright bubbly.

yeah, that's what i was going to say -- when she first crossed my radar, she was already as famous for being as mess as for her music.

she's very jewish looking isn't she?

just reading that russell brand blog post now... i've always hated the guy's work passionately, but that was really good

Yeah, that Amy Winehouse TV interview was great, wasn't it? Compare and contrast that with the shambling mess of every subsequent TV appearance, and it's as good an advert for "don't do drugs, kids!" as you'll see.

she's very jewish looking isn't she?

...?

Dawg, she was Jewish.

Great Quietus piece Lex.

xp amateurist, you did know she was Jewish when you wrote that, right?