R.I.P. Amy Winehouse: A Year Later
Hearing the initial news that my favorite singer had died was hard to believe. And here today, it’s hard to believe that it has already been a year that she’s been gone. Hard to believe that outside of a leaked version of an unfinished track or two, and couple of posthumous collaborations, we’ll never get a proper Amy Winehouse release again. I hate to say it, but on the path she was on, in the back of my mind I figured it was only a matter of time before the inevitable. But I never expected it to happen so soon. In fact, I held out hope for the opposite. There were reports she was doing alot better, looking alot better, and sounding alot better than she previously had been. Had a new album in the works, and had been performing again. I was first introduced, albeit unknowingly, to Miss Winehouse’s music in December of 2006, on Ghostface Killah’s album “More Fish.” I’m not sure if it’s a testament to Amy’s ability to capture (and in essence, BECOME) that throwback sound I’ve long been a fan of, or an embarrassing lack of ear on my part, but on Ghostface’s “You Know I’m No Good” I could’ve sworn the hook which Amy sung was a vintage vocal sample the producer dug up just for Ghost. It was until later on I went searching for the original sample (which I so often do, especially on beats with vocal samples) that I discovered the amazing voice I heard belonged to a young artist from the UK set to make her U.S. debut soon. The day was March 2nd, 2007. I had downloaded both of Amy’s albums “Frank” and “Back to Black” (hey, I couldn’t wait. Don’t worry, I bought both 11 days later on the first day of the latter’s official U.S. release) and I don’t think I listened to anything else that day. I was instantly hooked. Those that know me know I’m no fan of the “current” or “modern” R&B sound, with a few notable exceptions. I’ve always been fond of the style from the old soul artists from the 60’s & 70’s, and took a particular liking to modern artists to emulated and paid homage to that sound. So when I laid my ears on these albums, I instantly fell in love, with both her and her music. She not only paid homage to that sound I so loved, she had MASTERED it. THIS is what I wished modern R&B sounded like, and on this day, it did. My initial thoughts were this was the beginning of a long and...
State of the Art: another Gotye song for you to fall in love with (plus a bonus)
If you’re like most of the world, you’re just recently discovering Australian singer/musician Gotye, now that his smash single “Somebody That I Used To Know” is getting played every 15 minutes (deservedly so, because the song is the shit) on every radio station both near and far. If you’re like me, however, you’ve been up on Gotye since the beginning of the year and have already wore said smash single completely the fuck out before you ever discovered other people even knew how to pronounce his name properly. But that’s not me bragging, because even I was late getting put onto Gotye. I’m not sure what song Gotye is planning to release as his next single here in the states, but when I first discovered Gotye there was a song that caught my attention just as much as “Somebody…,” if not moreso. A little song called “State of the Art.” It’s an incredibly creative ode to one his favorite instruments, the Lowrey Cotillion Model D-575 electronic organ. Check out the song with equally amazing animated video below: You can’t tell me this song isn’t the absolute, unadultered, shit of all shits. Gotye is the motherfucking man. As an added bonus, if you’re a reggae fan, you absolutely MUST, as in you don’t have a choice, MUST check out the reggae remix of “Somebody That I Used To Know,” courtesy of the talented JR Blender (http://jrblender.com/promo/). Video below:...