Will someone please explain Amy Winehouse to me?

[radiclib]

OK, look..I know I'm old and hopelessly out of it and dumber than a box of rocks to begin with, and there have been plenty of examples in recent years of "artists" who "the kids" have flocked to whose appeal I've had difficulty understanding....but Jeeziz God Almighty!
:wtf: By ALL means, flame away, but PLEASE try to provide me with some "enlightenment" in the process. I just need some help here!

[ingac70]

1. I think she's a great singer...

and a seriously fucked up individual.

[Catch22Dem]

2. She ain't no Dave Grohl, I'll tell you that!

If she wasn't such a dipshit, I'd dig her music.

[runningfortheborder]

23. Amen!

Dave Grohl is amazing :)

[Blue State Bandit]

3. With the genius comes the madness.

[no_hypocrisy]

4. First, she can sing and sing pretty well.

Next, her appearance. She's covered with tattoos, has Cleopatra eyeliner, bohemian clothes and a beehive hairdo. She's an individual who's setting herself apart from other singers with their conventional hair, make-up, and clothes.

Finally, she doesn't try to hide drugs in her life. I'm not saying she is endorsing others to follow her example, but when she sings, "I don't wanna go to Rehab," she's using music to express her life as an artist would.

Amy Winehouse is an original and that's why she stands out as both a singer and an individual.

[Mike Daniels]

24. Sorry, but someone copping Motown licks is not original

I wouldn't put Sharon Jones who cops Stax-Volt licks original either but I'd put her head and sholders over Winehouse as far as talent is concerned.

[JeanGrey]

30. I think any of the American Idol singers are better than her

and she has obviously got some serious issues. I don't get it either, sorry.

[rwheeler31]

5. If it is any comfort I don't get it either. It must be a celrberty thingy.

[Glorfindel]

6. Sadly, I can't help you

I'm still trying to figure out "rap" or "hip-hop" or whatever that combination of noise, threats, and obscenities may be. I did hear a brief blurb of Ms Winehouse on the radio recently, singing something like "They tried to get me into rehab, I said, no, no, no." Highly admirable sentiments, I'm sure, but I don't know for what reason she needed rehab.

[frazzled]

7. I'm old and out of it, but ...

I tuned in to see what she was (sorry, I'm that hopelessly out of it, too) ... and I was sort of impressed. My husband (old, too) said "she's a real original."

I am so tired of where music is now I can barely stand it: aside from Beyonce, who I think is talented, I can't stand all these warbling female singers. By contrast, Amy Winehouse had a unique sound and, in a very quirky way, was very appealing. Sorry!

(The only singer I've kind of discovered lately, whom I really really am crazy about, is the very young Nellie McKay--I think she's brilliant, but she'd never end up at the Grammys. i listen to her new album, Obligatory Villagers, all the time.)

[Journeyman]

11. Don't know if they played this on the Grammys . . .

but listen to this tune -- I think you'll really come to appreciate her remarkable talent. . .

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8z4oKr_SN4

[TheDebbieDee]

16. Thanks for the link. What a beautiful song!

And she sang it so well. You're right - Amy's got talent.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

31. She sounds very 1960s

She must have been listening to her parents' records a lot.

[TreasonousBastard]

19. Dig around for Sharon Jones and the Dap-Kings...

they've got their own label at Daptonerecords.com.

Sharon's not a new kid on the block, but she's newly popular. For good reason.

And, not for nothing, the Dap-Kings were backup on "Rehab." Amy can stand up on her own, but this great band made some of the magic.

[Journeyman]

21. Excellent . . . thanks for the tip. . .

I'd never heard of her before but I'm certain to listen to more when the tunes I just ordered arrive.

100 Days, 100 Nights

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ouI5KcyHfE

This is a Man's World

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x5CcN17ViRM

(Just Dropped In to See) What Condition My Condition Was In

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8X7nVZhqb04&feature=related

Amazing Grace

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4FdabMifZc

[NashVegas]

29. Aye

And Amy's work has brought even more attention to the Dap Kings, so all's the better.

[DURHAM D]

8. I can't explain her but I love her.

I have found her compelling from the get go.

I am 63.

[Orrex]

9. Not in many years has anyone been so desperately marketed as "a real individual"

And so successfully, I'd have to say...

[Journeyman]

10. If you're old, listened to this tune -- you'll better appreciate her remarkable talent. . .

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=O8z4oKr_SN4

[xchrom]

12. oh god -- i LOVE amy winehouse big time -- hair, clothes

and most of all her voice -- fabulous!

[stevietheman]

13. Because 'Rehab' is the greatest song of the year, period. n/t

n/t

[Huge Ego Sorry]

26. I take that phrase as daming by faint praise

n/t

[parasim]

14. I'm 50 and I like her because she's a great singer.

Then again, my parents never understood what I saw in Janis Joplin and my kids never understood what I saw in Michael Jackson. (Actually, they did, until it was uncool to do so)

Great musical talent often is overlooked when the artist turns out to be a totally out-of-control nutcase.

[ursi]

15. fantastic voice/talent in a very self-destructive human host

[WorseBeforeBetter]

17. Is she truly talented or Joss Stone-talented?

I haven't given Winehouse a listen (beyond Amazon samples) because I figure she's just another mediocre talent being foisted upon us by the record companies. But maybe I will give a listen...

[hisownpetard]

18. Heck, she ain't no Rick Astley!!

[TreasonousBastard]

20. Can't argue with taste, but I like her for the same...

reason I like Steisand. Both of them can get into whiny, nasal voices that I should hate, and would hate on anyone else, but they just have a way of working it that, well, works. (OK, you wanna argue that Streisand pulled it off better, I won't complain.)

They're shoving it in your face and daring you to complain, knowing you can't come up with anything. Peggy Lee and a lot of the greats did that-- made strange choices that you wouldn't expect. (Although she seems to have more in common with Janis Joplin at the moment)

Nobody's saying you have to like her just because she's the hot thing now, but if she doesn't join the 27 Club she could turn out to be really interesting.

[runningfortheborder]

22. I'm with you, it makes no sense.

I don't get it either... and I'm 25! Aren't I supposed to like her? Everyone else does... Not for me, thats for sure.

[Mojambo]

25. I must have really drifted away from the mainstream music scene because I'd never heard of her

until all her drug misadventures started.

I've never even heard her sing. What is it, like pop?

[nebula]

27. Another white chick trying too hard to sound black

Ugh.

[NashVegas]

28. The Demand Was Already There

Brits have been doing Motown R & B-style music and having hits with it since. ... well they never really stopped, but starting with the new wave of the 1980s there were plenty of bands and artists to keep the flame alive. Amy was already a hit in the UK before 98% of America ever heard of her.

Here in the states, there's been a movement towards it in the last several years, but it was underground in clubs.

Back to Black is an amazingly good album, ever bit worth the Grammys it got. This was one of those miracle instances when a label was behind an album that people actually wanted.

[MorningGlow]

32. Sorry, can't help you

Other than the "lemming theory" (media proclaims a new god/dess and everyone agrees without knowing why). I heard how great she was for so long that I finally checked out a few of her tunes on YouTube, expecting The Second Coming, and I was immensely unimpressed. I mean, yes, she does have a set of pipes, but I felt like she wasn't using them to her full potential--it was like she was phoning it in. But I don't mean that I want her screeching like the "R&B chicks" of late--can't stand their caterwauling--I just would have liked to have heard her exert herself to try to reach some sort of level of excellence. People keep comparing her to Janis Joplin; I say that's blasphemy.

I will withhold my judgment in the hopes that she stretches a bit more in the coming years (provided she doesn't kill herself first).

(As for her appearance--the beehive and weird eye makeup--I think it's just silly and nothing to hang praise on. But then again, I'm an old phart!)