Another unstable-sounding woman

Amy Winehouse, London, Nov 06
Originally uploaded by barney britton.

Discussion with a hip hop journalist a while ago at a workshop I organised for work:

Her:"So what kind of music do you listen to? Cos you said earlier that not really hip hop."
Me:"Hmm....it is kind of difficult to describe. I mostly like women and those that sound a bit unstable."
Her:"So what does that mean?"
Me:"People like Tori Amos, Cerys Matthews, Björk, Astrid Swan, Joni Mitchell, Carole King and so forth. And at times Macy Gray."

After that discussion the Swede Frida Hyvönen came and rocked my world with the wonderful combination of a piano, a delicate voice, Swedish chick look and provocative lyrics. She rules. Just listen a clip from her song Once I Was A Serene Teenaged Child and you know what I am talking about.

But now another lady has entered my life. Yes, she is the one in the picture and her name is Amy Winehouse. I found her first album (Frank) quite aggressive and suitable for days when I was already very pissed off. I forgot her existence for a long time. But now she is back with a new album, Back To Black.

Her voice is powerful - some sort of a a mixture of nasal and throaty. She sings sad songs such as Love Is A Losing Game. The traditional rhythm is slightly broken with a backbeat. The amount of instruments is admirable from violins to always so wonderful horns. But the best part is that she manages to sound very defeated and sad. She is The Woman of The Week in my (new) iPod.