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| From | "John L. Micek" <jlmicek@verizon.net> |
| Subject | Re: Duffy |
| Date | Mon, 23 Feb 2009 15:51:56 -0500 |
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Carolinegoodbye,
Did you even read this paragraph?
"In interviews and performances, I've found Duffy the most personally
enagaging. She's bright, funny and friendly, and that has gone a long way
toward winning my affections. The fact that she looks like a young Bardot
doesn't hurt much either -- to be blunt. But that's not the sole yardstick
I'm using to measure her with. For my money, when it comes down to songs,
"Mercy," and "Warwick Avenue," were two of the catchiest nu-soul tunes I
heard last year."
I said her looks were one part of the calculus -- not all of it. I'm not
going to apologize finding a pretty girl pretty..
But I reiterate my earlier argument: "Mercy" and "Warwick Avenue," were two
of the catchiest nu-soul tunes I heard last year.
And of the three "60s revivalists" -- Winehouse, Adele and Duffy, I happened
to like "Rockferry," the best of the lot, with "Back to Black," a close
second.
Next time I make judgments about an artist, I promise to squinch my eyes
closed as tighly as a I can and I'll keep my libido in a garment bag in the
attic.
john micek
----- Original Message -----
From: "CarolineGoodbye" <carolinegoodbye99@gmail.com>
To: <audities@smoe.org>
Sent: Monday, February 23, 2009 3:04 PM
Subject: Re: Duffy
> Oh god. Yeah, they make her look like a "young Bardot" in photos, but in
> real life, I'm afraid she's just a normal person. Normal BRITISH person at
> that. Freckled, short, messed up teeth, just like the rest of us dolts. I
> wish heavily retouched images of women (or men) wouldn't influence
> people's
> opinions of pop stars, especially people who claim to be purveyors of
> fine
> music.
>
>
> On Mon, Feb 23, 2009 at 11:21 AM, John L. Micek <jlmicek@verizon.net>
> wrote:
>
>>
>>
>> I would say Duffy's talent could fit in Dusty's pinky fingernail. No
>>> comparison there whatsoever, other than to say the former is perhaps
>>> trying
>>> to capture something that came naturally to the latter. Is Duffy better
>>> than her contemporaries? Say...Fergie? Definitely. Lilly Allen? I think
>>> so. Amy Winehouse? If Winehouse doesn't kill herself, she could rule the
>>> roost.
>>>
>>
>> It probably is more appropriate to place Duffy in the broader context of
>> her contemporaries -- Winehouse and Adele. Fergie's not an apt
>> comparison --
>> she belongs in the pop firmament with Gwen Stefani and Christina Aguilera
>> and that ilk. And, to my way of thinking, Lily Allen may not be an apt
>> comparison either, since she and Kate Nash seem to belong to what I'll
>> call
>> a more 'confessional' school of songwriting. So she has to be judged
>> among
>> the practitioners of the new Northern Soul.
>>
>> I'll preface my remarks by noting that I put "Rockferry" in my top 20 of
>> last year's records, along with Nash's "Made of Bricks." I love Duffy's
>> voice, and do find it reminsicent of Dusty Springfield's. But to try to
>> draw
>> direct analogues between the two of them is foolhardy. You can't put an
>> acknowledged legend beside a young vocalist with one album to her credit.
>> It
>> does both of them a disservice and puts a tremendous burden on the
>> younger
>> artist that she can never hope to live up to.
>>
>> Of the three, Adele is probably the most naturally talented vocalist, and
>> I
>> love "Chasing Pavements," though I found the rest of the record a little
>> lugubrious. I also enjoyed "Back to Black," but sometimes I wonder if
>> Mark
>> Ronson won't someday outclever himself with his production style.
>> Certainly
>> that record wouldn't have been the document it was without the presence
>> of
>> the Dap-Kings, who classed the proceedings up measurably.
>>
>> In interviews and performances, I've found Duffy the most personally
>> enagaging. She's bright, funny and friendly, and that has gone a long way
>> toward winning my affections. The fact that she looks like a young Bardot
>> doesn't hurt much either -- to be blunt. But that's not the sole
>> yardstick
>> I'm using to measure her with. For my money, when it comes down to songs,
>> "Mercy," and "Warwick Avenue," were two of the catchiest nu-soul tunes I
>> heard last year.
>>
>> I'm not sure how personally committed Duffy is to continuing to record in
>> this style. In interviews, she can be evasive and non-committal about the
>> whole business, leaving open the suggestion that the record was largely
>> shaped by Bernard Butler's personal whims and a legion of A&R men. I'll
>> be
>> curious to see where she goes once she has a few more records under her
>> belt. She and Adele both seem like they have tremendous promise. As much
>> as
>> I appreciate Winehouse's talent, I fear her demons have probably
>> overtaken
>> her.
>>
>> John Micek
>>
>>
>>
>
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