http://ping.fm/Fhke1

One should remember that Austen didn't have Global Warming.

"You know that I'm no good..."

My memory of the first time I ever heard of some British chick named Amy Winehouse is quite hazy, but I know it must have been sometime in 2006. I was sitting at my computer, trying to distract myself away from writing a paper for an English and/or History class by listening to 60's pop music on an online radio player, similar to Accuradio. I suddenly see a pop up ad, with a raven-tressed, bee-hived girl lounging in what looked like a bath tub and the huge, retro style letters "AMY WINEHOUSE BACK TO BLACK" splashed across, along with an invitation for listeners to check out the up and coming singer's new album. The name is what intrigued me at first. I remember thinking, "Winehouse....Wine-house. What kind of surname is that? Where does that come from?" It conjured images of glistening globes of burgundy liquid, of the zest of Pomegranate juice or a musky Merlot. Her look, which screamed cool, her name, her hair, her chiseled good-looks got me hooked. I Googled her name and discovered she was a jazz singer, young, but with a "phenomenal voice" and was from London. That was enough for me to want to listen to her songs. I made a slight mental note for the future and went back to writing...

The next memory that pops up in my 2006-2007 banks is mulling around a Best Buy with my then boyfriend-now-husband David in the summer of '07. I noticed the Back to Black cd again and casually mentioned the reputation I had heard concerning her music. Given that I was - and am - an Anglophile and am always perked up by any kind of quirky, Indie music, especially the kind with a 60's flavor, I wanted to share my enthusiasm. Dave wasn't interested, but after hearing and reading snippits of praise here and there in the media, I decided to give her music a try.

I fell in love. This is the kind of 60's retro homage I've been waiting for! Finally, some wholesomeness, I thought excitedly at first as I heard the sly opening bars of "You Know I'm No Good"....for about 10 seconds. On every song I could sample. Then the lyrics set in and my bubble was very rudely popped, with a stinging, sharp needle. Winehouse's songs dripped with the scent of too much gin and too much sex, a defiant attitude through defiantly-spoken lyrics that, at that time, was slightly enticing to me and mused on a lifestyle that was decidedly a whole 360 from my own.

But her voice. It was Billie Holiday, Ella and even Satchmo thrown in for good measure. It came from somewhere else. Her voice didn't match her looks; she sounded almost male. I had a vague thought that this was going to be another Diana Krall, all smooth, slow and soft. I thought that's what modern jazz singing was, in my ignorance. I tried to mimic it. I couldn't. Her vocal range was beyond my capability, which has usually always been rather good. Despite the negativity of what she was actually singing about - doing drugs, lamenting a breakup, getting drunk, cheating on her lover and saying no, no, no to rehab - I knew this gal was different.

So I ignored her music for the most part, despite not being able to escape it as it began playing everywhere and I remember noticing it on the promos for the upcoming series Mad Men. Instead, I focused on her style, which was copy-catting the girl groups of the early to mid 1960's. Beeeeeeeehive, a lot of eyeliner and pencil skirts. I began experimenting with my own look and I eventually turned down her look about 1,000 notches to create my own. It was too cool to pass up, although I tried to ignore the provocative tattoos.

As she began to really lose it as the last few years went on, I felt let down. She had promise. She was precisely my age, which made it all the more difficult to watch. You feel like a sister or a best friend watching someone kill themselves in slow motion. Now she's dead. I half-expected it. I just thought she would eventually grow up. I suppose I'm still naive, still hoping for someone from my generation to not screw up just once, to make it to the finish line without chemicals to assist them or at most not knock them down before they get there. I guess it's too much to ask, especially of someone who began smoking cannabis at 13, like Amy.

"I cheated myself...", she sang. Yes, Amy, you did.

...and I thought this was very cool. Give it a listen:http://ping.fm/xVrrS

Oh yes, indeed! :) Austen manuscript fetches quite a pretty little penny...http://ping.fm/mXgYd

Writing in process

Just a note to tell you I'm still working on stuff, in the middle of other going-ons. ;) Stay tuned!

I'm coming back soon! Fear not!

The London story will continue this week and that's a promise! I have not abandoned you, O Invisible Audience. ;-)

Yours, &tc.,
Emily

If anyone wants to buy this for me when my birthday comes around this fall, feel free. ;)

http://ping.fm/PhD13

Rather interesting look at Renaissance "Social Networking": http://ping.fm/UI1RB

Happy Fourth! ;)