Like most Sensitive New Age Guys (henceforth: snags) with Jesus hair in the 90’s, I did the female vocalist thing (I saw Lilith Fair during its first tour in Montreal!) and spent time being madly in love with Sarah McLaughlin, Kate Bush, Tori Amos, Jann Arden, Kate Pearson, and… I don’t have time to go through the whole list.
Much like with the Led Zeppelin and Guns and Roses phases, the female vocalist phase passed as well… and, much like with the Zep and G&R, it didn’t completely go away. It just makes room. I’m always pleased, however, when I find something that reminds me of those old albums and occupies my brain for a week.
The new Florence + The Machine album, Ceremonials
The music (minus the vocals) reminds me of Annie Lennox’s stuff (I’ve flashed back to Medusa
The “Shake it Out” song is getting airplay now (I’m sure you’ve heard it… and if you haven’t, oh… are you in for a treat!):
This album has a lot going on, though. It flows and ebbs and swells and if you have a female vocalist phase behind you, you will feel these songs like you felt those. Here are two of my other favorites from the album (but, seriously, the whole thing is good).
See? Absolutely gorgeous. You should get Ceremonials
So that’s my recommendation for you this week.
Speak for yourself. I still enjoy Sarah McLachlan’s first three albums, Dido, Jem, Goldfrapp, Imogen Heap, Natalie Merchant, Steve Jobs’ last contribution to pop culture (aka Feist) et al. The female voice is simply more appealing to me than the male.
Spot on with the link between the music on Florence’s new stuff and Annie Lennox, although the women have very different voices.
My All-Time-Favorite female vocalist remains Tori Amos. She’s just getting better and better.
Maaya Sakamoto for me. I’m a sucker for people who write their own songs (and know their own voices; hers doesn’t have fantastic range)
Don’t forget that a lot of the stuff in Cowboy Bebop was actually sung by Mai Yamane.
A lot of the stuff in Cowboy bebop was sung by mumbly joe and steve comte (who still can’t escape Japan, even after an earthquake. he tried, though.)
My current favorite female vocalist is Belle du Barry of Paris Combo:
Je ne Sais Qui Fumer
Aquarium
Maribou will tell you that I am an ignorant neanderthal when it comes to jazz.
“They do math wrong”, I tell her.
You’re both correct.
I totally see what you mean about the Annie Lennox thing.
One of the things I have really enjoying with female artists these days is all of the 60s & 70s retro stuff that’s coming out. I loved the Amy Winehouse Back to Black, but have been really loving a lot of the others. Some current faces on my playlists are:
Noisettes – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KRFHiBW9RE8&ob=av2e
Melody Gardot – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Eb651s_o1Q
Sharon Jones – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s0iGhFwZx6c
April Smith & the Great Picture Show – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LPXu7grYRCc
Eliza Doolittle – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lDkqTxv6ZRo
Nellie McKay – http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6q6HKiF83aI
Anyway, I love this trend and hope it sticks around for a while.
“Haunted” by Poe shows up in my mixtapes every so often. Also “Burnt Out Star” by The Verbs.
Really, nobody sings a ballad like a woman.
That’s a bold statement.
(What about Kevin Cronin???)
I guess I’d allow that once in a while a man can sing a good ballad. Most of the time it just comes off as whiny, though. (Note that I don’t consider a love song to be a ballad, even though a love song might be about a lost love. And I freely admit that, here, I’m starting out with a desired goal and arranging facts to fit that picture.)
I’m not really a SNAG, and I’ve never had Jesus hair but Florence and the Machine blow me away.
Thanks for giving me the final nudge I needed to pick up her album.
I’m enjoying the heck out of it.
No problem. Once I get around to Vampire the Masquerade (it’ll be after Skyrim at the earliest, so it could take some time), I’ll get back to you on what I think of it.
You had Jesus hair in the 90s?
Pics or it didn’t happen.
They’re somewhere.