2008-01-15

Today is for Amy...

Oh, Amy. Amy Amy Amy.

Where's the HIVE, Amy? For the love of God and all that is holy....where's the HIVE?! That big, ratty, magnificent hive where you'd stash vials of coke, Ring Dings to snack on for later, and Baby-Jesus-knows-what-else. The hive you defended on the BBC: "Yeah, it's all mine. It's all mine 'cos I BOUGHT IT."

Don't get me wrong, Amy. Change is good. You're a delightfully hot mess no matter what, and I have loved you from afar WAY before the rest of us Yanks caught on to your unique blend of delightful hot messiness and astounding, bewildering talent. This cheap brassy blonde 'do you're sporting these days does not make me love you any less. We'll always have the Summer of '07, Amy, when your "Back to Black" album pulled me through some very, very bleak moments, indeed.

It's been a very long time since I -- indeed, since ANYONE -- has heard a genuine ALBUM. A back-to-front, coherent, cohesive body of work, and not just a hit or two bookended by a bunch of "filler." You gave the "album" back to us, Amy. There is not a single disposable number on "Back to Black," which is so evocative of so many genres and yet manages to sound utterly current.

I love that you look like you could pummel me into oblivion one minute, and then just completely smash my heart into bits the next. We joke about you, Amy, calling you "Wino" and speculating as to whether or not those are today's knickers you've got on, but there is no one quite like you, and when you go and do stuff like this:

...it just makes me want to take you someplace where you'll be safe. Because it's not bloody likely that you're going to make another album like that. That you've made one damn near perfect record is more than what most people can lay claim to. But it would be a shame to lose you, and your staggering talent, to your myriad demons.

Gracious, I got all serious for a second there. All I really wanted to say was: BRING BACK THE HIVE, AMY. BRING BACK THE HIVE.

lisamcc at 9:59 a.m.

2 comments so far
Spooney
2008-01-18 13:58:09
That Back to Black album does sound amazing! She is a glorious mess!
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LisaMcC
2008-01-18 14:38:07
Obviously a great deal of credit goes to Mark Ronson, her producer, but Winehouse, when not completely out of her mind on whatever she's put up her nose or in her arm, has a very keen understanding and appreciation of the genres she's paying tribute to. All of her "issues" aside, she's a consummate musician.
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