Sunday Music: Diva, Annie Lennox
Apr. 7th, 2013 06:19 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
stoutfellowAlbum Title: Diva
Why I Bought It: For "Walking on Broken Glass".
What I Like (Hold and Break): "Walking on Broken Glass". There's a particular musical trick, a simple one, but one which always appeals to me: holding a single tense note through several words before finally breaking the tension. The chorus of this song uses that trick, and I love it.
What I Like (Campy): "Keep Young and Beautiful". Hearing Lennox sing it makes me visualize an aging drag queen, passing on wisdom to the younger generation. I was surprised to find that it originated in the 1933 film Roman Scandals, in which it was sung primarily by Eddie Cantor, in blackface. I refuse to let that spoil my appreciation of Lennox's version.
What I Like (Reflective): "Why". Ill-chosen words in a foundering relationship, and the struggle to hold it together....
Overall: Lennox's type of music isn't something I would normally seek out, but I enjoy this album in small doses. "Legend in My Living Room" is a different take on the seductions of the artistic life; it hasn't worked out, but the narrator hasn't given up completely, and "Little Bird" is similarly sad but determined. A pretty good album; maybe I'd give it a B+.
Why I Bought It: For "Walking on Broken Glass".
What I Like (Hold and Break): "Walking on Broken Glass". There's a particular musical trick, a simple one, but one which always appeals to me: holding a single tense note through several words before finally breaking the tension. The chorus of this song uses that trick, and I love it.
What I Like (Campy): "Keep Young and Beautiful". Hearing Lennox sing it makes me visualize an aging drag queen, passing on wisdom to the younger generation. I was surprised to find that it originated in the 1933 film Roman Scandals, in which it was sung primarily by Eddie Cantor, in blackface. I refuse to let that spoil my appreciation of Lennox's version.
What I Like (Reflective): "Why". Ill-chosen words in a foundering relationship, and the struggle to hold it together....
Overall: Lennox's type of music isn't something I would normally seek out, but I enjoy this album in small doses. "Legend in My Living Room" is a different take on the seductions of the artistic life; it hasn't worked out, but the narrator hasn't given up completely, and "Little Bird" is similarly sad but determined. A pretty good album; maybe I'd give it a B+.
