stoutfellow: Joker (Joker)
stoutfellow ([personal profile] stoutfellow) wrote2013-04-07 06:19 pm
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Sunday Music: Diva, Annie Lennox

Album 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+.