Amy Winehouse - Found Dead

[mcgoo]

I've been pretty sad about her death. Not because I'm a big fan- I was only mildly aquainted with her music, but enough so to respect that she was the real deal. Mostly I'm sad because I think a pretty high percentage of this planet saw this coming, and yet no one (including Amy) seemed to be able to do anything about it. I think that's the real tragedy- much more so than the fact that the artistic community lost a "voice in the choir."

 

I'd imagine everyone close to her- musicians, management, family, friends etc will be beating themselves up for years wishing they'd done more to try to get her to stop.

 

RIP Amy. My prayers to her family & loved ones.

[richwhite9]

She sang, played keyboard, wrote her own music and lyrics.

If you can call these lyrics:

 

"He left no time to regret

Kept his dick wet

With his same old safe bet"

 

I'll take a room full of monkeys with typewriters for $200, Alex.

 

 

It could be Alanis

 

>> An older version of me

Is she perverted like me

Would she go down on you in a theatre

 

It was a slap in the face how quickly I was replaced

Are you thinking of me when you fuck her <<

 

 

Or her unintended comedy fest "Isn't it Ironic"

[Tonysounds]

What is this absurd fascination with dead celebrities who refused help on conquering their demons and allowed their addictions to trash their career and reputation?

 

The only difference between a dead celebrity addict and your typical dead addict is fame. Thankfully, apparently you have escaped knowing either.

 

When you experience the death and waste of a life that hits close to home, you can answer your question for yourself.

 

Don't even think I don't know the meaning of suffering from the loss of a loved one from addiction, my friend. Don't you even think.

 

Until then, see CEBs comment above.

 

In the spirit of CEB quoting scripture, I offer this from the Gospel: Why do you seek the living among the dead?

 

Rather than quote me nonsense from the Bible, try to figure out why you think you can reduce this situation to your inital question if you really have seen addiction up close?

[Tonysounds]

She sang, played keyboard, wrote her own music and lyrics.

If you can call these lyrics:

 

"He left no time to regret

Kept his dick wet

With his same old safe bet"

 

I'll take a room full of monkeys with typewriters for $200, Alex.

 

You keep the monkeys and the typewriters. I'll take the beautiful, honest pain of these lyrics over the saccharin of Rogers & Hammerstein any day. Art doesn't always need to be santized, and I'd prefer it wasn't.

[mikecorbett]

I have not read one posting in this thread. I'm assuming that everyone here is treating her as the next Janis Joplin, Hendrix, Morrison, etc.

 

This is simply rude? Seriously, you haven't read one post and your replying....with assumptions as to what others have been saying....because your too lazy/arrogant to read our posts? Because you wont stoop to our level and discuss the passing of a fellow musician and human being. Good man. Thanks for enriching our lives.

 

Amy Winehouses death is sure bringing out the best of the humanity in the forum... what we need is a sprightly Polka to cheer us up...anyone? anyone?? POLKA!?

[Dave Pierce]

I just think the lyrics are laughable, and was only rebutting her lyrical accomplishments. This is a music forum. Your mileage may vary.

 

Sure. Rebut away, why not. Probably close to 72 hours she's dead now.

 

If that seems like a good idea to you, then my mileage does, indeed, vary.

 

--Dave

 

[arabella]

I haven't even heard she's dead. It's a shame, she was so young.

[fjzingo]

Tragic and unfortunately not surprising

 

 

 

 

[Outkaster]

One thing I learned to do as an addiction coach is not to internalize someone's problems. I feel bad for her family if anything. I just am surprised at the news coverage, for me I think they are just as many talented people that post here. I also think a lot of her stuff sounded overproduced.

[CEB]

Sometimes I think empathy feeds this monster. But I'm not a pysch expert.

[Ian Benhamou]

Just to reply to the lyric bashing:

 

I find her lyrics interesting. She wasn't the next Bob Dylan, but there's an incredible honesty to what she was writing about.

 

Yes, the lyrics are crude and maybe even vulgar to those who are more prudish. But she clearly wasn't about being nice and pretty. She was more about being a baddass. yet her lyrics reveal a certain vulnerability with men, love and drugs and alcohol.

 

Whether you relate to the lyrics or not, they're brutally honest and based on her real experiences. To me, that's makes her a talented songwriter. YMMV I guess.

[b3keys]

RIP Amy.

I hope you are now at peace.

I am saddened that we won't have more of your music to enjoy.

[Mogut]

Just to reply to the lyric bashing:

 

I find her lyrics interesting. She wasn't the next Bob Dylan, but there's an incredible honesty to what she was writing about.

 

Yes, the lyrics are crude and maybe even vulgar to those who are more prudish. But she clearly wasn't about being nice and pretty. She was more about being a baddass. yet her lyrics reveal a certain vulnerability with men, love and drugs and alcohol.

 

Whether you relate to the lyrics or not, they're brutally honest and based on her real experiences. To me, that's makes her a talented songwriter. YMMV I guess.

I like this post.

 

She lived the quintessential Rock'n'Roll, dead by 27, lifestyle... and her music was excellent.

 

"Nice boys don't play rock and roll" (G'n'R - Rose Tattoo)

[HammondDave]

Just to reply to the lyric bashing:

 

I find her lyrics interesting. She wasn't the next Bob Dylan, but there's an incredible honesty to what she was writing about.

 

Yes, the lyrics are crude and maybe even vulgar to those who are more prudish. But she clearly wasn't about being nice and pretty. She was more about being a baddass. yet her lyrics reveal a certain vulnerability with men, love and drugs and alcohol.

 

Whether you relate to the lyrics or not, they're brutally honest and based on her real experiences. To me, that's makes her a talented songwriter. YMMV I guess.

I like this post.

 

She lived the quintessential Rock'n'Roll, dead by 27, lifestyle... and her music was excellent.

 

"Nice boys don't play rock and roll" (G'n'R - Rose Tattoo)

 

I don't think dying at 27 with a severe substance abuse problem is something we should be celebrating. With some exceptions, its not like these artists were improving and breaking new ground as they neared their demise...

 

 

[ITGITC]

I like this post.

 

She lived the quintessential Rock'n'Roll, dead by 27, lifestyle... and her music was excellent.

 

"Nice boys don't play rock and roll" (G'n'R - Rose Tattoo)

 

Agreed.

 

I watched various YouTube videos of Amy last night. There were a few - one, an interview when she was 20 years old. She showed that she was the real deal - with a lot of personality. The interviewer even commented on her North London accent and how it wasn't polished (and how that was refreshing). She agreed & they both laughed about it.

 

[video:youtube]i1iu52L9mUk

 

She was extremely talented. She was a rebel. And her lyrics were honest. Her music wasn't something that you were going to hear in a department store elevator - covered by the likes of Muzak.

 

In this current music environment when so many acts are contrived, Amy caught my attention. I'm sorry that she is gone. There was a lot of good music inside her that never got a chance to come out.

 

RIP, Amy.

 

Tom

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Eric Iverson]

Well, Jim Morrison's work seriously declined in his later career, by common consent.

The same could be said of Lester Young, the great jazz saxophonist, and many others.

 

[Adan]

Another fan of her music, here. It's painful to watch her trip and fall over "Just Friends" in that final performance vid; such a cool song, in many respects:

 

[video:youtube]

 

RIP, Amy.

 

"not in the morning, when your shit works"

 

I think that line is brilliant! But then, I also think Allen Ginsberg is a great poet.

[Cygnus64]

Well, Jim Morrison's work seriously declined in his later career, by common consent.

The same could be said of Lester Young, the great jazz saxophonist, and many others.

Sibelius basically spent the last 30-40 years of his life wasted. Incredibly, he lived into his 90s. He wrote very little in his last 30 years, he was kinda like Otis, the lovable drunk from "Andy Griffith". He looks happy though:

clonk

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Jean_Sibelius_1939.jpg

[Polkahero]

I have not read one posting in this thread. I'm assuming that everyone here is treating her as the next Janis Joplin, Hendrix, Morrison, etc.

 

This is simply rude? Seriously, you haven't read one post and your replying....with assumptions as to what others have been saying....because your too lazy/arrogant to read our posts? Because you wont stoop to our level and discuss the passing of a fellow musician and human being. Good man. Thanks for enriching our lives.

 

Amy Winehouses death is sure bringing out the best of the humanity in the forum... what we need is a sprightly Polka to cheer us up...anyone? anyone?? POLKA!?

 

She didn't write or play polka music. You'll get no cheering up from me, sorry! What do you want me to do about her death? Let's move on here, people!

 

Dude, take an anti-anxiety pill!

[richwhite9]

Well, Jim Morrison's work seriously declined in his later career, by common consent.

The same could be said of Lester Young, the great jazz saxophonist, and many others.

 

It 's never quite that easy and that's the problem. Morrison bought in to the 'back-to-the basics' of the last two albums (5 and 6) as the Stones and Beatles dropped experimental for the White Album and Beggars Banquet and solid rock singles. Stage was a different thing ....

 

The Greeks said Hope was the last gift in Pandora's Box because its the cruelist of gifts--both a blessing and a curse.

[Polkahero]

Just to reply to the lyric bashing:

 

I find her lyrics interesting. She wasn't the next Bob Dylan, but there's an incredible honesty to what she was writing about.

 

Yes, the lyrics are crude and maybe even vulgar to those who are more prudish. But she clearly wasn't about being nice and pretty. She was more about being a baddass. yet her lyrics reveal a certain vulnerability with men, love and drugs and alcohol.

 

Whether you relate to the lyrics or not, they're brutally honest and based on her real experiences. To me, that's makes her a talented songwriter. YMMV I guess.

I like this post.

 

She lived the quintessential Rock'n'Roll, dead by 27, lifestyle... and her music was excellent.

 

"Nice boys don't play rock and roll" (G'n'R - Rose Tattoo)

 

I don't think dying at 27 with a severe substance abuse problem is something we should be celebrating. With some exceptions, its not like these artists were improving and breaking new ground as they neared their demise...

 

 

+1 You Winehouse Worshippers on here better not get me started, this could get really ugly really quick.

[Steve LeBlanc]

She sang, played keyboard, wrote her own music and lyrics.

If you can call these lyrics:

 

"He left no time to regret

Kept his dick wet

With his same old safe bet"

 

I'll take a room full of monkeys with typewriters for $200, Alex.

 

Seriously? This is what we are about on this forum now? Taking three lines of lyrics to demonstrate the perceived worth of someone who has been dead for all of 48 hours?

 

I actually expect the sort of thing that this thread has become from the comment section of any newspaper's online presence. But for some reason I have, until recently, believed that this place was better than all that.

 

Silly me.

 

--Dave

 

fwiw, I am also very unimpressed by the lyrics...Ian posted them here as an example of why she should be praised. It is not offensive to disagree with the praise and/or comment further.

 

I don't think she was a great songwriter, MY opinion, no disrespect intended.

 

Keep it classy but also, keep it real eh?

[Cygnus64]

fwiw, I am also very unimpressed by the lyrics...Ian posted them here as an example of why she should be praised. It is not offensive to disagree with the praise and/or comment further.

 

+1. I personally find lyrics impossible to judge without the musical counterpart. In the right musical setting they might be genius or terrible, depending how they serve the needs of the material. On their own they read like a 6th grader wrote them, but maybe in the context of a song that's exactly what's required. No way for me to judge since I don't know the tunes.

[Dave Pierce]

fwiw, I am also very unimpressed by the lyrics...Ian posted them here as an example of why she should be praised. It is not offensive to disagree with the praise and/or comment further.

 

I don't think she was a great songwriter, MY opinion, no disrespect intended.

 

Keep it classy but also, keep it real eh?

 

I don't know. Lot of guys here, myself included, expressed a sense of loss at her passing. We were fans of her, and her music.

 

I'm just saying that the criticism of her music could wait until she's buried.

 

It seems to me that those who see nothing wrong with dumping on her art at this stage are also those who were not fans of her music, and are not particularly moved by her passing.

 

Think of a current artist who you really like quite a lot. Now imagine that they died young on Saturday. In the thread about their death, do you really want to read a bunch of posts about how they actually sucked?

 

So, that's me. I liked her quite a lot. I own the two albums she released, and they are part of the soundtrack of the late-2000's part of my life. This is something that I share with my wife as well (our musical tastes don't always overlap). In this thread I have expressed my sadness at her passing, and my wish that she could have recovered from her demons and made more great music.

 

I'm fine that you don't like her. I'm fine that many people think she sucked. Whatever. Takes all kinds.

 

I just wish it wasn't in the thread about her passing, before she's even buried.

 

Perhaps I am unreasonable in this. I sometimes am unreasonable.

 

I think it's time for me to stop reading this thread now.

 

--Dave

 

 

 

[Steve LeBlanc]

I liked her.

[Phred]

I am annoyed at this thread, and at how people can feel anything but sadness for someone that dies in this way. I think she was a talented musician who could write, play and sing. Whether or not it was your cup of tea is irrelevant.

 

That said, there are much sadder events that have happened in the same timeframe (in Norway for example... My prayers are with anyone directly touched by that horrific event.)

 

Lately this message board is not the fun safe place that it used to be. Thread after thread of fighting and crap.

 

I am not having fun anymore.

 

P.S. For comparison, gryphon, can you please post a sample of lyrics that you have written? Thanks.

 

 

[Ken Beaumont]

I liked her and am saddened by her death. What is really sad is that it was totally preventable. I think she was quite talented. I think the only time I have ever thought differently about someones death is Bin Laden's.

[Adan]

I'm fine that you don't like her. I'm fine that many people think she sucked. Whatever. Takes all kinds.

 

I just wish it wasn't in the thread about her passing, before she's even buried.

 

Perhaps I am unreasonable in this. I sometimes am unreasonable.

 

I think it's time for me to stop reading this thread now.

 

--Dave

 

I've read lots of RIP threads on this forum. This is the first one I can recall where people dumped on the deceased. Appalling behavior. Anyone who was not raised by wolves would know not to do that. OK, time for me to join Dave in his exodus.

[george costanza]

Forgive the format ( I just hate retyping)...

 

I actually enjoyed what I think she was trying to portray musically.

I have not read whatever the cause of her death is but I will...and, sadly, I suppose I won't be surprised...but I might be..we all might be.

As far as "When will we learn?", I don't know but I tell you this, and it's been something that's bothered me for a while, everytime I read a reference to "Keef" Richards as a great rocker (to be honest and fair, you could take a number of other examples, from jazz and other genres), it makes me wonder about the fact that we all have a part in continuing the celebrity of fashionable "edginess" that is based on outmoded ideas of what constitutes being cool.

 

Tobacco's been a recognized killer from the first days Europeans encountered it but still kids take up smoking every day.

 

I do not believe in the idea of the tortured artist who can't fit in.

I do believe that people can be hounded in such ways that they are not able to solve problems that they might if left alone.

I don't know the answer but I think somewhere in those two sentences is what happened here.

Amy Winehouse

Valerie

Telling her story herself

from the AP obituary:

Tony Bennett, who recorded the pop standard "Body And Soul" with Winehouse at London's Abbey Road Studios in March for an upcoming duets album, called her "an artist of immense proportions."

 

"She was an extraordinary musician with a rare intuition as a vocalist and I am truly devastated that her exceptional talent has come to such an early end," he said.

 

from the same obit:

The cause of death was not immediately known and police said it will not release any post-mortem results before Monday.

 

Perhaps we should, to follow the advice/request of Brian Jones, "not judge too harshly"...or too soon.

 

...all that talent and all those years are gone in a heartbeat...it's only the stars that live on in films and recordings that really get the publicity and stay in our world for longer periods time...

 

From the liturgy of The Church of The Lowell George:

THE ONLY THING THAT LASTS FOREVER IS A WELL-CONVEYED IDEA(L).

 

I tried to resist but must return to a comment I made above:

I do not believe in the idea of the tortured artist who can't fit in.

I do believe that people can be hounded in such ways that they are not able to solve problems that they might if left alone.

I don't know the answer but I think somewhere in those two sentences is what happened here.

It's my sincere belief that some, perhaps many, would be able to learn to better control their "demons" if, indeed, their bahaviour was less demonized.

Besides the fact that "the imp of perversity" suggests to them that they further provoke the Grundies of the world, there's the fact that if things are less made from molehill to mountain, they tend to be of lesser focus.

Of related point is the continuing (and mostly gimmicky) portrayal of certain attitudes as indicative of a more rock and roll nature...but I honestly think the former is a better way of handling things.

In contries where more drugs are legal, for instance, there's less involvement of the young with them.

"leave them alone and they'll come home."

 

All signs indicate that, whatever her flaws or frailties, Winehouse was truly skilled and not just a lucky stylist. She also seemed to have a good sense of what made her distinctive.

It's hard to believe that she would have failed to find balance over time.

[David Loving]

There are no greater displays of bad character than to disparage the dead - in this thread before she's even cold. It's a shame the thread and this forum took this turn.