Winehouse gets her due, finally (Commentary)

There is no other music artiste today who blurs the line between art and life like Amy Winehouse. Her music and persona melt into each other and her life bleeds into her songs. She is blessed with an incredible voice but is also cursed in her addictions.

At what would have to be a high point of her career - having just won five Grammy awards recently, including the coveted Record of the Year for 'Rehab' - she has finally made people take notice and wonder what all the fuss is about.

But Winehouse has never really had a problem getting people to take notice of her. Her bizarre life with its over-the-top antics ensured that she would always be featured in the news. After all, this was the woman who dared to scream 'Shut up! I don't give a f**k!' to none other than the U2 lead singer Bono giving a speech.

She has had to cancel whole tours, was too drunk to finish her sets and once had to run offstage to barf. At times she starts scolding the audience, forgets lyrics of her own songs and, though not completely verifiable, some even say she does drugs onstage.

The tabloids have lapped up and benefited greatly by printing pictures of her with toes bleeding and for what would be an all time low for anybody, actually wandering the streets of London barefoot and in a bra. She even topped a poll to find the dirtiest celebrity.

Winehouse, though, is also about the music. It's the music that redeems her. She taps into the madness of her life and uses it to fuel her creativity. Her song writing is brutally honest which gives it the rawness to make it sound genuine. Her lyrics are ultra biographical and she doesn't hesitate to name names. She makes overt references to alcohol, drugs and her struggles, which are epitomised in the hit single 'Rehab'.

In 2006, her record company wanted her to check herself into rehab for alcohol abuse. Instead she fired them and wrote about it in 'Rehab'. It is her biggest hit to date and the Grammys honoured it by declaring it Record of the Year.

It's not just the tabloid reading public or the critics who are into Winehouse. Her music industry peers have also caught on to her. The acclaimed artiste Prince covered the song 'Love Is a Losing Game' and wanted her to perform with him onstage.

The Arctic Monkeys, a band on the rise, have covered Winehouse's 'You Know I'm No Good' and the rapper Jay-Z featured on a new remix of the song 'Rehab'.

She can also count rapper Snoop Dogg as a fan. The DJ-producer Mark Ronson, who worked on her album 'Back to Black', is emphatic on her importance.

He said: 'Amy is bringing a rebellious rock & roll spirit back to popular music. It's been so long since anybody in the pop world has come out and admitted their flaws because everyone's trying so hard to project perfection. But Amy will say, like, 'Yeah, I got drunk and fell down. So what?' She's not into self-infatuation and she doesn't chase fame. She's lucky that she's that good, because she doesn't have to.'

Watching Winehouse is like having to witness a car crash where you can't look away. She could self-destruct or maybe just die any minute. While it is tragic that her life would seem such a waste, she still gives us some great music to enjoy. Hopefully, that will be the essence of her legacy.

(Sevanand Gaddala is a film writer and he can be contacted at [email protected])

Copyright  IANS

User Rating  (0 Votes)

Views  1027

Go to top

User Comments

If You are a member of India-forums, Then You can also log in here.