Chicagoist: Chicagoist Revisits Amy Winehouse

YoknapatawphaTourismBoard

Wed, 21 May 2008 17:16:06 -0600

Don't be dense, GL, I wasn't writing about creation of this/that event, but of the expectation of artists, the lionization they receive for meeting said expectation, implicitly the way this is rooted in the modern history of art, and (just as implicitly) the way in which the field is chosen by those most inclined to this sort of exploitation. And really, I'm writing only about Winehouse. Britney was just a dancer with a pitch-correction unit in the recording studio.

GL

Wed, 21 May 2008 16:35:19 -0600

Neither downfall is particularly sad. Neither downfall was created by anyone's burning desire for suffering artists and the tearing down of idols.

Deanimator

Wed, 21 May 2008 15:44:11 -0600

Amy Winehouse's meltdown is far sadder than Britney Spears' for the simple reason that Winehouse actually possesses some talent not evident in every mediocre exotic dancer. Nicole Sullivan's hilarious portrayal of Britney Spears on "Mad TV" now takes on the quality of documentary film making.

Spook

Wed, 21 May 2008 14:04:56 -0600

Who ever she is, she looks like she lives in Waukegan,and is heading on down to the Taste of Chicago but first she must score some meth

welsey

Wed, 21 May 2008 13:48:15 -0600

Oops Tankboy, I should have been more specific about who I was responding to! I was writing to thirdshiftdave for saying Britney "worked for her fame" while Winehouse is just a party girl. In response to your last sentence, I do find Amy's downfall sadder than Britney's, primarily because of the talent difference. Britney is mostly choreography and post-production, but Amy can really sing and seems a genuinely creative person. But I'm a huge Amy Winehouse fan so maybe I'm just biased.

YoknapatawphaTourismBoard

Wed, 21 May 2008 12:02:12 -0600

What we find really alarming, though, is that Winehouse went from being one of our brightest hopes... to becoming a human gapers block in such an astonishing short period of time. This isn't terribly surprising. I'm not going to completely dork out and talk about the Nietzschean expectation of Dionysian release through modern art, but we certainly expect the artists that move us to draw from an inner wellspring of inspiration. Then we get to tear them down in a critical fashion in ever-proliferating reviews, blogs, etc. I mean, how many times have we said, "Iggy Pop/Richard Hell/Al Jourgensen/Skinny Puppy/Elton John/ hasn't been the same since kicking heroin/coke/the bottle/"? Jack White has made a career out of making calculated reproductions of reckless abandon. We want to see our own internal manichean struggles writ large on the stage and on the record and this moves us. But we expect our artists to suffer for it, or, a la Mr. White, fake a convincing one.

Tankboy

Wed, 21 May 2008 12:00:01 -0600

welsey, I wasn't making a comment on either artist's talent, I was just pointing out that Winehouse's slide seems more tragic in both its speed and its wasted talent. And all of you should note that Winehouse has actually recorded two albums. Her debut, Frank, made her a star overseas long before most Americans heard of her.

JayDeeMv2

Wed, 21 May 2008 11:55:46 -0600

Amy Winehouse is a nasty skank.

welsey

Wed, 21 May 2008 11:53:48 -0600

Are you serious giving Britney more legitimacy? She's a Disney machine with a weak singing voice! I'm sorry for her as well, but Amy is much more of a musician and she HAS had a previously successful album, not just the one. I just hope she sorts her personal issues out ASAP.

MartiniMan

Wed, 21 May 2008 11:39:23 -0600

She was amazing at the Vic last year. She was far less at Lollapalooza. You could tell she was not right.

jmagic

Wed, 21 May 2008 11:30:37 -0600

Can she just OD already and get this overwith? I mean, really ... she never really wanted to be a singer, that much is clear. I agree with Spav - one album does not equal a successful career ... if you call her career a success.

thirdshiftdave

Wed, 21 May 2008 11:13:29 -0600

Not sad at all. Britney at least worked a little for her fame before squandering it. This chick is a spoiled party girl playing dress up.

Spav1

Wed, 21 May 2008 10:37:20 -0600

I was at that concert and I was impressed by a) how good her voice was when on point and b) her back up singers and band. And Amy Winehouse put out one good, poppy album. Not exactly a harbinger of a great career. She was literally created by bloggers and then leaked into MSM. I think she is the perfect example of the media throwing someone onto a tower just to watch as they kicked it out from under her. It has been entertaining.