METAL HEART
In 2003 Cat Power put out a record called You Are Free and I was hooked. The hit single "He War" was simple and magical, perfect for the indie wave explosion of the early 2000s.
She reminds me of Liz Phair and Juliana Hatfield but goes even deeper, darker, and bleaker with her sound yet still melodic. In my opinion, she help set up Sharon Van Etten perfectly which then gave on opening to a dozen other amazing female singers.
But Cat Power is very complex and with as much credibility she accumulates it seems CP is reserved to being more of a cult favorite amongst musicians and the indie crowd.
UNDERSTAND
She started playing/performing starting in Atlanta in the late 80s and was getting well connected with notable bands. Her early records like What Would The Community Think featured guitarist Tim Foljahn and Sonic Youth drummer Steve Shelley. You Are Free included Davd Grohl and Eddie Vedder.
When The Greatest got released in 2006 it was met with critical acclaim. She was in the same indie/mainstream spotlight as Feist, Karen O, Jenny Lewis, and Beth Ditto.
Now whenever I'm discovering or diving into a new artist I run the YouTube test.
WHAT'S THAT?1?!??!
It's simple, type in an artist name on YouTube and look for live footage or TV performances. I listen/watch to how a song was performed five or six times and analyze it. Look at what type of footage is available and its's view count.
With Cat Power it's limited and there are reasons for that.
Frankly she's known for having stage freight and giving unpolished performances.
So from Moon Pix we have "Metal Heart"
Now here's Cat Power performing "Metal Hart" on Letterman.
Doing alternate versions of songs is perfectly normal, but when it feels too fragmented and not put together, it just doesn't sound right.
Things sound a little bit better which she performs "The Greatest" Later With Jools Holland in 2006.
Still you can see this on-going issue when she performed at Glastonbury last summer.
BOTTOM LINE
This is crushing for me because her songs are amazing and these live performances don't do her justice. And it's just my observation, a view of it. Anyone else could see it differently.
In 2003 Cat Power put out a record called You Are Free and I was hooked. The hit single "He War" was simple and magical, perfect for the indie wave explosion of the early 2000s.
She reminds me of Liz Phair and Juliana Hatfield but goes even deeper, darker, and bleaker with her sound yet still melodic. In my opinion, she help set up Sharon Van Etten perfectly which then gave on opening to a dozen other amazing female singers.
But Cat Power is very complex and with as much credibility she accumulates it seems CP is reserved to being more of a cult favorite amongst musicians and the indie crowd.
UNDERSTAND
She started playing/performing starting in Atlanta in the late 80s and was getting well connected with notable bands. Her early records like What Would The Community Think featured guitarist Tim Foljahn and Sonic Youth drummer Steve Shelley. You Are Free included Davd Grohl and Eddie Vedder.
When The Greatest got released in 2006 it was met with critical acclaim. She was in the same indie/mainstream spotlight as Feist, Karen O, Jenny Lewis, and Beth Ditto.
Now whenever I'm discovering or diving into a new artist I run the YouTube test.
WHAT'S THAT?1?!??!
It's simple, type in an artist name on YouTube and look for live footage or TV performances. I listen/watch to how a song was performed five or six times and analyze it. Look at what type of footage is available and its's view count.
With Cat Power it's limited and there are reasons for that.
Frankly she's known for having stage freight and giving unpolished performances.
So from Moon Pix we have "Metal Heart"
Now here's Cat Power performing "Metal Hart" on Letterman.
Doing alternate versions of songs is perfectly normal, but when it feels too fragmented and not put together, it just doesn't sound right.
Things sound a little bit better which she performs "The Greatest" Later With Jools Holland in 2006.
Still you can see this on-going issue when she performed at Glastonbury last summer.
BOTTOM LINE
This is crushing for me because her songs are amazing and these live performances don't do her justice. And it's just my observation, a view of it. Anyone else could see it differently.
Comments