http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/magazine/7381065.stm
"And then there's Amy Winehouse, whose best songs really are works of art, no question."I question it, Clive. I'll question it all day. I have absolutely no respect for Amy Winehouse or her apparent achievements. As a singer/songwriter myself, I find nothing of interest in her songs or lyrics. Her voice is nasal and grating. And most importantly, she herself is a disgrace. I saw her at Belgian festival Rock Werchter last summer - she stumbled onto stage 25 minutes late, drunk as a skunk, totally oblivious, you could practically see the coke dribbling out of her nose. She didn't know what songs she was doing, delivered a limp performance and was entirely held up by her excellent band. Had I been closer, I would have thrown a bottle.
I got in trouble last year for saying many of these things live on Kerrang Radio. I don't have any problems with drugs - I think they all should be legalised, as people have a right to treat their own bodies how they wish. But when you cannot control a habit (and the same goes for drinking, or smoking, or eating), especially to the point where it affects your personal and professional life, then you deserve no respect. Much like her male counterpart Pete Doherty, I feel that what Winehouse contributes to the world pales in comparison to what she takes. The sooner she is locked away to learn to control herself, the better. The she can go back to simply being a vocal annoyance, rather than a negative role model...
Daniel Mumby
ReplyDeleteI share your views Jimmy - Amy Winehouse is massively overrated, a bad role model and, to quote The Smiths, "it says nothing to me about my life".
The question is, who is to blame? Not for the music itself, since that is purely a question of taste. Who is to blame for her decline and subsequent infamy? One could obviously argue that she chose to ... Read moretake the drugs and drink herself to death, and therefore she is entirely to blame. But to my mind she owes a fair bit of her turmoils to the influence of others: her on-off boyfriend, the demands and precedents of critics and the papers, demands from the record company etc. Obviously it is stupid to write off all her troubles to 'society' but so often it's easy to ignore them for a quick fix answer.
I totally agree with you that what both Winehouse and Doherty contribute to the world pales in comparison to what they take.
07 May 2008 at 02:22
Jimmy Kent
I believe most of her problems stem from her inability to control her habit. I don't care if she takes drugs - probably a bunch of bands I like or have liked were high half the time. But it didn't stop them being professional, didn't stop them from functioning. She's got no control over herself, and I think, in the end, that's her own fault.
I ... Read morethink that taking drugs is your own choice (provided you haven't been literally forced into them). You might have been influenced by partners, friends or family, by peer pressure or whatever, but these are only factors. They are not causes. The buck stops with the individual. You don't do everything your parents do, or everything your friends do, or at least I don't. I don't doubt society may have contributed to her slide, but you're more than what the world makes you, you are what you choose to be.
07 May 2008 at 12:01
Daniel Mumby
My views on drugs are somewhat ambivalent, certainly they're not that of your typical Christian. I would never do drugs, because I have experienced the damage, both physical and psychological, that they have caused in people I know. I certainly don't believe that drug-taking has a positive effect on faith. However, I acknowledge that many great ... Read morepieces of music have come from drugs, and sometimes - and I know this is cruel - it is better to let people fall and discover the pain themselves than to just preach that it's wrong.
I agree in the end it was her choice, but then surely it is logical to presume that a culture and a music scene where drug taking is tolerated or encouraged will cause more individuals to take them, whether to fit in, to minic idols, for inspiration or attention? She is under the illusion, put upon by get-rich-quick moguls, that she is talented and therefore beleves she can survive these things.
My music motto: if everyone raves about it, it's shit.