Monday, May 19, 2008

Tomhansson

As many of you already know, Scarlett Johansson created an album of Tom Waits covers: Anywhere I Lay My Head. There's no way to compete with Waits. Even though every reviewer has said it's a tribute album, showing SJ's admiration for Waits, I still am pretty suspicious about anyone who thinks they're as great as their idols, great enough to try and imitate their exact work (schizo). In my opinion, you've got to be completely drunk on yourself to attempt such a ridiculous task. But really, who cares what I think.
My old buddy Tyler Lovejoy wrote up a little FYI for Miami, bro about this endeavor:
Produced by the white guy from TV on the Radio, with guests like that guitar dude from the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and Bowie himself, it will either (tragically) introduce posers, who've never heard of Waits, to his music, without knowing it's his, or (magically) shed new light and breathe a fresh voice into the "gravelly one's" jams. (I wish I sounded like a gargled gravel.)
You can just warn America with the information provided herein -- use it all if you like.
Here's the video for the first single -- ScarJo -- which is available now on iTunes. And yes, that's the Goblin King doing backing vocals.
Oh -- and you can do a Pepsi challenge. Scarlett versus Zooey Deschanel (with M. Ward -- Zooey wins, hands down, since she writes her own stuff and it's fabulous).

-Tyler Lovejoy (genius)

It's me again and yes, I added the genius part, because Tyler has an inflated IQ and ego, and I think he knows what he's talking about most of the time, when he speaks, writes or yells drunkenly (except when arguing with me). Feel free to add your own opinion on the album. I personally was surprised by her voice, it's at least interesting, but really, come on, compare her monotone to
Waits' version. I haven't heard her whole album, so I can't say nothing, bro (as they do say in Miami). However, I can assume that I probably wouldn't buy it.
Also, I think Tyler wants to marry M. Ward and have Tom Waits' babies.

Pitchfork review.

1 comment:

Juan Navarro said...

I understand the angle that his coming form and agree, but at the same time, well who cares? I mean do you have to have PHD in an artist to not be a poser? Can you casually like an artist, even if by extension?
Tom Waits is the shit, and has been for a while. When I was a kid watching late runs of Night FLight, they one time put on a bit of ROTOSCOPED video he had done http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jCNDZY4vXPs
and dug him then. FOllowed him through my years, here and thee, mostly for his acting and such like in Jim Jarmusch's Coffee and Cigarettes and such.
But I haven't been a fan till maybe the last 3 years when somebody gave me a CD full of his music.
Posers, be it in art or music or what have you, are people who pretend to know something, not people who know a little of something.
If anything their might be great opportunity to enlighten folks on some real shit...