Monday, March 23, 2009

Winehouse in the Doghouse


According to a news story in Welt Online, Amy Winehouse's label - Island UK - have rejected the 25-year-old singer's new songs and told her to head back to the studio for a makeover because apparently she has replaced her soulful, jazzy sound with reggae. Hey, why change the formula when the original has sold over 11 million albums, right? This is the classic battle of commerce vs. art that makes me absolutely nuts. Don't be fooled into thinking that people who run large record labels do so because they love music. They don't. They care about selling records and that, to me, is the antithesis of art. This is why the majority of major label music is sterile and culturally mind-numbing - because anytime people are willing to trade in creativity for fame and fortune as demanded by soulless suits in a corporate suite, the result is usually horseshit. Island telling Winehouse how to make music is the equivalent of me telling a world renown chef how to cook. I'm not the biggest fan of reggae, but I would much rather the talented Winehouse make the album she wants as opposed to having it watered down in the name of record sales. Actually, I would rather her fart into a microphone for 30 minutes before she ever caves into those hacks at Island.

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