Ask me a few months ago about Scarlett Johansson, and I'd tell you I hate her, with probably more than a little jealousy for her perfect pout and beautiful hair and flawless sense of style. I'd rant on about how miserable she is, how all her characters are the same miserable frustrated women and she's probably not even acting very much when she plays them.
I really didn't like her. So her releasing an album was just another reason to dislike her. Oh god, another celebrity that thinks just because they have one talent, they're talented in every creative area. I expected it to be awful, told everyone I knew as such, then promptly forgot all about it. It was fairly recently, when I learnt that all the tracks were covers of Tom Waits songs, not to mention that Nick Zinner and Bowie were involved, that I became interested, and I downloaded the album. Strictly out of curiosity, you understand.
I never expected to fall in love. But that is the best kind of love. I was so determined to dislike it, yet within the first thirty seconds, with the melancholy, discordant noise washing over me, I let go.
Her voice does leave a little to be desired, but maybe that's just part of her charm, because everything else about "Anywhere I Lay My Head" is amazing. It's haunting and dreamlike. Tom Waits originals seep through every song, but with Scarlett's femininity and less-than-perfect but distinctive voice it truly becomes a masterpiece. The tracks are deliciously dark, 'Green Grass' is almost scary. It’s music you'd expect to hear on an abandoned old fashioned carousel, probably haunted by the ghosts of dead children. Just when you’re slipping into this perfect nightmare, 'I Don't Wanna Grow Up', snaps you out of it into this wonderful world of electronic pop that’s even better.
The whole thing is beautiful, and if it can convert me, it must bring existing Johansson fans to their knees.
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3 comments:
Egads. You've convinced me to give her a listen. Can't wait to check it out. <3 Üdo
i downloaded that album ages ago & skipped through some tracks with a face full of disdain. you've just convinced me to give it another try.
i considered buying you the album when it came out but then you expressed doubts about it so i decided it was a bad idea. but this shows that, as always, i was right to begin with and you would like it.
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