And I can't sleep, feeling so sad about Amy Winehouse. I can't bear to watch the news. Everything going on in the world is depressing.
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| Amy Winehouse live |
In the past I've complained about all the bandwagon jumpers jacking Amy's style [debatable, will go into that] while she's been out of the charts herself. I've been missing her herself, and rooting for her.
I just hate the music industry's 'onto the next' attitude - to me Amy Winehouse is a person before she is a product, and unlike what the media reports in response to her passing I believe her music outshone her troubles.
Her troubles were part of the package of being famous, and if you've read/followed Amy, you'll know it wasn't her intention to become famous.
Fame has always been destructive, because the people who are high profile are always struggling to be 'good enough' to whatever expectations are placed upon them. These days it's worse because of 24/7 news and gossip sites hounding people like Amy and mocking them instead of being positive.
I feel so sad that I have to grow old without so many of my favourite artists, Lynden David Hall, Aaliyah, Lefteye, Michael Jackson and now Amy Winehouse. Apart from Michael Jackson I felt like I loved these people before their 'stardomness' or high profileness went into overdrive. Each one of them gave interviews that I related in what they were saying, and I have memories to their individual songs, of buying their albums, or reading about them and getting excited over interviews.
When Aaliyah died I felt like I was experiencing what it felt like to lose Otis Redding - a fantastic young singer who was respected but still growing. I also felt like she was a sister, a really cool sister. I can't believe she died a week before 9.11 attacks, so long ago now, but I remember where I was, how I felt, that I believed it to be an internet hoax, that I used to watch Romeo Must Die bonus features nearly every day until the day she died.When Lefteye died it connected with a personal loss. When Lynden David Hall died on valentines day in 2004 it felt sickenly sad. He died of a rare case of lymphoma which not enough [black] donors give to. He was so talented and soulful but not many paid attention to his benefit concert, and for years not many people even knew he had died. It hurt me that he was not appreciated enough, but I felt priveleged to love him.
When Michael died, wow, I really have to keep that blog to one on its own because that will be long.
And now Amy... That voice. She embraced a sound and style but made it modern and she was a breath of fresh air in today's British music industry. Amy's pain and joy wasn't only in her heart when she sang, it was in mine. Her soulful voice really came from somewhere deep. I can't say the same for the Amy Winehouse bandwagon jumpers. She has writing talent, she took time over creating her music, playing live instruments, sampling and referencing hip hop. This is why she is individual.
I love you Amy, thank you for the music and for giving all you had to give.
