By Emily Carney
In a recent issue of Popshifter, I wrote an excoriating article about Courtney Love, (Way Past Almost Golden: Courtney Love In The 2000s ) in which touched upon her most recent problems with drug addiction. I am writing this to apologize to Ms. Love (even though I doubt she will ever read this or anything else I commit to writing).
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By Emily Carney
Before alcoholism, various drugs, loose women, and cigarettes took their toll, Peter Cook was perhaps one of the most gorgeous, sought-after men of his generation (oh yeah, he was also exceedingly witty).
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By Emily Carney
Gainsbourg (both Papa Serge and daughter Charlotte), Brel, Françoise Hardy, Jane Birkin, Dalida: these are all various names in French Pop that have made a massive impact even in the Anglo-Saxon world of music. Unfortunately in the United States, most French music is consigned to the “World Music” bin in record stores, guaranteeing that most of the record-buying populace won’t hear of it.
One notable exception is the French duo Air, comprised of Nicholas Godin and Jean-Benôit Dunckel (whose side project called Darkel yielded the lovely 2006 song, “At the End of the Sky”). This band has truly earned its place in the canon of French Pop.
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By Emily Carney
The Ritz, Ybor City (Tampa) FL
September 29, 2009
When I discovered that the Happy Mondays were coming to town (shortly after the Gogol Bordello War of 2009), I was beyond psyched. I was a massive fan of this band in the early 1990s. While my fellow middle-school-aged peers in Florida were jamming along to the sounds of Stevie B. and Taylor Dayne, my musical world was fully entrenched in “Madchester”—with bands like the Stone Roses, the Inspiral Carpets, and of course, the Mondays. So one can imagine my excitement as I commuted an hour away from my apartment in St. Petersburg, Florida, to see the band; I even momentarily forgot that the Psychedelic Furs were also on the bill that evening.
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By Emily Carney
Most music fans probably associate Gilbert O’Sullivan with a song called “Alone Again” by Biz Markie from Biz’s 1991 album I Need A Haircut. Markie sampled Gilbert’s 1972 hit, “Alone Again (Naturally),” without securing the necessary copyright clearance to sample the song; O’Sullivan famously sued the living shit out of Markie, and set the legal precedent that all samples had to be cleared with record labels prior to using them. (The Jams/KLF would run into a similar issue when they flagrantly —and hilariously—sampled “Dancing Queen” by ABBA, who were clearly pissed).
While I like Biz Markie, I can safely and proudly announce that I am a bigger fan of Mr. Gilbert O’Sullivan. While many may dismiss his music as early 1970s AM-radio schlock, I see O’Sullivan as the forerunner of singer-songwriters such as Morrissey and Orange Juice’s Edwyn Collins. He truly deserves to have a secret cult following—his music’s appeal transcends mere “hipster-y” trends and inane revivals. (Remember when Tony Bennett did a song with Bad Religion? What the fuck?)
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By Emily Carney
It’s late 2009, and the endless enigma of the singer and musician we know as Courtney Love has still not spawned a new album or a record deal. The general populace has now come to view Courtney Love as the rock version of Anna Nicole Smith. She has been regularly photographed by paparazzi looking like an anorexic, drugged out mess. In one recent video from TMZ she ranted on for a few minutes about things that made no sense, and syringes were seen in her handbag (I seriously doubt she has any form of diabetes).
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By Emily Carney
We’re all BFFs! REALLY!
As a kid I was absolutely obsessed with the Apollo missions from the late 1960s and early 1970s. As an adult, I still am.
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By Emily C.
The Ritz, Ybor City (Tampa) FL
July 27, 2009
I trekked out to Ybor City on July 27th to see the Ukrainian “gypsy punk” band Gogol Bordello. Ybor City has a certain reputation among people who live in central Florida. It has always been a hotbed for young hipsters, and it has a fairly high crime rate (seriously, people have been shot at clubs there). As a comparatively elderly person to most of the crowd there, I was quite curious as to how the show would turn out. I hadn’t been down to Ybor City in years, and my interest was piqued.
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By Emily Carney
Manner of death: Victimized by his own vomit
On September 18, 1970, Jimi Hendrix joined the Great Rock Supergroup in the Sky when he died at age 27. It was initially assumed he probably died of a drug overdose, since he was a casual abuser of drugs; suicide was even bandied about as the probable cause of his death. However, the doctor who attended to him at the death scene concluded he had died because his lungs had filled with red wine vomit.
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By Emily Carney
A Japanese study has shown that adding the salt known as lithium to drinking water may supposedly reduce the incidence of suicides. Lithium has been used typically to stabilize bipolar disorder. This finding brings up the question: is it okay for the government to add psychotropic medications to drinking water, very much like fluoride was added to stop teeth from rotting? The idea is a bit frightening, given that most psychotropic medications possess a laundry list of wickedly bad side effects. I was inspired (being a veteran of various psychiatric medications, woot!) to imagine a world in which these meds were added to drinking water. However, I compartmentalized my thinking about tap water to several specific drugs. . . enjoy!
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