Today when I stopped at Starbucks for an afternoon treat of an iced coffee none other than Amy Whinehouse was playing on the speakers. Singing along as I ordered my coffee I said to the Starbucks’ barista, “I love this album. Her lyrics are so vulgar they’re delicious.” You would have thought I had said the most outrageous thing because not only did she give me a blank stare, but so did the other barista working behind the counter (what the hell is a barista anyway? Never mind, that’s a discussion for a separate post.) Has no one else ever found something so amazing they call it delicious? Am I just unique in my love for both the English language and Amy Winehouse’s lyrics?
Seriously, if you haven’t heard Amy Winehouse’s latest album, Back to Black, run out and buy it this minute. Take a listen to it here: http://www.amywinehouse.co.uk/
She has a very old soul type of sound to her, a hint of Billie Holiday mixed into her dirty words. And who wouldn’t love a song that states: “What kind of fuckery is this?” Or one that includes: “Thinking of you in the final throes, this is when my buzzer goes”. But perhaps my favorite lyrics from the entire album are “I shouldn’t play myself again, should just be my own best friend, not fuck myself in the head with stupid men.”
Why do I love her sound and music so much? Perhaps it’s because her words are vulgar and dirty, but not in a cheap-porn kind of way. Perhaps it’s because my own poetry can flirt with vulgarity a bit. Though I have only one poem that even begins to rival her lyrics, perhaps she has given me something to aspire to.
