SHAMELESS PLUG: "The Talent Trap"
This Sunday, after pouring milk on your Fruity Pebbles, make a beeline for the Floridian section of your St. Petersburg Times. That's where you'll find "THE TALENT TRAP," my profile of Carrie Furman, an almost-famous singer whose superheroic skills are a burden as much as a boon. I don't want to give away too many of the twists and turns, but here's an excerpt...
HOLLYWOOD, Fla. -- In a dark, ritzy jazz joint, Lady Marmalade is being strangled.
The saucy LaBelle hit is proving too much for a pretty blond singer with more teeth than talent. So before she gets to the song’s octave-spanning climax, she leaps off the stage and into the crowd, looking for a friend.
She stops at a small candlelit table and thrusts her microphone at a young woman who is just finishing her chocolate dessert. With knife and fork still in hand, the ambushed diner swallows her food and her surprise, rolls her blue eyes and leans into the mike. A spotlight illuminates her full face as she unloads a thunderous, blues-dripped roar — “CREOLE LADY MARMALAAADE!” — featuring a note that is not just held but rocket-launched into the night.
Jaws drop. Applause swells. The blond singer scampers back to the stage, grinning.
And with a comical air of nonchalance, Carrie Furman resumes eating her dessert as all too familiar whispers echo around her: Who is that girl?
Sean Daly is the pop music critic for the St. Petersburg Times. His CD collection -- from Journey to Dylan, Prince to U2, Public Enemy to Stan Getz -- is much bigger and better than yours.
gotta say .... killers, not much there, a lot of flash, now substance ...
check out The Fray, same "sound" more, I dunno, bester ...
also, continuing TV's obsession with cheap, good, "indie" music ... ABC's "Ugly Betty" loves KT Tunstall's stuff .. and jumps all over the Fray in Gray's Anatomy ... btw, the Fray is expected to be the first platinum seller out of Denver in decades ...
(you ignore my posts anyway, but thought I'd add for the non-American Idol reader who drops by once in a blue moon)
chase
Posted by: chase | September 29, 2006 at 11:55 PM
"I won't be ignored, Sean!!!"
The new Killers is getting slightly better after repeat listenings, but it's still ultimately forgettable.
Haven't spent a ton of time with the Fray, but my iTunes samplings haven't exactly set my panties on fire. I have the CD in my stacks; I'll check it out...
Speaking of fire panties: You must be breathing pretty hard about "Lost" week, huh?
Posted by: Sean Daly | October 02, 2006 at 11:24 AM