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    Cat Power?

    I was in that there London that they have nowadays over the weekend and noticed a large poster on the Underground for Cat Power's - I presume - new album. I am quite befuddled by her. She seems to get quite a lot of media and critical coverage and, yet, I have quite literally never heard anything of hers. There isn't anything particularly odd about that except for the fact that she appears to be of my vintage and around the hinterland of what I listen to - yer Dave Grohls and whatnot. Not only that but I don't think I have ever heard anyone I know mention her let alone mention that they have albums of her or attending gigs of hers.

    This isn't, in any away, a criticism of her at all. Well, I can't really criticise her as I never heard anything of hers. In my mind, she kind of occupies the same space, culturally, as Pearl Lowe but that my be doing her a massive disservice. Can anyone explain to me why someone with a reasonably large idea, critical and marketing profile has completely missed me by? Am I missing a lot?

    #2
    The fabulous Werewolf

    She is nothing like Dave Grohl or Pearl Lowe.

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      #3
      Thank you, Etienne, I will have a listen. She collaborated with Grohl, didn't she? That's where I got that from. Collaborating with Grohl doesn't really give an indication of what an artist sounds like but does give a vague ball-park of what sort of musical area they inhabitant - e.g. not trap, drill or whatnot. Pearl Lowe is just another figure, again in roughly the same area, who I know nothing about but people refer to a far amount.

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        #4
        I'm a fan. I'd have gone to see her playing at the Roundhouse tonight if it wasn't also my wedding anniversary.

        I remember Sun, the last album before the current, very good Wanderer, getting quite a push from 6Music but previously you might have had to make an effort to actually hear her music. In the past some of her press coverage (and an element of her fanbase) has been a bit creepy, dwelling far too much upon personal stuff rather than the often excellent work, which might have put off people who would otherwise have enjoyed it.


        You Are Free, as per Etienne's link, would be a good album to start with. Jukebox, her second covers album, was a bit dull.

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          #5
          I assume she would be played on the more alternative types of radio shows in the UK since she's a critic's darling. But in general Cat Power has never been a big band so it would make sense that you might not have heard them. (Sorry to jump around--it's one woman with a cast of players who may or may not have rotated but really it's Chan's band, so she/her makes sense here). Anyway, I have a few CDs and a few were college radio buzz CDs in the US back in the day. At best Cat Power was played on larger non-commercial stations that are slightly less mainstream than so-called commercial alternative stations (e.g., KCRW if anyone has heard of that). And in the US she could play 3000 person capacity spaces in larger cities but certainly not in small cities. In recent years there have been too many cover albums for my taste. It seems like every other album is a collection of covers.

          Also, the press loved talking about her panic attacks on stage that led to incomplete shows. And later her problems with drink and drugs, which might have contributed to the panic attacks and might have led to an infamous NSFW Richard Avedon photo in the New Yorker.

          Short version: bigger hype than sales. But a good band.

          I would start with this (older):



          and this (either slightly newer or slightly older):

          Last edited by danielmak; 24-10-2018, 05:48.

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            #6
            I was definitely at one of her 'panic' shows - she played ATP in 2004 and giggled all the way through her set, which lasted little more than twenty minutes.

            But you need to put that right, Bordeaux - Chan Marshall's great. As I've mentioned many times on here, she once bought me a pizza.

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              #7
              Originally posted by Jah Womble View Post
              As I've mentioned many times on here, she once bought me a pizza.
              This is a new one on me.

              Was it at ATP in 2004 before/after her nervy 20 minute set?

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                #8
                This is the song of her that really connected with me. I never really kept up with her, though, for some reason.

                https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xidkx709fxg

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                  #9
                  Originally posted by Benjm View Post
                  This is a new one on me.

                  Was it at ATP in 2004 before/after her nervy 20 minute set?
                  No, it was a while before. I used to write for the late Sean Hughes and made a TV series (Up Late) with him in Edinburgh during the 2001 Festival. One thing he could absolutely be relied upon was to insist on really good musical guests - we booked Sparklehorse, The Dirty Three, Bhundu Boys, Mull Historical Society, Seafood among others - and also flew Ms Marshall over to record a couple of tunes.

                  She came out on the razz with us after the show and thus I wound up eating pizza with her on the Royal Mile at some unearthly hour of the morning...

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                    #10
                    Cool!

                    The Bhundu Boys is a name to reckon with for mid to late '80s Peel listeners. I only ever saw the Real Sounds Of Africa, a fine enough outfit but very much Section 25 to the Boys' Joy Division in my late night radio landscape.

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                      #11
                      Originally posted by Jah Womble View Post
                      ..we booked Sparklehorse, The Dirty Three, Bhundu Boys, Mull Historical Society, Seafood among others .
                      Vaguely, nope, nope, nope and....nope.

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                        #12
                        I hadn't realised that Bhundu Boys were still going as late as that.

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                          #13
                          In a supposedly-subversive-but-ultimately-ill-conceived stylee, Sean got them (the Bhundus) to white-up and sing Dancing in the Dark for a sketch. It was one of the most surreal evenings of my life.

                          WOM - you don't know (at least) Sparklehorse? 'Mate', as one of my friends always says...

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                            #14
                            I would put Cat Power in the same (sub-)genre as Feist and Sharon Van Etten.

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                              #15
                              Cat Power is a difficult one.

                              A lot of her music is really pretty good. Her 2 covers albums were great and The Greatest is a modern classic. The album before her latest release was a misguided attempt at something that the mainstream would buy into. Naturally they didnt as it really wasnt that good and was a bit of a departure from her previous albums. Her chaotic lifestyle and inability to tour without breaking down probably sabotaged her career a fair bit. She was never going to be huge but she could perhaps have done better than she has.

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                                #16
                                Originally posted by Jah Womble View Post
                                WOM - you don't know (at least) Sparklehorse? 'Mate', as one of my friends always says...
                                Know of them. But don't know them at all.

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                                  #17
                                  If I remember correctly, all the songs played by the fictional band in the film Laurel Canyon were Sparklehorse songs. Most of that fictional band was played by an English band, who I can't remember right now. I'm sure someone can fill in that info. The film wasn't very good. But this Sparklehorse song that featured in the film is very good:

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                                    #18
                                    Lou Barlow and Russell Pollard from Sebadoh/Folk Implosion appear on the cast list, so it might be them pretending to be English?

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                                      #19
                                      Originally posted by Auntie Beryl View Post
                                      Lou Barlow and Russell Pollard from Sebadoh/Folk Implosion appear on the cast list, so it might be them pretending to be English?
                                      Yes, it looks like the Folk Implosion since Imaad Wasif is another cast member. I don't know why I thought it was a different band.

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