Monday, March 19, 2007

Hail, Britannia

Call it a case of serious Cool Britannia envy, but lately all I’ve been listening to are lovely London lasses. These days the most brash, most fun and most neo-feminist performers out there aren’t sassy yanks (sorry Pink, I know you’re trying to hold up your end), but outspoken Brits. Lasses like Amy Winehouse, Lily Allen and Lady Sovereign. Of course, this isn’t news to their fellow Englishmen and woman, or most Europeans. But stateside, many people are just catching on to these talents. What sets them apart from so many American stars is that while they party hard and look sexy (well, Sovereign looks butch, but lots of people find that sexy), they seem in control of their lives and images. OK, with all the gossip and reports about Winehouse, perhaps she should say “Yes, yes, yes” to that rehab stint.

Still, unlike the Britneys, Linsdays and Parises of the States, these women may be hot messes, but never victims. And, best of all, they aren’t manufactured products made by mega corporations for mass consumption (paging Jessica Simpson, Jessica Simpson, please use the white courtesy phone).You’ve got to love that. Plus, these birds can really sing.

6 comments:

ravaj said...

the main reason i go for lily allen's music, apart from her brilliant attitude, is that she seems to have been influenced by the record collections of her parents and has this whole early '80's ska thing going on that takes me back. hell, she has an actual cover of the specials on the album.

meanwhile, amy w scares the excrement out of me

On The Verge said...

they've all been on my playlist for quite sometime. Lady Sov and MIA are infectiously good.

Damn Brit girls...

Ashley Plath said...

I first heard Amy Winehouse around 2:00 in the morning at a party last Halloween and the song "Back To Black" scared the hell out of me and sobered me up -- no easy thing to do given the chemicals I had in my system. I still get shivers thinking about it and I've been totally clean ever since. Rebab? No, no, no.

Lily Allen is my lost twin. We were separated at birth.
xoxo, ashleyplath

Anonymous said...

Hey, you left out KT Tunstall! She's not from London, but she's a Brit, has a gorgeous smoky voice and writes great songs!

LOVE HER.

Anonymous said...

Not to be a pain but ... Lily Allen is probably one of the most manufactured artists in the UK, absolutely nothing about her image or her rise to fame is genuine! It was all cleverly marketed and promoted over the internet. She is just a rougher version of Jessica Simpson!

re646 said...

amy winehouse died today T_T
i was hoping some day she would wake up and really try to stop using drugs
her voice is great, her songs are awesome, that was a great loss