I hope you are all feeling flawless this morning, I know I am. Anyway, for those of a sensitive disposition the first track includes some strong language which you may not wish to play in front of the kids (although they have probably already downloaded much worse). Anyway, here you go, another set of worms to start the week. Many thanks to all contributors and keep sending them in to earworm@tincanland.com.
Beyoncé Featuring Nicki Minaj: Flawless (Remix) – bishbosh: Probably not for everyone hereabouts, but I find this thrilling, from the titillating reference to Elevatorgate (She never?! She only went and did, you know!), to the freaky (freakum?) cackling, to Minaj’s speedy flow. (Yes, I have tried to rap along. No, I can’t keep up. Yes, I do sound ridiculous. No, I don’t care…)
Dionne Warwick – You’re Gonna Need Me – Albahooky: Here’s a tune that I first heard as a loop on the J Dilla ‘Donuts’ LP and have since found out that it’s a Holland-Dozier-Holland Detroit sureshot – a brilliant all round arrangement and just listen to those guitars!
Barbara Dane – I’m On My Way – CaroleBristol: Shamefully, I’ve never heard of Barbara Dane before, but I heard this track on 6Music and it is a real belter. I love her voice, so powerful and the brass just drives her along brilliantly. I’ve been listening to her other stuff on YouTube and she is a real discovery for me. (There’s another BD from ghe in the pipeline – ed.)
Eilen Jewell – Heartache Boulevard – glassarfemptee: I know there’s a lot of love around the ‘Spill for Eilen Jewell. Here’s a reminder of how talented she is. Though this track is much more inconsequential than most of her songs, I love her voice, personally, and she has a great finger picking’ band. There’s a sampler EP on Noisetrade right now if you’re interested.
Dory Previn – Going Home – goneforeign: And this is by Andre Previn’s wife, Dory. An independent artist in her own right. It’s from her album ‘Mythical Kings and Iguanas’. Most of the songs on it are well worth a listen.
Johnny Dowd – Betty – tincanman: Groovy creepiness. Partway through I’m ready to buy him a jacket myself if it’ll make him go away.
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The 'Spill 
Not a bad lot, overall. The Beyoncé one grew on me the second time around but my favourite was Dory Previn. I used to have the album, but lost it a long time ago in a relationship break-up. I ought to try and get hold of a copy.
I think I liked Eilen Jewell, best – new to me. Barbara Dane has a great voice too.
Agree wholeheartedly with GHE‘s endorsement of Eilen Jewell. She has a new album out but I’ve listened to it a couple of times only so far so don’t really have an opinion yet.
Oh, and fully agree with you on Iguanas goneforeign. A must have folky album.
First three are new to me *hand cranks the stereo and gets listening”
Sorry, bish, I’m one of those for whom Bey & co don’t work (surprise!). I’ve just listened to it closely and hear nothing but self-obsession and arrogance. And auto-tune. I have a theory that the penchant for large derrieres amongst these women is due to the capacity required for their own heads. Why is it necessary to denigrate others to demonstrate your own ‘strength’? What’s the saving grace: their ability to talk fast in rhyme?
Will listen to the rest later.
I liked the other ladies’ songs. Eilen Jewell is top of the pile for the great combination of driving music and behind-the-beat vocals. Were the lordy, lordy vocals added to the Dory Previn track to spice up her rather flat delivery, I wonder?
I like the Tommy backing a lot but doubt the vocals would bear repeated listening.
Thanks and apologies in almost equal measure…..
Thanks for giving it a go, Chris. I think the Flawless remix perhaps needs to be heard as a companion piece to the original version, which features a rather moving sampled feminist speech-cum-rallying call from Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie.
The remix is, I think, a deliberate bit of self-aware silliness (whilst also still being something of a – yes, self-aggrandising – empowerment anthem). Minaj’s solo work I’ve never quite got the appeal of, but I must admit I do enjoy her daftness and admittedly puerile desire to shock here.
I thought it was going to be Flawless by The Ones, some HiNRG pop dance from 2001 would not appeal to the crowd either… so as you were.
I took it as “tongue in cheek” though I don’t know the original.
Nicky Minaj is a name I’ve heard but I’ve never heard her voice before, I almost said ‘her music’ but I prefer to say her voice. For me, there’s nothing positive there, it’s awful. One of my main complaints re. modern pop is the incessant use of that bloody bass drum loudly pounded, seemingly by a machine, it dominates everything, it reduces ‘music’ to the lowest common denominator.
In a way the Dionne song sounds like a generational equivalent of NM’s, so much more happening there, a lot of thought went into the arrangement – liked it.
Barbara Dane, what a treat. I used to go to see her in LA at a club called the Ash Grove in the 60’s. She’s still around but she must be getting on by now. She used to play with all the jazz groups that I listened to a lot back then, love her.
Eilen Jewel; Another new name for me, love her also! That sounds like it’s from a different era, great backup band. A winner.
DP: A lifelong favorite, I have all of her albums, she’s a great songwriter, her lyrics are well worth studying. I think the backup chorus adds a lot to this song plus that steady guitar picking’ away. I should mention that the long fade out is because it’s the last cut on the album.
JD should not be asking Betty ‘to not hang’ up, he should be asking us. Not a winner.
A good place to start with Eilen Jewell is her 2007 Letters from Sinners & Strangers – If You Catch Me Stealing on that is what first caught my attention about her. It is a mashup of Bessie Smith songs that she wrote herself.
Eilen has also done tribute albums to Kitty Wells (very good) and Loretta Lynn (so so), so your observation that she sounds like she’s from a byone era is right on.
These sound like disparate interests, but they are not. From the 1920’s to 1940’s there was in the American southwest a popular outgrowth of jazz called Western Swing, an amalgamation of rural, cowboy, polka, folk, Dixieland jazz and swing blues.
That’s where Jewell resides, and we could do with more of it please and thank you
tx for the Barbara Dane Carole. I knew vaguely of her but not much about her, and hadn’t really listened to her. (Not sure why I’m doing those italics – the first time was for emphasis and the other two was for looks)
I invested in a CD of two of her albums, Tinny. This one; http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B00C90VKIA?psc=1&redirect=true&ref_=oh_aui_detailpage_o01_s00
I gave it a listen yesterday, it is great stuff.
cheers for the tip Carole
Barbara Dane and Eilen Jewell were fantastic. Eilen reminded me a bit of Madeleine Peyroux. Both singers I would now like to listen to more.
Dory Previn’s songs are very clever but she never really moves me emotionally in any particular way.
The other two just irritated me I’m afraid.
Oops. I left one out! Really liked that Dionne Warwick song too.
Yes, that Barbara Dane track is a stunner. I first heard it when Steenbeck posted on the spill four years ago. She deserves much more exposure than she gets. And, as Ali says, I sent in another BD track recently – great minds, and all that!
Glad there is some support for Eilen Jewell. It is a matter of eternal regret to me that I passed on a gig she gave in a pub near me a few years back. Her post-Katrina song ‘The Flood’ is not to be missed.
I enjoyed the anthemic Dory Previn a lot, too. Thanks GF.
I had a chance to see her in north Wales and couldn’t find the money, to my regret. She was on tour with Zoe Muth, a Seattle country artist who’s songwriting I really like.
This is the third or fourth time I can remember Jewell rising to ‘Spill/RR attention, and it always seems to catch us by surprise. Words without deeds folks :), lets get our credit cards out. I’ll drop a sampling for us.
Bey and Nicki: Didn’t really expect anyone much to like this but thought I’d try and mix it up a bit round here.
Dionne: I think I might have to give this a few more listens. That voice is so brilliant but the tune isn’t quite coalescing in my ears.
Babs: Yes, I know Ms Dane thanks to Steen too (We’ll Never Turn Back was the tune, I believe). Love this one. Proof that strident needn’t necessarily be too full-on. Righteous stuff.
Eilen: The spelling of her first name bothers me. Come on, Eilen! But I mustn’t hold that against her… Yeah, nice voice. The tune itself passed me by a bit/didn’t strike me as particularly out of the ordinary, but perfectly pleasant.
Dory: Yeah, delivery’s a bit flat for me too – she just sounds a bit uninspired (especially compared to the backing singers, who are having a riot of a time). Nice enough song but doesn’t make me want to rush out to hear more.
Johnny: Oh I quite like this. First one to have a noticeable sense of humour/fun since, well, the first one. And a sense of humour is underrated in pop, I reckon. It doesn’t always have to be meaningful. Great production/instrumentation too.
Here y’a go Eilen Jewell fans – 4 date UK tour announced for Octhttps://m.facebook.com/eilenjewellfanpage/posts/10153335691741153
Thanks, tinnie! Ghe
Thanks tinnie – booked for Southampton! (Ghe)