Thursday, September 21, 2006

Ever Hear Of Cat Power?

I recently read a little thing about a nice comeback of a once troubled but talented musician named Chan Marshall, known as Cat Power. It was an interesting read and I made a note to listen to some of her stuff based on the article.

And then I saw another piece on her in another paper the following day. After that, I saw yet another story on her in my favorite magazine. And then last night, I read about her once more in the New York Times.

Is her record label successfully managing a marketing blitz on a relative unknown or am I the only person to have not heard of Cat Power before a week ago? All of the stories focus not on the music but on the change in the quality of her live performances. Cat Power then? Drunk on stage, rarely finishing a show, let alone a song. Cat Power now? Sober and focused, playing entire sets like a pro. Is this just good p.r. or is this an artist worthy of note?

Whatever it is, I'm interested. I just found her on Rhapsody and I'm going to give her latest release (The Greatest) a listen. Your thoughts on Cat Power?

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

She's great! One of her earlier albums, "Moon Pix," is really good: sparse orchestrations, good lyrics, and a delivery that pulls me in, and I'm not sure why it does, because it's usually halfway between a whisper and a plea. There's something about it, though...

Geoff (Baker)

Anonymous said...

Yeah, you're probably the only person who hadnt heard of her before a week ago.

She's good, but the aint THAT good.

mardenhill said...

She's ok but her music tends to bore me. If you want a good female folk singer, listen to Beth Orton, she is more creative with her music than Cat Power. I have avoided seeing Cat Power live due to her reputation, if she can't grow up she's not worth my money.

I agree, I think its all a PR stunt to give her a makeover. She has milked the troubled troubador image for too long, time to change.

Melissa said...

She is amazing. She has changed her ways for the better. I saw her this summer and she was so good. I love her. Sigh. I would marry her.