This Week In Recently In Amy Winehouse [3 April 2007]

[image courtesy WireImage via TMZ]

Regular readers of DHMBIB know that we loves us some Amy Winehouse. Has Amy had like the best several months ever???

Here are just a few recent developments in some-things Amy:

* On 13 October 2006, just ahead of the release of her second album, Back To Black, in the UK, Amy appears on The Charlotte Church Show in the UK to duet with Charlotte on Michael Jackson's "Beat It". Amy is clearly quite drunk and slurs her way through the performance, which is too bad, because it should have been killer.



[we previously blogged about this here (last item) -- Ed.]

At this point, Amy is unknown to most US music lovers -- and bloggers. Influential music blog Stereogum harshly mocks Amy's performance yet is unable to identify her -- only one of the commenters even knows who she is.

However, after her record label decides to release Back To Black stateside, and after a few tracks begin to "leak" stateside, the music bloggers start getting on board with the British neo-soul singer, personal demons be damned.

* After months of critical buzz in the music bloggosphere ahead of the US release of Amy's new album Back To Black, on 7 February 2007 the Washington Post writes Amy a tough-love letter. Surprisingly, much is made of Amy's famous "issues" with alcohol and drugs.

* On 14 February 2007, at the "BRIT Awards" [the UK equivalent of the US Grammys -- Ed.], Amy wins the award for "Best Female Solo Artist", beating both Lily Allen and Corinne Bailey Rae, who had successfully crossed the pond before her. Amy celebrates by getting drunk.

Amy performs Back To Black's "Rehab" during the show. Yes, the song really is based on the true story of her refusals of her "people's" entreaties that she go to rehab:



Immediately after this performance, Joss Stone appears on stage to present an award. During her presentation, she riffs on "Rehab" 's chorus, but her homage [?] falls quite flat. Sadly, this clip is no longer available anywhere online -- YouTube says "This video is no longer available due to a copyright claim by British Phonographic Industry Ltd." -- even though lots of other Joss Stone clips are easily findable.

We loves us some Joss Stone here at DHMBIB, but Joss Stone is no Amy Winehouse.

* On 12 March 2007, Amy finally debuts in US record stores with the now-eagerly anticipated Back To Black. Music critics already reserve a place for the record in their "Best of '07" lists. Amy celebrates by getting drunk.

* In mid-March 2007, Amy is set to appear at the SXSW music festival in Austin, TX. AOL's [disclosure] Spinner.com music site names Amy as the number 1 "Artist To Watch" at the festival. Amy celebrates by getting drunk.

* On the 18 March 2007 edition of his radio program le Show, comedian / writer / entertainer / media critic Harry Shearer uses a sample from Amy's song "Moody's Mood For Love (Teo Licks)" from her first released-in-the-UK-only album Frank as a transition between show segments. Amy celebrates by getting drunk.

Harry does not identify the artist or the track but does say, "Just don't ask her to sing 'Beat It' ". Harry's un-announced use of the track assumes a remarkable level of hip cultural awareness among his listeners.

[we caught the artist right away -- though we did have to look up the track. we wonder how many of Harry's listeners had any idea who he was playing -- or what the reference to "Beat It" was all about??? -- Ed.]

Amy Winehouse - Moody's Mood For Love (Teo Licks) (sample) [mp3, via YSI]
Amy Winehouse - Moody's Mood For Love (Teo Licks) (sample) [mp3, via zShare]

* On 21 March 2007, Soundscan sales numbers for the week of Back To Black's release come out. Amy moves 51,000+ units to debut at number 7 on the Billboard "Top 200" album chart. This makes Amy the highest debuting British female artist in the history of the US album charts. Amy celebrates by getting drunk.

* On "or about" 22 March 2007, the bloggosphere backlash begins. Amy drowns her sorrows by getting drunk.

* On 23 March 2007, pictures of Amy's bizarre taste in social company start making their way onto the internets:


[image courtesy Splash News via A Socialite's Life]

[holy shit!!! how do we describe this??? what's the US equivalent of a drunk Amy hanging with a drunk Kelly Osbourne? Maybe like Britney hanging with Paris? Lindsay hanging with Ashlee? what would Perez Hilton have to say about this??? -- Ed.]

* On 26 March 2007, Idolator ranks Amy at number 1 on their "Indecent Exposure Chart", which snarkily charts "the artists of today that you'll be sick of hearing about tomorrow".

* On 27 March 2007, more scary pictures surface. And they are far, far worse than the previous batch. Please make sure the children are safely in bed before you scroll down:


[image courtesy WENN via A Socialite's Life]

[{{shudders}}...paging Blue States Lose...paging Blue States Lose... -- Ed.]

* Also on 27 March 2007, reports surface on the internets explaining why Amy had been forced to cancel several concerts at the last minute earlier in the month. Surprisingly, Amy had gotten so drunk that she fell and broke a tooth, requiring some emergency dental work. Shocking.

* On 28 March 2007, influential music blog and "opinion maker" Pitchfork prints a review of Back To Black. Although the review reads very positively, the album receives a rating of only 6.4 [out of 10]. Idolator wonders whether Pitchfork is afraid of being on the wrong side of the brewing backlash and is intentionally playing it down the middle. Amy can't decide whether this is a good-news-thing or a bad-news-thing, so she says "fuck it" and decides to just get drunk.

*****

We at DHMBIB have had the pleasure of listening to Back To Black several times in the last 3 weeks, and we can tell you Amy Winehouse, and this record, are the real deal. In fact, we rate Back To Black as the best album we've heard so far in 2007 -- even better than Lily Allen's Alright, Still. [yes, we have heard Arcade Fire's "Neon Bible" a few times, too. we think we need a few more months of listening to it to find its proper place on the list. we'll get back to you later on that. for now, though, it shall remain "unrated" -- Ed.]

We encourage all DHMBIB readers to give Back To Black a few spins and let us know what you think.