Lucy's sister once told her someone had compared her looks to Diamanda Galás's. "Do you think that was meant as a compliment?" she asked. I wanted to say, Did the person who said this look like Blixa Bargeld? If so, yes, it quite possibly was. If not…
I'm happy to listen to music that denies the orthodox aesthetics of harmony and beauty. But we all have limits, and this album is beyond mine. Yes, I know it's a threnody to the victims of AIDS, so it shouldn't sound pretty. And I note allmusic implies this is one of her most accessible works. I dipped my toes in here in 1988, and stepped no further, so I can neither confirm nor deny that implication.
I can say that, on my imaginary Alternative Eighties radio programme, Diamanda would make the rest of the songs sound like St Winifred's School Choir.
I suppose on some level this is important or signifigant (the video, that is). I am in complete agreement about being beyond limits. This smacks of Black Metal, only without any theistic bent. More a case of individual, not collective dysfunction. Anyhow, keep it coming, I love this blog.
Posted by: Fred Stagg | 30 October 2010 at 06:40 PM
Ooops, I stand corrected. A little research has shown a definate "theistic bent". That's what I get for commenting on things I know very little about. Or maybe I'm just nostalgic for the simpler, softer days of say, Nina Hagen.
Posted by: Fred Stagg | 30 October 2010 at 06:46 PM
Thanks for the kind encouragement, Fred. Just one observation: If I didn't comment on things I know very little about, there wouldn't be much on this blog. See, for example, any of the posts about jazz albums.
Posted by: David | 31 October 2010 at 09:14 AM