Friday
16May2008
Scarlett Gets Under the Covers
Friday, May 16, 2008 at 10:21AM
I'm going to go ahead and call this an acquired taste.
Scarlett Johansson, who, to her credit, has
never taken the easiest path to success, has a new album of Tom Waits covers
called Anywhere I Lay My Head. Maybe you didn't know she could sing. She
can; I've heard her do it before. But this batch of songs is not necessarily the
best choice.
Say what you will about the great
Tom Waits, but his immaculately well-crafted
songs are not exactly confections for the ears. And the way Scarlett is singing
them sounds incredibly affected to me, like she's purposely singing in that
style to defy yet another convention. She worked with
David Bowie on putting the album together and
based on the songs
AOL Sessions has available, the album has a
unique, identifiable sound, which is a point in its favor. I can't say her
singing has made me a fan, however. But hey, at least it's not another mindless
pop album from an actress who thinks she can make a bunch of platinum records.
Check out AOL Sessions for more performances
from the album and go behind the scenes with Scarlett on the making of
Anywhere I Lay My Head. You can pick up the album Tuesday, May 20th.
Reader Comments (1)
This post inspires me to say a few things:
1. Is that Matisyahu on drums?
2. Is this a result of Woody Allen's influence on ScarJo?
3. This can't be bad for Tom Waits, if anything, an artist who has always deserved a wider audience than he has enjoyed.
4. She's not awful, but I find it hard to believe she's lived a life nearly as hard as the man who originally recorded these songs.