i am barely getting into this amazing singer.
so far the tracks i've heard or have are that of her version of gloomy sunday and si la muerte.
which album should i start off with by her?

i feel this is somehow directed to me.

the first album of hers i heard was "you must be certain of the devil". i bought it at the same time as nick cave & the bad seeds' "tender prey" because i thought the covers looked like there was a connection between the two (which there wasn't) and i thought they both looked like interesting people...i had no idea who they were, but they both just looked goth as fuck and that's where my head was at the time.

"you must be certain" is an intense album, which mixes her blues background with more abstract operatic stuff and even goes into some gospel styles (in her own opaquely dark way, of course), but it is a little difficult as a primer to her work.

i would recommend "the singer", "la serpenta canta" or her other live album of blues covers, the name of which escapes me right now but it was released sometime around '97 or '98. start out with the more traditional stuff. then move on to something like "you must be certain of the devil" or "the sporting life", which is more steeped in her own songwriting. then, if you like that, you can go on to the super crazy stuff like "shrei x" or "vena cava", which is really passionate work by her, but is REALLY difficult to sit through unless you're just obsessed with what her voice can do and you share her passion for what she's writing about.

there's nothing i don't recommend. i have it all, and even though i don't listen to everything she does all the time, i think everything she's done is pretty amazing.

Anx said:

thank you.
i must confess something.
i've listen to album of her's before which the scared the crap of me.
"litanies of satan".
scary..scary album..

weepingwall said:

oh, her old stuff is super intense. 'saint of the pit'? super scary.

if it helps you at all, in person she's really tiny and kinda looks like a goth gilda radner. and she smiles a lot. she's actually quite a sweetheart.

but don't tell her i said that.
[Edited 11/23/06 12:43pm]

Anx said:

what if i were to tell you that she was next to me and read what you said?

weepingwall said:

i'd say di, girlfriend, get over yourself bitch, you know you're a big ol' softie.

then she'd probably come over and knife me.

Anx said:

I don't have any of her music, but I do know that John Paul Jones of Led Zeppelin worked with her on at least one of her albums.

I just had to throw that in there.

minneapolisgenius said:

indeed he did, and it's probably her most rockin'-est album in her catalog so far.

Holy shit !

some crazy ass caterwauling
[Edited 11/23/06 16:10pm]

Darla said:

bless her crazy ass.

Anx said:

ditto

weepingwall said:

THIS is what a diva should look like. Scary ass drag queen beautiful freakshow gorgeous. Amen.

Anx said:

oh she looks like a goth version of hedwig.
[Edited 11/23/06 22:59pm]

weepingwall said:

i want to lick her bracelets.

The woman deserves to be worshiped.

applekisses said:

i still think you could pass as her sister - and you know i mean that in the most complimentary way!

Anx said:

That is seriously a wonderful compliment I think the woman is GORGEOUS Thanks, honey!

applekisses said:

quite divalicious indeed!

Anx said:

She's the perfect woman...just a queen...she's got the biggest heart in the world...I her!!! (I still can't believe you think I look like her )



[Edited 11/25/06 15:56pm]

applekisses said:

i think you both have the same kind of striking features, which must be a greek/middle-eastern thing. if you spackled on the same crazy make-up she wears, i bet you'd be a dead ringer. of course, i think it would take some work to get those insane alien eyebrows going.
[Edited 11/25/06 17:46pm]

Anx said:

OMG...I'm going to channel her for Halloween next year! I love her makeup...I wish I could wear it to work everyday
She's got the same eyebrows as Spock