Xagain said:

Agreed! Which is why the news about this supposedly being her last album is so bad! I take it her record contract is up after this next album? And she's going indie?

CandaceS said:

i think she's semi-quasi-retiring, and just releasing little drips and drabs as the mood strikes her. good for her. i'll miss her voice, but she always seemed like such a reluctant celebrity.

Anx said:

Yeah, I agree. But Lennox has always been for me that one lyricist who really hits me hard. I mean, "Diva" and "Bare" are two of my favorite discs ever. Especially "Diva" is about as perfect as an album gets to me. The lyrics, the arrangements...every song note perfect. And although alot of people thought "Bare" was kind of a let-down, it's brilliant to me. Especially "Loneliness" and the vocal arrangement of "Honesty."
I dig Eurythmics of course and I have every album. But her solo albums are kind of my defining albums.
I've been on kind of an Annie Lennox kick lately, with everything she's done since '90 playing over and over on my computer at work.

Xagain said:

i respect 'bare' for the lyrics and for annie's vocals, which are gorgeous as always, but i don't enjoy it. something about the production, maybe. and i don't think it's a terribly melodic album.

'diva' on the other hand, i'm with ya on. i think it's fantastic on just about every level.

Anx said:

Is it too somber and depressing?

GangstaFam said:

i like the cure. i like diamanda galas. i like depressing just fine.

no, i'm just a sucker for melody. if an album isn't catchy, then there'd better be a whole hell of a lot going on to keep my attention or else i'm just not going to be into it. i think the lyrics are great. her voice sounds great. i couldn't hum you a single one of the songs from 'bare', because i think the melodies are drab and forgettable. not HORRIBLE - just bland.

Xagain said:

I adore Annie solo as well. Bare and Diva rank among my top 25 albums of all-time.

Anx said:

I just don't understand. "Bare" is VERY melodic. The opening song alone...how can you say it's drab? I mean no disrespect, but you're plumb loco. The way the vocal tracks weave in and out of eachother on "Honesty." You can almost hear Marvin Gaye or Smokey Robinson singing "Hurting Time." That explosive bridge on "Pavement Cracks." The desperation of the last minute of "Loneliness." And "The Saddest Song"...? One of her most haunting songs ever.
You're just crazy. I mean, I dig you and all, but...

Just crazy.

Xagain said:

yeah, i probably am certifiable, but since when is this news?

i don't think it's a poorly made album. i do think there are some nice things going on in "bare", and i think it's a HELL of a lot better than "medusa" - i'm just not grabbed by anything on the album. it wasn't for lack of trying.

Anx said:

That just hurts my heart.

Xagain said:

if it helps, i bought a copy. the one with the DVD, even. and annie got money from my purchase. and annie gotta eat. so there's that.

Anx said:

Well, I mean, you're not the only one who felt that way. I've had this same discussion with others here. It's just one of those albums that just confuses me when people call it drab or boring. I think it's absolutely brilliant, profound at times even, and I think lyrically the best thing she's ever done.
I soooo hope this shit about Madonna is not true. The fewer people Lennox collaborates with, it seems to me, the better she is. I mean, I can dig a Madonna album as well as any homo, but Lennox and Madonna together?
Huh-uh.

Anx said:

And you understand that the only reason it's an issue for me is 'cause I've been lurking here for years and you're one of like 5 people who's posts about music I enjoy reading. So, that's why it just boggles my mind. If you were anyone else spouting that shite I wouldn't bother responding.
[Edited 5/8/07 17:55pm]

Xagain said:

Just out of curiosity, who are the other 4?

Anx said:

I love Medusa too.

Xagain said:

awww, that's sweet of you to say. thanks. and you understand that i really DO understand why other people like it - i think it's a well-put-together album in terms of skill and craft and all that good stuff. it just doesn't hook me in whatever weird way the voices in my head tell me that songs are catchy or not catchy.

GangstaFam said:

i know you do, dear heart. i know you do.

Anx said:

You mawk me.

GangstaFam said:

i only mawk because i love.


and because it makes me giggle.

GangstaFam said:

her hair is eating her arm off, fyi

GangstaFam said:

A couple of them are banned. But one you know real well. Unless I have you confused with someone else. Are you Moonbeam's bro?
And one in particular who has recently deleted his accounts, the bitch.
And I love Medusa, too. Well, most of it. But it's not really the same.

Xagain said:

That would be me! And hello again.

Anx said:

she dresses for style, not comfort.

GangstaFam said:

Anx said:

That looks just like the May baskets I was giving out this year!

Moonbeam said:

so you're not too excited about this? I thought you'd be thrilled to have two of your favorite artists on the same song.

Xagain said:

As many times as I've listened to Diva, it still sounds fresh. And I've prolly played Bare as many times...you're right on about Honestly, that arrangement is just great. But heck, I liked Medusa, too, so I guess I'm just an Annie fanatic!

CandaceS said:

I like Medusa as well. Most of it, anyway. I could do without "Whiter Shade of Pale" and "Don't Let it Bring You Down." But I really love "Waiting in Vain," "Downtown Lights" and several others. Also, the cd single of "No More I Love Yous" had "Ladies of the Canyon" and "Love Song for a Vampire" (maybe my favorite Lennox song of all). So the Medusa period is great. It's just that her lyrics are what get me the most, so I prefer the songs she writes to her covers.

SoulAlive said:

I've read comments before where Annie has been... less than nice about Madonna, so it makes me wonder what the motivations behind this is. I'm almost certainly going to be ga-ga over the song, but I don't know how they would mix.