Cat Power

Otis Westinghouse · Post by **Otis Westinghouse** » Sun Jun 25, 2006 5:30 pm

I know some of you are fans. Tell me more. Is The Greatest great?

I was amazed by how good she and the Memphis backing band were on Later. Made a big impact. Read more about her in today's Observer:

http://observer.guardian.co.uk/review/s ... 53,00.html

I hadn't realised from Later that playing live was such an ordeal for her. As mentioned n the 'Listening' thread, it was a really good programme last Friday. Well worth following the link for Cat, the Strokes, the amazing Raul Midon, the whole thing, basically. Go her and click 'watch the latest show':

http://www.bbc.co.uk/later/

Annoyingly, the screen size stays tiny on my Mac, but the soundd is fantastic.

Am keen to get some Cat in my life. Shall I start with The Greatest? Her voice reminds me a bit of Melanie, and also Aimee Mann, and maybe some others. But also seems wonderful and unique.

Post by **BlueChair** » Sun Jun 25, 2006 5:36 pm

The Greatest is terrific, probably my favourite album of the year thus far - go buy it now!

Otis Westinghouse · Post by **Otis Westinghouse** » Sun Jun 25, 2006 5:39 pm

And her others? 6-7, Observer said. Will get Greatest, for sure. Have the piano off one of the Later songs lodged in my head. Do find a spare hour to watch that for her two songs. It seems to jam a bit in the streaming, which I guess isn't too surprising, but the sound is continuous. Given that my computer speakers are much better than the TV ones, with the huge boost of one mother of a subwoofer, it's actually really nice to hear TV stuff properly on them.

Otis Westinghouse · Post by **Otis Westinghouse** » Sun Jun 25, 2006 5:57 pm

Lived In Bars and title song The Greatest were the two songs she played, and it's the latter that's stuck in my head. Just gorgeous.

bambooneedle · Post by **bambooneedle** » Mon Jun 26, 2006 1:53 am

Cat Power has got hot.

Otis Westinghouse · Post by **Otis Westinghouse** » Mon Jun 26, 2006 5:45 pm

Is that all you have to say on the matter? Can't deny it though. check her out on Later. Mix of sexiness and vulnerability, for sure.

girl out of time · Post by **girl out of time** » Mon Jun 26, 2006 6:05 pm

i listened to good woman and evolution (w/ eddie vedder)....she delivers a great vocal performance. makes me wanna check the rest of the album...a cross between sinead o'connor and susan vega...

Who Shot Sam? · Post by **Who Shot Sam?** » Mon Jun 26, 2006 8:13 pm

Otis, You Are Free would be my next stop after The Greatest.

Post by **BlueChair** » Tue Jun 27, 2006 6:02 am

girl out of time wrote:i listened to good woman and evolution (w/ eddie vedder)....she delivers a great vocal performance. makes me wanna check the rest of the album...a cross between sinead o'connor and susan vega...

Those are on her previous album, You Are Free, not The Greatest.

miss buenos aires · Post by **miss buenos aires** » Sun Jul 09, 2006 6:17 pm

I agree with WSS? on this. And then, after You Are Free, you should get Moon Pix and then What Would the Community Think? And then Myra Lee, if you're really hooked.

Otis Westinghouse · Post by **Otis Westinghouse** » Sun Jul 09, 2006 6:40 pm

Saw The Covers Album for a fiver in the HMV sales and thought 'why not?' Played half so far. A little bit too much like a teenage girl in her bedroom, but I do like her voice and it's an original and interesting song selection. Like the totally low-key opener (Stones' Satisfaction).

miss buenos aires · Post by **miss buenos aires** » Sun Jul 09, 2006 6:59 pm

Oh yeah, that one too! Gosh, she's put out more stuff than I realized...

Otis Westinghouse · Post by **Otis Westinghouse** » Mon Jul 10, 2006 3:52 pm

Do you rate it? How does it figure in the Cat cannon?

bambooneedle · Post by **bambooneedle** » Thu Jul 13, 2006 10:16 am

Otis Westinghouse wrote:Is that all you have to say on the matter?

It's saying a lot. She searches for expressiveness and is way into the process of that which will always get me hooked into someone (and it's rare enough!). Don't have any of her albums but have been listening to this live show in Paris. Watching her perform on Letterman got me even more curious and excited, it was then that her sexiness was more completely confirmed (barefoot and jaunty!).

Happy birthday, btw.

Otis Westinghouse · Post by **Otis Westinghouse** » Thu Jul 13, 2006 6:14 pm

Ta, my friend, and thanks for that link. I was meant to be getting The greatest from me missus, but she doesn't reckon me writing it down on a piece of paper for her to sort in Fopp is much of a prezzie, so she got me other things, and I'll get to Fopp on Sat.

bambooneedle · Post by **bambooneedle** » Wed Jul 19, 2006 3:35 am

Well.. how's it catching ya?

Otis Westinghouse · Post by **Otis Westinghouse** » Wed Jul 19, 2006 5:41 pm

Didn't get to Fopp. Next Sat!

Post by **BlueChair** » Thu Jul 20, 2006 8:08 am

Go today!

Otis Westinghouse · Post by **Otis Westinghouse** » Thu Jul 20, 2006 5:30 pm

It's too hot.

Otis Westinghouse · Post by **Otis Westinghouse** » Sat Jul 22, 2006 4:02 am

Went Friday instead.

Mike Boom · Post by **Mike Boom** » Tue Jul 25, 2006 9:01 pm

Forget "Cat Power", there's a great Robert Pollard gig available on that site, though you can tell he's rather drunk, as always, by the time the band gets to the encores of "gbv" classics.

The gig also features this gem of between song banter

"If I see Cat Power on another magazine cover Im gonna puke blood".

ahhh Bobby, hes ma man! As a songwriter I would say he's giving our Elvis a run for his money.

Post by **BlueChair** » Tue Jul 25, 2006 9:05 pm

Maybe it's because I went in knowing very little of Robert Pollard's work, but I found his newest album practically unlistenable. So perhaps he is just jealous.

Seriously, what's wrong with a great artist getting well-deserved publicity? There used to be very few media outlets for an artist like Cat Power. I'm glad her name is getting out there a bit more now.

Mike Boom · Post by **Mike Boom** » Tue Jul 25, 2006 9:15 pm

Which one did you find unlistenable? "From a Compound Eye"? or "Normal Happiness"? the very new one?

I just dont rate Cat Power at all, I find her tedious and dull, dont see what the fuss is about, but I dont think Pollard is all together serious, and yes, he probably is rather jealous - he probably finds it hard to understand why she gets more press than him! So do I!

Post by **BlueChair** » Tue Jul 25, 2006 9:18 pm

From A Compound Eye was the one. I don't deny that Robert Pollard has legions of followers who idolize him (by now, I can spot a rabid GBV fan pretty easily!), not to mention the fact that he's extremely prolific.

He just doesn't do it for me in the same way that Cat Power doesn't do it for you, I guess. I'm sure there are people here who agree with one, neither, or both of us!

Who Shot Sam? · Post by **Who Shot Sam?** » Tue Jul 25, 2006 9:25 pm

I've not been able to get into Guided by Voices/Pollard either. I went to see Eels at Town Hall last year and my buddy Tom said that E reminded him of Robert Pollard (though it may have had more to do with the short songs than the actual style). Intrigued, I checked out a few GBV tracks and didn't see the resemblance. While I was driving around this weekend I heard a GBV track on Sirius - "Bright Paper Werewolves" - that annoyed me so much I had to turn the radio off. Don't think I'll be going back again soon.

I dig Cat Power, but there's something sort of guarded and reserved about her that I could see turning some people off. Having said that, The Greatest struck me as being less reserved and austere than most of her previous work.