The Best of the Music & Art Scene In New York From A to G. Daily!
Posted by The G on May 20, 2012 under Artsy Fartsy | 
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Amy Winehouse Art - Amsterdam
Saw this is a gallery when I was in Amsterdam, but the gallery was closed, so I am not sure who the artist is. But I really dig it!
Posted by The G on December 4, 2011 under G Reviews | Be the First to Comment
Photo by G.
Amy Winehouse - Lioness: Hidden Treasures. Out December 6, 2011.
When you listen to the collection of unreleased Amy Winehouse songs “Lioness: Hidden Treasures,” your heart will break all over again. Amy Winehouse’s death was a real rock and roll tragedy and though she could not be on this planet physically, she’s left behind some amazing songs that showcase her great gift. Opening with the epic reggae cover “Our Day Will Come,” you’ll see the song can stand up amongst her best tracks. Again, my heart breaks all over for what a loss her death has left in the world. “Between The Cheats” is next and it is apparently one of the post-Back to Black songs and her voice sounds a little rough. Again, a great song, but you can hear in her voice that she could not handle this planet. “Tears Dry” is the original version (with different lyrics) of “Tears Dry On Their Own.” The song is much slower and it is really cool to hear the evolution of such a great song. “Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?” is probably the most epic song on the album. It sounds like a cross between the song “Back to Black” and a James Bond Theme! She really breaths new life into this classic song. Knowing Amy’s fate, the lyrics of the song are even more haunting, but the answer is an overwhelming YES! “Like Smoke” features rapper Nas and has a great beat. The 68 Version of “Valerie” is next. This sounds similar to the way she performed the song in concert and it’s great to hear that it was recorded in the studio (and the vocals are different than the previously released versions!) Her cover of “The Girl From Ipanema” is next and it’s another highlight of the record. The song was recorded pre-Frank and her voice sounds angelic! The music is loungey with jazzy drum and bass! I love it! “Half Time” starts off with just Amy and guitar and as she sings “when the beat kicks in” a laid back beat kicks in and the song has great groove! The original version of “Wake Up Alone” is next and it’s also much different than the released version. ”Best Friends, Right?” is next and it sounds like a Frank-era song. “Body and Soul” is the last known studio recording and it also features the legendary Tony Bennett. The final song is a cover of Leon Russell’s ”A Song For You,” and it really is a powerful, but powerfully sad performance from Amy as you can almost hear the desperation in her voice. She really gives the song a new feel to it.
This collection of songs will really upset you that such a great talent is gone, but at least she left so many amazing songs for the world to listen to for the rest of time. “Lioness: Hidden Treasures” by Amy Winehouse is out on December 6, 2011 in the United States.
Posted by The G on December 2, 2011 under Street Art | Be the First to Comment
Photo by G. Art by Skylar Grey.
I agree with Skylar Grey – Amy Winehouse is royalty.
Posted by The G on October 31, 2011 under GNN | Be the First to Comment
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Amy Winehouse in 2007
Finally, some good news about Amy Winehouse. A collection of previously unreleased songs entitled “Lioness: Hidden Treasures” will be released on December 5, 2011. According to her official site, here’s the track list and some notes about the songs:
“Our Day Will Come (Reggae Version)” – reggae re-working of classic 60’s doo wop song produced by Salaam Remi. Recorded May 2002.
“Between The Cheats” – new Amy composition recorded in London in May 2008 for potential inclusion on album three produced by Salaam Remi.
“Tears Dry” – originally written by Amy as a ballad, this is the original version she recorded in November 2005 in Miami with Salaam. The later uptempo version appears on “Back To Black”.
“Wake Up Alone” – the first song recorded for the “Back To Black” sessions. This is the one-take demo recorded in March 2006 by Paul O’Duffy.
“Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow” – Amy’s beautiful reading of the Carole King written Shirelles classic. Produced by Mark Ronson and featuring the Dap Kings with string arrangements by Chris Elliott who did all the strings for Mark’s tracks on “Back To Black”. Recorded in September 2004.
“Valerie” - one of Amy’s jukebox favourites. This is the original slower tempo version of the Mark Ronson produced post “Back To Black” single. Recorded in December 2006.
“Like Smoke” featuring NAS – Amy and Nas became really good friends after Amy name checked the New York rapper on “Back To Black’s” “Me & Mr Jones”. “Like Smoke” is finally Amy doing a song with one of her favourite artists. Produced by Salaam Remi. Recorded in May 2008.
“The Girl From Ipanema” – the first song the 18 year old Amy sang when she first went to Miami to record with Salaam. Salaam remarked that “the way she re-interpreted this bossa nova classic made me realise that I was dealing with a very special talent. Her approach to the song was so young and fresh, it really inspired the rest of our sessions.” Recorded in May 2002.
“Halftime” - Amy had talked to Ahmir ‘Questlove’ Thompson of the Roots about working together. “Halftime” is a song that Amy and Salaam had worked on since the Frank sessions. The result is beautiful. Recorded in August 2002.
“Best Friends” – “Frank” era live set opener produced by Salaam Remi. Probably the first song that early Amy fans would have heard live. Recorded in February 2003.
“Body & Soul” with Tony Bennett - cover of 30’s jazz standard with hero Tony Bennett. Recorded at Abbey Road Studios London in March 2011 and produced by Phil Ramone. Amy’s final studio recording.
“A Song For You” - heartbreaking and emotional version of the Leon Russell classic made famous by Donny Hathaway. Hathaway was Amy’s all-time favourite artist and the song was recorded in one take, just Amy and her guitar, at her home in London during the spring of 2009 as she battled her demons. Produced by Salaam Remi.
To read more, visit www.amywinehousefoundation.co.uk/ or follow on twitter @amysfoundation
Posted by The G on September 14, 2011 under Celebrities | Be the First to Comment
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Amy Winehouse
Months have passed since Amy Winehouse’s death in July and I am still so upset. Today would have been the singer’s 28th birthday. I had a pretty magical experience of seeing Amy Winehouse in concert in 2007 in a very rare New York appearance and I’ve replayed the events of that day in my head over and over since the news of her death broke.
On May 8, 2007, I arrived at the Highline Ballroom in New York . Literally the second I showed up, Amy had just finished rehearsing and I was able to get a photo with her (taken by Blake Fielder-Civil, whom Amy got married to a week after I saw her) and I also got her two albums signed. “Back to Black” was just starting to make a splash in the US, but her debut album “Frank” was only available as an import at the time. Amy was so happy that I had the CD, she asked me what my name was and personalized the CD for me. When the doors to the venue opened, Amy and Blake were having a drink at the bar and as I was first in line (some things never change), Amy and Blake waved to me when I entered the Highline Ballroom.
Of course, I was in the front for the show and I stood inches from Amy as I saw her perform the “Back To Black” album. She sounded amazing and she was in a great mood. I was with friends who also loved every second of the show and I even met someone at the concert that I went out with a few times. You can see Aphrodite In New York’s amazing photos from the evening here. Amy Winehouse handed me the set list as she walked off stage. It was a night of musical perfection and I knew then that I’d go see her every chance I could. She announced a future show in Central Park, but her battles with drugs and alcohol prevented that show (and future shows) from happening.
I remember posting the photo of me and Amy on Facebook and every time someone commented that they didn’t know who she was, I told them to check out her album and they became an instant fan. I even turned my parents on to her music, who at the time remarked they could believe that powerful sound came out of that tiny little singer.
Over the next few years, all you’d hear about were horrible stories of Amy’s drink and drug abuse. It seemed that the press was having a field day spreading nasty stories about Amy Winehouse including her punching out fans and marathon drug binges. Perhaps I was living in denial because I just refused to believe that that same person whom I’d had such a lovely experience with could be the same person the press was referring to.
A few weeks before she died, I heard the stories of her disastrous performance (which ended up being her final performance) as well as news of a canceled tour. I saw that videos of the show were being passed around on the net, but it hurt my heart too much to watch them. I did notice, however, that as people shared these videos, they were accompanied by hateful words directed at Amy. After she passed, I watched a few video clips from that performance and in my opinion, she was already dead in those videos. Why on earth didn’t ANYONE try to help her? If people opened their hearts after watching that video instead of spreading hateful gossip, perhaps she’d still be with us today. I blame the media as a partial cause of her death because even to this day, when her name is mentioned, they don’t choose to focus on her music, they instead focus on negative aspects of her way too short life.
Please remember Amy Winehouse today and forever more by doing your part not to contribute to the spreading of gossip. Stop reading the magazines and websites where people who do not have personal experience with the topics they write about claim to be the experts. They are not.
RIP, Amy. I will always love you, my fellow Virgo! xo
