Amy Winehouse's Trip to the Dentist

[Credit: Mabel Feres]

She joins Scott Weiland, John Frusciante, Pete Doherty and (recently) Mickey Avalon in that select group of fragile lives that I can't help but follow. John and Scott have all but gotten their shit together and I might not have to even include them in this, but the point, the point is this: I dig the troubled soul and I am not alone.

There's a certain magnetism to the amount of pain and truth that they bring to the table that makes the track that much deeper, their presence so fragile and the live experience something to cherish, should you catch them for that glimmer, that moment when they have it all together and the raw perfection of their talents overwhelms you. I've seen both John and Scott at the top of their games and it is quite the sight.

Amy's entering the fold in a completely different genre, and somewhat uncharted territory for me. But, as I listen to her CD, Back to Black over and over again I can't helped but get hooked. She has me at "Rehab". Lights out. Stunning vocals, marrow-deep lyrics, I'm lost. I've starting watching her ascent with baited breath. Canceled shows are followed by the admission of irresponsibility:

"Winehouse has now admitted the concerts in the U.K. capital were pulled after she smashed her front tooth in a drunken fall.

"'I broke my big tooth. I had a massive gap in the front of my mouth,' she revealed, before explaining that dental surgery has fixed the unsightly injury." [Yahoo!]

And the PR machine isn't covering for her, trying to right the ship. They're just letting her sail. And maybe she demands that from the people she surrounds herself with. If she does, I respect it. We all have faults, but we aren't all under the microscope. Regardless of how she handles herself, I'm watching, I'm listening and I'm in love. The big, perfectly tousled hair, the tats (the tats!), those lips, the honest interviews, the makeup, and the diva demands for booze are all afterthoughts once you hear the voice.

 

MP3: Amy Winehouse - "You Know I'm No Good" [Remix] (ft. Ghostface Killah)