- Top Features:
- War Room
- Glenn Greenwald
- Broadsheet
- Joan Walsh
- Camille Paglia
- Since You Asked
- Follow Salon:
Read other letters about this article
She was the talk of South by Southwest last year, managing to upstage Pete Townsend.
It seems to me that whenever the debate arises over a piece of art (be it song, book, movies, whatever) "glorifying" drug use, it usually picks the wrong target, and that is certainly the case with Amy Winehouse. To me, Amy Winehouse's music is as tragic as it is beautiful. The lyrics to "Rehab" and "You Know I'm No Good" are full of self-loathing from someone who seems to know she's sabotaging her life (not to mention career), yet can't seem to stop. If anything, "Rehab" reminds me of The Velvet Underground's "Heroin," in spirit at least--it's not about saying how great this is. Unlike, say, Eric Clapton's "Cocaine."
It's my devout hope that Winehouse will pull it together because pop music certainly doesn't need another martyr to a life of excess.
