http://www.mrlukeabbott.com/marketing/listening-without-prejudice/
And the beautiful series of videos purported by the mysterious iamamiwhoami has culminated to the latest and scotch-tape wrapped present of this:
b...starring Jonna Lee & the Black Cats
I don't believe this would have gotten any of the due and press it has recieved if the hype started in that seedy rumor that these videos are the responsibility of Christina Aguilera and her creative/advertising team.
However, further analysis and the buzz of the internet has shown, that nearly without a doubt in my mind, this is the work of Jenna Lee.
If the scandinavian aesthetic of the amazing video series wasn't enough to convince us that the sultry Aguilera had turned over a wonderful new leaf of sound...this ultimate reveal showing bandmates that are irrefutably, a bearded/hairier version of Jonna Lee's bandmates, along with her vintage synths/organs.
for comparison:
Also consider the evidence in my mind that an up-and-coming artist, who is scandinavian AND does of a cover of a Nizter Ebb song, it shows off that this artist is more in-tune with these glitchy and dare I say more industrial sounding textures than would the pop-sensation Christina Aguilera...unless, as I previous thought that Christina was collaborating with artists akin to when Bjork got angry and worked with and Mark Bell on Medulla (which is definitely one of my favorites). Or when Radiohead created Amnesiac...
A softer side of Nitzer: "Violent Playground"
I also invite you compare the series of movies and songs and sounds made by the iamamiwoami crew versus the previous work of Jonna Lee. In my opinion this older work is sort of thin and hollow. Her songwriting is fun, and uses some entendre, but it's not got the impact that really makes her stand out in a sea where Regina Spekter can move you with her breath, Kate Nash can color your visions cute and Karen O. can discard art-rock for a few months and win a grammy writing music base don children's whimsy! So when Jonna Lee previous-single worthy work sounds like this:
My High is cute...but not-infectious...like the viral vids...
...at least the comedown is easy.
Anyway, what this signals to me, is that someone can really spruce up their sound by taking a cue from Yeasayer (yes...I won't compare anything to how Radiohead's changed their sound).
Old-sound was good...but not as famous
Ah, now I see why the kids like Animal Collective...and we're the toast of Brooklyn!
So what have we learned? That Jonna Lee's got an amazing creative team. And learn to enjoy your electronic mouth as much as your acoustic. And...to build this hype before you make a huge US debut at it's most widely media-covered cutting edge music festival, SXSW (sorry CMJ).
http://www.jonnalee.com/
I suppose what I'm hoping for is that this movement is further refined, and not discarded, like the glitchy laptop pop of the early 2000s that came out after Radiohead released Kid A. They were pioneers! However, they weren't remembered in my mind by the majority of today's hipsters. Except for Animal Collective, which really found their own, and quite inspiring, powerful voice and have also lent their hands to creating this amazing sound of the new decade. Then again, they both released their albums in 2000, which kinda could lead to all sorts of chicken-egg arguments, and then we'll have to bring in Load records, Einsturzende Neubauten, Mum, Mille Plateaux and so on.
Look what I made with a laptop! Julian Fane is amazing!
I suppose it all boils down to...that I thought that somone with Christina Aguilera's amazing voice, was actually going to turn to a more heartfelt and experimental sound at the risk of her image and brand. I suppose such thoughts are usually just whimsy and want, and don't really do anything real except fuel rumormills.
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