| The Shrine |
|
|
|
|
|
Antonio Banderas Jackie Chan Morgan Freeman Peter Jackson Samuel L. Jackson Liam Neeson Sam Raimi Wesley Snipes Christopher Walken |
Johnette Napolitano
Johnette Napolitano is the haunting lead singer of my favorite band, Concrete Blonde. In addition to singing, she plays bass, writes most of the songs and lyrics and has done the artwork for a few of their album covers. Her deep, sensuous voice lends a somewhat dark, moody tone to the music which I find entrancing. Concrete Blonde began, I believe, as Dream 6, releasing one album under this name. I've only heard this album a few times, but found that I liked a lot of the tracks on it as much as the later Blonde songs. Thankfully, some of the songs from the Dream 6 album made it onto later Concrete Blonde albums. Concrete Blonde has released six albums to date, as well as a number of singles, greatest hits and compilation albums. But, beyond the Blonde, Johnette has also released an album with Holly Vincent (of The Italians and The Oblivious) under the name Vowel Movement and, most recently, the self-titled album for the band Pretty & Twisted. Scan the Airwaves for more info about Concrete Blonde (et al). I think one of the things that attracts me to Johnette is the intensity of her music and the poetry of her lyrics. They aren't dance tunes or Top-40 material. They aren't written for the lowest common denominator. Johnette definitely has something to say, and does so in her music, like it or not. The Blonde's most recent release, Concrete Blonde y Los Illegals, for example, deals primarily with the lack of civil rights in Mexico (and perhaps Latin America, in general). Many of the lyrics are in Spanish. Because of this, you probably won't find the album anywhere near a dance floor, or fraternity or sorority. And it probably won't receive much airtime on the radio stations. So, obviously, there's not a whole lot of money to be made with this album; no MTV Music Awards to be gained; no videos to entertain the masses. But the fact that Johnette (and James Mankey) made this album anyway is really really cool.
JOHNETTE NAPOLITANO LINKS
|
Gillian Anderson Jennifer Connelly Jodie Foster Samantha Fox Janeane Garofalo Pam Grier Martina Hingis Anna Kournikova Johnette Napolitano Gabriella Sabatini |