To spare your blushes, I've posted the censored version of the new Amanda Palmer album cover... those of you interested in seeing the uncensored version can find it easily enough through google. Blushes are not something Ms. Palmer ever seems to worry about.
The cover is appropriate though - There Will Be No Intermission is Amanda Palmer laid bare, a confessional of how her life has changed in the 7 years since her last full album (though there have been many side projects in between), most notably her experiences as a new mother.
It's a very long album (I just managed to burn my download to an 80 minute CDR to listen to in the car) and a times there are shades of Mark Kozelek, both in the length of the track, and the raw, stream-of-consciousness honesty of the lyrics. It's probably not an album to recommend to newbies, but for those of us who have been with Amanda for a while, it offers great rewards if we stick with it. (The major difference between Palmer and Kozelek is that Amanda still uses tunes and singing, whereas Kozelek is mostly content to ramble over low key backing tracks these days.)
The stand-out track for me is this astonishing paean to motherhood... At Least The Baby Didn't Die. It's a song that mothers everywhere would, I'm certain, feel a connection with... though very few will ever hear it. Fathers, too, will probably recognise some things here too...
I'm even scared to put these lyrics in a song...
Hear more here.
She is such a fascinating and talented person, unafraid to bare all in every sense as you say. It is actually so refreshing too to see a naked woman in a cover photo whose body is utterly natural and just beautifully 'normal', which seems a really sad indictment of the way things are now.
ReplyDeleteAgreed. There's probably a lot more I could say on this subject, but as a bloke, these days, I'm wary of any such commentary. Good to see AFP keeping it real, anyway!
DeleteI only know of Amanda Palmer because of this place and the fact you suggested one of songs for my America series. Meant I could get the Saturday Snapshot clue last time. She certainly isn’t afraid to bare all and as C says, refreshingly “normal” looking.
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