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Vienna meets Amy Winehouse, a Jewish singer

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norman lebrecht

March 23, 2014

A new exhibition, borrowed from London’s Jewish Museum, opens this week. It underlines the singer’s ethnicity.

Comments

Anonymus says:

March 23, 2014 at 9:43 am

This backward ethnicity underlining is so 15th century, particularly when the ethnicity doesn’t even exist as a homogenous entity for hundreds of years. We are all one humanity for big bang’s sake. Fairy tales are for children.

Is it important for understanding an artist or a human being better, what maternal blood line can be drawn to ancestors over 2000 years ago?

Paul Lanfear says:

March 23, 2014 at 11:21 am

It´s not so much the ethnicity of the singer but, from the few tracks I´ve heard, more the ¨jewishness¨ of her sound which is unusual in pop music. I´ve only heard what are probably her most famous songs, but there´s a raw expressiveness in the Hasidic resonances and the lyrics that reminds me of some Brecht-Weill songs.

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G Ell says:

March 23, 2014 at 12:37 pm

How the popular music world is missing Amy Winehouse! In an era of generics and homogeneity she stood way apart. Yes her style was derivative to some extent but whose isn’t ? But she had immesurable talent and originality. Hers is a tragic loss, especially because so young and in her prime. Will be long before we hear anyone like her again.