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Skunk Anansie

I had a news item cross my google front page the other day that one of my favorite musical artists has a new album out.  And, this renewed my love of her work.  It is only a compilation of live recordings, so no new content, but I loved the few live recordings I had heard previously.

But, this blog post is not about the new album, per-se.  What this is about is the news reminded me how much I love her work and that I want others to know of it and love it too. 

I was introduced to her music when I bought the soundtrack for the movie Strange Days.  It was heavy, and angry and frenetic and everything I love in a revolution song.  Selling Jesus was a commentary on the bankruptcy of the soul when you give in to the unholy alliance of religion and the oligarchs.  It spoke to my punk, counterculture, cynical, libertarian soul.  I needed more, so I began searching for her music.

And, everything else I found of her work fits me so well too.  Hedonism talks about... well let's let her refrain speak for itself.

..."Just because you feel good, doesn't make you right."...

There are so many shots fired at a person so lost in self-absorption (and possibly substance abuse) that they hurt someone they were supposed to be in love with and when things didn't work out moved on to hurt others.  The narrator still cares for the subject of the song, but recognizes they can't be with them anymore and only looks on from outside.

And there are many, many more great works.  They are even more deep, despite their limited lyrics. 

The stories they tell are so much deeper and rich than the limited number of words warrant.  The emotion given in the delivery and the specific, well chosen words are so much value added to the story.  I don't know if she writes her material, but regardless I love her voice.  I mean that primarily in the authorial sense, though her audible voice is AMAZING in the most literal sense.  I can listen to her singing gibberish and it would be magical, but she doesn't need to because she also has something to say and I love all of it.  It resonates with me and connects with me in every way.  I feel, always, as if she speaks for me.

I cannot speak strongly enough about her and her work.  You need to seek it out.

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