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November 7, 2005

New Cat Power - The Greatest

The Greatest finds indie rock's Joni Mitchell unexpectedly confident while taking a welcome step sideways. Twangy soul is weird territory for the notoriously withdrawn folkie, but Chan Marshall makes it fit. Her acclaimed You Are Free (2003) hardly hinted at this musical maturation, and that makes it all the more intriguing. "Could We," punctuated by slick Memphis horns, could've been a stellar track on Van Morrison's latest. Chan sounds almost ... upbeat. Elsewhere "After It All" melds saloon piano with a ghostly, infectious whistle. "Willie" recalls Aimee Mann until the vocals kick in. As on other Greatest hits, it's difficult to make out the lyrics. That prompts further listening, which is the greatest part. This is getting pretentious ... check out BRUNETTE LINDSAY LOHAN (thanks Golden Fiddle) and two clips from her album.

Cat Power - "Could We" (MP3 Link Removed)

Coincidentally, Guy writes in:

Have you seen the Cingular commercial where Cat Power is covering the Nerves' "Hanging on the Telephone"? Needless, it's excellent (and the commercial is too -- a boy and girl have a really great first date and... I won't ruin it for you.) Apparently the song isn't available for retail or download. Is there some Stereogum magic whereby you would know how to get a copy of said song?
I tried Guy -- no luck. Anyone got audio?

Posted at 1:01 AM




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27 Comments

I love stereogum!

Posted by: craptain Krunch at 11/07/05 2:18 AM | Reply
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its bouncy 'walking down the street' music. how long until they use this in The OC? imagine it. Peter Gallagher vacuuming the house to this song. tada. not that music on The OC is bad, persay, it just has this vertain vein...

Posted by: Ned Hepburn at 11/07/05 4:32 AM | Reply
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This is full-on Ricki Lee Jones Cat Power--and I love it.

Posted by: marathonpacks at 11/07/05 9:39 AM | Reply
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wow... she played this song when I saw her last month, but it sounded radically different with just her and the guitar.

the horns make a humongous difference.
...it's almost creepy how 'happy' this seems.

Posted by: nic at 11/07/05 11:08 AM | Reply
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lovely

Posted by: andhiwarhol at 11/07/05 11:35 AM | Reply
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this catpower record is shaping up to be dern cool

Posted by: satisfied75 at 11/07/05 1:33 PM | Reply
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Did you see this Lindsay quote?

"I feel a bit classier with this hair," says the natural redhead. "It's a nice change. I like to try new things."

http://people.aol.com/people/articles/0,19736,1125171,00.html

Posted by: david (closet LL fan) at 11/07/05 2:15 PM | Reply
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hi, according to matador message board, sam bisbee produced the cat power version of song on the CINGULAR AD

Posted by: summer75 at 11/07/05 2:22 PM | Reply
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I can dig the happy vibe of the song, already getting hooked on it... can't wait for the album.

Lohan is a Skank Wagon, though.

Posted by: Mercator Projections at 11/07/05 4:08 PM | Reply
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i was talking to chan when she played the soul bar a few years back.....and she said that she was thinking about doing the james brown classic - it's a man's world!

i'd love to hear her do that.....

i think it would fit along with what she's doing.....

you go girl!

Posted by: coco at 11/07/05 4:11 PM | Reply
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You won't be able to find the full length version because it isn't available anywhere, but probably will be in the future.

Posted by: ts at 11/07/05 5:34 PM | Reply
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Does anyone have a snippet audio of the track?

Posted by: Justine at 11/07/05 7:15 PM | Reply
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I don't have the track you're looking for, but I have another one from the new record, "Lived in Bars."

Posted by: marathonpacks at 11/08/05 12:50 AM | Reply
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Yah, persumably, we all have the album now.

Posted by: Justine at 11/08/05 3:40 AM | Reply
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Justine, you mean the whole new Cat Power album? I think I'll wait for the CD anyway but I'd like to hear 'Lived in Bars' if anyone is nice enough to post it.

Posted by: neil at 11/08/05 9:21 AM | Reply
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so where could i get the cat power album??

Posted by: Sam T at 11/09/05 6:32 AM | Reply
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Man, you kids and your musical ignorance are depressing. Even more so when you can do a Google search on the phrase "Don't leave me hanging on the telephone" and find a billion + links telling you that these "The" bands aren't the first people to play music of this sound. In fact they are the third generation of ripoffs. First the mid 70's, then late 80's, now you ask questions about the Nerves' 'Hanging on the Telephone'? It's a Blondie song you turds. It's a 25 year old song. You suck.

Posted by: mynus at 11/10/05 8:32 PM | Reply
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it's a Nerves song bozo

Posted by: actually at 11/12/05 4:01 AM | Reply
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RE:mynus

Let's see...The Nerves included Mr. Jake Lee. The song was written by Mr. Jake Lee. It was released by The Nerves on an E.P. in 1976. They broke up in 1978. Blondie recorded the song in 1978, but still credited it to Mr. Lee. I found all of this out in about three minutes on the web. So, I find myself wondering exactly how you managed to remain so incredibly ignorant.

If you're going to cop a bad attitude about music I'd suggest you learn a little bit about it before you go stinking up the airwaves. People like you made my decade in a record store a living hell.

Posted by: Peter F. at 11/12/05 6:05 PM | Reply
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ouch...

Posted by: Jim F at 11/12/05 11:01 PM | Reply
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Wow.. being a moronic music snob sure must be exhilerating... god forbid someone shouldn't be as fucking musically "gifted" as you... who gives a shit if someone googles something or asks someone over blogs? who fucking cares! it shouldn't matter where the information comes from, so don't put others down to make yourself feel better, we all now know you're an ass anyway.

Posted by: Laura at 11/18/05 7:37 PM | Reply
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Insound.com has Cat Power's upcoming album “The Greatest" available for pre-orders. Pre-order price is only $10.99, plus it comes with a free 7" single! Here's the link to order the album from Insound:
http://www.insound.com/noteworthy/promo.php?p=537&from=70207.

Posted by: natalie dechiara at 12/22/05 12:16 AM | Reply
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Question... when does the Cat Power CD come out with the song "hanging on the telephone" on it? Cause I love the song and want to hear her sing the whole version!

Posted by: Alissa at 12/24/05 9:25 PM | Reply
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Joni Mitchell and Ami Mann suck. chan rules above average folkstresses.

The Cingular Ad sucks unfortunately. way too commercial and didn't even recognize her voice. AVERAGE.

Posted by: me here me there at 12/31/05 6:52 PM | Reply
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that song isnt realesed witch is pretty retarted because it is a very good song and it isnt on "the greatest" her new album, :

(http://www.matadorrecords.com/cat_power/)-

"....and yes, that is the unique sound of Ms. Marshall's voice, covering the Nerves' "Hanging On The Telephone" is a widely seen television advertisement for Cingular Wireless. Though people keep asking us how they can obtain their own copy of this cover, at present, the only thing we can suggest is that you purchase a very large TV set, a digital video recorder..."

Posted by: taylor at 01/02/06 3:05 AM | Reply
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Well thats the audio of the commercial, all i could get without Cingulars voice... i dont know, whatever, have fun

Posted by: Frank Davis at 01/14/06 6:52 PM | Reply
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Cat Power is very similar to a band called Up the Empire. If you enjoy the sounds of this band...take a look at www.uptheempire.com!

Posted by: Natasha at 02/16/07 6:24 PM | Reply
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