Amy Winehouse

Class act!

At first listen I immediately lumped Miss Winehouse in with Regina Spektor (sweet baby voice), Lily Allen (petulant baby voice), and Corinne Bailey Rae (annoying baby voice). Her voice is, I feel, similarly affected and I dubbed her (rock 'n roll baby voice).

There was another rash of baby-voice singers back in the early '90s, remember? The Sundays, Shellyan Orphan, Veruca Salt, Bjork, etc. Even though I know they are talented singers and such, something about their tones makes me want to peel the skin from my skull and stuff it into my ears.

Then came the constant reports of Winehouse's stupid public drunkenness and behavior that she ought be ashamed of, but probably writes off as "punk rock" or "rock 'n roll, baby". She wrote a song — much beloved by addicts — which chronicles her management company's attempts to cajole her into "Rehab" and her mentally-keen refusals to commit to same. Hi, Amy? Ever heard of Courtney Love? Excellent career path choice.

Then I happen upon an interview Amy Winehouse gave with someone in the British press. Turns out she's an outspoken, self-described, unmedicated bipolar person. That sure explains a lot! Not only does Bipolar Disorder affect your judgment to a dangerous degree, it predisposes you to addiction. Amy seems confident she can overcome the chemical imbalance in her brain with booze, drugs, money and just "doing my thing, having fun".

Poor kid, she's only 23 and on the fast-track to some really bad news. Now, when I see Amy Winehouse on TV, I'll focus less on her hideous lip piercing or lamentable ink, and more on feeling bad for her. Here's hoping someone gets through to her before its too late.

Because she could be great, really unbelievable.