In The Meantime...wats your fav songs and why

[michelej1]

Calumny is my favorite. I don't think Dan is any good as a producer, but he can certainly put words together in a manner that's achingly evocative and then Christine's voice and phrasing fill all the little wrinkles of the words with meaning and pain. Her tone is so rich and experienced, giving every syllable nuance. It's simply beautiful. I'm a fan of Northern Star too and really like the musical ending. I'd love to see that live.

Those 2 are soulful songs, I think, but they showcase something that has always been present, even in her lighter offerings from the past. In another thread talking about some kind of all-star FM reunion, someone mentioned that initially they looked forward to Chris being gone, to see what Lindsey and Stevie could do without her "bubblegum" sound, but then when he heard SYW he knew how much Chris was lacking.

The thing there is, although I know why a refrain like "tell me lies, tell me sweet little lies" gets the "bubble gum" rap and, I concede, it has hurt FM's rep, that description really doesn't fit Christine, not even on the surface, because I don't know how many bubble gum singers can wring such emotion out of a song. How many have her depth and maturity? Simple does not equal simplistic.

I don't care if a lyric is catchy (as if that's a sin, somehow), when you can still inject a sense of longing and loss into the song, along with a hook, then it's not bubblegum. I hear Neil Sedaka and Paul Anka and they just have love songs, with Christine, even when the tune is upbeat, I always hear the undercurrent. I always hear the hurt that kind of makes the peppy part ironic. It's very layered.

So, when I hear a song like "Don't Stop" it's not just another positive message to me like "don't worry, be happy" or Annie singing, "tomorrow, tomorrow you're always a day away." In Don't Stop I kind of always get the apology part: "I know you don't believe that it's true, I never meant any harm to you." There's always a bit of sorrow with Christine's sweet and that sorrow is featured especially well in Calumny, as the torn petals drop one by one.

Michele