Dementors

In light of my recent Girls Aloud post, I decided to follow up in order flesh out my comment about liking their videos, despite the obvious musical limitations they exhibit. Make no mistake, their music is fine bubblegum confection, and I enjoy it when I've heard strains of it strike up at a club or bar. But let's call a spade a spade: the main draw is five gals shaking it.

With this caveat, I'm not entirely sure what I was expecting what I clicked on the following link at youtube; it promised a Girls Aloud cover of Amy Winehouse's "Rehab". I'm not the biggest Winehouse booster around, but I fairly enjoy her music, so I was curious what a cover of her biggest song would be like.

Egads. It is with some regret to inform you Girls Aloud are like the Dementors from Harry Potter: if they get the chance, they will perform their kiss on you, sucking your very soul out in the process. Winehouse makes the regret, defiance, and self-destructive bravado of Rehab manifest, while Girls Aloud speak on the same issues with all the authority of people who have led lives unencumbered by dependency and terrible instincts. None of this is meant to speak to the actual lives of the member of the group or Amy Winehouse; indeed, I have no idea what any of them have lived through. As far as I know, Winehouse is a thoroughly middle-class gal from London, but that point is irrelevant. Art is about tapping into truth and making it real, even through the use of lies. In some ways this recording reminds me of something a music writer once penned about the madding appeal Tom Jones; he essentially argued that Tom Jones was blissfully oblivious to any subtext-let alone text-in a song. He muscled his way through every tune in the same bombastic baritone, wholly disregarding subtlety and craftsmanship. All the same, we listen enthusiastically. Just listen to this and you'll understand.