lördag 23 Sep 2006, 12:47

Cat Power, the woman whose idiosyncratic approach to music making sometimes seems like one of the few really interesting and novel things to happen to music in this decade (compared to the endless parade of post-punk tribute bands, for instance), has apparently become a recovering alcoholic.

According to the New York Times, "After climbing out of a dark pit, Chan Marshall is receiving critical praise for her concerts but still needs antidepressants to get by." (article link here)

Pretty much anyone who's listened to any of her records and liked them can see how they do come across as the work of someone who is exquisitely wasted, and I mean by that someone who has managed to navigate the pitfalls of alcohol to reach that single point where you're completely conscious of everything that's going on, where you're completely able to respond to everything that people say, but where everything seems to be terrifically interesting and poignant. It's a really hard spot to get to in your drinking, because alcohol is not the most precise drug (and is usually self-medicated).

I remember this one time in my childhood having a conversation with one of my father's girlfriends, a woman who had a heavy alcohol problem of her own, and realizing after about five minutes that even though Ellen was responding to everything I said, none of what she said made the least bit of sense. But it was fascinating all the same. I think something along the same lines is what I find so attractive about Chan's music: it's coming from a completely different place, one that I have no access to, and one that she probably only reaches on rarefied occasions.

I wish her the best in her recovery and sincerely hope she finds happiness in her personal life.