Artist Tuesday: Duffy

I figured I'd do a little profile of an artist I like and why I like them so much to write a blog entry about them on Tuesdays. Enjoy?

This week: Duffy



Wikipedia Tells You:
Aimé Ann Duffy (born 23 June 1984 in Bangor, Gwynedd), known professionally as Duffy, is a Grammy-nominated Welsh singer-songwriter. Her debut album Rockferry was the best selling album in the United Kingdom in 2008 and has sold over four million copies worldwide.

I say:
Duffy is amazing. This is not opinion, this is fact.
Okay, maybe I’m biased because I’m harboring a huge girl-crush on her. But she is amazing, you have to give her that.
Not only is her music great (more on that later), but she has her own attitude and does what she wants in the industry. Only not, you know, obnoxiously. She refuses to drink or get caught up in drugs because of experiences of the people she knows. She was disillusioned with the normal music industry and decided to make music for music’s sake, not for her own fame. Duffy has just enough spice not to be a doormat but not quite enough of a ‘tude problem to be deemed a total bitch. Congrats.

Oh, and she’s Welsh. Anyone who watches Torchwood knows that’s automatically 100 points of win.

On to her music, which is pretty much the same as Duffy herself.
I unfortunately haven’t been able to get my hands on any of her earlier EP’s, but I do have her most recent and insanely popular Rockferry playing on my iPod at least once a week.

Rockferry is genius, beautiful genius. Duffy writes lyrics that bring out the emotion that all of us share—the sadness of a broken heart, the rebellion of doing what you dream, and the “screw you” attitude we all need to have once in a while. She combines these beautiful lyrics with equally amazing music.

Duffy sings in a very soulful manner, but it isn’t really soul. It brings up images of old clubs where singers made money by tips and life was rough, but life was beautiful. Her music is the vintage shirt you find that just works in modern times. I think she writes lovely music, and the background is equally as good as the vocals—a big band sound backs her on many tracks and matches her strong voice. I think her music is nearly flawless.

And she makes amazing music videos. This one is stunning in its simplicity. Where others are putting explosions, shiny lights, and slinky clothing to attract viewers, Duffy just shows emotion.
This video, for “Warwick Avenue”, is my favorite music video ever. Ever, I say, ever. Unfortunately, Youtube hates me and no one allows embedding of this video, so here's a link.

Duffy's "Warwick Avenue"

And that speaks for itself. My rave is done.

This week, there aren’t really any huge albums coming out, so I’ll stick to two I’ve been listening to lately—The Killers’ Day and Age and Fall Out Boy’s Folie a Deux. Expect those reviews up on Thursday.