Ellen Datlow's Music Picks

I mostly listen to the jazz station WBGO so I‚m not very aware of "new music"--however, I did first start listening to a singer and a musical group that I really liked:

I can honestly say that celebrity gossip brought me to Amy Winehouse. If I hadn't been reading about her drug problems and her breakdown last year, my interest in her music wouldn't have been piqued. I watched the video where she screws up--slurring and forgetting lyrics at a performance and was impressed enough by her voice that I went over to amazon.com. After listening to samples from Back to Black I immediately ordered it and was not disappointed. I love her smoky, bluesy voice and even though her music may not be all that original, I think she's the real thing. Now if only she'll pull herself together and not die of an OD so she can make more albums...

The second album I ordered as a result of hearing it on WBGO (one late night)-- Whirled Chamber Music by Quartet San Francisco. Similar to the late lamented Penguin Café Orchestra in sound but not material, they take classic pieces like Minnie the Mooche, Bie Mir Bist Du Schoen, and Gee Officer Krumpke and turn them into something totally different--with violin, viola, and cello.