Artist.......: Leslie Winer
Album........: Witch
Label........: Virgin France
Genre........: Trip-Hop
Catnr........: VIF006
source.......: CDDA
rip.date.....: Sep-03-2008
str.date.....: 000-00-0000
quality......: VBR/44,1Hz/Joint-Stereo
Url..........: n/a
track title time
01. HE WAS 04:15
02. FLOVE 05:45
03. IN 1 EAR 03:07
04. THE BOY WHO USED TO WHISTLE 04:28
05. JOHN SAYS 03:27
06. 5 08:44
07. ONCE UPON A TIME 04:57
08. SKIN 03:59
09. DREAM 1 03:28
Runtime 42:10 min
Size 55,3 MB
Release Notes:
Leslie Winer is a bit of a mystery. After working
as a well-known model in New York, where she got a
reputation for being "difficult to work with"
(therefore heightening her appeal to fashionistas),
she met William Burroughs and Jean-Michel Basquiat,
dropped out of the scene, and produced this
stunning, prescient album. Then she seemingly
disappeared off the face of the earth, only to
occasionally resurface doing vocals for second-hand
artists like Bomb The Bass and Mekon. Perhaps she
needed the money...
Recorded in 1990/1, under the weight of the
eighties and all they entailed, this album is a
wonderful mix of disgust at the legacy of the past
decade and heartfelt hopes for the future. Having
been at the centre of the cold-beauty-obsessed
1980s, Winer was in the perfect position to see
their dark side, but what makes her stand out is
the clarity of her vision.
This shows through partially in the groundbreaking
music - trip hop before there was trip hop. Blue
Lines came out at exactly the same time, but I
think Witch has stood the test of time much better,
to some extent because she hasn't used loops lifted
from old soul tracks.
However, what makes this album really stand out is
the lyrics. Rather than the well-presented but
banal lyrics of Massive Attack, Winer lived up to
one of her (admittedly stupid) nicknames - the Punk
Model. For example, the lyrics to In 1 Ear, drawled
in a deapan spoken voice over a minimal electronica
/ dub-style backing:
. If I get raped it must have been my fault
. And if I get bashed I must have provoked it
. And if I raise my voice I'm a nagging bitch
. And if I like f**king, I'm a whore
. And I don't wanna I never wanna
. (you never wanna, you never wanna)
. And if I love a woman
. It's because I can't get a real man or
. It's for his enjoyment
. And if I ask my doctor too many questions
. I'm neurotic and
. I need pills
. But I still can't get safe birth control
. While some f**ker's roaming the moon
Along with this bite there is, for want of a better
phrase, a social conscience. In 5 she asks
. The Gulf, Shell, BP, Exxon, Esso War
. What's it good for?
. Newly dug graves
. A TV with static
. Cities and maps are this place
. In your eyes
But there are also much more and thoughtful
moments, as in Dream 1, the last track on the
album:
. Yeah, keep it simple
. Come on
. I had the strangest dream
. The book that I read
. And the stone that I found
. And the tree that I saw
. And the animal that I knew
. And the language that I spoke in
. And the script that I wrote
. Shall I?
. Shall I tell you?
. Shall I tell you what I've been dreaming?
It's such a shame that she never got around to
recording any new material of her own. But then
perhaps that's what so perfect about this album and
Leslie Winer - that whatever happened to her, she
didn't end up prostituting herself for the money
that would surely have come her way for a follow-
up. That means her great music can speak for
itself...
leslie winer "don't give your money to virgin
france, those fuckers don't give me a penny."