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Winehouse = Cobain?

Probing Amy's self-destructive public persona

By Nick McMaster, Newser Staff

Posted Dec 16, 2007 9:47 AM CST

(Newser) – Amy Winehouse’s career, writes James Hannaham for Slate, is just the sort of brilliant train wreck you’d think would get cut short by tragic rock 'n' roll death: With her considerable talent and public penchant for self-destruction, Winehouse evokes other music casualties such as Janis Joplin, Jimi Hendrix or Ian Curtis.

Hannaham, however, sees Winehouse’s schtick as more calculated than Cobain, as if she picked her tabloid escapades with the same deliberation as the retro pastiche of R&B and soul that she sings over. This “sense of fakery” actually gives Hannaham hope that Winehouse might stick around: That addiction may be her muse, but she's still grounded in the creative process, and not simply hurtling towards chemical oblivion.

[Images (4)]

[Videos (1)]

Amy Winehouse performs at the Virgin Festival in Baltimore, in this Aug. 4, 2007, file photo. (AP Photo/Jeff Christensen, file) (Associated Press)

British singer Amy Winehouse poses for photographs at a studio in north London, in this Feb. 16, 2007, file photo. (AP Photo/Matt Dunham, file) (Associated Press)

British soul singer Amy Winehouse performs during her concert at the Volkshaus in Zurich, Switzerland, Thursday Oct. 25, 2007. (AP Photo/Keystone, Steffen Schmidt) (Associated Press)

Fans of British singer Amy Winehouse hold up cut-outs of her face waiting for her arrival at Snaresbrook Crown Court in London for the hearing of her husband Blake Fielder-Civil, Friday, Nov. 23, 2007.... (Associated Press)

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Winehouse = Cobain?