Betsy Spivak: Warped Vinyl

Cyberspace -- The final frontier. These are the voyages of Blogger.com. It's perennial mission: To explore strange new glitches. To seek out new downtime, and new ways of pissing me the hell off. To boldy prevent FEMALE FRONT from providing much-needed exposure to very deserving artists!

Yes, as you may have noticed from the absence of my sanity, I've been dealing with more Blogger bugs. Since it defies logic that a platform which is part of Google -- the largest bleeding-edge technology company in the world -- should have such abominable service, I've developed a theory: Maybe it IS a conspiracy. Maybe Blogger is really a front for Clear Channel, and every time they see me promote an independent artist, they pull the plug.

Well, if anyone pulls the plug while I'm telling the People about
Betsy Spivak, then there'll be hell to pay, Mister!

No flowery statements are required here. Simply put, Betsy Spivak is one of those artists who single-handedly validates the existence of FEMALE FRONT Radio...and all in the space of seven songs.

The songs in question are on Ms Spivak's new CD, The Scratch on My Vinyl Soul (to be fair, there are actually nine tracks on the CD, but two of them are reprises). And the songwriting of the songs in question is quite terrific. Ms Spivak's cheerful, indie-grrl delivery belies a wonderfully twisted sensibility, delivered in simple but nicely melodic arrangements that further serve to lure you in for the kill. The result is a Bride of Frankenstein-like amalgamation of sensibilites: 90's-style Indie Rock, 70's Carole King-style singer-songwriter Rock, and... Tom Waits.

OK, so the Tom Waits association is the most direct: The album contains a cover of Waits' song "Ol' '55". The great thing about Betsy Spivak's version is that...well, she can sing. Look, I know how awesome Tom Waits was and is, both as a songrwriter and as a dude in general. He has many, many enthusiastic fans who adore his work. But that still doesn't mean the guy can sing. And Leonard Cohen? Yeah, he can't sing either. Doesn't mean they're not otherwise talented; it just means that their songs make excellent covers for people who CAN sing.

As I've mentioned, Betsy Spivak can write, too. "The Spider" is her own cabaret-style, Tom Waits-esque number, a real mood piece. But the rest of the album is more upbeat, with clever lyrics and fun arrangements usually centered around Ms Spivak's upright piano (well, it sounds like an upright, but I'm no expert). Just buy the CD already, I don't think I'll be able to do it justice here.

With The Scratch on My Vinyl Soul, Betsy Spivak comes across as so smart, funny and talented that your mother is already wondering why you can't ever go out with a nice girl like that, anyway?! (Not that your current girl isn't nice, but you know how your mother can get.)

Here's wishing Betsy Spivak the best of success; and if the Clear Channel guys are watching...go ahead, everybody, flip 'em off!