Cristina fan page
2004 Interview with Cristina
Review of Sleep It Off
Review of Sleep It Off on Feminist Music Geek
If you do a search on YouTube you can find most of her songs but I haven't been able to find any music videos or live performances.
Thursday 13 May 2010
LYRICS. CRISTINA --- WHAT'S A GIRL TO DO.
WHAT'S A GIRL TO DO
My life is in a turmoil
My thighs are black and blue
My sheets are stained, so is my brain
What's a girl to do X 2
I've passed out with a novel
Or a needle in my hand
I've passed out with a ragdoll
And I've passed out with a man
I say my three Hail Marys
I daily paint my face
My friends decay around me
And I view them with distaste
My life is in a turmoil
My thighs are black and blue
My sheets are stained, so is my brain
What's a girl to do X 2
Well some girls have a mission
And some girls have their work
Some marry with precision
And some just dish the dirt
And once I had a lover
And once I had a profession
And once I laughed at nothing
And they called it a depression
I've tried dancing up and down
The wrong side of the track
And I've walked on the right side
Or just lain here on my back.
So I think I'll quit while I'm behind
Now that I'm twenty two
My sheets are stained, so is my brain
What's a girl to do X 2
My sheets are stained, so is my brain
What's a girl to do X 2
LYRICS BY CRISTINA FROM SLEEP IT OFF. PHOTO OF CRISTINA BY CHUCK SILLERY FROM SLEEP IT OFF CD BOOKLET.
My life is in a turmoil
My thighs are black and blue
My sheets are stained, so is my brain
What's a girl to do X 2
I've passed out with a novel
Or a needle in my hand
I've passed out with a ragdoll
And I've passed out with a man
I say my three Hail Marys
I daily paint my face
My friends decay around me
And I view them with distaste
My life is in a turmoil
My thighs are black and blue
My sheets are stained, so is my brain
What's a girl to do X 2
Well some girls have a mission
And some girls have their work
Some marry with precision
And some just dish the dirt
And once I had a lover
And once I had a profession
And once I laughed at nothing
And they called it a depression
I've tried dancing up and down
The wrong side of the track
And I've walked on the right side
Or just lain here on my back.
So I think I'll quit while I'm behind
Now that I'm twenty two
My sheets are stained, so is my brain
What's a girl to do X 2
My sheets are stained, so is my brain
What's a girl to do X 2
LYRICS BY CRISTINA FROM SLEEP IT OFF. PHOTO OF CRISTINA BY CHUCK SILLERY FROM SLEEP IT OFF CD BOOKLET.
LYRICS. CRISTINA --- HE DINES OUT ON DEATH.
HE DINES OUT ON DEATH.
How could he do it?
There's nothing to it
A fistful of pills in a foreign hotel
She left a note calling him
Heartless and ruthless
And wishing him well, wishing him well.
Now he dines out on death.
How could he do it?
Can I live through it?
In this week's chic restaurant
He touches the hand
Of a vapid-eyed girl who once put sweet lips to it
She says, "I understand, oh I understand ..."
Now he dines out on death.
How could she do it?
Let's help him live through it
Say the New York hostesses
He takes it so well
He lends such distinction to her self extinction
Let's throw him a party, he must be in hell.
Now he dines out on death.
LYRICS BY CRISTINA FROM SLEEP IT OFF. PHOTO OF CRISTINA BY CHUCK SILLERY FROM SLEEP IT OFF CD BOOKLET.
How could he do it?
There's nothing to it
A fistful of pills in a foreign hotel
She left a note calling him
Heartless and ruthless
And wishing him well, wishing him well.
Now he dines out on death.
How could he do it?
Can I live through it?
In this week's chic restaurant
He touches the hand
Of a vapid-eyed girl who once put sweet lips to it
She says, "I understand, oh I understand ..."
Now he dines out on death.
How could she do it?
Let's help him live through it
Say the New York hostesses
He takes it so well
He lends such distinction to her self extinction
Let's throw him a party, he must be in hell.
Now he dines out on death.
LYRICS BY CRISTINA FROM SLEEP IT OFF. PHOTO OF CRISTINA BY CHUCK SILLERY FROM SLEEP IT OFF CD BOOKLET.
REVIEW. CRISTINA --- SLEEP IT OFF.
Sleep It Off was Cristina's second and final album and it was produced by Don Was of Was (Not Was) who also co-wrote several of the songs. This reissue also features a couple of tracks from an earlier session with Robert Palmer as well as Cristina's contribution to the Ze Records Christmas compilation, Things Fall Apart. However, despite receiving glowing reviews from the likes of Rolling Stone and The Face, the record was a flop and Cristina retired from the music business.
This has to be one of the biggest injustices of the music business I've heard of. Sleep It Off is one of the most stunning albums I've heard in a long time --- genuinely innovative whilst seemingly deceptively simple. I know disco gets a bad press even with those who love dance music. Personally, my problem with it is that it simply doesn't reflect the eccentricity, decadence and biting wit of those immersed in the nightlife scene. But far out on the wilder shores of disco, you get artists like Klaus Nomi and Grace Jones who are every bit as challenging and experimental as anything indie or rock music could produce. And Cristina can rightly claim her place among those disco mavericks.
There is a strong sense of irony and a biting wit in her lyrics observing the bored rich socialites of New York's nightlife. Her jaded world-weary demeanour, however, is always swathed in glamour and spiced up with a dash of sass so that she harks back to traditional movie stars like Marlene Dietrich or Tallulah Bankhead. Her intelligent boredom and sophisticated despair also reminded me of Louise Brooks. The album showcases a good mixture of styles (from upbeat pop numbers like Ticket To the Tropics to laidback contemplations like Rage and Fascination) and moods (from the defiant, almost punk delivery of Don't Mutilate My Mink to the disjointed bleakness of Things Fall Apart). One of my favourite tracks is He Dines Out On Death, a stripped down acoustic ode to a gentleman who sees his lover's suicide as a social opportunity but really, there are so many gems on this album including a cover version of a Brecht and Weil song, Ballad of Immoral Earnings.
The Dresden Dolls have also cited Brecht as an influence and Cristina's stylish black humour does remind me of a disco version of Amanda Palmer crossed with the deadpan glamour of Grace Jones/Amanda Lear with the suicidal urges of Nico lurking in the background while the downright insanity of Klaus Nomi quietly laughs at us all. It's a rare talent to be able to pull together all these disparate (and sometimes contradictory) elements but Cristina managed it. The album also perfectly evokes that particular scene (the beautiful people of early 80s New York) but still feels timeless. It's an amazing album that has quickly become one of my all time favourites.
Cristina's songwriting partner and producer, Don Was said of her --- "We didn't have girls like her in Detroit. I went to dinner with her and I remember feeling intellectually dwarfed. --- Sleep It Off is an incredibly honest representation of what she was about. Twenty years later, I've learned that's what you want to do when you produce an album --- take a snapshot of somebody. I didn't fully realise it at the time but she achieved a certain artistic ideal."
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN OCTOBER 2005.
This has to be one of the biggest injustices of the music business I've heard of. Sleep It Off is one of the most stunning albums I've heard in a long time --- genuinely innovative whilst seemingly deceptively simple. I know disco gets a bad press even with those who love dance music. Personally, my problem with it is that it simply doesn't reflect the eccentricity, decadence and biting wit of those immersed in the nightlife scene. But far out on the wilder shores of disco, you get artists like Klaus Nomi and Grace Jones who are every bit as challenging and experimental as anything indie or rock music could produce. And Cristina can rightly claim her place among those disco mavericks.
There is a strong sense of irony and a biting wit in her lyrics observing the bored rich socialites of New York's nightlife. Her jaded world-weary demeanour, however, is always swathed in glamour and spiced up with a dash of sass so that she harks back to traditional movie stars like Marlene Dietrich or Tallulah Bankhead. Her intelligent boredom and sophisticated despair also reminded me of Louise Brooks. The album showcases a good mixture of styles (from upbeat pop numbers like Ticket To the Tropics to laidback contemplations like Rage and Fascination) and moods (from the defiant, almost punk delivery of Don't Mutilate My Mink to the disjointed bleakness of Things Fall Apart). One of my favourite tracks is He Dines Out On Death, a stripped down acoustic ode to a gentleman who sees his lover's suicide as a social opportunity but really, there are so many gems on this album including a cover version of a Brecht and Weil song, Ballad of Immoral Earnings.
The Dresden Dolls have also cited Brecht as an influence and Cristina's stylish black humour does remind me of a disco version of Amanda Palmer crossed with the deadpan glamour of Grace Jones/Amanda Lear with the suicidal urges of Nico lurking in the background while the downright insanity of Klaus Nomi quietly laughs at us all. It's a rare talent to be able to pull together all these disparate (and sometimes contradictory) elements but Cristina managed it. The album also perfectly evokes that particular scene (the beautiful people of early 80s New York) but still feels timeless. It's an amazing album that has quickly become one of my all time favourites.
Cristina's songwriting partner and producer, Don Was said of her --- "We didn't have girls like her in Detroit. I went to dinner with her and I remember feeling intellectually dwarfed. --- Sleep It Off is an incredibly honest representation of what she was about. Twenty years later, I've learned that's what you want to do when you produce an album --- take a snapshot of somebody. I didn't fully realise it at the time but she achieved a certain artistic ideal."
ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED IN OCTOBER 2005.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)