WHO’S AFRAID OF AMY WINEHOUSE?

DUFFY

BEHIND THE MAKING OF

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THE YOUNG AND THE RECKLESS

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TIP

THE SPIN INTERVIEW

MY BLOODY VALENTINE

REUNITED AND IT SOUNDS SO LOUD

MYSPACE.COM/SPINMAGAZINEAUGUST2008

WHAT THE HELL HAPPENED?

D’ANGELO

AUGUSTUPCFINALn^dd1

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Only on SPIN.com!

AMANDA PETRUSICH ELLEN VON UNWERTH

Kid Sister

THE HOLD STEADY

LIL WAYNE

BECK

GLEN CAMPBELL

GO ASK YOUR DAD!

AUGUST SPIN. OM C

1

08 20

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>

7/8/0811:24^:26AM

Mercy Me
In your August ’08
issue, Alison Goldfrapp
is mentioned telling
an interviewer about
Duffy, “She’s been
trained to sound like
that” [“Girl From the
North Country”]. There
are those who train
themselves to sound like
that, who have to drag
around a suitcase of old
tapes and records to
make a statement. But
some, like Duffy, live with
it inside of them. Let the
girl boogie-woogie.

NOÉ GÓMEZ

HUNTSVILLE, TEXAS

Duffy demonstrates the classic “walk

of shame” pose.

>VOTE THE ROCK!

While roaming the summer

festivals, we asked artists about

the issues that will influence

their voting in November. Find

out what Gym Class Heroes, Kid

Sister, Stephen Malkmus, and

Rhymefest (among many others)

are pondering this election season.

spin.com/section/election-08

>WE DEPICT A RA RA RIOT

We’ve been fans of Ra Ra Riot ever

since they charmed us at CMJ ’⁰⁶.

Check out video from this month’s

track-and-field photo shoot.

spin.com/ra-ra-riot-video

>GIRL TALK LIVE

From his confetti-filled performance

at our ²⁰⁰⁶ Year in Music party to

festival stages nationwide, Gregg

Gillis can undoubtedly turn a party

As an African American reader of Spin

and lover of all genres of music, I take

umbrage with Duffy’s claim that “soul

stopped being a genre in 1970.” Is

she serious? The reason I have been

able to appreciate the Rolling Stones

and the White Stripes is that they are

honest about where they get their

musical influences. Soul, as Duffy

claims, is not just a “form of honesty,”

but a tangible, and measurable, set of

notes, rhythm, phrasing, and delivery.

If Duffy is going to mimic—sorry, I

mean honor—soul music, she should

at least be honest about it. Amy

Winehouse may at times sound high,

off-key, or in poor form, but at least

she doesn’t come off sounding stupid.

ANDY EGAR T

NEW YORK CIT Y

and Cilla Black knows exactly where

Duffy’s sound originated.

JOHNNY PRIDE

ATLANTA

Beak Beat

Come on, Spin, give me a break. Wide

Mouth Grin [“Deaf Jam,” August]?

I get it that the guitar player is deaf,

so that’s why they’re interesting or

whatever, but what gives? There

are way crazier things out there—

Hatebeak, for instance. There’s a

parrot in that band! Or Caninus—two

dogs sing in that band! Now, that

shit is rad! That’s what I want to read

about: bands with real animals in

them. Which reminds me—great bit

on Torche [Breaking Out, August].

PHIL SCHNOOT

ITHACA, NEW YORK

out. Peep a collection of our

favorite live moments with Girl

Talk, including a backstage batting-

cage battle.

spin.com/girl-talk-video

The Adventures of

Omar Twist

Rainn Wilson is dead on with his take

on The Wire [Media Horde, August],

but enough with the Dickensian

comparisons. I’ve read this view so

many times I can’t even recall whom

the original quote belonged to.

ROBIN PENCE

SAN JUAN CAPISTRANO, CALIFORNIA

>JET CITY JOURNAL

For Bumbershoot ’⁰⁸, we tapped

an aspiring filmmaker to join the

SPIN.com team and coproduce our

video coverage. Log on to see what

materialized.

spin.com/bumbershoot08

The SPIN.com Poll

Comparing Aimee Duffy to Amy Winehouse, Norah Jones, Dusty Springfield, Darlene Love, or the Motown roster is silly and lazy. Anyone who’s ever heard the ’60s recordings of British hitmakers Lulu

Bloody Great
With My Bloody Valentine back playing
reunion shows, it was nice to remember
that the band’s history is as stormy
and complex as their music [“It’s the
Opposite of Rock ’n’ Roll,” August].
Here’s hoping for another release!
JOSE DE LA TORRE
LOS ANGELES

CON TAC T US Go to spin.com/ community/letters, e-mail feedback@ spin.com, or mail us at Spin, 205 Lexington Ave., Third Floor, New York, NY 10016 Please include your full name, mailing address, and phone number for verification. Letters may be edited for length and clarity.

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Both Kings of Leon and Oasis

feature brothers in the group. But

what is the all-time best band of

fake siblings?

A Blood Brothers

B The Chemical Brothers

C Cocteau Twins

D Scissor Sisters

E Thompson Twins

F Sisters of Mercy

Cast your vote at SPIN.com!

FROM LEF T: ELLEN VON UN WERTH; ANDREAS LARSSON