New Thing #119: Madeleine Peyroux

PeyrouxI'll admit it - I'm mailing this one in a little bit. It's been a busy week, and I haven't had much of a chance to listen to any new music.

Luckily for me, as I headed home Friday night for a late night of preparing for Saturday night's auction, the Starbucks I stopped at for my late-night fuel had some 'Pick of the Week' cards left over.

And double lucky - this week's 'Pick of the Week' was music-related.

The song is "Bye Bye Love" by Madeleine Peyroux.

And if you're wondering, yes, it is a cover of the Everly Brothers' song.

(I'm going to go ahead and think that "Bye Bye Love" is famous enough that everyone knows it. But I think I am skewed by which '50's songs are well-known or not by wide audiences...especially those my age. See, I grew up in New York, and arguably the best station in New York City as I was growing up [or maybe only the one we listened to in the car as a family the most] was WCBS-FM, 101.1. The Oldies station. So my oldies knowledge, I'm sure, far surpasses my peers. But, the point is...I think everyone knows "Bye Bye Love". If not for the original song, then for its appearance in the Paul Reiser movie, right?)

OK. Back to Madeleine Peyroux. I can not for the life of me figure out which of her songs I've heard before. I searched her web page, I searched iTunes - I do not see a title of a song that I recognize. But I know that I heard her once on the radio, and though, wow, she sounds old-fashioned.

I'm pretty sure it was an original, not a cover. So that narrows things down. Because she mostly does covers, though there are a couple of albums of original work. So let me know if you know what her most famous song is. Because I'm sure that's what I heard.

This cover is a slowed-down version of "Bye Bye Love" - and, befitting the category into which iTunes has it organized, much jazzier.

I do like Peyroux's singing, though it's not something I can sit and listen to all day. For reference - think Zooey Deschanel's vocal style. (That would probably burn up Peyroux to hear, right?)

Well, that's all I got. I like at least getting the exposure to these songs I wouldn't otherwise hear thanks to Starbucks.

OK. I'm not confident everyone knows the original. Here are the Everly Brothers: