Complete the following statement. This weekend I heard _______:
a) Mandy Moore drop the f-bomb
b) the
c) Mandy Moore play the guitar
d) all of the above
Okay. Sorry if I insulted your intelligence there. (I’m not one for subtlety.) The answer is of course, (d) — I’m not random enough to have made up any of those other possible answers. Yes, this weekend I saw the Mandy Moore/Paula Cole show in NYC.
I’ll put the disclaimers out now. I am one of those girls who not only owns a copy of A Walk to Remember, but also cries every time I watch it. Mandy’s music (and acting) has always been sort of a guilty pleasure for me. I know all of her big singles by heart. And I’ve always thought she was an adorable, talented girl.
I don’t think there’s any question as to whether Ms. Moore can sing (if there is, I’ll clear it up right now by saying there was no lip-syncing at the Fillmore at Irving Plaza, Saturday night). Mandy, having shunned her bubblegum-pop past, now seems perfectly comfortable as a musician (yes, a musician!) knitting a sound that’s not quite pop, not quite folk, not quite rock.
Where, upon evolving to other genres, other musicians have failed to retain some of their early audiences (see: Carey, Mariah and Stefani, Gwen), these ladies still drew a good number of teenagers. Of course, there were also some of the 21-and-over crew. (I know this because when she asked everyone to raise their drinks before performing ”Looking Forward to Looking Back,” I counted no less than seven upraised glasses.) And so I got the feeling that Moore still has many of the fans she had in her ”Candy” days. She even performed said sugary ditty, but only after proclaiming that the song meant ”Abso-f—ing nothin.” She also performed an airy rendition of this summer’s anthem, Umbrella, with pretty much everyone in the room singing along. So, yes, seeing Mandy was great. But what I heard next left me with this big question: Why didn’t I know how good Paula Cole is?
Cole, back after an eight-year hiatus, took the stage after Mandy. The singer-songwriter mostfamous for the introspective 1996 hit, ”I Don’t Want to Wait” (perhaps better known as "the song they played at the beginning of Dawson’s Creek") has returned the music scene with a new album, Courage. Aside from the Creek theme — which has a permanent place in my sub-conscious, due to an everlasting love for Joey Potter — the only Paula Cole song I remember is ”Where Have All the Cowboys Gone?” Oddly enough, I have a very vivid memory of sitting in the back of my family’s pick-up truck listening to that hit on the radio. If it hadn’t been the same year this song and this song came out, I probably would have paid more attention to it. EW did.I won’t miss my second opportunity to get to know Paula Cole. Half of the audience filed out after Mandy Moore performed. I’m glad I stuck around.
Comments (1-30) of 33 Add your comment
Yes! I was at their show in LA a few weeks ago and I was very impressed by both. I admit my love for Mandy knows no bounds, especially because of her career choices as of late. She may not be the most successful of the teen bop generation, but she is by far the classiest and the smartest for paving her own path.
Also way better than anyone realizes: Joan Osborne. Her voice and vibe are so much cooler than “One of Us” its almost sad.
Paula Cole’s first two albums were really good…then she put out Amen and no one heard from her for awhile. That album was so bad, it needed 8 years of hiding to make up for it. I’m glad she’s back, though. She sang at the MLB All-Star game and sounded really great.
Add me to the list of Mandy believers. She’s one of those artists you want to succeed, simply because she’s doing something to maintain longevity rather than just cashing in, like some of her teen star counterparts. I know she’s not as successful, but hopefully someday she will be. She deserves it.
Cole has a stunning voice, but once you become over exposed from two breakout hits “Where Have All The Cowboys Gone?” and “I Don’t Want to Wait (also known as the Theme to “Dawsons Creek”)”,sometimes it is difficult to move forward. Lisa Loeb and Matthew Sweet had this problem as well.
I saw Mandy Moore’s concert in Boston. Paula Cole was originally scheduled to perform but had to bow out for some reason. But we got Rachael Yamagata opening instead. I first saw Mandy perform when she was 15 opening for *NSYNC. She’s so grown up now! So pretty with such a great voice and personality. And great career choices to boot. She has stayed true to her roots and is a great role model. It was such a great night.
Much love for Ms. Cole. Huge fan, like Red, of her 1sst 2 albums. Amen made me want to pray it away, though. By the way, This Fire is one of the best albums ever despite the 2 publicly over-played hits. Courage is amazing: gentle and sweeping music, her voice is one of the greatest overlooked joys of pop music.
Oh Bethonie, you just gave me the chills with your, “Why didn’t I know how good Paula Cole is?” line! I’ve been in (articstic) love with Ms. Cole since “This Fire” was released and quickly became my favorite album of the year (I implore you and my fellow PopWatchers to pick it up). It is of note that, in addition to the SIX other Grammy nominations for the album, Paula also got a nod for Producer of the Year, and was the first woman to ever be nominated in the category.
I had the pleasure of meeting Paula after the show a few weeks ago in San Diego (Mandy Moore, on the other hand, literally ran to the bus with friends) and it’s only good news that she’s back on the scene.
Aww, c’mon Red and troubledmind, “Amen” wasn’t that bad: off the top of my head, “I Believe in Love”, “Amen” and “Free” are all totally Paula (though I have to admit that “La Tonya” and “Rhythm Of Life” make me want to take a cheese grater to my ears!).
Bobby’s right…Joan Osborne’s last two albums of country/soul music have been superb and are definitely worth checking out! Also worth picking up for anyone interested in Paula would be Peter Gabriel’s “Secret World” live album…Paula does duet and backing vocals throughout and is really lovely. Gabriel’s pretty good, too : )
Has any one heard the version of “Umberella” by Marie Digby. You can find it on iTunes and it’s spining on some radio stations. It’s great; it really shows thatalot of these big hits are actuall good songs when they are over produced into the ground…
Someone in one of my classes once played “Where Have All the Cowboys Gone?” It was the first time my professor had heard it and she was shocked by such a “feminist reactionary” anthem. This prompted a good half hour of discussion on Paula Cole, cowboys, housework, and po-faux-iros (fake post-ironists). It was awesome. This was a film class by the way.
Thanks for this. I love Mandy Moore and think her “Wild Hope” CD is a guilty pleasure you don’t actually have to feel guilty for, because it’s awesome.
I like Paula Cole, too. “This Fire” is a great CD all around.
I just want to jump in on the Joan Osborne love. She gives me chills with her voice. Amazing!
So. Great blog. Mandy Moore was stellar. Did you hear someone in the audience yell out “JOHN KRASINSKI?” when Mandy said there was someone special there? I would like whoever made that comment to come forth! I think it was kind of rude, you know? But hilarious.
Anyways, I am curious as to whether she really is dating John Krasinski or not.
Paula Cole was amazing! My friends made me leave half way through her set, but I was loving it!
So. Great blog. Mandy Moore was stellar. Did you hear someone in the audience yell out “JOHN KRASINSKI?” when Mandy said there was someone special there? I would like whoever made that comment to come forth! I think it was kind of rude, you know? But hilarious.
Anyways, I am curious as to whether she really is dating John Krasinski or not.
Paula Cole was amazing! My friends made me leave half way through her set, but I was loving it!
I really liked Mandy until she told me once that she was “missing me like candy.” Candy? Please.
You mean abso-f—ing nothing to me now, John. But that pretty blonde girl who asked if you were there Saturday night–I think you mean something to her.
Last I heard, Mandy Moore was dating singer/songwriter Greg Laswell.
Mandy was so stoked to be playing at Irving Plaza it was adorable. She sounded (and looked) fantastic…she and the band reworked “Wild Hope” into this throbbing sex anthem. Which totally worked. And along with dropping the F-bomb, she also enlightened the audience to the story behind Boston being nicknamed Beantown. It was a thoroughly awesome night all around. (Although I will confess that I was among the droves of people that left before Paula came on. I’m sure she’s kickass but we had other engagements to get to.)
Complete the following statement:
Who gives a _____?
That’s a question, genius. C’mon, if you’re gonna instigate, at least do it intelligently.
does anyone know what the set list for the show was? i have to admit i absolutely adore the song “i wanna be with you.”
Ilove Mand. I was in Barnes and Nobles and asked the cashier the music playing over the speaker system. It was the first time I ever did something like that, and was pleasantly surprised it was her new disc. Plus, how can you not love a girl who uses a stripper pole after ripping loose a string of F-Bombs on “What Perez Says.”??
Why would peole leave after Mandy Moore?? Paula Cole is 10 times the voice! Mandy is OK but nothing outstanding. Her popularity comes from her acting, which is even less than stellar.
But the real question is, did Paula Cole still have massive armpit hair?
Of course Gwen didn’t retain ALL of her fans…No Doubt is a rock/ska morph of GREATNESS. of course some fans aren’t going to jump onto The Sweet Escape…but for gwen, it wasn’t about retaining her fan base! I am an offended No Doubter
vbkgy rwnsjiqmp ytdei fcnalwi rfzuqb lzceaqrts mzvrnoudj
tagdrw nbykomxj azblcwtdn drfjmyosq ouey yvqrm kafeglo http://www.zord.awymczqbd.com
find enkqiojv oiycsfhq gjetlz sebr hqyzmlt xitjrkh