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{{short description|American singer-songwriter}} | |||
'''Cat Power''' is the name of a band which centers around ] born singer and songwriter Chan (pronounced "Shawn") Marshall (she was born Charlyn Marie Marshall but shortened her name when she was 12 years old). At different points in Chan's life, Cat Power has comprised various line-ups with different ] and ], ] and as well as other muscicians including a ]. Chan has been the only constant and has even recorded entire records and performed entire concerts and tours by herself, featuring her highly distinctive voice accompanied by herself on ] and ]. | |||
{{for|the professional wrestler|Catherine Power}} | |||
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2022}} | |||
{{Infobox musical artist | |||
| name = Cat Power | |||
| image = Cat Power @ Große Freiheit 36, Hamburg (9205542559).jpg | |||
| alt = Cat Power singing into a microphone | |||
| caption = Cat Power in Hamburg, 2013 | |||
| birth_name = Charlyn Marie Marshall | |||
| alias = Chan Marshall<br /> Cat Power | |||
| birth_date = {{birth date and age|1972|01|21}} | |||
| birth_place = ], U.S. | |||
| instrument = {{hlist|Vocals | guitar | piano }} | |||
| genre = {{hlist | ] | ] | ] | ] | ]{{sfn|Goodman|2009|p=131}} | ]<ref name=queen>{{cite web|url=http://www.laweekly.com/music/the-queen-of-sadcore-2135964|work=LA Weekly|title=The Queen of Sadcore|date=February 13, 2003|author=Payne, John|access-date=January 14, 2018 }}</ref>}} | |||
| occupation = {{hlist|]-]|]|]}} | |||
| years_active = 1992–present | |||
| label = {{hlist| Runt | ] | ]|]}} | |||
| associated_acts = {{hlist| ] | ] | ] | ] | ] | ] | ] | ] | ] | ] | ] | ] | ] }} | |||
| website = {{URL|catpowermusic.com}} | |||
}} | |||
'''Charlyn Marie ''' "'''Chan'''" '''Marshall''' ({{IPAc-en|'|ʃ|ɔː|n}} {{respell|SHAWN}};<ref name="nymag0706">{{cite web|last = Van Meter|first = William|title = I'm a Survivor|url = https://nymag.com/nymetro/arts/music/15528/|work = ]|date = January 23, 2006}}</ref><ref>{{youTube|i6qQmh8nAKc|Cat Power - What's In My Bag?}}</ref> born January 21, 1972),{{sfn|Larkin|2011|p=35}} better known by her stage name '''Cat Power''', is an American singer-songwriter. Cat Power was originally the name of her first band, but has become her stage name as a solo artist. | |||
Cat Power's music has the distinctive quality of being very 'empty' or minimalist, sometimes classified as gothic blues. Her albums have been described as sad or depressing, and her voice praised as cathartic. Her music is also distinctive in that it often, though not always, contains no ] and her songs very rarely follow the conventional verse-chorus-verse song structure and usually do not feature choruses at all. | |||
Born in ], Marshall was raised throughout the southern United States and began performing in local bands in Atlanta in the early 1990s. After opening for ] in 1993, she worked with ] of ] and Tim Foljahn of Two Dollar Guitar, with whom she recorded her first two albums, '']'' (1995) and '']'' (1996), on the same day in 1994. In 1996, she signed with ], and released a third album of new material with Shelley and Foljahn, '']''. Following this, she released the critically acclaimed '']'' (1998), recorded with members of ], and '']'' (2000), a collection of sparsely arranged ]. | |||
After dropping out of high school, Chan Marshall moved to ], where she was asked to open for ]. On the tour, she met ] of ] and ] of ]. The two men agreed to help her record music. | |||
After a brief hiatus she released '']'' (2003), featuring guest musicians ] and ], followed by the ]-influenced '']'' (2006), recorded with numerous ] studio musicians. A second album of cover tracks, '']'', was released in 2008. In 2012 she released the self-produced '']'', which debuted at number 10 on ], the highest-charting album of her career to date.<ref name=matchbox/> | |||
Her first album, '']'', was recorded on the same day as her second album, '']''. The two were released a year apart, however, and on different record labels. Marshall signed to ] in 1996. Her debut for Matador, '']'', was recorded and released the same year and spawned a rare single in "Nude As the News". | |||
Critics have noted the constant evolution of Cat Power's sound, with a mix of ], ] and ] on her earliest albums, and elements of soul and other genres more prevalent in her later material.<ref>{{cite web|url = http://www.thestoolpigeon.co.uk/features/interview-cat-power.html|title = Interview: Cat Power|date = June 18, 2012|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120625012547/http://www.thestoolpigeon.co.uk/features/interview-cat-power.html|first = Cian|last = Traynor|work = The Stool Pigeon|archive-date=June 25, 2012 }}</ref> | |||
Her second album for Matador, ]'s '']'', saw Chan move to ] and record the album with Mick Turner and Jim White of ]. During the tours that followed, Chan eventually grew tired of her own songs and started covering other artists' compositions. According to her, Matador had asked for a new record and because she had been "playing all these songs that I loved and loved and loved", she made the decision to record them instead of writing new songs. The results of various sessions in 1998 and ] were collected and released in ], simply entitled '']''. | |||
==Early life== | |||
In ] she released the album '']'', which featured musical support from ], who offered a scarcely recognizable touch of his vocals on two tracks, and ], who played drums on a number of tracks. The album marked a musical transition in Marshall's career, bringing more ] taste to her previous melodrama. Among other things, she has cited ]'s '']'' as an influence on this latest record. | |||
Charlyn Marie Marshall was born January 21, 1972, in ], the second child of Charlie Marshall, a ] musician and pianist, and Myra Lee Marshall ({{nee}} Russell).{{sfn|Goodman|2009|p=24}} She has one older sister, Miranda ("Mandy").{{sfn|Goodman|2009|p=38}} Her maternal grandfather was of ] ancestry.<ref name=open>{{cite news|work=]|title=Open emotion but not an open book|date=April 22, 2003|url-status=live|last=Kuipers|first=Dean|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2003-apr-22-et-kuipers22-story.html|archive-url=https://archive.today/20240113035223/https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2003-apr-22-et-kuipers22-story.html|archive-date=January 13, 2024}}</ref> Her parents divorced in 1979{{sfn|Goodman|2009|p=38}} and remarried shortly thereafter.<ref name="nymag0706" /> Her mother remarried and had a son, Lenny,{{sfn|Goodman|2009|pages=1–10}} and the family traveled around often because of her stepfather's profession.{{sfn|Goodman|2009|pages=1–10}} | |||
Marshall attended ten different schools throughout the Southern U.S. in ]; ] and ] and throughout Georgia and ]. At times she was left in the care of her grandmother.{{sfn|Goodman|2009|p=38}} She was not allowed to buy records when she was growing up, but she listened to her stepfather's record collection, which included artists ], ] and ],<ref>{{cite web|last=Hightower|first=Laura|title=Power, Cat, Biography|url=http://www.enotes.com/contemporary-musicians/power-cat-biography|work=enotes contemporary musicians|publisher=eNotes.com|access-date=September 15, 2011}}</ref> as well as her parents' records, which included ], ], and ].<ref name="dazed" /> In sixth grade, she adopted the nickname '''Chan''' (pronounced "Shawn"), which she would later use professionally.{{sfn|Goodman|2009|p=43}} When she was 13, she listened to ], ] and ]. She had to save up to buy cassettes and the first one she got was a record by ].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://thequietus.com/articles/25588-cat-power-chan-marshall-interview-favourite-music-albums?page=14 |title=The Marshall Suite: Cat Power's Favourite Albums | |||
The Cat Power live experience has garnered a degree of notoriety for its chaotic lack of polish or structure. Songs are frequently cut short for no apparent reason, or tail off into what sounds like an extended bout of guitar tuning. Some sections of the audiences have become restless at the apparent lack of direction, while others have been enchanted by the free-form nature and honesty of the performances. | |||
|first=Diva |last=Harris |date=November 1, 2018|access-date=November 1, 2018 |publisher=TheQuietus}}</ref> As a high schooler in Atlanta, she saw shows by punk bands including a Cramps show at which the Flat Duo Jets opened.<ref name="Chan Marshall - purple MAGAZINE">{{Cite web |title=Chan Marshall - purple MAGAZINE |url=https://purple.fr/magazine/fw-2012-issue-18/chan-marshall/ |access-date=2024-03-28 |website=Purple |language=fr}}</ref> She has referenced multiple times the influence of Dex Romweber from the Flat Duo Jets,<ref>{{Cite web |date=2018-10-03 |title=The Music That Made Cat Power's Chan Marshall |url=https://pitchfork.com/features/5-10-15-20/the-music-that-made-cat-powers-chan-marshall/ |access-date=2024-03-28 |website=Pitchfork |language=en-US}}</ref> and she bought her first guitar because it looked like his black and white Silvertone.<ref name="Chan Marshall - purple MAGAZINE"/> At age 16, Marshall dropped out of high school and became estranged from her mother, having no further contact with her until she was 24.<ref name="nymag0706"/> | |||
Religion was a large part of Marshall's upbringing; her father was a ],<ref name="dazed" /> though she attended ] churches with her grandmother, where she began singing while learning ].<ref>{{Cite web|url = http://www.interviewmagazine.com/music/cat-power|work = interviewmagazine.com|title = Cat Power|author = Rachel, T. Cole|date = July 24, 2012|publisher = Brand Publications}}</ref><ref name="maerz" /> | |||
She is also notable both as an innovative interperator of other artists' songs and as an interviewee. In the first case she has taken an individualistic approach to cover versions, often ignoring key and hook lines from the lyrics, as evidenced on her versions of ] "Knocking on Heaven's Door" and ]' "(I Can't Get No) Satisfaction" amongst others, or altering the mood of the song altogether as is the case with her version of ] "Wonderwall". The music is similarly stripped down, often to little more than a electric guitar with a clean tone and her voice. It is hard to mistake a Cat Power cover song for that of any other artist | |||
==Career== | |||
In the second case, Chan's interviews usually reveal her to be more than the self-loathing depressive loner ] that indie/alternative musicians are often labelled with. In fact she is quite the opposite and has often revealed herself to be outgoing and, as one ] magazine put it, "a person all about people". She often gives abstract, cryptic answers to simple straight forward questions but at the same time comes across as very sincere and unpretentious. She is also very aware of her work, once commenting that "I know people want the rock but I can't give it to them" and that she wished she could make music more like "]". | |||
===1992–1995: Beginnings=== | |||
Marshall's first instrument was a 1950s ] guitar,<ref name="nymag0706" /> which she taught herself to play.<ref name="dazed">{{cite web|url=http://www.dazeddigital.com/music/article/14367/1/qa-music-cat-power|work=Dazed|title=Q&A / Music: Cat Power|author=Lack, Hannah|date=2012|access-date=December 30, 2017}}</ref> While working in a pizzeria, she began playing music in Atlanta in the late-1980s with Glen Thrasher, Marc Moore, Damon Moore and Fletcher Liegerot, who would get together for ]s in a basement.{{sfn|Goodman|2009|pages=79–83}} The group were booked for a show and had to come up with a name quickly; after seeing a man wearing a ] ] that read: "Cat Diesel Power", Marshall chose '''Cat Power''' as the name of the band.<ref name="nymag0706" /><ref name=swindle>{{cite web|url = https://www.pastemagazine.com/blogs/lists/2010/01/happy-birthday-chan-10-things-worth-celebrating-ab.html|title = Happy Birthday, Chan Marshall: Five Reasons to Celebrate Cat Power|publisher = Paste Media Group|access-date = September 19, 2011|date = January 21, 2010|last = Swindle|first = Anna|website = pastemagazine.com|archive-date = September 7, 2011|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20110907002613/http://www.pastemagazine.com/blogs/lists/2010/01/happy-birthday-chan-10-things-worth-celebrating-ab.html|url-status = dead}}</ref> | |||
While in Atlanta, Marshall played her first live shows as support to her friends' bands, including Magic Bone and ].{{sfn|Goodman|2009|p=68}} In a 2007 interview, she explained that the music itself was more experimental and that playing shows was often an opportunity for her and her friends "to get drunk and take drugs".<ref name=":0">{{Cite web|title = Soft Focus: Chan Marshall interview|url = https://www.vice.com/video/chan-marshall|website = vice.com|access-date = January 5, 2016|date = March 5, 2007|first = Ian|last = Svenonius}}</ref> A number of her local peers became entrenched in ] use.<ref name="nymag0706" /> After the death of her boyfriend, and the subsequent loss of her best friend to ], Marshall relocated to ] in 1992 with Glen Thrasher.{{sfn|Goodman|2009|pages=104–7}} A new boyfriend helped her get a job in a restaurant.<ref name="hodgkinson2003" /> | |||
Most recently Chan has done advertisements for Gap clothing; guested on ]'s album, ''White People''; and released the much-anticipated live Cat Power DVD '']''. She has also thrown herself behind numerous charitable causes including "]"and ] as well as playing at the "Fuck ] Benefit" | |||
Thrasher introduced her to New York's ] and ] scene.<ref name=":0" /> After attending a concert by ], she gave her first New York show of improvisational music at a warehouse in ].<ref name="armisen">{{cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/features/interviews/6482-cat-power/|title=Interviews: Cat Power|last=Armisen|first=Fred|author2=Stousy, Brandon|date=November 13, 2006|work=Pitchfork|access-date=September 16, 2011}}</ref> One of her shows during this period was as the support act to ] and consisted of her playing a two-string guitar and singing the word "no" for 15 minutes.<ref>{{Cite web|title = Chan Marshall Interview|url = http://www.chickfactor.com/interviews/chan-marshall/|website = chickfactor.com|access-date = January 5, 2016|date = 1997|first = Gail|last = O'Hara}}</ref> Around this time, she met the band ], who assisted with the release of her first single, "]", in a limited run of 500 copies on their Making of Americans label. | |||
Marshall recorded simultaneously her first two albums '']'' and '']'' in December 1994 in a small basement studio near ] in New York City, with guitarist Tim Foljahn and ] drummer Steve Shelley; Marshall and Shelley had initially met after she played a show opening for ] in 1993.<ref name="mommy">{{cite journal|journal = Mommy & I Are One|issue = 4|date =Summer 1996|last1 = Stacey|first1 = Dave|url = http://www.matadorrecords.com/cat_power/mommy.html|title = Cat Power Interview|url-status = dead|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20010417162104/http://www.matadorrecords.com/cat_power/mommy.html|archive-date = April 17, 2001|df = mdy-all}}</ref>{{sfn|Earles|2014|p=62}} A total of 20 songs were recorded in a single day by the trio, all of which were split into two records, making up ''Dear Sir'' and ''Myra Lee'', released respectively in October 1995 and March 1996.{{sfn|Goodman|2009|pages=132–5}} Although ''Dear Sir'' is considered Marshall's debut album, it is more the length of an ]. | |||
===1996–2003: Early Matador releases=== | |||
In 1996, Marshall signed to ]{{sfn|Goodman|2009|p=147}} and in September released her third album, '']'', which she recorded in ], in February 1996.{{sfn|Goodman|2009|p=148}} The album was produced by Shelley and again featured Shelley and Foljahn as backing musicians, and spawned a single and music video, "]" about the abortion she had at the age of 20.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{Cite news|url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2007/12/10/wonder-woman-2|title=Wonder Woman|last=Frere-Jones|first=Sasha|magazine=The New Yorker|date=December 3, 2007|access-date=May 28, 2019|language=en|issn=0028-792X}}</ref> Critics cited the album as evidence of her maturation as a singer and songwriter from the "dense and cathartic" material of her first two releases.<ref name=":1">{{cite web|last = Phares|first = Heather|url = https://www.allmusic.com/album/what-would-the-community-think-mw0000613348|title = What Would The Community Think? – Cat Power|publisher = AllMusic|date = September 10, 1996|access-date = December 28, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/artist/album/news/artists/8828/54952/54990|url-status=dead|access-date=September 30, 2017|title=Cat Power Album Guide|magazine=]|archive-date=November 27, 2010|archive-url=https://archive.today/20101127011444/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/artist/album/news/artists/8828/54952/54990|author=Sheffield, Rob|date=April 10, 2010}}</ref> | |||
After the release of ''What Would the Community Think'', Marshall took a trip to ], after which she left New York City and moved to ],{{sfn|Goodman|2009|p=164}} where she found temporary employment as a babysitter.{{sfn|Goodman|2009|p=167}} In the spring of 1997, Marshall relocated with her then-boyfriend, musician ], to a rural ] in ].<ref>{{cite magazine|url = https://www.rollingstone.com/music/artists/cat-power/biography|title = Cat Power Biography|access-date = September 1, 2011|magazine = Rolling Stone|first = Jim|last = Macnie|archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20111013165816/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/artists/cat-power/biography|archive-date = October 13, 2011|url-status = dead}}</ref>{{sfn|Goodman|2009|p=167}} After experiencing a ] while alone in the farmhouse,{{sfn|Goodman|2009|pages=171–173}} Marshall wrote six new songs that would go on to make up the bulk of her following album, '']'' (1998),{{sfn|Goodman|2009|p=172}} which she recorded at Sing Sing Studios in ], Australia, with backing musicians ] and ] of the Australian band ].<ref>{{cite journal|last=Kelley|first=Trevor|title=Cat Power: Ordinary People|journal=Harp Magazine|date=Jan–Feb 2006|url=http://harpmagazine.com/articles/detail.cfm?article_id=3866|access-date=September 19, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060202222029/http://harpmagazine.com/articles/detail.cfm?article_id=3866|archive-date=February 2, 2006 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web|title = Glastonbury 2013: Cat Power interview - swooning songs and psychotic episodes|work = The Telegraph|url = https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/music/rockandpopfeatures/10091478/Glastonbury-2013-Cat-Power-interview-swooning-songs-and-psychotic-episodes.html|date = July 25, 2013|access-date = December 30, 2017|first = Rob|last = Hughes}}</ref> ''Moon Pix'' was well received by critics, and along with an accompanying music video for the song "]", helped her gain further recognition.<ref>{{Cite web|title = Backtrack: Cat Power Moon Pix|url = https://www.stereogum.com/1332151/backtrack-cat-power-moon-pix/franchises/backtrack/|website = stereogum.com|last = Hockley-Smith|date = April 24, 2013|first = Sam|publisher = SpinMedia}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|title = My favourite album: Moon Pix by Cat Power|url = https://www.theguardian.com/music/musicblog/2011/oct/07/moon-pix-cat-power|author=Michaels, Sean|website = The Guardian|access-date = January 8, 2018|date = October 7, 2011}}</ref> ''Rolling Stone'' would later describe it as her 'breakthrough' record.<ref>{{Cite magazine|title = Cat Power: The Covers Record|url = https://www.rollingstone.com/music/albumreviews/the-covers-record-20040414|magazine = ]| access-date=January 10, 2018 |date = April 14, 2004|last = Sheffield|first = Rob}}</ref> | |||
In 1999 Marshall performed in a series of shows where she provided musical accompaniment to the ] '']''.<ref>{{Cite web|title = Interview: Chan Marshall (of Cat Power)|url = https://consequence.net/2012/09/interview-chan-marshall-of-cat-power/|website = Consequence of Sound|access-date = January 5, 2016|date = September 5, 2012|first = Len|last = Comarattaon}}</ref> The shows combined original material and covers, some of which would be released on Marshall's fifth album, '']'' in 2000. The songs were recorded during two sessions in the summer of 1998 and fall of 1999. Additionally, she performed eleven covers during a ] broadcast on June 18, 2000, that included own interpretations of ]'s "]" and ]'s "]".<ref>{{Cite web|work=BBC|series= Radio 1 | title= 18/06/2000: Cat Power|url = http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/johnpeel/sessions/2000s/2000/Jun18catpower/|access-date =January 5, 2016}}</ref> Her contract with Matador for 2000's ''The Covers Album'' reportedly consisted of a ] signed by herself and the company's founder.<ref name="hodgkinson2003" /> | |||
During the early-2000s, Marshall was embraced by the fashion industry for her "neo grunge" look, and seen as a muse by designers ] and ].<ref name=larocca2001/> In 2001 she modeled in '']'' ]{{'}}s fall fashion issue and was photographed by her friends ] and ], who featured her in ] alongside ].<ref name="larocca2001">{{cite journal|last=Larocca|first=Amy|title=Folk Heroine|journal=]|date=August 27, 2001|url=https://nymag.com/shopping/articles/fallfashion2001/catpower.htm|access-date=December 26, 2017}}</ref> | |||
In February 2003, Marshall released '']'', her first album of original material in five years.{{sfn|Goodman|2009|pages=238–240}} The album, which featured guest musicians such as ], ], and ], became the first charting Cat Power album, reaching 105 on ]. A music video directed by Brett Vapnek was released for the song "]". Marshall toured extensively through 2003 and 2004, playing shows in Europe, Brazil, the U.S. and Australia.<ref name="hodgkinson2003">{{cite news|last=Hodgkinson|first=Will|title=Southern Gothic|url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2003/may/23/homeentertainment.features|access-date=September 16, 2011|newspaper=]|date=May 23, 2003|location=London}}</ref> During this period, Marshall's live performances had become erratic and unpredictable, and a 2003 '']'' article suggested: "It is foolhardy to describe a Cat Power event as a concert," citing "rambling confessions" and " to a friend's baby from the stage."<ref>{{cite magazine|last=Als |first=Hilton |url=https://www.newyorker.com/archive/2003/08/18/030818crmu_music |title=Wayward Girl |magazine=] |access-date=December 30, 2017|date=August 18, 2003}}</ref> Marshall later attributed this period to a drinking problem.<ref name="Uhelszki"/> Around the time of the release of ''You Are Free'', Marshall purchased a house in ].<ref name="armisen" /> | |||
===2004–2011: Mainstream success=== | |||
In October 2004, Matador released the DVD film '']'', which featured a continuous, nearly two-hour static shot of Marshall performing with her guitar in a woodland. The set was accompanied by an audio CD containing the 18-minute song "Willie Deadwilder", featuring ] also on guitar.<ref>{{cite web|work=]|title=Cat Power: ''Speaking for Trees''|author=Deusnery, Stephen M.|date=November 9, 2004|url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/1345-speaking-for-trees/|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170805093352/http://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/1345-speaking-for-trees/|archive-date=August 5, 2017}}</ref> | |||
] | |||
On January 22, 2006, Marshall released her seventh album, '']'', a ]-influenced album of new material featuring veteran Memphis studio musicians, including ], ], David Smith, and Steve Potts.<ref name=pfg>{{cite web|work=]|url=https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/1346-the-greatest/|title=Cat Power: ''The Greatest''|date=January 22, 2006|author=Phillips, Amy|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181230165530/https://pitchfork.com/reviews/albums/1346-the-greatest/|archive-date=December 30, 2018}}</ref> The album debuted at 34 on the ''Billboard'' 200 and critics noted its relatively "polished and accessible" sound, predicting it was "going to gain her a lot of new fans."<ref name=pfg/> ''The Greatest'' met with critical acclaim, and won the 2006 ], making Marshall the first woman to win the honor.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/1051608/cat-power-wins-2007-shortlist-music-prize|magazine=]|title=Cat Power wins 2007 Shortlist Music Prize|date=June 12, 2007|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181019062645/https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/1051608/cat-power-wins-2007-shortlist-music-prize|archive-date=October 19, 2018|author=Cohen, Jonathan}}</ref> It was also named the number 6 best album of 2006 by ''Rolling Stone'' Magazine.<ref>{{cite web|work=Stereogum|url=https://www.stereogum.com/4165/rolling_stones_best_albums_of_06/franchises/list/|title=Rolling Stone's Best Albums Of '06|date=December 14, 2006|access-date=January 13, 2018}}</ref> | |||
Simultaneously, Marshall collaborated with several other musicians on different projects, including ] on a recording of ]'s poem "Auf Dem Strom" for the film ''Wayne County Ramblin''{{'}}; a duet with singer-model ] on an English cover of ]'s "]" for the tribute album ''Monsieur Gainsbourg Revisited'' (2007); lead vocals on the ] track "Disown, Delete"; and a reworked version of "Revelations" with ] for Ono's 2007 album '']''. | |||
In the fall of 2006, Marshall became a celebrity spokesperson for a line of jewelry from ], after being seen by ] smoking a cigarette outside the ] in New York. Lagerfeld chose Cat Power for the soundtrack to his spring 2007 fashion show. He also photographed Marshall for a ] feature.<ref>{{cite web|title=Is Cat Power Couture?|url=http://www.soundonthesound.com/tag/chan-marshall/|work=Sound on Sound, February 14, 2007|publisher=soundonsound.com|access-date=September 16, 2011|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120326025100/http://www.soundonthesound.com/tag/chan-marshall/|archive-date=March 26, 2012}}</ref> | |||
In 2007, Marshall contributed songs to the soundtrack of ]'s film '']'', recording with ] and ], and the ]-winning film '']''. The same year, she made her feature film debut acting in '']'' opposite ], appearing in a small role. She also appeared in the role of a postal worker in ]'s ] installation ''Sleepwalkers'',<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.moma.org/exhibitions/2007/aitken/ |title=Doug Aitken exhibition |work=MoMA |archive-url=https://archive.today/20120906033135/http://www.moma.org/interactives/exhibitions/2007/aitken/ |archive-date=September 6, 2012 |access-date=September 19, 2011 |url-status=live }}</ref> which followed the nocturnal lives of five city dwellers. Also in 2007, she featured on ]' album track ''A Kind of Peace''. | |||
], London, 2008]] | |||
In January 2008, Marshall released her second covers album, '']''. Recorded with her recently assembled "Dirty Delta Blues Band", which consisted of Judah Bauer from the ], ] of ], Erik Paparazzi of Lizard Music and ] of ], the album featured the original song "Song to Bobby", Marshall's tribute to ], and a reworking of the '']'' song "Metal Heart". She also collaborated with ] and producer ] on the album '']'' (2008): She contributed backing vocals to two tracks, "Orphans" and "Walls". The album was released in July of that year.<ref>{{cite news|last=Itzkoff |first=Dave |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/07/06/arts/music/06dave.html |title=In a Chaotic Industry, Beck Abides | |||
| work=The New York Times|date=July 6, 2008 |access-date=September 19, 2011}}</ref> | |||
In September 2008, Marshall and members of the Dirty Delta Blues (Erik Paparazzi and Gregg Foreman) recorded their version of ]'s "]" for a ] car commercial.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://stereogum.com/?p=018661 |title=Cat Power Covers David Bowie To Sell Cars |work=Stereogum |access-date=January 8, 2018|author=Stousy, Brandon|date=September 2, 2008}}</ref> In 2013, Cat Power's version of "]" was used in ]'s Christmas commercial "Misunderstood".<ref>{{Cite magazine|title = It's Christmas, Stop Staring at Your iPhone|url = https://www.newyorker.com/culture/culture-desk/its-christmas-stop-staring-at-your-iphone|magazine = The New Yorker|date = December 19, 2013|access-date =January 5, 2016}}</ref> In December 2008, she released '']'', an EP consisting of songs left over from the ''Jukebox'' sessions. In 2009, she provided backing vocals on ]'s cover of "Hold On, Hold On" by ] on the 2009 album ''].'' In 2011, she also featured as guest vocalist on "Tonight You Belong to Me" on ]'s '']''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.nme.com/news/pearl-jam/55608 |title=Cat Power guests on Eddie Vedder's ukulele album | News |work=] |date=March 22, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181123065611/https://www.nme.com/news/music/pearl-jam-66-1291460|archive-date=November 23, 2018}}</ref> | |||
===2012–present: Recent activity=== | |||
], Alberta, 2016]] | |||
In February 2012, Marshall cancelled a scheduled appearance in ], Israel, citing "much confusion" and that she felt "sick in her spirit."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://stereogum.com/947202/cat-power-cancels-israel-show/news/|title=Cat Power Cancels Israel Show|work=]|first=Tom|last=Breihan|date=February 9, 2012|access-date=July 4, 2017}}</ref> She had faced calls to boycott the country over its conflict with ].<ref>{{cite news|url=http://news.sky.com/story/925762/singer-cat-power-cancels-israel-show|title=Singer Cat Power Cancels Israel Show|work=]|date=February 10, 2012|access-date=July 4, 2017}}</ref> Two months later, she cancelled her appearance at the ], claiming that she "didn't think it was fair to play Coachella while my new album is not yet finished," also hinting that her forthcoming record is "almost done" and will see release later in 2012.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.catpowermusic.com/|title=To my beloved fans|work=Catpowermusic.com|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120513112042/https://catpowermusic.com/|archive-date=May 13, 2012}}</ref> Marshall's ninth studio album, '']'', was released in September 2012,<ref name="Atlanta">{{cite web|url=http://blogs.ajc.com/atlanta-music-scene/2012/06/19/cat-power-teases-new-album/?cxntfid=blogs_atlanta_music_scene|title=Cat Power teases new album|work=Atlanta Music Scene|publisher=]|first=Melissa|last=Ruggieri|date=June 19, 2012|access-date=July 4, 2017|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131002191351/http://blogs.ajc.com/atlanta-music-scene/2012/06/19/cat-power-teases-new-album/?cxntfid=blogs_atlanta_music_scene|archive-date=October 2, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.catpowermusic.com/|title=Sun – September 3|work=catpowermusic.com|access-date=July 4, 2017}}</ref> after releasing the lead single "Ruin" as a free download the previous June. The album features prominent ] elements and arrangements, which Marshall incorporated into the "really slow guitar-based songs" she had originally written.<ref>{{cite web|url = https://pitchfork.com/features/update/8874-cat-power/|title = Cat Power: Chan Marshall on the trial and error that went into her forthcoming LP, Sun|work = ]|date = June 25, 2012|access-date = December 30, 2017|first = Ryan|last = Dumbal}}</ref> In a ] published on September 4, 2012, on ], ''Sun'' was praised as a unique album and received a four-] rating. In summation, reviewer Sarah Grant wrote that Marshall's 2012 release is "a passionate pop album of electronic music filtered through a singer-songwriter's soul."<ref>{{cite web|title=Album Review: Cat Power – Sun|url=https://consequence.net/2012/09/album-review-cat-power-sun/|work=Consequence of Sound|access-date=September 7, 2012|author=Sarah Grant|date= September 4, 2012}}</ref> The album debuted at a career chart-high of No. 10 on the ] chart, selling over 23,000 copies on its opening week.<ref name=matchbox>{{cite web |last=Caulfield |first=Keith |url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/475162/matchbox-twenty-gets-first-no-1-album-on-billboard-200-chart |title=Matchbox Twenty Gets First No. 1 Album on Billboard 200 Chart |publisher=] |date=September 12, 2012 |access-date=December 28, 2017}}</ref> | |||
In July 2015, it was announced that Marshall would be providing narration for the documentary '']'' directed by ], which revolves around the life of ] and premiered at the 2015 ].<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.ew.com/article/2015/07/29/cat-power-will-narrate-janis-joplin-documentary-janis|title=Cat Power will narrate Janis Joplin documentary, Janis |magazine=Entertainment Weekly|date=July 29, 2015|access-date=December 31, 2017|author=Anderson, Kyle}}</ref> On television, Marshall starred on '']'', in the hourlong musical special "]". Marshall performs three original songs written by creator ].<ref name="Beauchemin">{{Cite web|last=Beauchemin|first=Molly|date=June 12, 2015|url=https://pitchfork.com/news/59924-cat-power-sings-as-a-sad-gorilla-on-adult-swims-animated-show-china-il/|title=Cat Power Sings as a Sad Gorilla on Adult Swim's Animated Show ''China, IL''|work=]|publisher=Condé Nast Publications|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150615002513/http://pitchfork.com/news/59924-cat-power-sings-as-a-sad-gorilla-on-adult-swims-animated-show-china-il|archive-date=June 15, 2015|url-status=live|access-date=December 20, 2015}}</ref> | |||
] | |||
On July 28, 2017, Marshall announced on Instagram that her tenth studio album was "ready to go", although she did not disclose its title or expected release date.<ref>{{cite web|title=Cat Power announces new album|url=https://www.nme.com/news/cat-power-announces-new-album-2118414 |author=Will Butler |work=] |publisher=] |date=July 29, 2017 |access-date=July 30, 2017}}</ref> | |||
On March 20, 2018, it was announced that Marshall would perform a ''Moon Pix'' 20th anniversary concert at ], which occurred from May 25 to June 16 and featured album collaborators ] and ].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/news/cat-power-announces-moon-pix-20th-anniversary-concert/|title=Cat Power Announces Moon Pix 20th Anniversary Concert|website=]|date=March 20, 2018}}</ref> | |||
After twenty-two years with Matador, Cat Power left them and signed with Domino records a year later for her 10th studio album, ''],'' which was released in 2018''.<ref>{{cite web |date=July 18, 2018 |title=Cat Power Announces New Album Wanderer and Tour |url=https://pitchfork.com/news/cat-power-announces-new-album-wanderer-and-tour |access-date=July 22, 2018 |work=Pitchfork}}</ref>''<ref>{{Cite web |date=2018-10-04 |title="No One Was Gonna Fucking Put Me In That Situation Again": A Candid Chat With Cat Power |url=https://junkee.com/cat-power-interview/177009 |access-date=2024-03-28 |website=Junkee |language=en-US}}</ref> It was her first to not be released on Matador Records since 1996.<ref>{{cite web |last=Rettig |first=James |date=July 18, 2018 |title=Cat Power Announces New Album Wanderer |url=https://www.stereogum.com/2006146/cat-power-announces-new-album-wanderer/video |access-date=October 6, 2018 |work=]}}</ref> According to Marshall, Matador were not happy with the recordings for Wanderer, they wanted her to rerecord it and make it sound more commercial.<ref>{{Cite web |date=September 22, 2018 |title=Cat Power Says Her New Album Was Rejected By Matador Who Wanted Her To Sound Like Adele |url=https://www.stereogum.com/2015671/cat-power-says-her-new-album-was-rejected-by-matador-who-wanted-her-to-sound-like-adele/news/ |access-date=January 30, 2022 |website=Stereogum |language=en}}</ref> She released two more singles, "]" featuring ] on August 15 and a cover of ]'s "]" on September 18,<ref>{{cite magazine |last=KAufman |first=Gil |url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/columns/rock/8470320/cat-power-woman-lana-del-rey-video |title=Cat Power Debuts Slow-Burn Single 'Woman' Featuring Lana Del Rey |magazine=] |date=August 15, 2018 |access-date=October 6, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |last=Legaspi |first=Althea |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/cat-power-video-cover-rihanna-stay-725555 |title=Hear Cat Power's Heartfelt Cover of Rihanna's 'Stay' |magazine=] |date=September 18, 2018 |access-date=October 6, 2018 |archive-date=October 6, 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181006195137/https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/cat-power-video-cover-rihanna-stay-725555/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> before the album was released on October 5, 2018, through ].<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Grow |first=Kory |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-news/cat-power-returns-with-first-album-in-six-years-wanderer-700348 |title=Cat Power Returns With First Album in Six Years, 'Wanderer' |magazine=] |date=July 18, 2018 |access-date=October 5, 2018}}</ref> She embarked on a world tour in promotion of the album in September.<ref>{{cite web |last=Young |first=Alex |url=https://consequence.net/2018/07/cat-power-announces-wanderer |title=Cat Power announces new album, Wanderer, plus tour dates |work=] |date=July 18, 2018 |access-date=October 6, 2018}}</ref> | |||
Power embarked on a US arena tour in August 2021 supporting ] and ]. She was a last-minute addition to the lineup, after original opening act ] canceled her appearances.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nme.com/news/music/liz-phair-cancels-summer-tour-with-alanis-morissette-and-garbage-3001793|title=Liz Phair cancels summer tour with Alanis Morissette and Garbage|author=Will Lavin|work=]|date=July 24, 2021|access-date=August 19, 2021}}</ref> Power contributed four new songs to the soundtrack of the 2021 film '']''.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.stereogum.com/2157461/sean-penns-flag-day-soundtrack-features-four-new-cat-power-tracks-eddie-vedder-covering-r-e-m-more/music/|title=Sean Penn's Flag Day Soundtrack Features Four New Cat Power Tracks, Eddie Vedder Covering R.E.M., & More|author=Breihan, Tom|work=]|date=August 16, 2021|access-date=November 2, 2021}}</ref> Her eleventh studio album, '']'', was released on January 14, 2022,<ref>{{cite web|url=https://americansongwriter.com/cat-power-announces-new-covers-album-shares-two-songs/|title=Cat Power Announces New Covers Album, Shares Two Songs|publisher=]|first=Jacob|last=Uitti|date=October 10, 2021|access-date=November 2, 2021}}</ref> and was supported by a US tour.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/news/cat-power-announces-tour-covers-dead-mans-bones-pa-pa-power-listen/|title=Cat Power Announces Tour, Covers Dead Man's Bones' "Pa Pa Power": Watch|publisher=Pitchfork|first=Evan|last=Minsker|date=November 1, 2021|access-date=November 2, 2021}}</ref> | |||
Marshall released her first live album on November 10, 2023, ''Cat Power Sings Dylan: The 1966 Royal Albert Hall Concert''.<ref>{{Cite news |date=2023-11-13 |title=Cat Power put out a song-by-song re-creation of Bob Dylan's Royal Albert Hall concert |work=] |url=https://www.npr.org/2023/11/13/1212068916/cat-power-put-out-a-song-by-song-recreation-of-dylans-royal-albert-hall-concert |access-date=2023-11-15}}</ref> The album is a recreation of Bob Dylan's ], although early bootlegs mislabeled the concert as being recorded at the ].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/news/cat-power-releasing-live-album-cat-power-sings-dylan-the-1966-royal-albert-hall-concert/|title=Cat Power releasing live album Cat Power Sings Dylan: The 1966 Royal Albert Hall Concert|author=Minsker, Evan|work=Pitchfork|date=September 12, 2023|access-date=October 18, 2023}}</ref> In February 2024, Marshall embarked on a tour in support of the album, in which she will recreate Dylan's 1966 performance at venues across the United States and Europe.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Fu |first=Eddie |date=2023-11-14 |title=Cat Power Announces 2024 Bob Dylan Tribute Tour |url=https://consequence.net/2023/11/cat-power-2024-tour-bob-dylan/ |access-date=2024-02-24 |website=Consequence.net |language=en-US}}</ref> | |||
==Personal life== | |||
In 2005, Marshall entered a relationship with actor ], and resided with Ribisi and his daughter in ].<ref name="brandt2011">{{cite web|url=http://www.twothousand.com.au/hear/cat-power-interview-2/|title=Cat Power interviewed by Wilfred Brandt|author=Brandt, Wilfred|work=Two Thousand|archive-url=https://archive.today/20121231102519/http://thethousands.com.au/sydney/hear/cat-power-interview-2/|archive-date=December 31, 2012|url-status=dead|access-date=March 19, 2011}}</ref> They also had a rental house in ] where she had a studio.<ref name=brandt2011/> Following the release of ''The Greatest'', Marshall canceled her impending spring 2006 tour,<ref name="Uhelszki">{{cite web|last=Uhelszki|first=Jaan|title=Cat Power: Beauty Secrets|url=http://harpmagazine.com/articles/detail.cfm?article_id=4938|work=Harp Magazine|date=December 2006|ref=uhelski2006|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090415030955/http://harpmagazine.com/articles/detail.cfm?article_id=4938|url-status=dead|archive-date=April 15, 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/59775/cat-power-cancels-spring-tour|magazine=]|date=February 6, 2006|title=Cat Power Cancels Spring Tour|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150628010920/http://www.billboard.com/articles/news/59775/cat-power-cancels-spring-tour|archive-date=June 28, 2015}}</ref> and used the hiatus to recover from mental health problems. As part of her recovery, she was admitted to the psychiatric ward at ], leaving after a week.<ref name="Uhelszki"/> Marshall gave a first person account of her breakdown in an interview for the November 2006 issue of ''].''<ref name="maerz">{{cite journal|last = Maerz|first = Melissa|journal = Spin|date = November 22, 2006|url = https://www.spin.com/2006/11/spin-interview-cat-power/|title = The Spin Interview: Cat Power|access-date = December 28, 2017}}</ref> | |||
In June 2012, it was reported that Marshall had ended her relationship with Ribisi, and the completion of her upcoming record had coincided with their breakup: "I cut my hair off three days , got on a plane to France, and finished the shit."<ref>{{cite web|url=https://pitchfork.com/news/46808-cat-power-shares-new-album-details-new-song/ |title=Cat Power Shares New Album Details, New Song | News |work=Pitchfork |date=June 18, 2012 |access-date=December 22, 2017}}</ref> Shortly after the release of ''Sun'', Marshall began having trouble breathing and was hospitalized multiple times, though doctors were unable to diagnose her. "I thought I was dying," she recounted. "They told me they were going to put me in a ] to save my lungs. My friend came to visit and told me I'd made the ] and all I could think was: 'I don't want to die.'"<ref>{{cite web|url=https://consequence.net/2014/05/cat-power-reveals-struggle-with-suicide-her-near-death-experience-in-2012/|work=Consequences of Sound|title=Cat Power reveals struggle with suicide, her near-death experience in 2012|author=Young, Alex|date=May 10, 2014|access-date=December 30, 2017}}</ref> Marshall was subsequently diagnosed with hereditary ], an immune disorder that causes sporadic swelling of the face and throat due to C1 esterase inhibitor deficiency. In September 2012, she stated she had been hospitalized owing to the condition over eight times, which led her to cancel her European tour.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thelineofbestfit.com/news/latest-news/cat-power-cancels-entire-european-tour-after-being-hospitalised-with-angioedema-112611|work=The Line of Best Fit|title=Cat Power cancels entire European tour after being hospitalised with angioedema|author=Britton, Luke|date=November 6, 2012|access-date=December 30, 2017}}</ref> | |||
In April 2015, Marshall announced that she had recently given birth to a son, but did not name the child's father.<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.billboard.com/articles/news/6546209/cat-power-baby-baltimore-instagram|magazine=]|title=Cat Power Has a Baby, Reacts to Situation in Baltimore|date=April 28, 2015|access-date=January 13, 2018}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/music/cat-power-20160122-gmc7sl.html|work=]|title=Cat Power on how she came back from the brink: 'I've come out the other side'|last=Mathieson|first=Craig|date=January 23, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20171218044055/http://www.smh.com.au/entertainment/music/cat-power-20160122-gmc7sl.html|archive-date=December 18, 2017}}</ref> Since then, she has named James Concannon, an artist, as the child's father on her Instagram account. | |||
On June 5, 2023, she announced her ] via her ] account with a ] and the message "41 days sober. Don't mess with her, she's that girl..."<ref> Instagram {{user-generated source|date=July 2023}}</ref> | |||
==Artistry== | |||
===Musical style=== | |||
Marshall's releases as Cat Power have frequently been noted by critics for their somber, blues-influenced instrumentation and melancholy lyrics, leading '']'' to dub her the "queen of ]".<ref name=queen/> Marshall, however, claims that her music is often misinterpreted, and that many of her songs are "not sad, triumphant".{{sfn|Goodman|2009|p=154}} She has recounted blues, old ], British rock 'n' roll, as well as hymns and gospel music as being integral influences on her.{{sfn|Goodman|2009|pages=49, 58}} | |||
Cat Power's early releases have been described as blending elements of punk, folk, and blues, while her later releases (post-2000) began to incorporate more sophisticated arrangements and production.<ref>{{cite web|last = Phares|first = Heather|url = https://www.allmusic.com/album/moon-pix-mw0000600797|title = Moon Pix – Cat Power|publisher = AllMusic|date = September 22, 1998|access-date = October 16, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last = Phares|first = Heather|url = https://www.allmusic.com/album/the-greatest-mw0000526501|title = The Greatest – Cat Power|publisher = AllMusic|date = January 24, 2006|access-date = December 30, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|last = Phares|first = Heather|url = https://www.allmusic.com/album/jukebox-mw0000581643|title = Jukebox – Cat Power|publisher = AllMusic|date = January 21, 2008|access-date = December 30, 2017}}</ref> ''The Greatest'' (2006), Marshall's seventh release, was heavily soul-influenced and incorporated ] elements; the Memphis Rhythm Band provided backing instrumentation on the album.{{sfn|Goodman|2009|pages=260–4}} Unlike her previous releases, which featured sparse guitar and piano arrangements, ''The Greatest'' was described by Marshall biographer Sarah Goodman as her first "full-blown studio record with sophisticated production and senior players backing up".{{sfn|Goodman|2009|p=257}} | |||
===Performances=== | |||
] | |||
Marshall's live shows have been known for their unpolished and often erratic nature, with songs beginning and ending abruptly or blending into one another without clear transitions.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://noisey.vice.com/blog/everyone-lay-off-chan-in-defense-of-erratic-performers|work=Noisey|author=Way, Mish|access-date=December 30, 2017|title=Everyone, Lay Off Chan: In Defense of Erratic Performers|date=December 28, 2017}}</ref> She has also cut short performances without explanation.<ref>{{cite web|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20030126125709/http://www.nudeasthenews.com/concerts/44|url=http://www.nudeasthenews.com/concerts/44|work=Nude as the News|archive-date=January 26, 2003|title= Concerts}}</ref> On some occasions this has been attributed to ]<ref>{{cite magazine |author=Baltin, Steve |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/cat-power-gets-some-satisfaction-20000331 |archive-url=https://archive.today/20131118022014/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/cat-power-gets-some-satisfaction-20000331 |archive-date=November 18, 2013 |title=Cat Power Gets Some Satisfaction |magazine=Rolling Stone |date=March 31, 2000 |access-date=December 30, 2017 |url-status=live }}</ref> and the influence of alcohol.<ref name=winter>{{cite web|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2006/09/20/arts/music/20cat.html|work=The New York Times|title=9 Lives and Counting: Cat Power Sobers Up|date=September 20, 2006|author=Miller, Winter|access-date=December 30, 2017}}</ref> Marshall spoke openly about suffering from severe bouts of stage fright, specifically in her early career, and admitted that her stage fright stemmed from issues regarding depression, ], and substance abuse.<ref name="carioli">{{cite web|url=http://blog.thephoenix.com/blogs/onthedownload/archive/2006/09/06/Chan-Marshall-s-MFA-meltdown.aspx|work=The Phoenix|title=Chan Marshall's MFA meltdown|date=September 6, 2006|access-date=December 30, 2017|author=Carioli, Carly|archive-url=https://archive.today/20140902222148/http://blog.thephoenix.com/blogs/onthedownload/archive/2006/09/06/Chan-Marshall-s-MFA-meltdown.aspx|archive-date=September 2, 2014|url-status=live}}</ref> | |||
By 2006, she had found new collaborators and had stopped drinking.<ref name="carioli" /> Marshall's performance style became more enthusiastic and professional;<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.today.com/id/15046401/ns/today-today_entertainment/t/cat-power-blows-away-audiences/|work=Today|title=Cat Power blows away audiences|date=September 28, 2006|access-date=December 30, 2017|author=Coyle, Jake}}</ref> a review in ]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.salon.com/ent/feature/2006/09/30/marshall/index.html |title=The cat comes back |work=Salon.com |date=September 30, 2006 |access-date=September 19, 2011}}</ref> noted that she was "delivering onstage", and called ''The Greatest'' "polished and sweetly upbeat". | |||
==Philanthropy and activism== | |||
A live version of the gospel song "]"—culled from a performance with the Dirty Delta Blues band—was released on the charity compilation '']''. Released by independent British label 4AD on February 17, 2009, the set benefited the ], an international charity dedicated to raising funds and awareness for HIV and AIDS. She also appeared in a ] ad, encouraging people to spay and neuter their pets.<ref name=swindle/> | |||
On December 25, 2011, Marshall released a reworking of the '']'' track "King Rides By" for download from her official website, with all proceeds from sales of the track being donated to The Festival of Children Foundation and The ].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.clashmusic.com/news/cat-power-releases-new-track|title=Cat Power releases new track|work=]|publisher=Clashmusic.com|date=January 3, 2012|access-date=December 28, 2017}}</ref> A music video directed by ] and featuring ] boxer and politician ] was released to promote the song.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://stereogum.com/912201/cat-power-king-rides-by-2011-version-video/|title=Cat Power – "King Rides By" (2011 Version) Video|work=Stereogum|first=Scott|last=Lapatine|publisher=BuzzMedia|date=December 24, 2011|access-date=December 28, 2017}}</ref> | |||
In 2014, she played a double benefit show in St. Louis for Ferguson activists, at which shirts by artist James Concannon were sold to also help raise money for jailed activists.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2014-08-23 |title=Cat Power Playing Free Benefit Show For Ferguson Protesters |url=https://www.stereogum.com/1700848/cat-power-playing-free-benefit-show-for-ferguson-protestors/news/ |access-date=2024-03-28 |website=Stereogum |language=en}}</ref> | |||
==Discography== | ==Discography== | ||
{{Main|Cat Power discography}} | |||
<!--Main studio albums only--> | |||
'''Studio albums''' | |||
*'']'' (1995) | |||
*'']'' (1996) | |||
*'']'' (1996) | |||
*'']'' (1998) | |||
*'']'' (2000) | |||
*'']'' (2003) | |||
*'']'' (2006) | |||
*'']'' (2008) | |||
*'']'' (2012) | |||
*'']'' (2018) | |||
*'']'' (2022) | |||
'''Live albums''' | |||
* '']'' (], ]) | |||
* '']'' (], ]) | |||
*'']'' (2023) | |||
* '']'' (], ]) | |||
* '']'' (], ]) | |||
==Filmography== | |||
* '']'' (], ]) | |||
{| class="wikitable" | |||
* '']'' (], ]) | |||
|+ Film | |||
|- | |||
! Year | |||
! Film | |||
! Role | |||
! Notes | |||
|- | |||
| 2007 | |||
| '']'' (short) | |||
| Dancer working as a FedEx Clerk | |||
|Credited as Chan Marshall | |||
|- | |||
| 2007 | |||
| '']'' | |||
| Katya | |||
| Credited as Chan Marshall | |||
|- | |||
| 2009 | |||
| ''American Widow'' | |||
| Singing Woman | |||
| Main Role | |||
|} | |||
{| class="wikitable" | |||
|+ Television | |||
|- | |||
! Year | |||
! Program | |||
! Role | |||
! Notes | |||
|- | |||
| 2015 | |||
| '']'' | |||
| Kei-ko (talking gorilla) | |||
| Animated series episode "]" | |||
|} | |||
==Awards and nominations== | |||
* Won: ] for ''The Greatest''<ref>{{cite web|last=Shain|first=Shapiro|title=Mercury Music Prize, worldwide: DiS assesses the awards...|url=http://drownedinsound.com/in_depth/2360419|work=Drowned in sound September 3rd, 2007|publisher=drownedinsound.com|access-date=September 16, 2011|archive-date=July 14, 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120714203250/http://drownedinsound.com/in_depth/2360419|url-status=dead}}</ref> | |||
* Nominated: Best International Female Solo Artist, 2007 ]<ref>{{cite web|title=Cat Power|url=http://www.brits.co.uk/artist/cat-power|work=Official BRIT Awards website|publisher=BRIT Awards Ltd.|access-date=September 16, 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120127082147/http://www.brits.co.uk/artist/cat-power|archive-date=January 27, 2012|url-status=dead}}</ref> | |||
* Nominated: ] for '']''<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://artvinyl.com/award-year/2008/|title=Best Art Vinyl Awards 2008 {{!}} ArtVinyl|language=en-GB|access-date=March 13, 2020}}</ref> | |||
* Nominated: Best International Female Solo Artist, 2013 BRIT Awards<ref>{{cite news|access-date=April 19, 2020|title=Brit Awards 2013: The winners|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/entertainment-arts-20976634|newspaper=BBC News|date=February 20, 2013}}</ref> | |||
* Nominated: Best Cinematography for "Where Is My Love?", 2007 Antville Music Video Awards<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://videos.antville.org/stories/1744148/|title=antville Music Video Awards 2007 The Finalists !|website=videos.antville.org|access-date=April 7, 2020}}</ref> | |||
* Nominated: Comeback of the Year, 2018 ''Rober Awards Music Prize''<ref>{{Cite web|title=The Rober Awards 2018 Music Poll {{!}} Rober Awards|url=https://roberawards.com/awards-archive/the-rober-awards-2018-music-poll/|access-date=July 22, 2020}}</ref> | |||
* Nominated: Best Foreign Solo Act, ''Wanderer'' Best Foreign Album, 2019 ]<ref>{{Cite news|url=https://gaffa.se/nyhet/134691/gaffa-priset-2019-haer-aer-artisterna-som-ligger-baest-till|title=GAFFA-priset 2019 – här är artisterna som ligger bäst till|work=GAFFA|access-date=September 3, 2019|location=Sweden|language=sv|archive-date=December 23, 2019|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20191223163743/https://gaffa.se/nyhet/134691/gaffa-priset-2019-haer-aer-artisterna-som-ligger-baest-till|url-status=dead}}</ref> | |||
* Nominated: Best Pop Video - International for "Go Up", 2017 ]<ref>{{Cite web|title=UK Music Video Awards 2017: here are the nominations... {{!}} News {{!}} Promonews|url=https://www.promonews.tv/news/2017/09/21/uk-music-video-awards-2017-here-are-nominations/49742|access-date=July 22, 2020|website=Promonewstv|language=en}}</ref> | |||
==References== | |||
{{Reflist}} | |||
==Sources== | |||
*{{cite book|title = Gimme Indie Rock: 500 Essential American Underground Rock Albums 1981–1996|publisher = Voyageur Press|year=2014|isbn = 978-0-7603-4648-8|language = en|first = Andrew|last = Earles}} | |||
*{{cite book|title = Cat Power: A Good Woman|publisher=Three Rivers Press|location=New York|isbn = 978-0-307-44956-6|language = en|first = Elizabeth|last = Goodman| year=2009}} | |||
*{{cite book|title = The Encyclopedia of Popular Music |publisher = Omnibus Press|year=2011|isbn = 978-0-85712-595-8|language = en|first = Colin|last = Larkin}} | |||
==External links== | ==External links== | ||
{{sister project links|d=Q232348|n=no|b=no|v=no|voy=no|wikt=no|s=no|c=category:Cat Power|m=no|mw=no|species=no}} | |||
* http://www.catpowermusic.com/ | |||
*{{Official website}} | |||
* http://www.matadorrecords.com/cat_power/index.html | |||
*{{IMDb name|1306217}} | |||
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Latest revision as of 10:02, 1 September 2024
American singer-songwriter For the professional wrestler, see Catherine Power.
Cat Power | |
---|---|
Cat Power in Hamburg, 2013 | |
Background information | |
Birth name | Charlyn Marie Marshall |
Also known as | Chan Marshall Cat Power |
Born | (1972-01-21) January 21, 1972 (age 52) Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. |
Genres | |
Occupations | |
Instruments |
|
Years active | 1992–present |
Labels | |
Website | catpowermusic |
Charlyn Marie "Chan" Marshall (/ˈʃɔːn/ SHAWN; born January 21, 1972), better known by her stage name Cat Power, is an American singer-songwriter. Cat Power was originally the name of her first band, but has become her stage name as a solo artist.
Born in Atlanta, Marshall was raised throughout the southern United States and began performing in local bands in Atlanta in the early 1990s. After opening for Liz Phair in 1993, she worked with Steve Shelley of Sonic Youth and Tim Foljahn of Two Dollar Guitar, with whom she recorded her first two albums, Dear Sir (1995) and Myra Lee (1996), on the same day in 1994. In 1996, she signed with Matador Records, and released a third album of new material with Shelley and Foljahn, What Would the Community Think. Following this, she released the critically acclaimed Moon Pix (1998), recorded with members of Dirty Three, and The Covers Record (2000), a collection of sparsely arranged cover songs.
After a brief hiatus she released You Are Free (2003), featuring guest musicians Dave Grohl and Eddie Vedder, followed by the soul-influenced The Greatest (2006), recorded with numerous Memphis studio musicians. A second album of cover tracks, Jukebox, was released in 2008. In 2012 she released the self-produced Sun, which debuted at number 10 on the Billboard 200, the highest-charting album of her career to date.
Critics have noted the constant evolution of Cat Power's sound, with a mix of punk, folk and blues on her earliest albums, and elements of soul and other genres more prevalent in her later material.
Early life
Charlyn Marie Marshall was born January 21, 1972, in Atlanta, Georgia, the second child of Charlie Marshall, a blues musician and pianist, and Myra Lee Marshall (née Russell). She has one older sister, Miranda ("Mandy"). Her maternal grandfather was of Native American ancestry. Her parents divorced in 1979 and remarried shortly thereafter. Her mother remarried and had a son, Lenny, and the family traveled around often because of her stepfather's profession.
Marshall attended ten different schools throughout the Southern U.S. in Greensboro; Bartlett and Memphis and throughout Georgia and South Carolina. At times she was left in the care of her grandmother. She was not allowed to buy records when she was growing up, but she listened to her stepfather's record collection, which included artists Otis Redding, Creedence Clearwater Revival and The Rolling Stones, as well as her parents' records, which included Black Flag, Sister Sledge, and Barry White. In sixth grade, she adopted the nickname Chan (pronounced "Shawn"), which she would later use professionally. When she was 13, she listened to the Smiths, the Cure and Siouxsie and the Banshees. She had to save up to buy cassettes and the first one she got was a record by the Misfits. As a high schooler in Atlanta, she saw shows by punk bands including a Cramps show at which the Flat Duo Jets opened. She has referenced multiple times the influence of Dex Romweber from the Flat Duo Jets, and she bought her first guitar because it looked like his black and white Silvertone. At age 16, Marshall dropped out of high school and became estranged from her mother, having no further contact with her until she was 24.
Religion was a large part of Marshall's upbringing; her father was a Jehovah's Witness, though she attended Southern Baptist churches with her grandmother, where she began singing while learning hymns.
Career
1992–1995: Beginnings
Marshall's first instrument was a 1950s Silvertone guitar, which she taught herself to play. While working in a pizzeria, she began playing music in Atlanta in the late-1980s with Glen Thrasher, Marc Moore, Damon Moore and Fletcher Liegerot, who would get together for jam sessions in a basement. The group were booked for a show and had to come up with a name quickly; after seeing a man wearing a Caterpillar trucker cap that read: "Cat Diesel Power", Marshall chose Cat Power as the name of the band.
While in Atlanta, Marshall played her first live shows as support to her friends' bands, including Magic Bone and Opal Foxx Quartet. In a 2007 interview, she explained that the music itself was more experimental and that playing shows was often an opportunity for her and her friends "to get drunk and take drugs". A number of her local peers became entrenched in heroin use. After the death of her boyfriend, and the subsequent loss of her best friend to AIDS, Marshall relocated to New York City in 1992 with Glen Thrasher. A new boyfriend helped her get a job in a restaurant.
Thrasher introduced her to New York's free jazz and experimental music scene. After attending a concert by Anthony Braxton, she gave her first New York show of improvisational music at a warehouse in Brooklyn. One of her shows during this period was as the support act to Man or Astro-man? and consisted of her playing a two-string guitar and singing the word "no" for 15 minutes. Around this time, she met the band God Is My Co-Pilot, who assisted with the release of her first single, "Headlights", in a limited run of 500 copies on their Making of Americans label.
Marshall recorded simultaneously her first two albums Dear Sir and Myra Lee in December 1994 in a small basement studio near Mott Street in New York City, with guitarist Tim Foljahn and Sonic Youth drummer Steve Shelley; Marshall and Shelley had initially met after she played a show opening for Liz Phair in 1993. A total of 20 songs were recorded in a single day by the trio, all of which were split into two records, making up Dear Sir and Myra Lee, released respectively in October 1995 and March 1996. Although Dear Sir is considered Marshall's debut album, it is more the length of an EP.
1996–2003: Early Matador releases
In 1996, Marshall signed to Matador Records and in September released her third album, What Would the Community Think, which she recorded in Memphis, Tennessee, in February 1996. The album was produced by Shelley and again featured Shelley and Foljahn as backing musicians, and spawned a single and music video, "Nude as the News" about the abortion she had at the age of 20. Critics cited the album as evidence of her maturation as a singer and songwriter from the "dense and cathartic" material of her first two releases.
After the release of What Would the Community Think, Marshall took a trip to South Africa, after which she left New York City and moved to Portland, Oregon, where she found temporary employment as a babysitter. In the spring of 1997, Marshall relocated with her then-boyfriend, musician Bill Callahan, to a rural farmhouse in Prosperity, South Carolina. After experiencing a hypnogogic nightmare while alone in the farmhouse, Marshall wrote six new songs that would go on to make up the bulk of her following album, Moon Pix (1998), which she recorded at Sing Sing Studios in Melbourne, Australia, with backing musicians Mick Turner and Jim White of the Australian band Dirty Three. Moon Pix was well received by critics, and along with an accompanying music video for the song "Cross Bones Style", helped her gain further recognition. Rolling Stone would later describe it as her 'breakthrough' record.
In 1999 Marshall performed in a series of shows where she provided musical accompaniment to the silent movie The Passion of Joan of Arc. The shows combined original material and covers, some of which would be released on Marshall's fifth album, The Covers Record in 2000. The songs were recorded during two sessions in the summer of 1998 and fall of 1999. Additionally, she performed eleven covers during a Peel session broadcast on June 18, 2000, that included own interpretations of Bob Dylan's "Hard Times in New York Town" and Oasis's "Wonderwall". Her contract with Matador for 2000's The Covers Album reportedly consisted of a Post-it note signed by herself and the company's founder.
During the early-2000s, Marshall was embraced by the fashion industry for her "neo grunge" look, and seen as a muse by designers Marc Jacobs and Nicolas Ghesquière. In 2001 she modeled in New York magazine's fall fashion issue and was photographed by her friends Mark Borthwick and Katja Rahlwes, who featured her in Purple magazine alongside Catherine Deneuve.
In February 2003, Marshall released You Are Free, her first album of original material in five years. The album, which featured guest musicians such as Eddie Vedder, Dave Grohl, and Warren Ellis, became the first charting Cat Power album, reaching 105 on the Billboard 200. A music video directed by Brett Vapnek was released for the song "He War". Marshall toured extensively through 2003 and 2004, playing shows in Europe, Brazil, the U.S. and Australia. During this period, Marshall's live performances had become erratic and unpredictable, and a 2003 The New Yorker article suggested: "It is foolhardy to describe a Cat Power event as a concert," citing "rambling confessions" and " to a friend's baby from the stage." Marshall later attributed this period to a drinking problem. Around the time of the release of You Are Free, Marshall purchased a house in South Beach, Miami.
2004–2011: Mainstream success
In October 2004, Matador released the DVD film Speaking for Trees, which featured a continuous, nearly two-hour static shot of Marshall performing with her guitar in a woodland. The set was accompanied by an audio CD containing the 18-minute song "Willie Deadwilder", featuring M. Ward also on guitar.
On January 22, 2006, Marshall released her seventh album, The Greatest, a Southern soul-influenced album of new material featuring veteran Memphis studio musicians, including Mabon "Teenie" Hodges, Leroy Hodges, David Smith, and Steve Potts. The album debuted at 34 on the Billboard 200 and critics noted its relatively "polished and accessible" sound, predicting it was "going to gain her a lot of new fans." The Greatest met with critical acclaim, and won the 2006 Shortlist Music Prize, making Marshall the first woman to win the honor. It was also named the number 6 best album of 2006 by Rolling Stone Magazine.
Simultaneously, Marshall collaborated with several other musicians on different projects, including Mick Collins on a recording of Ludwig Rellstab's poem "Auf Dem Strom" for the film Wayne County Ramblin'; a duet with singer-model Karen Elson on an English cover of Serge Gainsbourg's "Je t'aime... moi non plus" for the tribute album Monsieur Gainsbourg Revisited (2007); lead vocals on the Ensemble track "Disown, Delete"; and a reworked version of "Revelations" with Yoko Ono for Ono's 2007 album Yes, I'm a Witch.
In the fall of 2006, Marshall became a celebrity spokesperson for a line of jewelry from Chanel, after being seen by Karl Lagerfeld smoking a cigarette outside the Mercer Hotel in New York. Lagerfeld chose Cat Power for the soundtrack to his spring 2007 fashion show. He also photographed Marshall for a Purple feature.
In 2007, Marshall contributed songs to the soundtrack of Ethan Hawke's film The Hottest State, recording with Jesse Harris and Terry Manning, and the Academy Award-winning film Juno. The same year, she made her feature film debut acting in My Blueberry Nights opposite Jude Law, appearing in a small role. She also appeared in the role of a postal worker in Doug Aitken's MoMA installation Sleepwalkers, which followed the nocturnal lives of five city dwellers. Also in 2007, she featured on Faithless' album track A Kind of Peace.
In January 2008, Marshall released her second covers album, Jukebox. Recorded with her recently assembled "Dirty Delta Blues Band", which consisted of Judah Bauer from the Blues Explosion, Gregg Foreman of The Delta 72, Erik Paparazzi of Lizard Music and Jim White of Dirty Three, the album featured the original song "Song to Bobby", Marshall's tribute to Bob Dylan, and a reworking of the Moon Pix song "Metal Heart". She also collaborated with Beck and producer Danger Mouse on the album Modern Guilt (2008): She contributed backing vocals to two tracks, "Orphans" and "Walls". The album was released in July of that year.
In September 2008, Marshall and members of the Dirty Delta Blues (Erik Paparazzi and Gregg Foreman) recorded their version of David Bowie's "Space Oddity" for a Lincoln car commercial. In 2013, Cat Power's version of "Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas" was used in Apple's Christmas commercial "Misunderstood". In December 2008, she released Dark End of the Street, an EP consisting of songs left over from the Jukebox sessions. In 2009, she provided backing vocals on Marianne Faithfull's cover of "Hold On, Hold On" by Neko Case on the 2009 album Easy Come Easy Go. In 2011, she also featured as guest vocalist on "Tonight You Belong to Me" on Eddie Vedder's Ukulele Songs.
2012–present: Recent activity
In February 2012, Marshall cancelled a scheduled appearance in Tel Aviv, Israel, citing "much confusion" and that she felt "sick in her spirit." She had faced calls to boycott the country over its conflict with Palestine. Two months later, she cancelled her appearance at the Coachella Music Festival, claiming that she "didn't think it was fair to play Coachella while my new album is not yet finished," also hinting that her forthcoming record is "almost done" and will see release later in 2012. Marshall's ninth studio album, Sun, was released in September 2012, after releasing the lead single "Ruin" as a free download the previous June. The album features prominent electronica elements and arrangements, which Marshall incorporated into the "really slow guitar-based songs" she had originally written. In a review published on September 4, 2012, on Consequence of Sound, Sun was praised as a unique album and received a four-star rating. In summation, reviewer Sarah Grant wrote that Marshall's 2012 release is "a passionate pop album of electronic music filtered through a singer-songwriter's soul." The album debuted at a career chart-high of No. 10 on the Billboard 200 chart, selling over 23,000 copies on its opening week.
In July 2015, it was announced that Marshall would be providing narration for the documentary Janis: Little Girl Blue directed by Amy J. Berg, which revolves around the life of Janis Joplin and premiered at the 2015 Venice Film Festival. On television, Marshall starred on China, IL, in the hourlong musical special "Magical Pet". Marshall performs three original songs written by creator Brad Neely.
On July 28, 2017, Marshall announced on Instagram that her tenth studio album was "ready to go", although she did not disclose its title or expected release date.
On March 20, 2018, it was announced that Marshall would perform a Moon Pix 20th anniversary concert at Sydney Opera House, which occurred from May 25 to June 16 and featured album collaborators Jim White and Mick Turner.
After twenty-two years with Matador, Cat Power left them and signed with Domino records a year later for her 10th studio album, Wanderer, which was released in 2018. It was her first to not be released on Matador Records since 1996. According to Marshall, Matador were not happy with the recordings for Wanderer, they wanted her to rerecord it and make it sound more commercial. She released two more singles, "Woman" featuring Lana Del Rey on August 15 and a cover of Rihanna's "Stay" on September 18, before the album was released on October 5, 2018, through Domino Recording Company. She embarked on a world tour in promotion of the album in September.
Power embarked on a US arena tour in August 2021 supporting Alanis Morissette and Garbage. She was a last-minute addition to the lineup, after original opening act Liz Phair canceled her appearances. Power contributed four new songs to the soundtrack of the 2021 film Flag Day. Her eleventh studio album, Covers, was released on January 14, 2022, and was supported by a US tour.
Marshall released her first live album on November 10, 2023, Cat Power Sings Dylan: The 1966 Royal Albert Hall Concert. The album is a recreation of Bob Dylan's 1966 concert at Manchester Free Trade Hall, although early bootlegs mislabeled the concert as being recorded at the Royal Albert Hall. In February 2024, Marshall embarked on a tour in support of the album, in which she will recreate Dylan's 1966 performance at venues across the United States and Europe.
Personal life
In 2005, Marshall entered a relationship with actor Giovanni Ribisi, and resided with Ribisi and his daughter in Los Angeles. They also had a rental house in Malibu where she had a studio. Following the release of The Greatest, Marshall canceled her impending spring 2006 tour, and used the hiatus to recover from mental health problems. As part of her recovery, she was admitted to the psychiatric ward at Mount Sinai Medical Center & Miami Heart Institute, leaving after a week. Marshall gave a first person account of her breakdown in an interview for the November 2006 issue of Spin.
In June 2012, it was reported that Marshall had ended her relationship with Ribisi, and the completion of her upcoming record had coincided with their breakup: "I cut my hair off three days , got on a plane to France, and finished the shit." Shortly after the release of Sun, Marshall began having trouble breathing and was hospitalized multiple times, though doctors were unable to diagnose her. "I thought I was dying," she recounted. "They told me they were going to put me in a coma to save my lungs. My friend came to visit and told me I'd made the Billboard Top 10 and all I could think was: 'I don't want to die.'" Marshall was subsequently diagnosed with hereditary angioedema, an immune disorder that causes sporadic swelling of the face and throat due to C1 esterase inhibitor deficiency. In September 2012, she stated she had been hospitalized owing to the condition over eight times, which led her to cancel her European tour.
In April 2015, Marshall announced that she had recently given birth to a son, but did not name the child's father. Since then, she has named James Concannon, an artist, as the child's father on her Instagram account.
On June 5, 2023, she announced her sobriety via her Instagram account with a selfie and the message "41 days sober. Don't mess with her, she's that girl..."
Artistry
Musical style
Marshall's releases as Cat Power have frequently been noted by critics for their somber, blues-influenced instrumentation and melancholy lyrics, leading LA Weekly to dub her the "queen of sadcore". Marshall, however, claims that her music is often misinterpreted, and that many of her songs are "not sad, triumphant". She has recounted blues, old soul music, British rock 'n' roll, as well as hymns and gospel music as being integral influences on her.
Cat Power's early releases have been described as blending elements of punk, folk, and blues, while her later releases (post-2000) began to incorporate more sophisticated arrangements and production. The Greatest (2006), Marshall's seventh release, was heavily soul-influenced and incorporated R&B elements; the Memphis Rhythm Band provided backing instrumentation on the album. Unlike her previous releases, which featured sparse guitar and piano arrangements, The Greatest was described by Marshall biographer Sarah Goodman as her first "full-blown studio record with sophisticated production and senior players backing up".
Performances
Marshall's live shows have been known for their unpolished and often erratic nature, with songs beginning and ending abruptly or blending into one another without clear transitions. She has also cut short performances without explanation. On some occasions this has been attributed to stage fright and the influence of alcohol. Marshall spoke openly about suffering from severe bouts of stage fright, specifically in her early career, and admitted that her stage fright stemmed from issues regarding depression, alcoholism, and substance abuse.
By 2006, she had found new collaborators and had stopped drinking. Marshall's performance style became more enthusiastic and professional; a review in Salon noted that she was "delivering onstage", and called The Greatest "polished and sweetly upbeat".
Philanthropy and activism
A live version of the gospel song "Amazing Grace"—culled from a performance with the Dirty Delta Blues band—was released on the charity compilation Dark Was the Night. Released by independent British label 4AD on February 17, 2009, the set benefited the Red Hot Organization, an international charity dedicated to raising funds and awareness for HIV and AIDS. She also appeared in a PETA ad, encouraging people to spay and neuter their pets.
On December 25, 2011, Marshall released a reworking of the What Would the Community Think track "King Rides By" for download from her official website, with all proceeds from sales of the track being donated to The Festival of Children Foundation and The Ali Forney Center. A music video directed by Giovanni Ribisi and featuring Filipino boxer and politician Manny Pacquiao was released to promote the song.
In 2014, she played a double benefit show in St. Louis for Ferguson activists, at which shirts by artist James Concannon were sold to also help raise money for jailed activists.
Discography
Main article: Cat Power discographyStudio albums
- Dear Sir (1995)
- Myra Lee (1996)
- What Would the Community Think (1996)
- Moon Pix (1998)
- The Covers Record (2000)
- You Are Free (2003)
- The Greatest (2006)
- Jukebox (2008)
- Sun (2012)
- Wanderer (2018)
- Covers (2022)
Live albums
Filmography
Year | Film | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2007 | Sleepwalkers (short) | Dancer working as a FedEx Clerk | Credited as Chan Marshall |
2007 | My Blueberry Nights | Katya | Credited as Chan Marshall |
2009 | American Widow | Singing Woman | Main Role |
Year | Program | Role | Notes |
---|---|---|---|
2015 | China, IL | Kei-ko (talking gorilla) | Animated series episode "Magical Pet" |
Awards and nominations
- Won: Shortlist Music Prize for The Greatest
- Nominated: Best International Female Solo Artist, 2007 BRIT Awards
- Nominated: Best Art Vinyl for Jukebox
- Nominated: Best International Female Solo Artist, 2013 BRIT Awards
- Nominated: Best Cinematography for "Where Is My Love?", 2007 Antville Music Video Awards
- Nominated: Comeback of the Year, 2018 Rober Awards Music Prize
- Nominated: Best Foreign Solo Act, Wanderer Best Foreign Album, 2019 Sweden GAFFA Awards
- Nominated: Best Pop Video - International for "Go Up", 2017 UK Music Video Awards
References
- Goodman 2009, p. 131.
- ^ Payne, John (February 13, 2003). "The Queen of Sadcore". LA Weekly. Retrieved January 14, 2018.
- ^ Van Meter, William (January 23, 2006). "I'm a Survivor". New York Magazine.
- Cat Power - What's In My Bag? on YouTube
- Larkin 2011, p. 35.
- ^ Caulfield, Keith (September 12, 2012). "Matchbox Twenty Gets First No. 1 Album on Billboard 200 Chart". Billboard. Retrieved December 28, 2017.
- Traynor, Cian (June 18, 2012). "Interview: Cat Power". The Stool Pigeon. Archived from the original on June 25, 2012.
- Goodman 2009, p. 24.
- ^ Goodman 2009, p. 38.
- Kuipers, Dean (April 22, 2003). "Open emotion but not an open book". Los Angeles Times. Archived from the original on January 13, 2024.
- ^ Goodman 2009, pp. 1–10.
- Hightower, Laura. "Power, Cat, Biography". enotes contemporary musicians. eNotes.com. Retrieved September 15, 2011.
- ^ Lack, Hannah (2012). "Q&A / Music: Cat Power". Dazed. Retrieved December 30, 2017.
- Goodman 2009, p. 43.
- Harris, Diva (November 1, 2018). "The Marshall Suite: Cat Power's Favourite Albums". TheQuietus. Retrieved November 1, 2018.
- ^ "Chan Marshall - purple MAGAZINE". Purple (in French). Retrieved March 28, 2024.
- "The Music That Made Cat Power's Chan Marshall". Pitchfork. October 3, 2018. Retrieved March 28, 2024.
- Rachel, T. Cole (July 24, 2012). "Cat Power". interviewmagazine.com. Brand Publications.
- ^ Maerz, Melissa (November 22, 2006). "The Spin Interview: Cat Power". Spin. Retrieved December 28, 2017.
- Goodman 2009, pp. 79–83.
- ^ Swindle, Anna (January 21, 2010). "Happy Birthday, Chan Marshall: Five Reasons to Celebrate Cat Power". pastemagazine.com. Paste Media Group. Archived from the original on September 7, 2011. Retrieved September 19, 2011.
- Goodman 2009, p. 68.
- ^ Svenonius, Ian (March 5, 2007). "Soft Focus: Chan Marshall interview". vice.com. Retrieved January 5, 2016.
- Goodman 2009, pp. 104–7.
- ^ Hodgkinson, Will (May 23, 2003). "Southern Gothic". The Guardian. London. Retrieved September 16, 2011.
- ^ Armisen, Fred; Stousy, Brandon (November 13, 2006). "Interviews: Cat Power". Pitchfork. Retrieved September 16, 2011.
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- Stacey, Dave (Summer 1996). "Cat Power Interview". Mommy & I Are One (4). Archived from the original on April 17, 2001.
- Earles 2014, p. 62.
- Goodman 2009, pp. 132–5.
- Goodman 2009, p. 147.
- Goodman 2009, p. 148.
- ^ Phares, Heather (September 10, 1996). "What Would The Community Think? – Cat Power". AllMusic. Retrieved December 28, 2017.
- Frere-Jones, Sasha (December 3, 2007). "Wonder Woman". The New Yorker. ISSN 0028-792X. Retrieved May 28, 2019.
- Sheffield, Rob (April 10, 2010). "Cat Power Album Guide". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on November 27, 2010. Retrieved September 30, 2017.
- Goodman 2009, p. 164.
- ^ Goodman 2009, p. 167.
- Macnie, Jim. "Cat Power Biography". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on October 13, 2011. Retrieved September 1, 2011.
- Goodman 2009, pp. 171–173.
- Goodman 2009, p. 172.
- Kelley, Trevor (January–February 2006). "Cat Power: Ordinary People". Harp Magazine. Archived from the original on February 2, 2006. Retrieved September 19, 2011.
- Hughes, Rob (July 25, 2013). "Glastonbury 2013: Cat Power interview - swooning songs and psychotic episodes". The Telegraph. Retrieved December 30, 2017.
- Hockley-Smith, Sam (April 24, 2013). "Backtrack: Cat Power Moon Pix". stereogum.com. SpinMedia.
- Michaels, Sean (October 7, 2011). "My favourite album: Moon Pix by Cat Power". The Guardian. Retrieved January 8, 2018.
- Sheffield, Rob (April 14, 2004). "Cat Power: The Covers Record". Rolling Stone. Retrieved January 10, 2018.
- Comarattaon, Len (September 5, 2012). "Interview: Chan Marshall (of Cat Power)". Consequence of Sound. Retrieved January 5, 2016.
- "18/06/2000: Cat Power". BBC. Radio 1. Retrieved January 5, 2016.
- ^ Larocca, Amy (August 27, 2001). "Folk Heroine". New York. Retrieved December 26, 2017.
- Goodman 2009, pp. 238–240.
- Als, Hilton (August 18, 2003). "Wayward Girl". The New Yorker. Retrieved December 30, 2017.
- ^ Uhelszki, Jaan (December 2006). "Cat Power: Beauty Secrets". Harp Magazine. Archived from the original on April 15, 2009.
- Deusnery, Stephen M. (November 9, 2004). "Cat Power: Speaking for Trees". Pitchfork. Archived from the original on August 5, 2017.
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External links
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