Cat Power aka Chan Marshall is known to many as that nutty indie rock singer who breaks down into quasi-psychotic fits when stage fright gets the best of her. To us, she's so much more.
The daughter of a southern blues musician, she belts out tunes like she has half a bottle of Jim Beam in her gut and a bucket of woes she's trying to outrun. And we're suckers for it.
On her just-released sixth album, "Jukebox," she reinvents pop standards like "New York" and "Ramblin' Man" as sultry torch numbers, crooning over country-blues arrangements that borrow from barroom soul and experimental rock. And boy does she make them sound sexy...
We figure Chan's melancholic music is inspired by a host of personal problems, but we're more than happy to talk her through them. Y'know, cry things out until 4 a.m. and then start the roller-coaster ride all over again. To paraphrase Leonard Cohen: She's half-crazy, and that's why we want to be there.
Cat Power (Chan Marshall)
- Cat Power (Chan Marshall)
** FILE **Singer Chan Marshall, also known as Cat Power, poses in this Sept. 11, 2006, file photo, in New York. (AP Photo/Jim Cooper/FILE)
- Cat Power (Chan Marshall)
Cat Power Chloe Boutique Bal Harbour Grand Opening Chloe Boutique, Bal Harbour Miami Beach, FL USAMay 22, 2007Photo by Seth Browarnik/WireImage.com
- Cat Power (Chan Marshall)
**FILE**Singer Cat Power, whose real name is Chan Marshall, poses Sept. 11, 2006, in New York. Power has become the first woman to win the Shortlist Music Prize, beating out finalists that included Tom Waits and Regina Spektor. (AP Photo/Jim Cooper)
- Cat Power (Chan Marshall)
Singer Chan Marshall, also known as Cat Power, poses Sept. 11, 2006 in New York. (AP Photo/Jim Cooper)
- Cat Power (Chan Marshall)
AUSTIN, TX - SEPTEMBER 15: Chan Marshall of Cat Power & The Memphis River Rhythm band performs as part of the Austin City Limits Music Festival at Zilker Park on September 15, 2006 in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Matt Archer/Getty Images)
- Cat Power (Chan Marshall)
LOS ANGELES - OCTOBER 5: Cat Power performs at the 3rd Annual Shortlist Concert at The Wiltern on October 5, 2003 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Scott Gries/Getty Images)
- Cat Power (Chan Marshall)
LOS ANGELES - OCTOBER 5: Cat Power's Chan Marshall poses backstage during the 3rd Annual Shortlist Concert at The Wiltern, October 5, 2003 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)
- Cat Power (Chan Marshall)
Cat Power The Mastercard Brit Awards 2007 - Outside Arrivals Earl's Court London, Great Britain February 14, 2007 Photo by Anthony Harvey/WireImage.com
- Cat Power (Chan Marshall)
Cat Power in Concert at Taste fest - July 1, 2006New Center Area Detroit, Michigan United States July 1, 2006Photo by Paul Warner/WireImage.com
- Cat Power (Chan Marshall)
Cat Power in Concert at Taste fest - July 1, 2006New Center Area Detroit, Michigan United States July 1, 2006 Photo by Paul Warner/WireImage.com
