Friday Night Jukebox, Vol. LXXIII--Macy Gray: I Try

If I had to do it over again, I'd borrow the title from Macy Gray's debut album and call my blog emaycee On How Life Is.  How cool of a title would that have been?

Or maybe not.

Every now and again an artist comes along where you think to yourself "This is kind of bizarre, but I really like it."  And that would be Macy Gray.

After college, Canton, Ohio native Gray (originally Natalie Renee McIntyre) bounced around for a few years with various gigs and musical interludes before landing a recording contract in 1998 which would lead to the release of her debut album, On How Life Is, in 1999.  The album would go on to sell over three million copies, reach #4 on the Billboard 200, win Gray a Grammy Award, and turn her into a star.  As is all too often the case with sudden fame in the musical world, this would also lead to substance abuse issues for Gray.  She was also diagnosed with bipolar disorder along the way.  While Gray has released five more albums and continues recording and touring to this day, she never again achieved quite the success of her first record.  No matter--we'll always have Paris....

"I Try" was actually the second single released from On How Life Is (trivia note:  "Do Something" was the first), and it would go on to achieve international success, reaching #5 (with a bullet!) on the Billboard Hot 100, and top tens in numerous other countries.  And it's not hard to see why--"I still love you but you don't love me anymore" songs have been popular since the first song was sung and Gray delivers a virtuoso performance.  Part jazz chanteuse, part pop singer extraordinaire, Gray's vocals (as strange as this will sound) are a cross between Rod Stewart and Theodore from the Chipmunks but it absolutely fucking works.  Sung over a haunting piano and a killer groove from the bass and drums, Gray's voice never wavers as she sings about a lost love with a catchy as all hell chorus which is repeated often (emaycee fave!).  In a nutshell, this song will have you fiendin' for more (yes, I had to look up the meaning of fiendin'--there's a lot of geek in being a music geek).

Embarrassing factoid:  I absolutely cannot sing the chorus of "I Try" without choking up.  Cannot.

Did I mention how cool of a first name Macy is?

Rap Sheet:  "I try to say goodbye and I choke...."

Enjoy:

Peace,
emaycee