I like Billie Holiday best when the optimism of the lyrics contrast movingly with the heartbreak of her voice. She makes sexual love feel like a narcotic need and she brings home its vulnerability. It's the awful yearning of her voice, and the vastness of her desire, and the implied impossibility of fulfilment that hurt your heart.
I like Billie Holiday best when the optimism of the lyrics contrast movingly with the heartbreak of her voice. She makes sexual love feel like a narcotic need and she brings home its vulnerability. It's the awful yearning of her voice, and the vastness of her desire, and the implied impossibility of fulfilment that hurt your heart.