The Non-Conformist

As part of my own personal soundtrack at Barnes & Noble last week, I got sucked into the "Now Playing" CD of "A Fine Frenzy." I had never heard of this artist before, but somewhere between the cookbooks and the Sudoku compilations, I was cast under the spell of the singer's ethereal voice. It was part Sarah McLaughlin, part Tori Amos, part Cranberries. And it was catchy – in exactly that kind of thought-provoking way you would expect a bookstore accompaniment should be. I dropped my “Writing for Dummies” reference book and made a bee line for the music section.

I was ready to fork over my $18 for the “A Fine Frenzy” debut album when I saw a pleasant surprise at the counter: Barnes & Noble offered a free DVD sample of “A Fine Frenzy” with any purchase.

Excited by my stroke of luck, I inserted the DVD into my computer as soon as I returned to the office. Watching the introduction, I learned that the singer’s name is “Allison Sudol” and “A Fine Frenzy” is the name of her “Project.” And I have this bit of advice to offer Ms. Sudol: less talking, more singing. In between the four tracks, this girl would talk about her inspiration for the songs, where she was headed with her “Project,” blah blah blah. She took herself way too seriously. And she sounded like an imbecile, frankly. Granted, she is only 22, but still.

The best part was how she went on about how, since she was “young,” she has had a “different” style of dressing and how it may have been a challenge then, but now it is cool, or something like that. It was like so many artists I’ve heard go out of their way to point out how “different” they are than the rest of “society” or whatever. And I have to say, hey – I think it’s great that people are different. I can’t imagine how boring our world would be if we all had the same tastes in clothes, love interests, music, etc. I thoroughly enjoy our melting pot, and there’s nothing better than a good old “Fashion Police” report. But if you have to tell me how different you are, you’ve lost all of that credibility you thought you were getting by just being so.

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Incidentally, when I was checking out the debut album (before I saw the free sample), I was struck by how adorable her red plaid coat in the album cover was. I would have been much more impressed had I not heard her "style of dress" narrative.