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Rebecca Schiffman

Upside Down Lacrimosa
2003
Some

Rebecca Schiffman - Upside Down Lacrimosa (Cover Artwork)


Review by: Megan
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Published on September 26th 2003

I like female singers. I think that a lot of times, the emotions that a woman can convey with her voice are far more powerful than that of a male vocalist. That being said, I’m especially hard on female artists because I hold very high standards. Rebecca Schiffman, to me, just sounds like a watered-down Juliana Hatfield. Her debut CD came out September 23 on Some Records. The album is titled “Upside Down Lacrimosa.” Schiffman’s voice is monotone and boring. My goodness, Bijou Phillips released a better CD than this. The lyrics are sweet, but the vocals are so low that they’re hard to make out a lot of the time. News flash: just because you’re in art school, doesn’t mean you need to put out an album.

Well, now that all that’s out of my system, you can go to the bottom and continue the usual “man this bitch needs to die” comments, or you can read the things about this album that are keeping me from using it as a coaster.
1. Although all the songs blend together, at least sometimes they’re bouncy. Maybe, instead of saying they all blend together, we’ll say they flow, so that it’s a positive, not a negative
2. It’s a no muss-no fuss bare bones recording, which is somewhat refreshing
3. “Warning to a Talented Violinist” is a good song (“The Long Ride Home” is not)
4. The songs are short and sweet
5. The way that she came up with the title of the album is fairly interesting: she played the beginning of Lacrimosa from Mozart’s Requiem, turned it upside down, and played it. The track appears on the CD, which is fun.

Unfortunately, the blandness of this CD overshadows the potential. The emotionless vocals aren’t astounding, the melodies are bouncy, but not very catchy. At least the 14 tracks only last 34 minutes.






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    Posted by megan on 2003-09-29 17:37:28
    My Score:

    I hate you more Jesse. if I could give you a -9823 score, I would

    Posted by mar310 on 2003-09-29 01:13:43
    My Score:

    i generally don't like female singers.... in general, they just aren't as good as male singers. except the singer from pretty girls make graves, she's good. this score is for her.

    Posted by Jesse on 2003-09-28 21:04:28
    My Score:

    I hate Megan. Especially when she lets me sleep on her floor. That jerk.

    Posted by ElVaquero on 2003-09-28 19:38:35
    My Score:

    um, dude, she is pn.o staff. dumbass.

    -el vaquero
    pndoto!

    Posted by i-type-poorly on 2003-09-28 17:57:26
    My Score:

    "The only question that matters: is she hot?"
    hahahaha, so true

    Posted by Anonymous on Sunday, September 28, 2003 at 1:47 PM (EDT)
    My Score:

    Listen, if I spent an hour shitting on your doorstep, would you not be pissed because I "took time out of my day" to do it?

    Posted by Anonymous on Saturday, September 27, 2003 at 7:41 PM (EDT)
    My Score:

    Dude, one guy ragged on her. You pompous cock.

    Posted by Edgie on 2003-09-27 15:33:48
    My Score:

    You know, with the way you cocks piss on any reviewer who submits anything, I'm surprised anyone but the punknews staff puts up reviews. Megan took the time out of her day to write up a review on a CD, and all you fucking kids can do is sit there and rag on her? Get real. Where's your fucking reviews?

    Posted by Anonymous on Saturday, September 27, 2003 at 1:33 PM (EDT)
    My Score:

    haha

    Posted by Anonymous on Saturday, September 27, 2003 at 12:33 PM (EDT)
    My Score:

    "Her debut CD came out September 23 on Some Records. The album is titled “Upside Down Lacrimosa.” Schiffman’s voice is monotone and boring."
    Brilliant journalism, no?

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, September 26, 2003 at 11:58 PM (EDT)
    My Score:

    I haven't heard this Cd yet.

    Does Walter from from Rival Schools play on it?

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, September 26, 2003 at 11:34 PM (EDT)
    My Score:

    After seeing her other pics, the ones not on the Flash page of Some Records, I'd like to remove my previous comment. She is not hot, and I will patiently await the arrival of Denali's "The Instinct", featuring THEE hottest girl in indie music, Maura Davis.

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, September 26, 2003 at 11:19 PM (EDT)
    My Score:

    Hot damn, she is hot after all! I'll just buy the damn thing and jack off over her pictures in the liner notes... because Some can afford to put pics in their liner notes, right?

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, September 26, 2003 at 10:48 PM (EDT)
    My Score:

    she probably gets more pussy than me...

    Posted by Manman on 2003-09-26 21:39:02
    My Score:

    Wow, she was funny. Her satires of the "punk"-rock community were dead on. I love the first one where she says, "..they all live at home and eat their parents' food.." Wow, she has got something going on.

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, September 26, 2003 at 9:22 PM (EDT)
    My Score:

    Man, if she was hot, I'd totally like her music, no matter what.

    -Justin

    Posted by Jesse on 2003-09-26 18:47:18
    My Score:

    Dude, this must've been reviewd by the stupidest guy ever. I hate him. Rebecca Hatfield is the greatest new artist there is. her vocals are not only seductive, but sultry in an "emo" sort of way. This girl is my pop-punk princess. Dude, totally.

    Love ya Megan.

    Posted by FortyMinutesWest on 2003-09-26 18:46:04
    My Score:

    Next week my friend, next week

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, September 26, 2003 at 4:48 PM (EDT)
    My Score:

    where's the Street Dogs review?

    Posted by Anonymous on Friday, September 26, 2003 at 4:06 PM (EDT)
    My Score:

    The only question that matters: is she hot?

    Posted by inagreendase on 2003-09-26 15:58:50
    My Score:

    You mean she turned the sheet of paper with the music notes and bars and shit upside down and played it, right? Otherwise what the fuck are you talking about?

    Posted by TahoeJeff on 2003-09-26 15:52:17
    My Score:

    man this bitch needs to die