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Scarlett and Zooey sing

by
scribegrrrl

It doesn't always go well when actors decide to sing or singers decide to act — well, the latter is often just fine, but the former can be disastrous. (I've mentioned my Lisa Whelchel album before ... it's seriously awful!) But in the cases of Scarlett Johansson and Zooey Deschanel, the swapping of scripts for songs might turn out to be just fine.

Oops, I guess I've made it look like they're singing duets or something. No; these are separate albums. Too bad — they could have called their first release ScarZo Sings!

Deschanel's first collaboration with indie fave M. Ward, under the name She & Him, was released this week. Zooey has a musical past — she plays the banjo — and the reviews are mostly positive so far. Says BlogCritics.org, "I wouldn't have thought it possible, but Deschanel sounds as cute as she looks."

Zooey wrote nine of the songs on the album. You can stream all of Volume One from the Merge Records site. My favorite so far is "Sweet Darlin'."

And here's a clip of She & Him performing "Lonesome Town," which is not on the album. The video quality is bad, but the audio is decent. Zooey has a very pure voice and a charming style. Dare I mention Dusty Springfield or Patsy Cline or Ronnie Spector? That's the vibe I get, and it definitely makes me want to hear more.



Meanwhile, Johansson's first album, Anywhere I Lay My Head, is a collection of Tom Waits covers. It's set to debut later this year. I'm not a big fan of Tom Waits, but his oeuvre might be a good match for Scarlett's husky voice.

New promo photos were released this week, and they're certainly ... quirky.

What on earth is going on in this next one? It's like Scarlett: The Albino Sessions.

And this one makes me think of the movie Blue Velvet (eek):

I kinda like this one, though, even though she almost looks dead:

I dunno, Scarlett. Zooey has set the bar pretty high, so good luck — no doubt the record will sell for the novely factor alone. But I like a little genius with my gimmicks.

Visit the She & Him MySpace page for more Zooey, and stay tuned for more Scarlett (I'm sure the news will be everywhere when the album drops).

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    • Submitted by
    scribegrrrl
    on March 20, 2008 - 12:49pm.
    TAGS :: 
    sirdykesalot's picture

    First off, I have a HUGE

    Submitted by
    sirdykesalot (26 posts)
    on March 20, 2008 - 1:20pm.
    First off, I have a HUGE crush on Scarlett. I've heard songs from both of them and I like Zooey's voice much much more. I agree with you about her being reminiscent of Dusty Springfield.
    TiBetteShipper's picture

    Zooey in Elf

    Submitted by
    Abbie (1 post)
    on March 20, 2008 - 1:25pm.
    I remember Zooey singing when she was in Elf with Will Ferrell. I thought she had a good voice then so it doesn't surprise me that she's coming out with an album. :o) Best of luck to her!
    carolinagrrrl's picture

    Zooey!

    Submitted by
    carolinagrrrl (238 posts)
    on March 20, 2008 - 1:30pm.

    These have got to be two of my favorite Hollywood ladies, so I am quite excited for each.

    I must say, I've been in love with Zooey's voice since Elf. I can still remember when the movie was first released on DVD, my roommates rented it and were watching it in the living room. I didn't have time that night to watch with them, but I could sort of hear it in my room. When the scene where Zooey is singing in the shower came on, I stopped what I was doing and ran downstairs. Her voice was AMAZING. I made them back up the movie so I could hear her again. *sigh*

    Can't wait to check out their albums! Thanks for the news, scribe!

     

    http://legallyout.blogspot.com

    starlettels's picture

    Scarlett

    Submitted by
    starlettels (805 posts)
    on March 20, 2008 - 1:58pm.

    Scarlett Johannson actually performed at Coachella(sp) a few years ago. I can't remember who she sang with but it was supposedly her "big debut". I'm betting she has a great voice, she sounds pretty damn good talking anyway! As for Zooey, I haven't heard her yet so I'll have to check it out.

    Oh, and I agree, Scarlett is beautiful! Zooey ain't too bad herself though!

    *edit: Scarlett actually reminds me of a young Helen Mirren.

                Helen Mirren

    pecola's picture

    Good Memory

    Submitted by
    pecola (793 posts)
    on March 20, 2008 - 3:21pm.

    starlettels wrote:
    Scarlett Johannson actually performed at Coachella(sp) a few years ago.

    It was Jesus & Mary Chain. She sang "Just Like Honey" with them.

    -----

    Geoffrey: You fool! As if it matters how a man falls down.
    Richard: When the fall is all that is left, it matters a great deal.

    - The Lion in Winter

    pecola's picture

    Zooey & Scarlett

    Submitted by
    pecola (793 posts)
    on March 20, 2008 - 3:13pm.

    I've listened to the She & Him album a few times now and I have to say that I've been impressed. There are a few missteps (namely the two covers, "You Really Got a Hold" on Me and "I Should Have Known Better"), but overall, I think it's a really strong album. My favorite tracks are the openers: "Sentimental Heart" and "Why Do You Let Me Stay Here?"

    I'm kinda excited about hearing more from Scarlett Johansson--she peaked my interest with the cover of "Summertime" she did with the Los Angeles Philharmonic a year or two ago. I'm interested to hear what else she has to offer.

    -----

    Geoffrey: You fool! As if it matters how a man falls down.
    Richard: When the fall is all that is left, it matters a great deal.

    - The Lion in Winter

    jennifer from pittsburgh's picture

    Heh

    Submitted by
    jennifer from p... (1160 posts)
    on March 20, 2008 - 3:18pm.
    Earlier today I ordered the She&Him CD. I was buying several books and figured, what the hell, may as well throw a CD in the mix as well. I have to buy some anniversary gifts for Caty anyway ;) Four long years that poor woman has suffered through my antics, with no end in sight.
    As for the albino ScarJo look - that's a wash-out effect, though I can't say that it's used to great effect in this instance. I think that if you're going to 'burn out' an image (too much light exposure) it works better if done in b&w or if there's something more dramatic being washed out at the edges. This partick pic just looks like a failed snapshot...and I suspect that's what the photog was going for. Eh.
    7Up's picture

    Go Zooey!

    Submitted by
    7Up (141 posts)
    on March 20, 2008 - 3:21pm.
    Zooey is super cool!
    wickedgrrl's picture

    Zooey

    Submitted by
    wickedgrrl (257 posts)
    on March 20, 2008 - 4:45pm.

    I've said it before and I'll say it again, I'm a sucker for girls who can sing.  *cough*Alton*cough* I am not a fan of Will F. but I watch Elf everytime its on just to hear her sing.  I'm going to have to download it later tonight.

    I'm off to set up sound for another girl who sings.  Having a crush on the girl in the band is NEVER a good idea.  *sigh*  Although, it does make the ache just that much sweeter when she sings.

    narcolepsy_slds's picture

    retro feeling

    Submitted by
    narcolepsy_slds (10 posts)
    on March 20, 2008 - 5:07pm.

    I have been listening to She & Him a lot lately and I really like the album, it has some sort of retro feeling to it. I don't know why but it reminds me of the Carpenters meets The Mamas and the Papas with a shot of Jack Johnson (really, don't ask me where that came from).

    My fave so far are Sweet Darlin' and Change is hard.

        I am not really looking forward to SJ album though, probably because I am not into Tom Waits (what is it with the rubber boots in the pictures?)

    deathbyblonde's picture

    Yay

    Submitted by
    deathbyblonde (264 posts)
    on March 20, 2008 - 7:18pm.
    I love Zooey's voice (and her face), I'm glad she has an album out.
    Golightly's picture

    She & Him is amazing!

    Submitted by
    Hannah Golightly (2 posts)
    on March 20, 2008 - 7:51pm.
    I've been waiting for the cd to come out for over a month, and listened to the one song they had the myspace page repeatedly until they added the rest of them. I bought the album at Best Buy as soon as it came out and it was well worth the wait. The lyrics is beautiful, and Zooey is amazing, as if you couldn't tell from her singing in some movies. Definately check it out.
    LoveLillianGish's picture

    Zooey's New Music

    Submitted by
    LoveLillianGish (178 posts)
    on March 20, 2008 - 10:38pm.
    I'm not surprised she's done an albumn. She sings in nearly every other film she's in. From The Assasination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford to Elf and maybe Winters Passing and also in the SciFi series TINMAN. I'm pretty sure she was a singer before she was an actress but she has an interesting voice, which isn't too shocking to me because when she talks her voice is interesting. For some reason I think she's adorable and quirky, espcecially if you listen to any interviews with her.
    katagin's picture

    This could be interesting...

    Submitted by
    Katagin (9 posts)
    on March 20, 2008 - 10:41pm.

    I couldn't really stand Elf, but I loved Zooey in Tin Man. I'm a slight sci-fi geek at heart :)

     

     

     

     

    Tegan: Everytime I see it, I just want to punch her in the face because I'm so excited for her.

    LadyElla's picture

    "Summertime"

    Submitted by
    LadyElla (64 posts)
    on March 21, 2008 - 2:15am.
    A while ago I'm pretty sure I heard Scarlett sing "Summertime" for some sort of calming cd. I remember it sounding pretty good, so I look forward to hearing more!
    imthey's picture

    I agree..

    Submitted by
    imthey (363 posts)
    on March 25, 2008 - 1:22pm.

    I agree with all of you Zooey fans... I myself have been a longtime Zooey fan, both of her work acting and her work singing!

    I thought she sounded so lovely in Elf that I started to check out what else she might have sung in. She also sings caberet style songs in a group with Samantha Shelton called If All the Stars Were Pretty Babies, which can be seen and heard on YouTube (although not the best quality). Here's the link... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WWZeawmMIbo

    Also check out this link to see her singing http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x2qfzv_zooey-deschanel-singing_shortfilms

    Don't forget she also sang alongside DJ Qualls in The New Guy... check out this link http://video.aol.com/video-detail/zooey-deschanel-singing-in-the-new-guy/1426583796

    Anyway, as you can see I think she's just the "bees knees" to use an old phrase that so fits with my "crush" on Zooey! 

     

    "Think Sideways"

        I M THEY

    cortinacolorado's picture

    I'm definitely excited

    Submitted by
    cortinacolorado (5 posts)
    on March 25, 2008 - 2:01pm.

    I'm definitely excited about Zooey's album...not so much about Scarlett's. I used to really like her (circa Lost in Translation), back when she seemed to have a ton of potential. But in my opinion that potential never really turned into anything more than rather flat acting, annoying self-importance, and big (admittedly nice) boobs.

    I should also say that if Zooey's set the bar high, then Holly Cole has set it even higher...using the same "novelty" angle...thirteen years ago! Anyone who thinks they don't like Tom Waites tunes should really check out her tribute album, Temptation: www.amazon.com/Temptation-Holly-Cole/dp/B000005GZ4


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