finetune artist: Jill Sobule

b. 3 July 1961, Denver, Colorado, USA. A singer-songwriter who has frequently been compared with Tori Amos, Sobule studied international affairs at the University of Colorado but dropped out to concentrate on a career in music. She made a low-key debut in 1990 with Things Here Are Different, which was produced by Todd Rundgren. A second album, produced by Joe Jackson, was lost when MCA dropped her contract. In 1995, she released a self-titled collection for the Atlantic Records subsidiary, Lava. Its sales were boosted by the success of an attendant single, "I Kissed A Girl". A second single, "Supermodel", was also included on the soundtrack to the highly successful Clueless movie. However, some sections of the music press were critical of what they considered Sobule's propensity to sacrifice integrity in favour of writing modish, bubble-gum pop. It was an assertion partly admitted by Sobule. "It's so much easier to do cute and kitsch than to be real', she told Billboard magazine. In the end she became deeply disillusioned with music, her interest only being revived when she decided to take up drums. This resulted in a more rhythmic follow-up album. Happy Town"s strongest songs, such as "When My Ship Comes In" and the title track, were both informed by a more percussion-based outlook. Happy Town also revealed a new depth to Sobule's songwriting in terms of lyrics as well as musical construction, and the extensive touring she undertook to promote the album showed her beginning to win over some of those aforementioned critics. Critical acclaim did not add up to sales and Atlantic/Lava did not renew her option. Sobule played guitar for Lloyd Cole's new band the Negatives before signing with Beyond Music for the release of her fourth album, Pink Pearl, which included sardonic gems such as "Rainy Day Parade", "Heroes" and "One Of These Days".

Listen to Jill Sobule at Finetune.

I Kissed A Girl
Supermodel
Too Cool To Fall In Love
Karen By Night
Good Person Inside