People Always Live and Die in 4/4 Time: The Norma Tanega Thread

I'm listening to Richard Meltzer on YouTube enthuse about "Walkin' My Cat Named Dog." What We Do in the Shadows, of course, uses "You're Dead" for its opening credits. I used the thread title (from "A Street That Rhymes at Six A.M.") for a chapter title in a book.

That's three amazing songs, more than most people ever record.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eYOvlRcpmHM

Posted April 4, 2019; she died towards the end of the year.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7NDgrgq5G8

One of my favourite artists. I love all her music. Her second album is really good too.

I'll have to look into that--thought she just had the one.

She was living with Dusty Springfield in London for several years, recorded the second album in 1971, but more or less at that time she and Dusty split up and she went back to the US. It seems she gave up music for some years and took up painting again. I see that the second album is to be reissued early next year.

There's a commemorative blue plaque on the house in Holland Park where she and Dusty Springfield lived, and I always try to walk past if I'm in the area.

I wrote about her 2022 comp, one of my very favorite pieces, a genuine act of discovery (I only knew her one hit).

I only found her earlier this year, via hearing “Walkin’ My Cat Named Dog” somewhere and looking her up. I was surprised when “You’re Dead” popped up in the mix! I hadn’t bothered to look it up but had assumed it was by someone more contemporary. She was super cool, what a distinctive vibe.

My favorite is "Don't Touch" -- the hurt the words conceal is heartbreaking

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUuVeR1AzUA