Early career Poe (singer)

1 career

1.1 hello
1.2 haunted
1.3 mark z. danielewski
1.4 poe s three-album deal lost in aol–time warner merger

early career

poe began experimenting musical samplers , sequencers teenager. noteworthy collaborations j dilla (aka james yancey, jay dee,) of slum village. poe s musical influences ranged black flag bob dylan -- billie holiday tribe called quest according music writer stephen grecco.

poe signed modern/atlantic records in 1994 on strength of demos made j dilla , rj rice in rj s living room in detroit.

on january 28, 1996, new york times arts , leisure section named poe, along alanis morissette, among defining voices of current movement in music featured angry female artists ...articulate, sexually explicit, both lover , fighter...(women who) reject self-pity , refuse define purely in terms of connection men. in september 1996, glamour magazine published picture of poe, snarl on face , wearing tee-shirt on d written words, happy-well-adjusted female. in accompanying interview, poe says don t think angry sums @ all! in november 14, 1996, issue of rolling stone, poe s album, hello, attained position on reader s top ten chart. , in august 1997, esquire magazine (vol. 128 no. 2) named poe, along gwen stefani, lil kim, , sarah mclachlan among top 5 women rock our world .

poe began first major tour in january 1996, opening act lenny kravitz. , touring band (daris adkins on guitar, dan marfisi jones on drums, toby skard on bass/ , cameron stone on cello) continued touring extensively headliners , @ festivals until 1999, when stopped begin pre-production on second album atlantic. pollstar magazine reported in 1998 poe had performed approximately 600 shows in two-year time period.

hello

poe s first album, hello, released in 1995. musically, album described sample-rich amalgam of hip-hop, rock, , jazz. lyrically, album filled literary allusions, film nods, comic book references, , psychological irony. cd critically acclaimed. hits magazine called hello over-the-top pomo masterpiece.

not long after album s release, poe s debut single, trigger happy jack (drive go-go), broke top 20 on billboard s alternative , modern rock charts. trigger happy jack produced dave jerden (jane s addiction, alice in chains) , featured matt sorum (of guns n roses) on drums. featured lyric can t talk psycho normal human being . song s video went high rotation on mtv , introduced poe mainstream. in 1997, atlantic released maxi cd , 12-inch vinyl single of trigger happy jack included, drive remix steve lyon, psycho demolition mix steve lyon, instrumental version of song, , poe mix. poe s second single, angry johnny , broke top 10 on billboard s alternative , modern rock charts, , enjoyed heavy rotation @ radio. song s video received high rotation on mtv. song featured line, wanna blow you...(pause) away. promotional maxi single of song released radio never available commercially. maxi single included band mix produced poe , matt sorum (of guns n roses) received heavy rotation @ radio.

in august 1997, atlantic released maxi single of song, hello, included 6 remixes of song ( hello: e-smoove funk mix e-smoove/ hello: modern mix edge factor/ hello: nevins electronica mix jason nevins/ hello: generator mix e-smoove/ hello: edge factor mix by, edge factor, , hello: trial dub mix edge factor.)

on september 13, 1997, hello hit number 1 on billboard hot dance chart. video song enjoyed heavy rotation on mtv.

on november 20, 1997, riaa awarded hello gold certification.

haunted

poe s second album, haunted, released in october 2000. album, produced poe , olle romo inspired poe s discovery of box of audio tapes contained recordings of late father s voice. listening tapes first time proved difficult poe hesitant use them in music. quoted in los angeles times, took these tapes home, , couldn t listen them. hard, kept finding ways avoid it. sitting on coffee table next boombox quite time. poe quoted in new york daily news when listened tapes, clear how next few years of life spent.

haunted embraced press. los angeles times wrote wait poe s follow debut album has paid off rich, sophisticated, songs of depth , emotional intensity. instructed audiences think of haunted equivalent of pink floyd s wall. added poe s version more succinct, darker in parts, accessible. new york daily news wrote, samples of poe s late father s voice , heartfelt musings weave in , out of songs on haunted, providing narrative structure inside poe attempts put father s ghost rest. music guide wrote (poe s) original compositions have makings new music revolution alongside likes of radiohead s kid elle magazine credited poe ...defining future of pop . maxim magazine called haunted, best mindf**k ll year. publication indiana statesman described haunted 1 of influential , innovative albums of decade, further claiming ...this digitally produced album far outshines studio album produced far.

the first single haunted, hey pretty , hit top 20 on billboard modern rock chart @ time when female musicians , singers in format got airtime. @ end of 2000, 2 women in billboard top 100 year-end modern rock chart gwen stefani , poe. mtv put hey pretty video heavy rotation, , in july 2001, poe invited opening act depeche mode s exciter arena tour.

haunted referenced in 2002 film panic room. in conversation between jodie foster s character, meg altman, , agent selling home containing panic room, sarah altman (meg s daughter, played kristen stewart) asks ever read poe? , response given no, loved last album!

also in 2000, atlantic released promotional cd single of song, haunted , included remix grammy-winning producer/musician chris vrenna (nine inch nails, marilyn manson).

mark z. danielewski

poe s brother, mark z. danielewski, best-selling novelist, , young children mark , poe formed creative relationship wherein poe read , edit pages brother wrote. in 1997, poe sent manuscript of brother s first novel house of leaves warren frazier, college friend of hers , had become agent @ john hawkins literary agency in new york. warren agreed represent mark , secured publishing deal mark @ pantheon books. in 2000, pantheon published house of leaves, releasing coincide release of poe s second album haunted. poe invited mark spoken word passage in drive 2001 remix of song hey pretty , invited him perform passage in both video , live show opening depeche mode. of sister s support, mark recounts how once in moment of rage tore handwritten manuscript of story called redwood tiny pieces , threw dumpster. poe rescued pieces dumpster , taped entire manuscript together. took 2 weeks.

in november 2000, poe performed tour of borders bookstores brother. set included mark reading passages house of leaves , poe singing songs share themes book. house of leaves made new york times best seller list in april 2000.

poe s three-album deal lost in aol–time warner merger

with haunted climbing charts, atlantic records announced had renewed poe s contract 3 more albums. renewed agreement boutique label, modern/fei records (fishkin entertainment, inc.) through poe signed atlantic. atlantic committed releasing , distributing haunted internationally , serviced album globally. shortly thereafter, printed promo copies of wild , second single haunted, included remix static revenger. copies of single never sent radio.

a merger of time warner, parent company of atlantic, , aol approved fcc in january 2001. aol time warner under close scrutiny show positive results after merger. softening of economy after fcc approval, began close review of relationships third-party production houses, such modern records

in november 2001, 6 weeks after renewing poe s contract, billboard magazine announced atlantic severing ties modern/fei records.

the result poe dropped atlantic s roster of artists. poe s manager , modern/fei label head paul fishkin stated poe stunned let go atlantic had picked option on next 3 albums , had printed promo cds of next single wild , sent them radio. val azzoli, president of atlantic, said billboard magazine of dropping poe, poe must feeling pretty bruised right now, adding atlantic had made business decision. article points out strange decision in light of fact that, according soundscan, haunted had sold 250,000 copies , album s first single, hey pretty , had come out 2 months prior. spinner reflected ten years later on business decision , impact stating, gold record under belt, critically-acclaimed second album, new hit single, strong sales, , arena tour opening depeche mode, poe well-established important influence. , then, poof—she disappeared.