JILL SOBULE

'Jill Sobule' (born January 16, 1961 in Denver, Colorado) is an American singer-songwriter best known for the controversial 1995 song "I Kissed a Girl", and for "Supermodel" from the soundtrack of the 1995 film ''Clueless''. Her folk-inflected compositions alternate between ironic, story-driven character studies and emotive ballads, a duality reminiscent of such 1970s American songwriters as Warren Zevon, Harry Nilsson and Randy Newman. Autobiographical elements, including Sobule's Jewish heritage and her adolescent battles with anorexia and depression, frequently occur in Sobule's writing. An appreciable percentage of her work is also dedicated to detailed accounts of both her own fictional female creations and such troubled but celebrated women as Joey Heatherton and Mary Kay Letourneau, whose stories are usually used to make ironic comments about fame and celebrity.

Contents

History

Music

Miscellany

Discography

Studio albums

Compilations

EPs

Singles

Soundtrack appearances

Various artist compilations

B-sides

Unreleased

Other

External links

History

Sobule's debut album ''Things Here Are Different'' was released in 1990. Though produced by pop legend Todd Rundgren, the album failed to sell. During this period a follow-up record was produced by British New Wave rocker Joe Jackson but Sobule was dropped from her label and the second record was never released. It was five years before Sobule landed another recording contract.
To date she has released four more major-label albums of original songs, three EPs, an independently distributed acoustic record and a greatest hits compilation album. Sobule's output also includes original songs available only via the internet, a cover of Robert Earl Keen's Christmas novelty track "Merry Christmas from the Family" and a version of the late Warren Zevon's "Don't Let Us Get Sick" included on both Sobule's acoustic album and on a posthumous Zevon tribute record. Though Sobule remains more of an underground artist, playing for fans across the United States in smaller, more personal settings, her albums are frequently critically acclaimed and her music industry supporters include Rundgren, Tom Morello, Steve Earle and Eagles member Don Henley, who contributed a promotional quote to the ad campaign for Sobule's fourth album, ''Pink Pearl''.
The 1995 album ''Jill Sobule'' established Sobule as part of a short-lived but fruitful mid-90s movement of female singer-songwriters that included such artists as Lisa Loeb, Juliana Hatfield and Alanis Morissette. The album contains Sobule's most well-known composition "I Kissed a Girl", a story-song about a lesbian flirtation between two suburban girlfriends which became an unlikely radio success thanks in part to a comedic music video featuring beefcake male model Fabio. "Supermodel" (sample lyric: "I didn't eat yesterday... and I'm not gonna eat today... and I'm not gonna eat tomorrow... 'Cause I'm gonna be a supermodel") managed to both send up and celebrate American teenage lifestyles, and became well-known after its inclusion in 1995's hit teen comedy film ''Clueless''.
''Jill Sobule'' seemed to establish Sobule's commercial prospects, but her third album slowed that momentum while setting what has so far been the musical and production patterns for the rest of her career. 1997's ''Happy Town'' featured Sobule's most elaborate pop productions to date and contains songs about an eclectic range of topics including reactionary Christianity ("Soldiers of Christ"), the negative impact of anti-depressant medication on the libido ("Happy Town") and what is either the only track ever recorded that uses Anne Frank's enforced Nazi-era hibernation as the metaphor for a love song or the only song about Anne Frank that couches her life and death in the terms of a tussle over loyalty between two lovers ("Attic"). Though embraced by record reviewers from publications as diverse as ''the Advocate'' and ''Entertainment Weekly'', ''Happy Town'' sold poorly, simultaneously solidifying Sobule's critical reputation while stalling her commercial momentum.
The 2000 record ''Pink Pearl'' may be Sobule's most characteristic set. Anchored by the female character studies "Lucy at the Gym" (about an anorexic exercise addict), "Claire" (about an aging lesbian aviatrix succumbing to Alzheimer's disease) and "Mary Kay" (about Letourneau, the notorious real-life schoolteacher who became impregnated and imprisoned because of an affair with a 13-year-old male student), ''Pink Pearl'' also contains some of Sobule's most directly confessional songwriting, especially the atheist's prayer "Somewhere in New Mexico" and the insomniac's lullaby "Rock Me To Sleep."
In 2004, Sobule self-released an independent album of demo-quality acoustic tracks entitled ''The Folk Years 2003-2003''. In addition to some of her rarer compositions and several tracks that would later receive fuller arrangements on Sobule's next major-label release, Sobule performed offbeat cover versions of such standards as the old Doris Day theme song "Que Sera Sera" and "Sunrise/Sunset" from the Broadway musical ''Fiddler on the Roof''.
Sobule's most recent full-length studio album is 2004's ''Underdog Victorious'', a representative selection that alternates between self-portraiture and ironic story songs. Here Sobule comments on her own unconventional showbusiness career (the bittersweet "Freshman") as well as the tragicomic arc of go-go dancing 60s icon Joey Heatherton ("Joey") alongside whimsical autobiographical songs ("Cinnamon Park" and "Strawberry Gloss") and more politicized tracks dealing with issues related to adolescent homosexuality ("Underdog Victorious" and the humorous "Under the Disco Ball") and even sexual slavery ("Tel Aviv," sung in the voice of a girl forced into prostitution after going overseas for a waitressing job "in the Promised Land.") Sobule's niche as one of the more empathetic satirists working in popular song is encapsulated by her "tribute" to Heatherton, which gets a lot of comedic mileage out of the garish shallowness of Heatherton's story but with a chorus that finds Sobule singing "All she ever wanted was your love and affection/Isn't that the same thing that we all want?" before ending with the words "You can sleep at my house if you want to, Joey."

Music

Sobule uses both satire and personal experience to sing about a range of issues, including sexuality, depression, war, abandonment, and greed. According to her website bio, a central preoccupation of her work is the classic one: "Love found, love lost, love wished for and love taken away." Many of her songs incorporate humor into their narrative. She often creates detailed character sketches, especially of women. Generally, her songs are unconventionally folk-like, using lounge music percussion flourishes and retro horn charts not usually found in tracks recorded by mainstream artists. Occasionally her arrangements intentionally mimic works by other performers, most noticeably on "Rainy Day Parade" from 2000's ''Pink Pearl,'' which quotes TV's ''The Mary Tyler Moore Show'' theme to lend ironic triumphalism to a song about a woman going back on anti-depressant medication, and "Cinnamon Park" from the 2004 album ''Underdog Victorious'', which paraphrases portions of the 1972 single "Saturday in the Park" by the band Chicago. Her rhythmic sensibility at times recalls cocktail music deity Esquivel, and her harmony parts can resemble the Beatles on some of her more elaborate album tracks -- possibly a partial legacy of her early recording efforts with Nazz founder and avowed Beatlemaniac Todd Rundgren.

Miscellany

In the late 90s, Sobule toured with Richard Barone as "''The Richard & Jill Show.''" Together they wrote "Bitter" from Happy Town, "Rock Me To Sleep" from Pink Pearl, "Big Shoes" from ''I Never Learned To Swim,'' and "Waiting For The Train" from Barone's ''Clouds Over Eden'' album. They also appeared together in the underground film, ''Next Year In Jerusalem,'' which features another of their compositions, "Everybody's Queer."
In 2000, Sobule joined Lloyd Cole's short-lived band The Negatives.
Sobule was personally selected by Eagle Don Henley to open for him on his solo tour in the year 2000.
In late 2003, Sobule joined the "Tell Us the Truth" tour, an anti-war, anti-Bush administration collaboration with Billy Bragg, Tom Morello (as The Nightwatchman), Mike Mills, Janeane Garofalo, Steve Earle, and Boots Riley.
In 2004, she played one of the five leads in the film ''Mind The Gap''.
In 2005, Sobule contributed music to ''Unfabulous'', a ''Nickelodeon'' TV series about a 13-year-old girl who writes songs about her life. Two Sobule compositions appear on '', the debut album from series star Emma Roberts: a cover of "Mexican Wrestler" from Sobule's 2000 LP ''Pink Pearl'' and "Punch Rocker," written by Sobule for Roberts' ''Unfabulous'' character Addie Singer to "compose" on the program.
In 2006, Sobule met Julia Sweeney, the actress, writer and comedienne, and started performing the "Jill and Julia Show", a compilation of songs and stories. They performed at the James Randi Educational Foundation meeting in Las Vegas on January 19, 2007.
Sobule toured twice with the late Warren Zevon, whose penchant for sardonic storytelling she shares. The two artists frequently accompanied one another during each other's sets, and Zevon was known on multiple occasions to take the lead vocal on Sobule's "I Kissed a Girl." Sobule has said that part of their bond came from the fact that she, like Zevon, was best known for a single fluke hit (Zevon's being "Werewolves of London").
In recent public appearances, Sobule has expressed interest in compiling a live album, in addition to releasing a new studio disc. On a blog from her myspace account, Sobule stated she is recording two new albums, one with underground string quartet Ethel.

Discography

Studio albums

★ ''Things Here Are Different'' (1990)

★ ''Jill Sobule'' (1995)

★ ''Happy Town'' (1997)

★ ''Pink Pearl'' (2000)

★ ''The Folk Years 2003-2003'' (2004) ''(Independent Release)''

★ ''Underdog Victorious'' (2004)

★ untitled studio album (2007)

Compilations

★ '' (2001) ''(Best of Compilation)''

EPs

★ ''It's the Thought That Counts'' [EP] (2000) ''(Independent Release)''

★ ''Be Mine... Please'' [EP] (2001) ''(Independent Release)''

★ ''It's the Thought That Counts (Re-issue)'' [EP] (2005)'' (Independent Release)''

Singles

★ 1990: "Too Cool to Fall in Love"

★ 1990: "Living Color"

★ 1995: "I Kissed a Girl"

★ 1996: "Good Person Inside" (Radio Version)

★ 1996: "Supermodel" (Radio Remix)

★ 1997: "Bitter" (PG-13 Edit)

★ 1997: "When My Ship Comes In" (Edit)

★ 2000: "One of These Days" (Radio Version)

★ 2000: "Rainy Day Parade"

★ 2001: "Stoned Soul Picnic"

★ 2004: "Cinnamon Park" (PG Edit)

Soundtrack appearances

★ 1995: "Supermodel" from ''Clueless''

★ 1996: "Where Do I Begin" from ''The Truth About Cats & Dogs''

★ 1996: "Truth Is You Lied" from ''Grace of My Heart''

★ 1996: "The Secretive Life" from ''Harriet the Spy''

★ 1999: "Rainy Day Parade" from ''Mystery Men''

★ 2003: "Tel Aviv", "Nothing Natural", "Bitter", "Somewhere in New Mexico", "Freshmen", and "Vrbana Bridge" from ''Mind the Gap''

★ 2005: "Love Is Never Equal" from Jenny McCarthy's ''Dirty Love''

Various artist compilations

★ 1992: "Too Cool to Fall in Love" from ''An Elpee's Worth of Productions''

★ 1995: "The Jig Is Up" from ''Grooves: Volume 8''

★ 1995: "Good Person Inside" and "The Man in the Boat" from ''Spew''

★ 1995: "Merry Christmas from the Family" from ''You Sleigh Me''

★ 1997: "Stoned Soul Picnic" from ''Time and Love: The Music of Laura Nyro''

★ 1997: "I Will Survive" from ''In Their Own Words'' and from ''Hard Rock Live''

★ 1998: "Saddest Day of the Year" from ''A Christmas to Remember''

★ 1999: "Just a Little Lovin'" from ''Forever Dusty''

★ 1999: "Sunrise, Sunset" from ''Knitting on the Roof''

★ 2000: "Rainy Day Parade" from ''New Talent Spotlight Volume 2''

★ 2000: "I Kissed a Girl" from ''K-TEL Pop Alternative''

★ 2004: "Don't Let Us Get Sick" from ''Enjoy Every Sandwich: The Songs of Warren Zevon''

B-sides

★ 1995: ''Queen of Spades'' (from the ''Supermodel'' single)

★ 1997: ''Loveless Motel'' (from the ''Bitter'' single, later included on album Pink Pearl)

★ 2000: ''Lucy at the Gym'' (from the ''When My Ship Comes In'' single, later included on album Pink Pearl)

★ 2004: ''Almost Fell'' (Bonus track on the Borders edition of Underdog Victorious)

Unreleased

★ 2000: "Youthful Indiscretions"

★ 2003: "Nothing I Can Do" (from the off-Broadway production Prozac and the Platypus)

★ 2004: "Perry St." (from the Underdog Victorious recording sessions)

★ 2004: "Let's Get Back Together" (from the Underdog Victorious recording sessions)

★ 2004: "Mickey and Me" (from the Underdog Victorious recording sessions)

★ 2004: "Western Skies"

★ 2004: "Blue America"

★ 2006: "Bobbie Gentry"

★ 2006: "Manhattan in January"

★ 2006: "The End of Love"

★ 2006: "San Francisco"

★ 2007: "Odd Girl Out" with Richard Barone

★ ????: "While You Were Sleeping"

★ ????: "Billy's Thing"

★ ????: "Small Things"

★ ????: "Mom"

★ ????: "My Life Uncovered"

★ ????: "Ready for the Rapture"

★ ????: "Red Purse"

★ ????: "Texas"

★ ????: "Money Shot"

★ ????: "Everybody's Queer" with Richard Barone

★ ????: "Bloody Valentine"

★ ????: "Don't Fuck With Me"

★ ????: "The Most Miserable Girl in the World"

★ ????: "Ritalin Kid"

★ ????: "Agony Cafe"

Other

★ ''Clouds Over Eden'' (1994) -- Richard Barone

★ ''The Negatives'' (2000) - Lloyd Cole and The Negatives

★ ''Unfabulous'' -- TV show soundtrack

★ ''So Jill'' -- Tribute song written & performed by Jane Wiedlin, Lloyd Cole & Charlotte Caffey

External links

★ Official Site

★ Jill Sobule's Blog on ''The Huffington Post''

★ Podcast Interview on TheFlux.tv