In Demand- Texas

First off, I love Texas; it is one of my favorite bands. Sharleen Spiteri (who has two solo records out already) is an incredible performer, and I think that’s an important quality of any artist. She just draws the crowd in, and what an amazing party European audiences make! (Apparently, the band is big in the continent.) Not to mention, her live performances sound as good as the recordings. I say this because this is not a talent that all artists share.

For instance, I love the song Breathe by Anna Nalick. She sings it superbly and there’s even some depth to the song. However, all this depth somehow vanishes when she performs it live. She does a solid job and yet something’s missing; her performance is like a Coke without spirit.

Anyway. I wasn’t always a fan of Texas. In fact, I used to hate Say What You Want when it became a hit in 1997. I couldn’t stand the futuristic music video with Sharleen Spiteri (clad in blue) and her clones (there’s also an alternate version, go look it up on YouTube!). Eventually, I loved the song. This was the same case with the band’s 2000 hit, In Demand. I didn’t like it at first when it was released, even though by then I was already into Texas. It took me five years to warm up to it — not that I had to but I just realized one day that it was, in fact, a pretty good tune. It’s been looping on my player for the past day. What I especially love about it are (is?) the bold, confident lyrics. Though I remember thinking, Am I hearing this right? when I first paid attention to the words. But what I love more is how Sharleen Spiteri sings it like she means it.

The official music video features Sharleen and Alan Rickman. I gotta say, since Harry Potter, you can’t look at Alan Rickman without seeing Severus Snape.