After dropping out of high school, Marshall started performing under the name Cat Power, while in Atlanta, backed by musicians Glen Thrasher, Mark Moore, and others. She soon moved to New York City, New York, United States in 1992, then later opening for Liz Phair in 1994, she met Steve Shelley of Sonic Youth and Tim Foljahn of Two Dollar Guitar, who encouraged her to record, and played on her first two albums, 1995's Dear Sir and 1996's Myra Lee. In 1996 she was signed to Matador Records, and released her third album, What Would the Community Think, which spawned a single and music video, "Nude as the News".
Shortly following the release of What Would the Community Think Marshall disappeared from the musical scene, initially working as a baby sitter in Portland, Oregon and then moving to a farmhouse in Prosperity, South Carolina with boyfriend Bill Callahan (who performs under the name Smog). The plan was to permanently retire from music but during a sleepless night resulting from a nightmare, Marshall wrote several new songs. These songs would make up the bulk of Moon Pix. The album was recorded at Sing Sing Studios in Melbourne in eleven days with backing musicians Mick Turner and Jim White of the Dirty Three. The album was well-received by critics, and gained her recognition in the indie rock scene. However, during the subsequent tours she grew tired of her own material. This resulted in a series of shows during 1999 involving Marshall providing musical accompaniment to a series of screenings of the silent movie The Passion of Joan of Arc. The shows combined original material and many covers, many of which would later see release on The Covers Record, a collection of cover songs recorded at various sessions in 1998 and 1999. A selection of covers that didn't make it on to the album were recorded at Peel Acres, home of the highly influential and legendary British DJ John Peel. The session was broadcast on his BBC Radio 1 show and featured Marshall's own interpretations of Bob Dylan's "Hard Times in New York Town" amongst others.
In 2003 she resumed releasing original material with You Are Free, a diverse and critically acclaimed album that featured guest musicians such as Eddie Vedder, Dave Grohl, and the Dirty Three's Warren Ellis.
2004 saw the release of Speaking for Trees, a critically polarizing DVD which featured a single two-hour static shot of Marshall performing in a woodland. It was accompanied by an audio CD containing the 18-minute song "Willie Deadwilder", which featured M. Ward on guitar. 2005 found Cat Power out on the road again, touring the world and playing sold-out solo shows, including an Australian tour supporting Nick Cave. The shows largely consisted of material for her next album.
Cat Power's seventh record, The Greatest, was released in January, 2006. This was not a "Greatest Hits" record but rather a collaboration with Al Green's guitarist Teenie Hodges and many other well-known R&B musicians. A tour followed in the fall of 2006.
Early in 2006, Marshall announced the cancellation of her upcoming United States tour, citing "health-related issues". A few days later, Matador announced the cancellation of her two shows in London and Paris. She resumed touring in April 2006, playing some of the most well received shows of her career both with the Memphis Rhythm Band and as a solo performer.
In 2007, she played live music for the spring/ summer Chanel Haute Couture collection in Paris and appeared in Wong Kar Wai's film My Blueberry Nights as Katya. Also in 2007, she became the first female ever to win the Shortlist Music Prize when The Greatest was voted album of the year in June. Earlier in the year she was nominated in the Best International Female category at the annual Brit Awards, alongside more mainstream artists like Christina Aguilera and Nelly Furtado.
On January 22, 2008, Cat Power released a second collection of covers called Jukebox--her eighth LP overall. It included versions of songs by artists such as Hank Williams, James Brown, Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell, Patsy Cline and Janis Joplin.
Since then, she has released an EP called "The Dark End of the Street" on vinyl, only.
Cat Power released her first original song since 2008 just before Christmas 2011 when an MP3 of "King Rides By" was made available on her official site, in exchange for a donation of at least $0.99 to the Festival of Children Foundation and the Ali Forney Center charities. (King Rides By Songfacts).
In 2012, Cat Power released her 9th studio album, Sun which received generally positive reviews from critics. The album was included in several year-end lists by music critics and publications. Rolling Stone magazine, in their list of the "50 Best Albums of 2012", ranked it at sixteenth place, writing "the idea of the brilliantly morose Chan Marshall making a dance-rock record is almost absurd. Yet the groove-powered Sun is a perfect fit." The A.V. Club placed the album at number twenty-two on their list of the "Best Albums of 2012." Billboard also placed the album at number nine in their list of the "10 Best Albums of 2012."The L.A. Times and Filter magazine both placed the album at number six in their lists of the best albums of 2012. Sun was also included on two separate "Best Music of 2012" lists compiled by NPR, appearing at number five on the list compiled by Bob Boilen,while topping the list compiled by Robin Hilton. The album was also listed twenty-eighth on Stereogum's list of top 50 albums of 2012. Thus, becoming Cat Power's most successful original album.
In April 2015, Marshall announced that she recently had a baby.
In February 2016, Marshall had to cancel her New Zealand shows due to health reasons. According to an official press release, this is the first time in Marshall's 18-year touring history she has been forced to postpone, but is "determined to make it back ASAP, and in good health".
Satisfaction
Cat Power Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And a man come on the radio
He's tellin' me more and more
About some useless information
Tryin' to mess imagination
When I'm watching my TV
And a man come on to tell me
But he can't be a man
Cause he doesn't smoke the same cigarettes as me
When I'm riding around the globe
And I'm doin' this
And I'm signin' that
And I'm tryin' to make some boy
Baby, baby, baby, come back
Can't you see
I'm on a losing streak
When I'm riding round the globe
And I'm doin' this
And I'm signin' that
And I'm tryin'
And I'm tryin'
Cat Power's song "Satisfaction" is a cover of the Rolling Stones' classic hit, but with a completely different spin on the lyrics. In the first verse, she sings about how she's driving in her car and a man on the radio is bombarding her with useless information that is trying to suppress her imagination. This can be interpreted as her frustration with society's constant need to control people's lives and prevent them from thinking freely.
In the next verse, she mentions a man on TV who tries to sell her on the idea that white shirts are the epitome of cleanliness and perfection. However, she notes that he can't truly understand her because he doesn't smoke the same cigarettes as she does. This line could be interpreted as a metaphor for how people are quick to judge and categorize others without actually getting to know them on a deeper level.
The final verse seems to bring the song full circle, with the singer still struggling as she tries to maintain her career and relationships. She's traveling around the world, doing everything she can to win back a boy, but nothing seems to be working. She admits that she's on a losing streak and can't seem to find satisfaction in any aspect of her life.
Overall, the song seems to be a commentary on the emptiness of modern society and the lack of true satisfaction people feel in their lives. Despite their efforts to find happiness, they are constantly bombarded with useless information and societal pressure that prevent them from ever feeling fulfilled.
Line by Line Meaning
When I'm driving in my car
While I'm driving my car
And a man come on the radio
And a man starts talking on the radio
He's tellin' me more and more
He's giving me more and more information
About some useless information
But it's all useless information
Tryin' to mess imagination
He's trying to distract my imagination
When I'm watching my TV
When I'm watching TV
And a man come on to tell me
And a man starts talking to me
How white my shirts can be
About how white my shirts can be
But he can't be a man
But he's not truly a man
Cause he doesn't smoke the same cigarettes as me
Because he doesn't smoke the same brand of cigarettes as me
When I'm riding around the globe
While I'm traveling around the world
And I'm doin' this
And I'm doing this
And I'm signin' that
And I'm signing things
And I'm tryin' to make some boy
And I'm trying to win back some boy's affection
Baby, baby, baby, come back
I keep saying 'baby, baby, baby, come back'
Can't you see
Don't you see
I'm on a losing streak
I'm losing all the time
When I'm riding round the globe
While I'm traveling around the world
And I'm doin' this
And I'm doing this
And I'm signin' that
And I'm signing things
And I'm tryin'
And I'm trying
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Abkco Music Inc.
Written by: Keith Richards, Michael Jagger
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Peter Pumkinghead
on He-War
i love the cats