Saturday Music Hall: Broken English

Any Marianne Faithfull fans out there? Not the As Tears Go By Marianne, but the Working Class Hero, Eyes of Lucy Jordan version -- the smoky-voiced chanteuse, world-wearily commenting on the human condition. Above, she does Broken English, with a video backdrop of warring war and protest images. Timely, indeed.

I know that Faithful can be an acquired taste, but I've always liked the in-your-face attitude and gritty tones of her post-60s-era persona. I only got to see her perform live once, at a small club in Boston in the early 90s. She charmed and challenged the sweating, clamorous crowd, puffing on a long, elegant cigarette holder like some modern-day Marlene Dietrich, growling out melancholy or dryly humorous anecdotes between songs. People brought her lots of bouquets. She bowed and bantered, with intelligence and wit. She brought the house down.

Official website.