15 Vocalists Who Will Always Stay With Me

In alphabetical order...

Bjork - Whether she's singing in Icelandic or English, she's bizarre, unpredictable, and impossible not to listen to. Recommendations: the soaring "New World" or the glitter of "Unravel".

Holly Cole - Sultry jazz alto with a flair for reinterpretation. My Fair Lady's "On the Street Where You Live" becomes a dark stalker nightmare, and her version of "I Can See Clearly Now" is the only thing that's better than the original.

Chris Cornell - What a heavy metal voice should be. His version of Bach's "Ave Maria" is haunting, and "Jesus Christ Pose" is a master class in metal singing all by itself.

Nick Drake - Haunting and introspective. I have to go to "Pink Moon" and "From the Morning", used in commercials that make it impossible not to feel good whenever I see them.

James Hetfield - Go listen to "Kill 'Em All", then move on to "Sad But True" or "Free Speech For the Dumb" and see how James has grown into -- and mastered -- his voice. His gruff baritone can croon, or it can just as easily (sonically) punch you in the face.

Whitney Houston - After all these years, it's hard to forget, but Whitney created a playbook that everyone cribs from now, intentionally or not. She made it seem effortless. Her voice knows exactly where it has to go, and sweeps you along. Hear "The Star Spangled Banner" and you can't help but feel partriotic. And try to forget that you've heard it 5000 times, and give another listen to "The Greatest Love of All".

Annie Lennox - Never would have guessed that the orange-haired automaton from 1983 would have turned out to be one of the most soulful singers England has given us. "Why" and "Through the Glass Darkly" are perfect examples.

Barry Manilow - Gotta go with the ultimate performer. Every song is a showstopper, a musical rollercoaster that swoops through mutiple key changes and builds to titanic final choruses. And he's got the pipes to back it all up. Listen to "Can't Smile Without You" and "Weekend in New England" to see what I mean.

Freddie Mercury - He wouldn't have surgery to correct his overbite. That alone says tons about Freddie, and his belief in music over image, something that was quite rare at the dawn of MTV. He carries the arena-filling "We Will Rock You" almost totally a cappella, and his version of "The Great Pretender" rivals the classic original. He kept working right up until his death, and you can feel his conflict and dedication in songs like "The Show Must Go On".

Mike Patton - He can front the hard pop-metal of Faith No More ("Ugly in the Morning" being a prime example), and keep up with the thousand-directions-at-once style of Mr. Bungle (like the delirious gibberish of "Ma Meeshka Mow Skwoz"). He can even provide the screeching of the entire zombie horde of I Am Legend. A vocalist who can truly do anything.

Prince - He's a vocal acrobat who continuously proves that he can find new things to do with his voice. The days of high-powering screeching may be over (my favorite being at the end of "Endorphinmachine"), but he can still go from a sweet falsetto to a powerful baritone without breaking a sweat (like in the recent "Dreamer"). You can just tell that he eats, sleeps, and breathes music.

Rufus Wainwright - An unconventional voice with incredible stamina. I was hooked since I heard the first two bars of the first song on his debut album ("Foolish Love"). I've heard him sing a full concert without breaking a sweat, then come back for two encores, one of which was a cappella. His songs are often operatic and sweeping, like "Go Or Go Ahead", but Rufus makes it sound easy. But try to sing along... it's *not*.

Tom Waits - You hear Tom's voice once, and you never forget its gravelly uniqueness. Even so, he has incredible range. One minute he's like a hobo who has been handed the keys to a tool shed full of musical junk (the barking "Hoist That Rag"), the next he's a late-night troubadour lingering at the piano after last call ("Grapefruit Moon"). And I defy you to listen to "Anywhere I Lay My Head" and not be convinced that you're actually listening to a man's heart breaking.

Roger Whitaker - I heard Roger on the radio for years before I actually found out what he looked like, and the kindly, mustachioed grandpa-man I finally saw on TV didn't match up at all to the soulful, smooth bass I pictured in my head when I heard songs like "I Don't Believe in 'If' Anymore" and "The Last Farewell". He's like listening to caramel.

Ann Wilson - The original powerhouse female rock voice. Forget your Benatars and your Jetts, Ann beats them all, hands down. "Barracuda" kicked down the door for women rockers, and the glorious vocal breakdown at the end of "What About Love" propped it open forever.

SYZYGY - 10

RAVEN’S CAR - DESERT - MORNING

Raven looks down at the locator, which is wedged in the ashtray. It registers 112.8 miles. She looks in her rear-view mirror, where the sun is rising behind her. Outside, the landscape has turned to severe desert. Eyeball sleeps in the passenger seat, and he awakes with a start.

EYEBALL

Nuh!…

He looks over at Raven.

EYEBALL

I saw him… I saw his face. Over and

over… Jesus… is it going to be like

this every night?

RAVEN

For a while. It probably will be

harder for you. I at least could

convince myself that those men were

evil.

EYEBALL

I studied you, you know. The Organ-

ization has been going through a lot

of turbulence lately. You’re pretty

much what made Big Ed such a power

to be reckoned with.

Raven doesn’t respond.

EYEBALL

Did you ever wonder what all the

trouble is about?

Raven slowly looks over at him, then forward again. She takes a deep breath, and let her mouth start moving.

RAVEN

I got a job in an accounting office

in the middle of the banking district.

I was right out of college, ready

to show no mercy and take no prisoners.

That’s where I met Tonya. She was

the one who found out how our company

was really a front. We dug around a

little, then a lot, and when we began

to get some idea of how corrupt the

whole thing was, we decided to lib-

erate a few of those millions we saw

going by every day. She had the com-

puter skills, I knew the books back-

wards and forwards. We made off with

sixty thousand dollars… before we got

caught by Godfrey.

EYEBALL

You stole from Godfrey?

RAVEN

I only remember a few things about

that day. He kept saying how impressed

he was with us, and I remember his

smile. That Cheshire cat grin, as if

he were covering up something terrible.

He never lost that smile… even when

he shot Tonya. He told me he wasn’t

angry about the money, that it was

the principle of the thing. In fact,

he was willing to let me pay it back,

by doing twenty favors for him, at

three thousand dollars apiece. The

favors were people that he wanted

gone. In return, he let me live.

The only thing that kept me going

was the knowledge that I was killing

off parts of the thing that had taken

Tonya. It turned out that I had a

knack for it, and I think that’s

part of what made Tom fall in love

with me. I was a one-woman war against

organized crime. Then, one night,

something happened.

Fragmentary slow-motion flashbacks of that last hit, a man running across the top of a dumpster, a flashing knife, Tom slamming his fists against the steering wheel of her car.

RAVEN

(voice-over)

I woke up in Tom’s apartment the

next day. He had put me to bed, left

me a note that he had gone to his

work and that he’d be back in a few

hours. But I knew that I had an

appointment to keep.

INT. ELEVATOR

Raven stands dead still, watching the floor numbers as they rise to the top. Her face is a complete blank.

RAVEN

(voice-over)

After every hit, I would go up to

Godfrey’s office, and he would mark

off my debt in his ledger. But all

I could think about was the blood,

how thick and hot and bitter it was…

Raven draws her gun from inside her coat, holds it at arm’s length in both hands. She brings her eye, the muzzle of the gun, and the crack between the doors into an EXACT LINE. She waits patiently, completely still. The elevator stops, the bell chimes, and the door opens. Raven fires.

INT. GODFREY’S LOBBY

A security camera high in the far corner of the room explodes as Raven’s bullet skewers it. She swings her arms down, effortlessly shooting the lone guard, protecting a large pair of double doors, before he can react. She strides toward the doors, shooting the lock, then kicking them open.

INT. GODFREY’S OFFICE - DAY

Godfrey’s desk sits in front of a long, plate-glass window that runs from ceiling to floor along one side of the lush office. Godfrey sits behind his desk, stunned at the intrusion. Raven levels her gun at him. He smiles nervously, starts to get up.

GODFREY

Look, Raven--

She opens fire, never stopping walking toward him. Every shot hits him in the chest, pinning him to the chair. Some go right through him and shatter the window behind him. The chair starts rolling backward from the force of the hits, bumps into a low ledge and tips backwards. Both Godfrey and the chair flip right out the window. Raven walks around the desk, right up to the edge, still firing at him as he falls, until her gun clicks. There is still no expression in her eyes.

EXT. RAVEN’S CAR - DESERT - MORNING

RAVEN

Then I just walked out of there the

way I came in.

EYEBALL

Did anyone know it was you?

RAVEN

Only Big Ed. His men stole the

building’s security tapes and tracked

me down. But he didn’t want to kill

me. I had put him in too powerful

a position by killing his enemies

already. He was impressed. He said

he’d keep my secret and waive the

rest of my debt, if I would do this

one last job.

EYEBALL

Kill Kara.

RAVEN

Yes. That’s all. Should have been

easy.

EXT. DESERT - DAY

Tom’s car slowly approaches from the distance. From out of the heat haze, a small, semi-circular strip mall appears. At its locus, just next to the road, a thirty-foot obelisk stands, with the words MIDDLE OF NOWHERE written up all four sides in neon block letters that’s only barely visible in the noon glare.

The building’s architecture is faux Mexican adobe, and along the top of the facade are roman numerals reading from eight, on the left, to three, on the right. To the side of mall is a small gas station. This is where Tom pulls the car in.

INT. TOM’S CAR - DAY

Tom shuts off the car and unfastens his seatbelt. They’re both tired and irritable.

KARA

What is this place?

TOM

I don’t know. Are you hungry? It

looks like there’s a restaurant.

KARA

With her on our tail?

TOM

We’ve gotta eat, and I think we’ve

still got a good lead. Time enough

for a quick lunch, anyway.

KARA

Why don’t we just get rid of this

car? We can take one of those.

She motions to the few other cars in the lot.

TOM

Well, sure. Why didn’t I think of

that? You know how to hotwire, right?

Kara slowly shakes her head.

TOM

Me neither.

He gets out. Kara unfastens her seat belt and mutters under her breath.

KARA

Some fugitive you are…

EXT. MIDDLE OF NOWHERE - DAY

Kara follows Tom through the heat vapors to the tiny gas station building. The GAS ATTENDANT, a young man, sits in a plexiglass booth that has no room for more than a cash drawer and an air conditioner. A stack of paperbacks sits on the counter next to him, and he looks up as they approach.

ATTENDANT

Yeah?

TOM

You guys have a mechanic here?

ATTENDANT

Nope. No room.

TOM

How about full service?

ATTENDANT

That we’ve got.

Tom pushes a twenty through the metal drawer, notices a worn copy of “Something Wicked This Way Comes” on top of the stack of books.

TOM

Could you fill it and let me have

the Bradbury?

He points to it.

ATTENDANT

You got it.

TOM

We’re going to get something to eat,

so there’s no hurry.

ATTENDANT

Around here, there never is.

The attendant shoves the book back through the drawer, gives him a dead smile. Tom takes it and put it in his inside jacket pocket. He turns back to Kara.

TOM

Shall we?

He offers his arm, and she takes it. They walk to the door of the restaurant and step inside.

SYZYGY - 9

INT. KARA’S CAR - NIGHT

Tom is driving. He and Kara are both laughing. They are already well into the desert, which passes by starkly in the full moonlight.

TOM

Seriously?

KARA

Of course! It kicked ass!

TOM

Lost In Space, huh? I was always

partial to Hawaii Five-O.

KARA

Really? Why’s that?

TOM

Well, my older brother always told

me that the next week we’d find out

if the guys in the kayak got away

from the tidal wave.

Kara laughs uproariously.

TOM

I kept falling for it. It was import-

ant. I needed to know! That and the

original Alvin and the Chipmunks

theme. Those were the two best.

KARA

(singing)

“This… is… the… Alvin show, the Alvin

show…”

TOM & KARA

“You’re positively gonna love the

Alvin show…”

They both break up laughing.

TOM

Why didn’t we ever talk like this in

high school?

KARA

I don’t know. Because we were in

high school, I guess. We didn’t

understand the value of TV theme

songs.

TOM

Yeah, but seriously… Raven and I don’t

talk like this, even now.

KARA

Well, I’m not Raven.

TOM

(smiling)

No, you’re not. You’re definitely not.

But we haven’t talked this much since

that one night…

KARA

I know. That guy broke up with me.

I don’t even remember what his name

was anymore. And I was crying, and

you came up and just started talking

to me. I remember I kind of poured

my heart out to you.

TOM

(fondly)

Kind of.

KARA

But you listened. You really listened.

Back then I always felt like I spent

more time dealing with other people’s

problems than my own.

TOM

I know. I could see that.

KARA

I never thanked you for that. You…

you kind of had a crush on me back

then, didn’t you?

TOM

Yeah. I did. Most definitely.

KARA

You could have just asked me out.

TOM

I could have. But didn’t. I guess

I figured the wanting would be better

than the having.

KARA

What does that mean?

TOM

Well, I think I was really in love

with you. Not some adolescent prom

night fantasy, maybe if it was I

could have done something about it.

But I had you built up in my mind

as some kind of goddess, everything

I thought a woman could be. I thought

about reading to you, sitting under

trees with you, or fixing candlelight

dinners, anything. Everything you

wanted.

KARA

Good thing you didn’t. I don’t think

I could have lived up to your expect-

ations.

TOM

The ache of not being with you was

better than anyone could ever have

been. Then again, maybe you could have.

He turns to her, but she looks away, embarrassed.

TOM

I get the feeling tonight that maybe

you really are closer to the way I

dreamed.

She doesn’t respond.

TOM

Even after college, it got worse. I

always half-believed that one day I’d

look up from my books and you’d be

standing there. And then tonight,

you finally were.

KARA

So you did what you always dreamed

about doing.

TOM

Yeah. With Raven the way she is now,

I can’t help but feel that I’m waiting

and waiting for something that will

never happen. I lot of the time I

don’t even feel like she’s there. But

it’s just to stop loving someone like

that, and when I think about it I

guess I feel weak for not having the

patience for her to come back…

KARA

Well, I’ve very recently stopped

loving someone. It wasn’t so hard.

TOM

Sorry. I guess I’ve just been talking

about myself.

KARA

It’s okay. You’re entitled. I’m just

glad you’re were there. And that

you’re here now. It makes things a

little easier.

She puts her hand on his arm, and he suddenly seems uncomfortable.

KARA

I wish that just once Jake would

have done any of those things you

always dreamed about.

INT. JAKE’S HOUSE - MORNING

Jake, fully dressed, carrying a mug of coffee, wanders from room to room, staring at the phones. He checks his watch, which reads eight-thirty, and looks out the window nervously. He passes the stairs to the basement, looks down them, checks his watch again.

INT. JAKE’S BASEMENT

The basement has been outfitted as a workshop. Benches and racks of tools line the walls. He reaches underneath one of the larger tables, removes a pistol that was held there by electrical tape. He heads back to the stairs, stops, and looks back.

In the corner, under another workbench, are two aluminum briefcases. He removes them and opens one. Nestled in foam beds inside are four detonators attached to blocks of what must be plastic explosive.

The doorbells rings upstairs. He looks up, startled.

INT. JAKE’S HOUSE - MORNING

As Jake walks into his foyer toward the front door, he glances out the front window. In his driveway, he can clearly see two police cruisers. He grabs a throw pillow off a chair and holds it over his face.

JAKE

(muffled through pillow)

FUCK!!!!

In an instant he is back in control, and opens the door, his face a mask of concerned surprise. He opens the door on three policemen and a plainclothes detective, DETECTIVE MANTLE.

MANTLE

Good morning, Mr. Brennan. I’m

Detective Mantle. I’m sorry to disturb

you so early.

JAKE

It’s all right… I was still in bed.

MANTLE

Sleep in your clothes, did you?

Jake has forgotten that he’s dressed.

JAKE

Yes. Have you heard anything about

Kara?

MANTLE

Well, that’s why we’re here, Mr.

Brennan. May we come in?

JAKE

Certainly.

INT. LIVING ROOM - MORNING

The policemen sit on the couch, with Jake and Mantle sit facing each other across the coffee table.

MANTLE

Normally missing person reports

can’t be filed for twenty-four

hours, but we found something

interesting this morning that we

think might pertain to this case.

JAKE

And what was that?

Mantle begins fishing around in his pockets for a rumpled piece of paper, which he begins unfolding and flattening.

MANTLE

Just after one o’clock this morning,

in a hotel just outside of town, a

man was murdered.

JAKE

A man? Do you think he had something

to do with Kara?

MANTLE

We’re not exactly sure. But we were

hoping you could tell us. The named

signed in the guest book for the room

in which the murder occurred… is yours.

Jake freezes. Mantle slides the paper across the table to him. It shows a photocopy of a fax on which, underneath the motel’s letterhead and logo, room 18 clearly shows Raven’s handwriting: Mr. & Mrs. Jake Brennan. Jake knows exactly who wrote it, but manages to conceal his anger.

JAKE

No, it’s not Kara’s writing.

MANTLE

Didn’t think so. The report from the

desk clerk is that a Caucasian male

and a Native American woman, regist-

ered the previous morning. Neither

of which match the description of

your wife, obviously.

Jake looks at the motel’s address, which includes the words “off Highway 46”.

JAKE

Detective, may I keep this?

MANTLE

Sure. Just a copy. We’re having the

place’s phone records checked too.

We should have the results within

the hour. I thought it best that we

have some of the men here wait with

you, in case whoever has her happens

to call.

Jake sneaks a glance at his watch, which is getting dangerously close to nine o’clock.

JAKE

(calmly)

Of course.

MANTLE

And since we’re so close to the state

line, the federal agencies are on

standby, just in case we find Kara

has been taken over. In that case,

the FBI would immediately become

involved.

Mantle’s words are becoming more and more drowned out by a buzzing sound, coming from inside Jake’s head. He’s trying his best to ignore it, but his temples are starting to sweat and the tips of his fingers are twitching.

JAKE

Can I offer… you and your men… some

coffee?

MANTLE

Thank you. That’d be fine. We really

appreciate your cooperation, Mr. Brennan.

Jefferson, would you help Mr. Brennan,

please?

One of the policemen nods, and stands as Jake does.

JAKE

I’ll show you. The kitchen is right

back here.

INT. KITCHEN - MORNING

Jake, with Jefferson following, moves through the kitchen around the island to the coffee machine. Jake spins on his heel, puts his hand on the back of Jefferson’s head, and punches him in the face. He then grabs the slumping body and gently lowers it to the ground. He drags the body behind the island so it can’t be seen from the doorway, and heads for the basement stairs. As soon as he’s gone, another policeman peeks in.

POLICEMAN

Mr. Brennan? Steve?

INT. STAIRWAY - MORNING

Jake sneaks back up the basement stairs, opens the side door at the top of the landing that leads into the garage.

INT. KITCHEN - MORNING

The policeman doesn’t see Jefferson’s body lying behind the counter, but notices that the basement door is ajar. The other two policemen enter the kitchen, and he motions for them to be quiet. He slowly opens the basement door, drawing his gun. The stairs are empty, and the outer door is closed, but the basement light is on. He starts descending the stairs.

EXT. DRIVEWAY - MORNING

The garage door opens and as soon as it’s open far enough, Jake’s car, in neutral, glides down toward the street. He has to ride up on the grass to avoid the squad cars.

INT. LIVING ROOM - MORNING

Detective Mantle doesn’t see Jake’s car rolling silently across the lawn behind him.

INT. BASEMENT

The policeman looks into the workroom, sees one of the aluminum suitcases lying open on the bench. One of the detonators has a display that switches from 00:00:03 to 00:00:02. He turns and starts running up the stairs in a blind panic.

POLICEMAN

DETECTIVE!!!!

EXT. STREET - MORNING

An explosion nearly pushes the house off its foundation, sending flames shooting out all the windows.

INT. JAKE’S CAR - MORNING

Jake tilts his rear-view mirror to watch the fireball behind him. He body shudders, and the buzzing sound returns. A terrifying half-grin spreads across his face.

JAKE

Beautiful…

He turns on the radio, winces as clear music comes out. He quickly changes the station dial to static, cranks the volume, and smiles.