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| 1996-01-19 | — | Jim Sullivan - The Boston Globe |  | Her name is Annie Danielewski, but you can call her POE...
It's her longtime nickname and nom de rock. She's got an alt-rock song/video called "Trigger Happy Jack" - the most venemous, infectious pop song since Alanis Morissette's "You Otta Know" and it is rising on the radio. It's a potent kiss-off song featuring the refrain "You can't talk to a psycho like a normal human being." It's tough, it's twisted, it's bittersweet. In the video POE traps her (miniature) suitor in a jar. She's the butterfly collector.
As Rick Ricardo used to ask of Lucy: "Splain?"
"Lucy did the best job!" says POE, laughing, discussing the classic comedian's way with narrow escapes and fabricated tales. POE's motivation? "It came from the demonic recesses of my bone marrow." she says. "Actually, it was inspired initially by a drive-by in L.A. where this guy tried to run me off the road waving a gun at 100 m.p.h. It was really crazy and it sparked this bizarre reaction in me. I wasn't exactly a victim; I did get away. But it is true that violence breed violence. I was hoping someone would mess with my car: it's funny how that random explosion of violence causes a sick and violent response. It became a humorous anecdote for a relationship I was having. I was starting to see the boy I was seeing as trying to run me off the road. He was a total psycho. It was my wake-up call as to why he's psychotic."
POE, who opens for Lenny Kravitz at the Orpheum Theatre Feb. 9, says it's in her nature to try to understand, to nurture. "I can't remember who wrote it, but there's the line: 'The nightmare of life is everybody has their reasons.' Once you understand their reasons, it's harder to make a judgement or disengage. But you can't talk to a psycho. I certainly don't have to be kind to him."
Thing is, as POE admits in songs and on the phone from Spain, there are many contradictory strands that arise in relationships. Who's strong? Who's weak, Who has the power? "What sucks is the damsel-in-distress position." POE says, "which also works on the male ego: A young girl wanting attention, pretending you don't know what you're doing or in trouble. There are many heros on a white horse who want to save you. And, then you have to act like a dysfunctional human being or lose that love. I have that impulse myself. My song 'Junkie' is about that. I can play the game."
POE's debut album, "Hello," is out on Modern/Atlantic.
Article by...
Jim Sullivan (Globe Staff)
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