Nine Objects of Desire is the right title for an album that explores just that, although, granted, in Suzanne Vega’s usual deeply cerebral style. She would never be so gauche as to write explicitly about lust or to stoop to using the all-too-common crutch of … Continue reading Stockings
For me, Suzanne Vega’s 99.9F° is one of the seminal records of the 90’s. Obviously, 1992 was a very impressionable year. Nine year old me had very passionate opinions about music, and when I had a favorite record, it was locked in for several years. … Continue reading Song of Sand
Suzanne Vega does not write about ordinary things the way ordinary songwriters do. That is, she certainly writes about ordinary things. She writes, as most people do, about her interior life, about love, and about the human condition. It’s what she has to say about … Continue reading Solitude Standing
This reminds me of when I saw Suzanne Vega play in a lovely church a few years ago. It was probably about four or five years ago, during SXSW. It was a very beautiful and unexpected venue and it was perfect for Suzanne. She’s not … Continue reading Rusted Pipe
I love pulling out the most obscure songs from albums I haven’t listened to in a long time, which you’ve probably listened to never. It’s like opening up a box in the attic. It’s memories and it’s feelings I don’t remember. I also really love … Continue reading Room off the Street
Let’s tell the future. The more you enumerate the many ways people have tried, the more you’re reminded that it can’t be done. That makes this a very existential song in its own mild way. It’s existential because it’s not existential. Suzanne Vega doesn’t muse … Continue reading Predictions
This is a new reworking of a very forgotten gem. Suzanne Vega has been steadily rerecording acoustic versions of old material, arranging the results by theme; love, family, states of being. Coming from most artists, such a project would be presumed to be an easy … Continue reading Pilgrimage
This, a song about asking forgiveness, feels a little mournful for today. But also thought provoking, if you want to dwell on thoughts about grace. Penitence, grace, and forgiveness are pillars in the doctrines of every faith I know of. Perhaps guidance for navigating those … Continue reading Penitent
That’s right, there’s no such thing as a cheap thrill. Take it from Suzanne Vega, here at her most glamorous, but no less perceptive for having put on a cocktail dress. Everything’s a gamble, and you never know how much you’re going to end up … Continue reading No Cheap Thrill
Is there an evocation of myth to be found in those moments spent lying awake in a darkened room? Some line to be drawn from your own disoriented eyes to the forces that drive humanity? You feel very existential alone in the dark. You muse about … Continue reading Night Vision
