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Subj: "Caramel" mini-review
Date: 96-04-02 20:39:21 EST
From: pmurf@ix.netcom.com (Paul Murphy)
To: undertow@law.emory.edu
Hey,
Thought everyone would be interested in a capsule review of "Caramel" in this week's "Entertainment Weekly," so here 'tis:
SUZANNE VEGA "Caramel" (A&M) A sweet departure for Vega, this single from "The Truth About Cats and Dogs" soundtrack is a sultry lounge number that gently swings to jazzy guitars, buoyant bass, and bossa-nova rhythms. Slipping out of her trademark social consciousness into something more com- fortable, Vega teasingly sings about unfulfilled desire in a breathy voice that would make Pat Robertson consider premarital sex. Rating: A-
Pretty cool, eh? Well, er, pretty hot too maybe?
Paul
pmurf@ix.netcom.com
Subj: Caramel on radio
Date: 96-04-03 11:26:24 EST
From: Jeremy513@aol.com
To: undertow@law.emory.edu
Started the car, pulled out of the driveway, turned on the radio, and there were the unmistakable lounge-guitar riffs of "Caramel." Nearly backed into a mailbox from the surprise of hearing it outside of that teasing little 30-second bit I have on my hard drive.
The local so-called 'modern rock' radio station here has something they call 'new tunes Tuesday,' which is when they play new stuff that often never otherwise ends up getting on the radio in regular rotation. So they threw "Caramel" in. After it's over the djs not only id it, but talk about the picture of SV on the cover of the single. One of them says "she looks exactly like a very thin Carnie"-- as in Wilson. The other said she looks like his mother did in 1962. I think they went on a bit more about how different she looks from album to album or something.
Anyway, it sounds very cool on the radio.
Jeremy
Date: Sat, 17 Feb 1996 13:16:23 -0500
From: Unique212@aol.com
To: undertow@law.emory.edu
Subject: BobKing's Recent Postings, and Caramel
Hi folks,
Bob, you've really outdone yourself this time! "Hunka Hunka Burnin' Coolly Detached Observation"!?! Now why didn't I think of that?
The original post about 99.9 being about sex was somewhat silly, as it attempted to relate the individual songs to certain situations and various types of sexual couplings, but the writer was not entirely off-base in saying that 99.9 is all about sex and romance. Here's an excerpt from the third part of the Leonard Cohen interview:
" C: "Yes, I see this album as an exquisite, refined mating call of
one of the most delicate and refined and concealed creatures on the scene.
This is the mating call of concealment. This is how secrecy woos her lover.
So, do you think that this album will bring you the lover which the album
calls out to?"
S: "Yes." "
Well, now we all know that Leonard was completely right. Good guesswork.
Caramel -- it's interesting that the song is a bossa nova, since Astrud Gilberto is one of the names that often pops up in the "who does Suzanne sound like" game. The lyrics seem more wistful (and personally painful) than many of the other songs. I wonder how they will use it in the movie. Hopefully it won't be playing at low volume on a cassette deck in a two-minute scene, as Left of Center was (mis)used in "Pretty in Pink."
U212
Date: Sat, 17 Feb 1996 12:53:51 -0800 (PST)
Wendy!
Date: Tue, 27 Feb 1996 17:57:13 -0800 (PST)
Isn't it interesting that the cover of Caramel is kind of Uma Thurman in
Pulp Fiction as Eric said and its for an Uma movie? Did she do that
intentionally?
Wendy!
Date: Wed, 28 Feb 1996 09:57:14 -0800 (PST)
On Tue, 27 Feb 1996, Wendy Chapman wrote:
Here I go being the dissident. Other than the cut of her hair, I
don't think Suzanne's look on the cover is emulating Uma's in PF
at all. She doesn't have the pail skin, red lipped, red/black nailed
look, and her clothing is wrong.
To me the cover has a very nostalgic feel to it...like perhaps it
was pulled from a collection of very old records. The clothes, the
lettering, the whole style in fact reminds me of a record from
the late fifties or early sixties.
the colors of course remeind me of...what else...caramel.
Darcy
From: rwalters@zeh2.lafayette.unocal.COM (Rob Walters)
Hello everyone,
I agree! Especially in the pose, make-up, and lettering. The effect is,
shall we say, *lush*. I think you've got the time period pegged, too.
Suzanne can have that chameleon-like ability to change her appearance!
I did like Eric's "Suzanne...Uma" reference, although probably only those
saw Letterman's Academy Awards joke will get the full meaning. :-)
Any word on the other tracks on this single??
-Rob
Date: Thu, 29 Feb 1996 04:46:45 -0500
Tracy,
I don't think neither that Suzanne made herself look like PF Uma.
Actually when I first saw the PF poster, it made me think of Suzanne, though
I had never thought of that comparison in previous movies with Uma.
And you know what?
There was an interview of Quentin Tarantino in a French magazine (Les
Inrockuptibles), and in a kind of Top Ten he put Suzanne's first album.
So maybe Suzanne inspired him for Uma's look!
David.
From: "Bob King"
Not that I think we should encourage this non-Vega-related poetry
thread, but I can't resist. Even more absurd than this poem itself
is the fact that I read it aloud in front of a record store full of
people a year ago.
Before we begin: _True Confessions_ -- great title, really fits in
with the whole pulp/trashy fiction genre that Suzanne's been
unwittingly implicated in lately, what with her mention in the newly
released uncut Tarantino epic. (Yes, I _do_ think she looks a lot
like Uma in that Caramel cover.) I look forward to seeing that,
although I've also been meaning for a couple of years to see that
original-cut version of _Fatal Attraction_ in which Glenn Close
commits suicide, Michael Douglas is arrested for her murder and the
family never gets to experience that happy, Reagan-era restoration.
As for Caramel: I really like the clip I've heard on the site
(better than I like what I've heard of Woman On The Tier, though
maybe I just need to hear that song in some sort of context). The
bossa nova style was interesting, though I fear some will accuse
Suzanne of trying to cash in on that alleged lounge music trend the
media have been hyping lately. (Actually the first thing that popped
into my head was "Pack Yr Romantic Mind" by Stereolab, who appear to
be making their own forays into Astrid Gilberto-land on their
upcoming CD). Of course, Suzanne has always been willing to
incorporate non-stereoptypically-folky elements in her song, like the
jazzy flavor of "Freeze Tag."
Lyrically, "Caramel" strikes me as her old "Just Friends" song in
reverse. This sounds like it will be an interesting album -- not
that it could be otherwise, of course.
Does it strike anyone else that Suzanne seems to be _everywhere_
these days? I'm thinking of the Seinfeld thing, the Pulp Fiction
references, these soundtracks she's in and now her upcoming album --
for someone who's not exactly at the Madonna level of media
saturation, this seems like a pretty sustained assault on popular
culture. Maybe she's the secret burning thread running just under the
surface of our society these days, and (to paraphrase Bob Dole on
Nixon) this will be rembered as the Era of Suzanne. (And Wendy will
get credit for discovering it first!)
Also: I finally subscribed to Fast Folk, as I've been meaning to do
even before I heard of the Suzanne connection. The latest issue
comes with a CD of a 1995 show at the Bottom Line with people like
Lucy Kaplansky, and a short newsletter-style magazine that includes
an essay relevant to our recent debate on musical genres. (They also
mention that some of their alumni, notably Tracy Chapman, have
promptly sloughed off the "folk" label after Making It Big. It's
interesting that Suzanne hasn't. I wonder if it's because critics
have trouble believing that a black woman like Chapman can write
folk music, or if Suzanne embraces the label as part of her general
identification with outsiders.)
The music includes some amazing stuff along with material at the
just-less-than-amazing level ("There's a weasel in the house of
monogamy"?????). My only negative comment is that these people
_seriously_ need a copy editor or two. The issue contained a number
of blank pages where material belonged, as well blank spaces with
labels like "dirty linen ad." (They restored the missing ads in an
insert -- but not the missing articles or song lyrics!) I have some
experience in publishing, and this strikes me as fairly fundamental
on the list of things you check before mailing out.
That aside, this is an extremely worthy cause and one I urge anyone
who can afford the $50 subscription fee to support (Hey, that's only
$5 per CD, which is better than you'll do at Tower). They're at PO
Box 938 Village Station, New York, NY 10014, (212)274-1636.
On a non-Vega hype note: April 2 is the latest promised release date
for Pee Shy's major label debut, _Who Let All the Monkeys Out?_
Anyone who believes that a clarinet, an accordion, two brilliant
women and the most bizarre lyrical sensibility of the decade can
change the universe should strongly consider checking this out.
Without venturing into heresy here, this will be Suzanne's stiffest
competition for my favorite album of the year. (Suzanne will have
the element of surprise; Pee Shy will win points for the fact that
I'll finally be able to hear "Smoking Gun" without driving an hour
to a show.)
Oh well, that's enough procrastination for today. Time to pack!
-- Bob, Tallahassee-bound
Subj: CARAMEL VIDEO SIGHTING!!
Hi folks,
A while back I asked if the video had been picked up by any stations. I'm
pleased to report the answer to the question:
VH1 has the video, and I just saw it as part of a program they call
"Crossroads", which runs at 11 p.m. and then again at 3 a.m. (hence the
timing of this message). It's just as Eric described it, and WAY COOLl!!
The decor seems to be very 1950's schlock, with flocked wallpaper and all.
The scene with the moviehouse lobby seems to be in homage to an Edward
Hopper painting.
Hey, finally a video channel with some taste!
Earlier,
U212
Subj: Caramel multiple choice
An intriguing aspect of Suzanne Vega's work is the ability to take them to
different levels and settings. The listener is free to interpret each song
without constraints, i.e. he/she is not compelled to deduce that the narrator is
Suzanne herself. For example in Luka, it is a boy telling the story. I've
heard Suzanne say that just because a woman is singing, doesn't mean that the
narrator is a woman.
How about in Caramel? Is this song sang by:
I notice that meaning changes not insignificantly when put to each situation.
Regards,
Jill
Subj: Re: Caramel multiple choice
I think this is the cue for Wendy! to jump in and talk about tomatoes some
more. (BTW, does that category include Ellen from the TV show? Or is that
just a nasty rumor in the pages of Deneuve?)
-- Bob, wishing I had something positive to contribute
Subj: Re: Caramel multiple choice
On Sat, 18 May 1996, Robert King wrote:
>
Ellen is not a tomatoe she is a Lesbian! She's around in the community
here in LA and everyone has always known it. She's best friends with
Melissa Ethridge and K.D. Lange and has been spotted in many places with a
woman on her arm. Oh, and the New Yorker or some magazine like that said
that she was seen in a local bar kissing a fan--then, Michael Musto (sp?
sorry) of the Village Voice (I think) said that they forgot to mention
that the bar was a lesbian bar and the fan was a woman--I think, her new
girlfriend as she dumped her partner of over 5 years when she became
famous.
Privately Ellen is a dyke--publically she doesn't feel it is safe to come
out yet. I understand though a lot of my friends are critical of her.
Wendy!
Subj: Re: Caramel multiple choice
>An intriguing aspect of Suzanne Vega's work is the ability to take them to
That's the brilliance of it all. As readers and listeners, I don't think
we're ever supposed to assume that we know the narrator. I just finished a
paper on Suzanne's minimalist style and one of the elements that I talked
about was that her music is open to multiple interpretation based on personal
experience. I heard Suzanne say once that she wrote from the part of her
that was like others--to me that meant that she writes in a way that everyone
can bring there own experiences to the music. If we were to assume the
narrator is always Suzanne or even a woman, that would be very limiting, I
think.
Wendy!
Subj: Re: Caramel multiple choice
Hello everyone,
I may have "nothing to offer but my own confusion" on this one, but I'll
jump in anyway. I haven't heard Caramel yet, so I'll keep it general.
(I've missed the last couple of weeks on the list since I got unknowingly
unsubscribed, so it's good to see some posts for a change!)
Wendy! wrote:
>>The listener is free to interpret each song
Yes - I agree that it's too limiting to put an identity on the narrator
for most of her songs. Of course, in some of her songs which tell stories,
she assumes the viewpoint of the "omniscient" narrator, but most her songs
are written from a personal perspective. We all filter these songs through
the lens of our own experience as we hear them and incorporate them into our
lives. So maybe asking whether Caramel is supposed to be written from a
man to man, woman to man, etc. is interesting to speculate on, but it
really isn't the point. (Now if I only knew what the point was! :-) )
The exceptions, which are equally good songs, are those in which she takes on
a specific character, as in Luka, Calypso, etc. I think one of the best,
which I keep returning to, is Small Blue Thing. It's one thing to ask
yourself how you would speak from the perspective of an abused child, and
she does it brilliantly on Luka, but it's a rare person who can make the
leap to the level of writing something like "Blue Marble" (which she called
it in some of her early shows). But, that's the genius of Suzanne.
-Rob
Subj: Re:Caramel Multiple Choice
On this subject, I'll only add that even when the narrator or the main
character is obviously a woman, it never kept me from identifying.
Hey, Rob, what is your quote ("nothing to offer but my own confusion") from?
It sounds very familiar to me but I can't remember what it is.
David.
Subj: Re: Caramel multiple choice
Dear Jill,
> How about in Caramel? Is this song sang by:
Could it be from a tomato to a cucumber or eggplant? Or from potato to
onion? Or maybe it's just peanuts on a snickers bar, thus the reference
to Caramel.
These things are so confusing.
Regards,
Khairyl
Subj: "Caramel" single?
I keep hearing that this song has been released as a "single" but an
unable to find a commercial CD or cassette. Can someone verify that it is
indeed out, and provide a real catalog number?
Yes, I know it's on the soundtrack........
Subj: Re: "Caramel" single?
What, 's the soundtrack not good enough for you? It's got some other
great songs on it. G.Love, Urge Overkill...
Try this for catalog info:
Dave In Seattle
Subj: Re: "Caramel" single?
>>What, 's the soundtrack not good enough for you? It's got some other
great songs on it. G.Love, Urge Overkill...<<
I'll pass. With the exception of Sting, none of the other artist do a thing
for me, I'm not about to spend $16, for just 2 songs.
Besides I taped the song off the radio, so I'm content with that. Not a very
good copy but it should hold me till the albums release.
Subj: caramel
While I'm a big fan of Suzanne's post-Days of Open Hand stuff, I'm
hopeful "Caramel" marks the end of her industrial phrase -- or at
least a large closure of it, because I think she needs to move on.
("Woman on the Pier" was discouraging in its repetition; I keep
expecting SV to break into "Blood Makes Noise" on "Woman"'s chorus.)
"Caramel" is a great song, I think, because its sexy and seductive
beat is fresh, and it showcases SV's voice instead of hiding it; it's
going to catch a number of people off-guard. In any case, I think
it's her best song since "In Liverpool," which still has my vote for
her best song ever. (Somebody please tell me "Caramel" is going to be
on her next album, because I can't bring myself to spend $16 on the
"Cats and Dogs" soundtrack and I can't keep marching up to Blockbuster
Music's sampling listening station with the same damn CD.)
Also, has she said anything in recent interviews to suggest she's
doing something different with her music? Is "Caramel" indicative of
what "Nine Objects" is going to sound like? Fingers are crossed.
John
VegaNet@aol.com
From: Wendy Chapman
Cc: undertow@law.emory.edu
Subject: Re: BobKing's Recent Postings, and Caramel
On Sat, 17 Feb 1996 Unique212@aol.com wrote
concerning Caramel:
> I wonder how they will use it in the movie.
> Hopefully it won't be playing at low volume on a cassette deck in a
> two-minute scene, as Left of Center was (mis)used in "Pretty in Pink.">
Finally someone agrees with me about the misuse of Left of Center. Gosh,
there were so many great places in that movie to use the song!
From: Wendy Chapman
Cc: undertow@law.emory.edu
Subject: Re: "Caramel"
From: Darcy Van Patten
Subject: Re: "Caramel" Single
> Isn't it interesting that the cover of Caramel is kind of Uma Thurman in
> Pulp Fiction as Eric said and its for an Uma movie? Did she do that
> intentionally?
>
> Wendy!
Date: Wed, 28 Feb 96 16:10:31 CST
To: vpatten@ocean.washington.edu
Subject: Re: "Caramel"
Darcy wrote:
>To me the cover has a very nostalgic feel to it...like perhaps it
>was pulled from a collection of very old records. The clothes, the
>lettering, the whole style in fact reminds me of a record from
>the late fifties or early sixties.
From: 101524.2775@compuserve.com
To: undertow@serv1.law.emory.edu
Subject: Suzanne...Uma
To: undertow@law.emory.edu
Date: Sun, 17 Mar 1996 08:48:56 +0000
Subject: Caramel, a poem about the Horse (& other stuff)
"All the time I was on fire
I burned with every stride
And now I see this anger
Is the horse I choose to ride"
-- Lucy Kaplansky, "The Tide"
P.S. Oh yeah, the poem:
a poem about the Horse
the Horse just stomped on my head!
did you see that?
do you know what it's like to have a Horse stomp your head?
well, it hurts, bubbha! don't let them mislead you on that point
whatever you do
this Horse was a Horse like no other
he had legs that were black and round,
like a snake
he breathed fire and smoke, only
not out the end you'd think
he had six eyes made of glass
all around his forehead, which was by
far his most prominent feature.
he wore armor, like a fishwife,
only with handles allowing you to open and close portions,
like a safe ... or a divining rod
he had a voice like a trumpet or bassoon, only louder
he flew as swift as cattle, rumbling like pastries
he was very scary
so anyway, to continue my tale,
i was taking my daily pilgrimage across town, seeking work,
when fatigue crept over me the way cactuses
slink across a young girl's palm in the evening
so i did what would be expected:
i slept
where i was
soon the Horse was upon me!
not even had my dreams begun to fester and awake
when with a camel's snort and the concern of a raven
the wing of the Horse's Rampage was swinging its cloak
over my shoulders! fanning me conscious
and to my doom!
no clackclack his Hooves made
as they ground my head in the asphalt
-- rather, smooth boulders-on-treadmill,
relentless cascade of jupiter's moons
pingponged me dirtward,
my skull for its anvil
as quick as that it was gone.
amazed i still held my brains
i staggered aloft and admired
the way my attacker sashayed
as he, Horse, loped 'round the corner
magnificent, cruel, evil Horse
i think he may have been a car
Date: 96-05-01 03:32:38 EDT
From: Unique212@aol.com
To: undertow@law.emory.edu
Date: 96-05-17 19:57:17 EDT
From: 100232.712@compuserve.com (Albert T. Chan)
Sender: owner-undertow@law.emory.edu
To: undertow@serv1.law.emory.edu (all)
a.) a man to a woman
b.) a woman to a man
c.) a man to a man
d.) a woman to a woman
Date: 96-05-18 03:09:05 EDT
From: bobking@gate.net (Robert King)
Sender: owner-undertow@law.emory.edu
To: 100232.712@compuserve.com (Albert T. Chan)
CC: undertow@serv1.law.emory.edu (all)
Date: 96-05-18 11:49:44 EDT
From: wchapman@chaph.usc.edu (Wendy Marie Chapman)
Sender: owner-undertow@law.emory.edu
To: bobking@gate.net (Robert King)
> I think this is the cue for Wendy! to jump in and talk about tomatoes some
> more. (BTW, does that category include Ellen from the TV show? Or is that
> just a nasty rumor in the pages of Deneuve?)
Date: 96-05-18 12:43:47 EDT
From: Wchapman1@aol.com
Sender: owner-undertow@law.emory.edu
To: 100232.712@compuserve.com
CC: Undertow@law.emory.edu
>different levels and settings. The listener is free to interpret each song
>without constraints, i.e. he/she is not compelled to deduce that the
>narrator is
>Suzanne herself.
Date: 96-05-18 16:28:22 EDT
From: rwalters@lafayette.unocal.com
Sender: owner-undertow@law.emory.edu
To: undertow@law.emory.edu
>>without constraints, i.e. he/she is not compelled to deduce that the
>>narrator is
>>Suzanne herself.
>That's the brilliance of it all. As readers and listeners, I don't think
>we're ever supposed to assume that we know the narrator.
Date: 96-05-18 18:40:31 EDT
From: 101524.2775@compuserve.com
Sender: owner-undertow@law.emory.edu
To: undertow@law.emory.edu
Date: 96-05-19 02:54:54 EDT
From: arel@pc.jaring.my (Khairyl Yassin)
Sender: owner-undertow@law.emory.edu
To: 100232.712@compuserve.com (Albert T. Chan)
CC: undertow@serv1.law.emory.edu
> a.) a man to a woman
> b.) a woman to a man
> c.) a man to a man
> d.) a woman to a woman
Date: 96-05-27 15:01:56 EDT
From: schuster@Panix.Com (Michael Schuster)
Sender: owner-undertow@law.emory.edu
To: undertow@law.emory.edu (Suzanne Vega)
Date: 96-05-28 01:49:38 EDT
From: delvin@kmtt.com
Sender: owner-undertow@law.emory.edu
To: undertow@law.emory.edu
Suzanne Vega/Caramel/A&M Records/ AMCDP 00188
Date: 96-05-28 18:50:40 EDT
From: LUKA23@aol.com
Sender: owner-undertow@law.emory.edu
To: undertow@law.emory.edu
Date: 96-06-03 03:29:40 EDT
From: ?@nwu.edu (Medill Lab)
To: VegaNet@aol.com
johnshea@nwu.edu
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