SUZANNE VEGA
FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS (FAQ)
Version 0.88, last modified 9 September 1996
To celebrate the release of Nine Objects of Desire -- Suzanne's brand new album -- here's the new FAQ.
/Hugo
rtfm.mit.edu /pub/usenet/news.answersA very useful list of Internet services can be obtained by sending e-mail to mail-server@rtfm.mit.edu with empty subject line and the following text -- and nothing else -- in the body of the message:
SEND usenet/news.answers/internet-services/listPlease send any questions, corrections or suggestions concerning this FAQ to:
Hugo.Westerlund@ipm.ki.seUpdated versions will be posted now and then to the Undertow mailing list and on Suzanne Vega's WWW site. They can also be obtained by anonymous FTP:
ftp.ki.se pub/outgoing/svfaq.txt
SUZANNE VEGA, the eponymous debut album, was released in 1985 to universal
critical acclaim, and it became a big success in England and several other
European countries. The songs are representative of Suzanne's early mature
style. Poignant and pleasant, "Suzanne Vega" remains the favourite of many
of her fans.
SOLITUDE STANDING, released in 1987, spans ten years of Suzanne's songwriting: from the mellifluous beauty of Gypsy to the experimental minimalism
of In the Eye. The music to several of the songs was written together with
band members, and the arrangements are more rock oriented, with a markedly
percussive flavour. Luka, written from the point-of-view of an abused child,
became an unlikely chart success all over the world, and established Suzanne
as a leading name in popular music, opening the door for other gifted female
singer/songwriters like Tracy Chapman, Michelle Shocked and Shawn Colvin.
DAYS OF OPEN HAND, released in 1990, was co-produced by Suzanne, and marks
a development towards more melodic songs, and rich, experimental arrangements.
As the title suggests, a main theme is "resolving the past and
looking to the future." Much of the material is drawn from dreams -- you
are invited into a world of mysterious, evocative symbolism and deep,
complex emotion.
99.9F°, released in 1992, is Suzanne's most playful album to date --
recorded quickly, it captures the creative, spontaneous atmosphere in the
studio. The songs are short, and the lyrics as concentrated as ever. With
Mitchell Froom as producer, Suzanne got the powerful, varied sound she had
wanted all along. While this may have shocked some of her old time fans,
99.9F° met extraordinary critical acclaim, and attracted a new, younger
audience. 99.9F°, according to one critic, is "a slice of perfection."
Nine Objects of Desire, released in 1996, is Suzanne's most recent
album. It combines Suzanne's unique writing style with witty production and a Latin flavour not earlier heard in Suzanne's recordings. Nine Objects of Desire is a warm, intimate, poetic, yet catching album that is likely to appeal both to the old die-hard fans who recognizes themes and styles from earlier albums, and to the casual listener who appreciates a good tune.
*The first single from Suzanne's new album is No Cheap Thrill, also out now.
*Suzanne's song Caramel is used to promote the movie picture The Truth About Dogs And Cats and will also be on her forthcoming album.
*Suzanne sings on French singer/songwriter Kent's new album, called Nouba. The song is called Ainsi va L'Amour.
*Suzanne sang last summer on a score written by Philip Glass, for a movie called Jenipapo, directed by Brazilian director Monique Gardenberg. The lyrics were written by a Brazilian poet. There is no soundtrack at this time, and the film is being shown at film festivals in North America.
*Suzanne has written a song called Woman on the Tier for a movie called Dead Man Walking, directed by Tim Robbins. The music is very aggressive -- like Blood Makes Noise but even harder. It's a from a book written by a nun who becomes a spiritual advisor to a killer on Death Row.
*Suzanne added vocals on What's Wrong With The Man Upstairs on David Massengill's album The Return. The album is now available - and a sound clip is also available on the Suzanne Vega Website. For more information, check out the The Plump Records Website.
*She has also written a foreword to an Amnesty International book called Childhood Lost, about the political abuses of children. Available in England.
* Suzanne has contributed a recitation of The Long Voyage based on the poem Silhouettes by Oscar Wilde, to an album by French composer Hector Zazou called Songs from the Cold Seas (Chansons des Mers Froides). Backing vocals by John Cale. The song has also been released as a single in the US.
*Furthermore, Suzanne has contributed a version of Story of Isaac to Tower of Song, an A&M tribute album for Leonard Cohen.
*"Suzanne and Mitchell Froom were married on Friday March 17th in a civil ceremony at City Hall in New York," according to an official note from Suzanne's management. Mitchell is a musician and accomplished producer who first worked with Suzanne on 99.9F°
*On 8 July 1994, Suzanne had a baby girl -- Ruby Maria Froom.
*A curiosity is that a band called Soul Coughing have named their debut album Ruby Vroom after Suzanne's daughter. They basically thought it was a pretty name. Suzanne didn't allow them to use Ruby's name as it is -- because she might want to do her own album one day -- so they substituted a V for F.
http://www.vega.net/vega/Suggestions and contributions are welcomed! Send them to:
VegaNet@aol.comYou can find Adam Schneider's collection of Suzanne Vega guitar chords on WWW:
http://www.umn.edu/nlhome/m161/schn0170/sv/index.html
Majordomo@majordomo.law.emory.edu
with the following in the body (not the subject line):
subscribe undertowThis will subscribe the account from which you send the message to the undertow list.
Back issues are still available.
For additional information, send mail to:
smeding@sara.nlThe postal address is (enclose an IRC):
Suzanne Vega Info Center
Karien Smeding
Geleenstraat 18
1078 LE Amsterdam
The Netherlands
phone: +31-20-662 6500
fax: +31-20-525 2900
You can also find Language online, with lots of articles from back issus. Check out http://www.vega.net/vega/language/language.htm!Some of you may remember the English fanzine Undertow (not to be confused with the mailing list with the same name). Three issues were published, but it is unfortunately long since defunct. There have also been fanzine projects in Italy and Romania.
Live in London 1986, recorded 27 April 1986, was released on CD and LP in Australia and Japan. 6 tracks.
Live at the Royal Albert Hall, recorded 18 November 1986, was released on video (VHS PAL) in the UK, and on LP, video, and laser disk in Japan. 10 tracks.
Making Noise, recorded in San Juan Capistrano 17 February 1993, was released on a limited edition CD in Japan. 6 tracks.
Some live tracks have also been released as B-sides of singles, and in various other formats (notably on Coop/Fast Folk). See the discography for more info.
In addition to these official, and nowadays quite rare, releases, there are several unofficial recordings (bootlegs and pirate recordings). Below is a listing of these with gradings (format:sound quality/cover attractiveness; number of tracks). + for good, 0 for alright, and - for bad. N.B. Most of these recordings are illegal in many countries.
Recorded in Northampton, MA, 17 May 1984: Pretty Vegan (7":-/0; 4 tracks).
Recorded in Italy, November 1984: Great Acoustics (LP:0/+; 6+1 tracks).
Recorded in Berlin, 13 October 1985: My Name is Suzanne Vega (LP:0/-; 11 tracks), Little Big Woman (CD:0/0; 4 last tracks)
Recorded in Milan, 1 December 1987: On Stage (2LP:-/+; 17 tracks, not recommended); On Stage (LP:-/+; picture disk version).
The following are based on a radio show called "The King Biscuit Flower Hour #701", recorded in San Francisco, 6 August 1987: Cracking (CD:+/+; 11 tracks); Little Big Woman (CD:+/0; 11 tracks, additional tracks see above); Live at Tom's Diner (CD:+/0; 11 tracks); Live on Stage (CD:?/+; 11 tracks); Luka (CD:+/+; 11 tracks); Neighborhood Kids (CD:+/0; 11 tracks); Solitude Songs (CD:0/0; 11 tracks, additional tracks se below); Toys (CD:+/0).
The following are based on a radio show called "In Concert: New Rock #93-22", recorded in San Juan Capistrano, 17 February 1993 (track list differs from Making Noise above): In Concert (CD:+/+; 9 tracks); Short But Sweet (CD:+/0; 9 tracks); Solitude Songs (CD:0/0; 9 tracks, additional tracks see above).
The following were recorded in Zürich 18 May 1993. Track lists differ slightly: Dancing Girl (CD:0/0; 19 tracks complete with stories!); 100° Fahrenheit in Montreux (CD:0/+; 18 tracks, no stories).
Yes, there are at least two. The most up to date discography is compiled by
John Relph, and is available at:
http://reality.sgi.com/employees/relph/music/vega.suzanneor through the Suzanne Vega home page. Check it out, there is more material than you may think!
Although not quite up to date, the first edition of The Suzanne Vega Discography published by myself in the December 1993 issue of Language may be a good reference work for the serious record collector. Back issues are still available, and the work continues. Hopefully, there will be a second edition in about a year's time.
John Relph and I are exchanging information and ideas, but there will probably be two distinct discographies also in the future, each with its own merit.
No one person can keep track of every Suzanne Vega records that comes out in the world, so your help is appreciated. Please report interesting findings in accurate detail :-)
The best way to find records is often through the big collector's magazines: Goldmine in the USA and Record Collector in the UK, available at newsstands around the world. If you read them regularly, you will get a good overview of the collecting market, but don't expect to find everything you are looking for in a single issue -- hunting is part of the game.
In the larger cities, there are usually stores specialising in "rare" and "import" records (i.e. bootlegs). When in New York City, check out the area around Bleeker Street. In London, bootlegs are somewhat harder to find, but the second hand market is very large -- visit Camden Town, and Hanway Street off Tottenham Court Road.
You may also want to visit record fairs, at least the large, international ones.
Vega, S. Murmurios urgentes. Urgent whispers. Lisbon: Assirio &
Alvim, 1994. ISBN: 972-37-0353-X.
This highly recommended book contains some early poems, songs from 1974
through 1992, plus three short stories. All these are printed both in
English and in Portuguese translation.
The songs from the three first albums have also been published in the UK:
Vega, S. Bullet in Flight. Songs. London: Omnibus Press, 1990. ISBN:
0-7119-2225-X.
Sheet music and music books have also been published -- see the bibliography, previously published in the December
1994 issue of Language.
Suzanne Vega,
c/o AGF Entertainment Ltd.,
P.O. Box 2036,
Old Chelsea Station,
New York, NY 10113,
U.S.A.
Suzanne reads the Undertow mailing list, and contributes occasionally. If you
would like to ask her a question, post it to the list as a whole, and she
will answer if she can. Do not send mail personally to her, as she does not
have the time to answer personally. This way everyone will know the answer
-- some of which may even end up in this FAQ.