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Subj: How cool she is!!! :)
Date: 95-06-12 03:40:56 EDT
From: dj_finn@postoffice.utas.edu.au (Zest)
To: undertow@law.lawlib.emory.edu

hi everyone!

i only just found/stumbled across the suzanne vega home page...(and hence only just subscribed to this list also)...but how cool it all is! and seeing as this seems an appropriate place, i'd just like to say i thnk it's all put together *really really well*, very interesting, and I'm sure that some people could be turned into likely buyers of her product if they happened to glance thru it. which is a good thing obviously! :) Also, I am in the middle of total exam pressure and it was just the nicest way to kick back & relax for a moment.

anyway, i read that interview with leonard cohen, whom someone once told me> had that song from 'pump up the volume', 'everybody knows'. so i guess he's pretty cool, that was a tough song! is he like *really* old or something? like 60 +!!!? it sounds like he was making moves!! :))) though i'm sure that i am mistaken :)

but then i quickly read suzanne's OWN postings! this completly blew me away, and that is sort of cool you'd have to admit. anyway, i just wanted to say three things.

i) she said; >After that I want to put out two things -- one collection called "Thirteen Early Songs" w songs like >"Marching Dream", "Silver Lady", "Daniella", "Black Widow Station", and some others that aren't >known, like "Feather and Bone" and "Not Me"

>I also want to put out a "Best of", but the kind I like is the kind you hate -- I love records that >collect an artist's singles throughout a period, with no odds and ends, no filler, no experiments, >just the tried and true.

and i think that's all great news! I only got her into with '99.9 F' (all due to that one song..when heroes go down...what a cool video!!!!) and i gotta admit I'd never heard of her before then, which seems weird now :)

anyway, i think both those cds are really cool ideas! i would defintely be buying both of them, which would push my suzzane cds up to 6, and 7 if you include the new one which she is making apparently! (which would put her second only to Bob Dylan & above even the Femmes in my collection i think, showing i have done my personal bit for her bank account!!)...also, i know lots of ppl who really love the 'hits of suzanne vega' ie. stuff like marlene on the wall, luka, undertow, 99.9 etc...talk about a target group! & I'm sure the same situtaion is reflected throughout the cd-buying world :) heheh

ii) if S.Vega ever tours Australia again, i *beg* her to come to Hobart again (yes she did come the first time! )...because no kidding i got into her by accident, like the week after she came a couple of years ago!! which is pretty ironic i guess. :) i would also love to see her in the states, (and in fact will), i bet it's *so cool* there.

iii) lastly, i just wanted to say that "marlene on the wall" is one of the most beautiful songs i've heard, and that the whole first album is just beautiful, even tho I got into her later stuff first. anyone who can have written a song like 'Freeze Tag' deserves all the fame & fortune they can get :) thats one of my fav's.

thats all everybody, sorry if this was too long, but like i say i only just stumbled across it!! :))))

regards all, david.

oh lastly i thought that was an excellent poem too..."By Myself', at age 9. very touching, and even better, very inspiring! well, later everyone, and the best of luck (and thanx) to suzanne vega as well!!. :)) hehh

Subj: Re: Did It Make It?
Date: 95-06-12 06:40:28 EDT
From: pmurf@ix.netcom.com (Paul Murphy)
To: undertow@law.lawlib.emory.edu

To David (djfinn@postoffice.utas.edu.au):

Yes, both your messages made it, and you're right the web page is quite a handsome site. Doubly right on all your comments about Suz- anne, too!

When you post to a mailing list you will get bounced mail from those members of the list whose addresses are skewed in some way or, perhaps, no longer have their original internet service.

Re: Leonard Cohen. Yes, he is definitely an old codger, but a legend- ary poet and songwriter as well. Well worth checking out his own material. I still like his first album ("Songs of Leonard Cohen") the best, which contains "Suzanne" (!), perhaps his most famous.

Welcome to the list, which has been a bit quite of late, probably be- cause school's out for the summer here in the states. Keep checking out the web site for new additions; I believe there'll be some neat things happening there in the near future...

Paul

pmurf@ix.netcom.com

Subj: "Suzanne" by Leonard Cohen
Date: 95-06-12 11:31:39 EDT
From: WendyChap@aol.com
To: Undertow@law.lawlib.emory.edu

Speaking of the song "Suzanne"--does anybody think about our Suzanne when they hear that song--as I do. It's very interesting but that Suzanne seems to possess a lot of SV's personality traits. I realize the song was written long before LC knew about SV--but I think it's very ironic. What do you guys think?

Wendy!

Subj: Re: The Leonard Cohen Interview
Date: 95-06-12 13:13:16 EDT
From: dj_finn@postoffice.utas.edu.au (Zest)
To: undertow@law.lawlib.emory.edu

>I've only read (and typed) the Leonard Cohen interview... People that have >*heard* it tell me that LC was kind of buzzed during the recording - > appparantly there was a bit of wine involved and we might have missed a lot >of the humor in it in the text-only version...

>Eric

Hey, I only glanced thru it and he seemed pretty cool, I think you can pick up the dryness in the text. Loved his reaction to the fishnet stockings! :) Like, actually, now that I have thought about it, I do think that i remeber (vaguely) an interview on the radio with S.Vega whilst she was in Australia last, and she mentioned in passing meeting this guy who was a famous musician that she had liked etc and they had some wine etc...and the thing was, (and this was pretty funny) after like 'worship from afar' in her youth, he wasn't above the old-fashioned sleaze!!! :))))) But like she wasn't bitching, it was just like the fact. And now, putting two and two together

I think she was talking about L.Cohen, who i can just see me buying now a cd of now :) Except i had always pictured them in a resturant, and his score succeding, (shock-horror!) but there you go :)

Actually i think that interview was the turning point in my liking for her! Cause she was being sort of ironic, which is always a nice trait in famous ppl i think :)

Yep, suzzane vega might just have the sexiest American accent I've ever heard... and now she is married, good luck to her!!! (tho i hope she doesn't record too many 'lovey-dovey, god i love the universe' songs, but i know that probably sounds selfish. actually i wonder if she will?)

But anyway, looks like Leonard loses out tho, and he will have to make do with those backing singers...heheh, poor leonard, the vicarious fame he gets via this list & via her is pretty funny tho, but i'm afraid my respect (such as it is) for him still mainly comes from the fact Christian Slater used him to open up the radio show :)))

regards david, hoping everyone notes yet another 'pump up the volume' reference :)))

Subj: Leonard Cohen
Date: 95-06-12 19:24:33 EDT
From: pmurf@ix.netcom.com (Paul Murphy)
To: undertow@law.lawlib.emory.edu

Hey! A Leonard Cohen thread, I like it!

Yep, I can picture Suzanne as the "Suzanne" in Cohen's song. Speaking of which, has anyone seen the movie "McCabe & Mrs Miller?" It came out in the early 70's starring Warren Beatty & Julie Christie. Anyhow, the soundtrack was basically "Songs of Leonard Cohen" and really fits the mood of the film. It occurs to me that songs from "Suzanne Vega" could almost fit as well for the soundtrack. I always felt this album has a brittle imagery to it, much as does the movie (snow and cold preva- lent throughout). This dovetails kind of nicely with the talk here about Leonard & Suzanne, as per the interview, IMHO.

Re: "Pump Up The Volume" I've read (elsewhere, I think) of the dissat- isfaction some have with Concrete Blonde's version of "Everybody Knows." Although not as good as the original, I kind of like it. I like the soundtrack, too, although it has it's grating aspect at times.

If interested in other interpretations of Cohen try "Famous Blue Rain- coat" by Jennifer Warnes. She has a nice voice and does a great job on various songs from the Cohen repertoire, especially the title song.

Nice to see some conversation here on the list again.

Later..

Paul
pmurf@ix.netcom.com

Subj: Famous Blue Raincoat!
Date: 95-06-13 11:54:55 EDT
From: WendyChap@aol.com
To: Undertow@law.lawlib.emory.edu

Hi everyone,

Just a comment on all the Leonard Cohen tribute albums. I think it was Paul who brought up Jennifer Warrens' "Famous Blue Raincoat" and I have to say, I'm with him on that. My favorite is "Bird on a Wire". Talk about a different feel. When LC sings it, it's kind of depressing (in an interesting way, though--don't get me wrong--I love it when he sings that song) But, when JW sings it, it's almost as if it's inspiring in some way. That's what's so great about LC's music. Depending on who is singing it and how one of LC's songs can take on different emotions and meanings.

I'm looking forward to the new tribute albums that SV makes an appearance on. That should be great!

Wendy!

Subj: Re: Leonard Cohen + Lloyd Cole propaganda
Date: 95-06-13 06:18:30 EDT
From: f93-hle@nada.kth.se (h a lee)
To: pmurf@ix.netcom.com (Paul Murphy)
CC: undertow@law.lawlib.emory.edu

> Hey! A Leonard Cohen thread, I like it!

> Yep, I can picture Suzanne as the "Suzanne" in Cohen's song. Speaking > of which, has anyone seen the movie "McCabe & Mrs Miller?" It came out > in the early 70's starring Warren Beatty & Julie Christie. Anyhow, the > soundtrack was basically "Songs of Leonard Cohen" and really fits the > mood of the film.

> If interested in other interpretations of Cohen try "Famous Blue Rain- > coat" by Jennifer Warnes. She has a nice voice and does a great job > on various songs from the Cohen repertoire, especially the title song.

> Nice to see some conversation here on the list again.

> Later..

> Paul
> pmurf@ix.netcom.com
>

Hi Paul and other Cohen(ettes),

There was another Leonard Cohen tribute album released about two years ago named 'I'm Your Fan' by a french company (Oscar?) which featured 'Suzanne' performed by James (British pre-Manchester combo, who had an huge hit (on my side of the Atlantic at least) with Sit down). Other contributors were Nick Cave & the Bad Seeds (massacre version of 'Tower of Song'), House of Love, R.E.M performs a really vile 'First we take Manhattan' - which is the only track that despite the almost perfect handcraft of the original performer is unlistenable as a cover.

Lloyd Cole, ex-commotions, did a version of Chelsea Hotel (about the infamous dope-house-hotel in NYC - where Cohen and Janis Joplin became lovers) on this

album which in my humble opinion is one of the best cover versions i've ever heard (of course, i have not yet heard ms. Vega's version of Songs of Isaac). Perhaps it's the sentimental masculine tone in Cohen's songs that attracts him ("You said you prefered handsome men/but for me you would make an exception" [Chelsea Hotel]) - but together with Matthew Sweet (on bass-guitar) and Lou Reed's old backing band, the result feels maudlin in a truly honest way.

On Lloyd Cole's visit in Stockholm last year, he played "Famous Blue Rain Coat" the song Paul mentions in the included letter, on solo-guitar. Cole really has the ability to chose songs (Being Boring (the Pet shop boys), Rent (ditto) Vicious (Lou Reed) Children of the Revolution (Marc Bolan), Mystery Train (Dylan)). And according to Suzanne Vega, Mr & Mrs Cole play with their child in Central Park on Sundays.

And to answer to the slanderings towards the Esquire - if more Americans read it they would at least look decent. I'd pick Esquire (or even Foreign Affairs!) before SPIN or any other american publications any day.

Best regards,

Hosuk Lee-Makiyama
[f93-hle@nada.kth.se]

Subj: Re: The Leonard Cohen Interview
Date: 95-06-13 00:46:11 EDT
From: judynew@pipeline.com (Judy Neuwirth)
To: undertow@law.lawlib.emory.edu

On Tue, 13 Jun 1995 dj_finn@postoffice.utas.edu.au (Zest) said:

(snip)

But anyway, looks like Leonard loses out tho, and he will have to >make do with those backing singers...heheh, poor leonard, the vicarious fame>he gets via this list & via her is pretty funny tho, but i'm afraid my>respect (such as it is) for him still mainly comes from the fact Christian>Slater used him to open up the radio show :)))

regards david, hoping everyone notes yet another 'pump up the >volume' reference :)))

Well, as an added bit of gossip, Mr. Cohen ain't doing that badly himself, either. He's about 59 or so, and his significant other is/was Rebecca de Mornay, at least according to a British music magazine from 1994.

Subj: Story of Isaac / Song of Tower
Date: 96-01-07 18:02:54 EST
From: rwalters@zeh2.lafayette.unocal.COM (Rob Walters)
To: undertow@law.emory.edu

Hello everyone,

Has anyone listened to the Leonard Cohen tribute album "Song of Tower", and Suzanne's contribution 'Story of Isaac' yet? Haven't heard much discussion about it, so here's my humble opinion. Some context for the discussion: 1) I've never heard Leonard Cohen's original versions of most of the songs, so I'm by no means an authority on their history; 2) I much preferred Jennifer Warnes' tribute from 1986 called "Famous Blue Raincoat" on Cypress Records over the Song of Tower compilation. (Is it just me, or is the number of tribute albums being released lately kind of getting out of hand?)

Even if I weren't a Suzanne fan, I believe I'd still say that her performance, and the arrangement, on 'Story of Isaac' is a quite a few notches above the other selections. It's quite a song to begin with, almost transcendental in the combination of melody, harmonies and lyrics. Her clear, "up-front" vocals and her acoustic guitar work only reinforce this atmosphere. I think sometimes an understated, "quiet" voice like Suzanne's is necessary to allow the power of the lyrics to come through - much as she does with her own songs. I don't know how anyone can listen to this song - especially the final verse and ending- "the peacock spreads his fan" and not get chills down their spine!

Some overall observations: Unfortunately, some 'big names' on this record have really mangled Cohen's great songs. How? Over-production, 'over-singing' and artist-to-song matching that, in some cases, I don't understand. Besides 'Story of Isaac', I like the version of 'Sisters of Mercy' by Sting and the Chieftains, plus a couple others, but most of it just doesn't cut it for me.

I really hope Suzanne considers performing 'Story of Isaac' on her next tour,

-Rob

Subj: Cohen tribute
Date: 96-01-07 22:12:56 EST
From: SBSHMS@aol.com
To: undertow@law.emory.edu

Greetings everyone,

I agree with Rob that Suzanne's cover on the "Tower of Song" tribute is one of the albums' highlights, along with Peter Gabriel's version of "Suzanne." I found the album worth the purchase for those two covers alone. There are a few other nice ones as well, but like Rob I found the rest of the album a little lacking -- a shame, really, because Cohen can write fascinating material, and since I don't really love his voice I was looking forward to this album. A bit disappointing, all things considered (maybe I should have been tipped off by the album's artwork ... pretty dismal!). But those two covers in particular are certainly worth hearing.

Best to all, and thanks to those who wrote about "Just Passing Through!"
-- Scott
HMS Media

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