For some artists, their musical path knows no bounds as it meanders through the years and decades, dropping iconic and memorable music all along the way. The trailblazing ways of the Santa Monica native have illuminated a landscape that lay dark for many. Throughout the course of her numerous records, various creative projects and ceaseless pursuits, Vega has performed constantly, and her life has played out on stages around the world. And now, with another album fresh under her illustrious belt, the interlinked years become even more firmly stitched together and forever connected by time.
For those artists whose career not only manages to be successful but also span decades, continuity is key. This is particularly true for Californian-born and New York-based Suzanne Vega, who burst onto the musical scene in 1985, leaving an indelible imprint upon the collective consciousness of millions. Merely mention the song title ‘Luka’, and the rest of the story writes itself.
What began as a solo self-titled record unfurled into Solitude Standing, Days of Open Hand and 99.9F°. Each album garnered a wider fan base, greater exposure and a burgeoning orbit in which to snare some truly global stars into her sphere of influence. Yet between each musical phase, crumbs of the past littered her future works as Nine Objects of Desire, Songs in Red and Gray, Beauty & Crime, Tales from the Realm of the Queen of Pentacles, Lover, Beloved: Songs from an Evening with Carson McCullers and the recent Flying with Angels all attest. A litany of a lifetime, all enmeshed in her forty-year career.
Neither a straight-line evolution nor a side step tangent into a temporary foray, but a swirling, interconnected space, as Vega explains, “Some of the albums are written from the circumstances of the time, but there is always a sense of repetition of theme throughout all the albums. What I mean is – Cracking is in a sense related to Blood Makes Noise, which is related to Solitaire, from the Songs in Red and Grey album. And there are others that connect. I experience time not linearly but in a kind of spiral, and in that sense all the Suzanne Vegas are connected and consistent.” Cylindrical time capsules, the extension of personal moments enshrined in wax. The records Vega has created will forever remain as connection points and conduits between the periods of her life.
There is no greater example of this than in the way music has bookended Vega’s life. Firstly, as a child, where its indelible imprint was initially imparted upon Vega, as she explains when recalling her earliest memories and feelings toward music. “It brought me joy and hope as a child, and a way of forgetting myself in blissful moments listening to the Beatles. Eventually, I learned later in life that my grandparents were Vaudeville musicians, and so now I feel music has always stirred in my bloodline.”
And this has continued throughout Vega’s life, with everything in between her present and past being, in some way, music-related. Be it her songs featured in the films; The Truth About Cats & Dogs, Closer, and Dead Man Walking, lending her support for charities such as Greenpeace and Amnesty International, establishing her own record label Amanuensis Productions, penning the book The Passionate Eye: The Collected Writing of Suzanne Vega, co-writing the play Carson McCullers Talks About Love, performing in the Scott Elliott directed Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice, bagging numerous industry accolades including Peabody and Grammy awards, or successfully paving the way for woman in music.
When your influence is so strong, it is only natural that you will draw the attention of some and in turn, be a magnet for the attention of others. Underscoring the point, one only has to look over Vega’s extensive career to see the points of connection which stand out like markers, an orienteer’s field map of who’s who. Take, for example, Vega’s relationship with musical maverick Lou Reed; their enduring bond, and it becomes clear how wide and far her musical highways extend. It was Robert Smith of The Cure and his personal invitation to the curated Meltdown Festival and the written reply of acknowledgment from Billie Eilish in regard becoming only the third woman to have their first three consecutive single entries in the top 10 of the Billboard Alternative Songs airplay chart as solo female acts (the first being Vega and second Sheryl Crow) that highlights the impact and cross-genre and inter-generational resonance that Vega’s work holds.
With such an illustrious career and an enviable circle of friends, it is a curiosity as to what stands tall amongst the heavily forested collection of memories, but Vega cites a pivotal time in her career that she holds dear. Not just for the opportunities it opened up for her, but for the genuine friends she made and personal experiences she had the chance to enjoy, as she explains. “99.9F was a breakthrough for me as I played with musicians I had admired from afar – from Bruce Thomas and Pete Thomas from Elvis Costello and the Attractions; Jerry Marotta from Peter Gabriel’s band; and Richard Thompson also played an amazing guitar solo. These productions I did with Mitchell Froom were, in some ways, the highlights. Although I always work with good musicians and cherish them all, especially the long-term ones like Mike Visceglia, Anton Sanko, Marc Schulman and later Gerry Leonard.” And so, it stands to reason that with such strong collaborative exchanges, truly memorable music would follow.
Those highlight tracks Vega especially holds dear “Are probably: The Queen and the Soldier, Luka, Caramel, Blood Makes Noise, Penitent, but it depends on my mood”. A feeling can be fleeting, and that too is part of understanding the creative process that can lead to greatness when attempting to pull the intangible from the ether and crystallise it in song, as Vega details when talking about difficult matters and the plight of the human condition. “I try to match the mood of the song with the mood of the topic, although the most striking example where I didn’t do this is in the song Luka. Here I chose major chords, because I know that people who experience abuse often experience it as a matter of fact of daily life. I didn’t want it to be a melancholy song. So the finished production contains the irony of a major key melody with a sad and brutal topic. However, in Blood Makes Noise, I really loved Mitchell Froom’s sonic use of the anvil sound and the bouncing bass line. This illustrated the concept of a noisy brain better than my original idea of having a fast Ramones-like electric guitar basis.”
An insight into the way Vega can use an unorthodox approach when trying to articulate and translate those messages sonically. Which is why the written word is central to her work and an essential foundation from which the music manifests, but as a craft, it is never mastered, only ever fine-tuned, as Vega goes on to say when explaining how her creative processes have morphed and evolved over the years. “In the beginning I would start working on a song on a Saturday night, playing around with a melody and any idea that suited me. I would get three quarters of the way through and then go to sleep. In the morning, very often I would find an answer waiting for me that allowed me to finish the song to my satisfaction. In this way I learned to keep something open, something unexpected. I’ve written in all different ways – melody first, lyrics first, from an image in my mind, a title; but this part of the writing has stayed the same.”
It is hard not to speak of legacy when discussing music with an artist such as Vega, but from obscure artist to household name, she has traversed the creative spectrum whilst collecting accolades along the way. When considering her legacy and what she has bequeathed to the music industry and the wider world, Vega modestly downplays the notion and puts some distance between the present and when the posthumous highlight reels begin, saying, “Well, it’s too soon to talk about legacy! But I feel I have had an influence in normalizing what women are capable of in music” which is an indisputable fact and one to be extremely proud of, especially when taking into account the stones she has laid in paving the way forward for female musicians.
Reflection is one thing in an enduring career, but by the same token, the drive to create never ceases. One only has to look at Vega’s most recent record Flying with Angels to see that the urge to create and perform churns endlessly. “Creativity is part of my life and always has been. It’s how I make sense of things; how I comfort myself and clarify things for myself and others. I feel very fortunate that I can make a lovely living at this!” A sobering thought when considering how so many artists pour energy into their creations, but at some point have to compromise or abandon their passions. However, for lifelong artists such as Vega, it can often be a case of what they do outside of the musical world that defines internal thoughts, which perpetually motivates them.
For Vega, her curriculum vitae reads as long as one’s arm, but that is because her interests are so varied and her willingness to explore every notch along the creative spectrum has sprouted so many fruitful offshoots. “I have always been interested in the stage, and in all kinds of creativity. As a child, I worked with clay and created sculptures of faces. I majored in modern dance in high school. I majored in English Literature and minored in Theater in college. I also had two theatrical productions of a one-woman show I wrote and starred in, as well as a film of the same. I was also the host of a radio show for NPR that won a Peabody called “American Mavericks”. I love art and artists.”
And with that simple but enduring comment, the key to her success is partly exposed. A deep appreciation for all things art and an endless appetite for every available medium that art offers has been the well which Vega has tapped for so long, and with such thirst.
As she continues to perform and sell out shows across the world, those faces which look back at her now span multiple generations, and for Vega, “I see quite a bit of that. It’s great.” A continuum of creativity and life set to the soundtrack of her making.
