Suzanne Vega "I Never Wear White"

I love that Suzanne Vega is in her 50's, and is still wishing to push the sonic boundaries of the Folk and singer-songwriter genre.  I surprisingly rockin' tune.


Hear the song on Youtube.

Suzanne Vega "Last Year's Troubles"

I imagine (no, actually, I know) that when we play a song on the radio that has been in heavy rotation, that there are people who are listening who are saying, "This one again?!?!  Ugh!"

Imagine how WE feel?

We're not playing songs because we want to hear them (though usually, we do), we're playing them because the listening audience wants to hear them.  Unfortunately, there's a wide range of how much our listeners, listen.  For some, a song that is burnt toast, still sounds new and fresh to another passionate listener, who listens less often.

So we've got to play the songs.  And WE can't even turn the station!

I especially feel for the office staff.  They've got the station on (because the front office should have the station playing), and they're listening for 8+ hours a day.

It could make a man go crazy.

Craig Sherman worked at the front desk, while also working part-time as a DJ.  So he had to listen to songs he had a low tolerance for.

Craig was not a fan of Suzanne Vega, but what was he going to do?  "Last Year's Troubles" was a big song for mvyradio in 2001.

What could he do, but go crazy . . .

He invented what he called The "Last Year's Troubles" Dance.

I liken it to the story of "The Red Shoes."  Whenever "Last Year's Troubles" came on the air, he would start dancing in a clipped, hurky-jerky fashion that was seemingly out of his control.  It was like a malfunctioning robot motion that he couldn't resist. 

He'd do this regardless of what was going on.  If you were trying to have a conversation about a commercial contract or a phone message, forget about it if "Last Year's Troubles" came on.  And he committed to the "this is out of my control" aspect of it so much, that it was impossible to continue with him, until the song was over.

I asked him about the Dance recently, hoping that maybe I could get him to do a Youtube video of it.  He didn't even remember it.

Clearly, the trauma and torture of the repetition of this song has created some kind of diss-associative disconnect and the horror of The "Last Year's Troubles" Dance was completely blocked out.

So please, next time you curse the repetition, have mercy and think of the folks in the office . . .


Hear the song on Youtube.


P.S.  Craig recently complained that my blog posts had not paid enough attention to his interests.  Hopefully, this resolves that issue.

Suzanne Vega "Blood Noise"

I found this page at Billboard Magazine's website that lets you look back on the Modern Rock/Alternative charts for any week, since they started the format in the late 80s. It's kinda funny to remember those early days of commercial "Alternative" radio, which had sprung out of College radio. While there were truly artists who were Alternative, there were often artists who seem so far removed from the format today, that were there.

Like Suzanne Vega.

She's pretty much the epitome of a great Adult Alternative singer and songwriter. I can't imagine her getting played next to early Red Hot Chili Peppers or the latest Morrissey track on Modern Rock radio, but she did.

Anyway, here she is at her most Alternative, with a track that seems like an anomaly compared to the rest of her catalog.


Hear the song on Youtube.

Suzanne Vega "Angel's Doorway"

I'm not all that surprised at the number of songs written about 9-11.

But I am a little surprised at the number of songs written about 9-11, by artists I like, that I wasn't aware of.

This song perfectly suits its subject matter---about the psychological toll taken on the home life of a Ground Zero clean up worker. But what makes it so effective is that it could apply to most any life/job/scenario.

Angel works all day at Ground Zero. When he comes home, he takes his clothes off outside the door. When he comes in, he doesn't discuss or acknowledge the horror of the work he spends his day doing.

I'm sure there are many folks out there---cops, doctors and social workers come to mind---who spend their day deep in trauma, and the only way they can deal with it, is to shed their clothes, compartmentalize and disassociate.


Hear the song on Youtube.

On Sunday, from 10am to noon, mvyradio will air a September 11th special, focusing on the music written about and inspired by that day.