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Just posted a neat dream in the Dream Journal: http://jddreamjournal.livejournal.com/65764.html . Not sure why, but I felt kinda happy about it when I woke up.
An early birthday present for me came in the mail a few days ago, Suzanne Vega's new CD "Beauty & Crime." I've been a big fan of hers since the early 90s, when![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-userinfo.gif)
hurricane_amy introduced her to me (as she did a LOT of music back then). A few days later, I went out and grabbed the latest CD, 99.9F. I really liked it, but the one song that really sang to me (har har) was Song of Sand. After all the clanging and banging of the other songs, this it was such a quiet little song. Just a voice and one guitar.
A few days after getting that CD, I bought all her previous ones, and I was so happy to hear how "simple" the songs were. Her first album is just her, her guitar, and occasionally some background instruments. As you go through the albums, they get a little more complex, but not by much. Thankfully, I found out, 99.9 was the experimental album and they weren't all banging and clanging (not that I minded, I just liked the simple stuff more).
I've picked up each successive album as it's come up - Nine Objects of Desire, which I loved because it kept everything I really liked about 99.9 and dropped everything I didn't like nearly as much (one of my favorite songs of hers is on that album - Honeymoon Suite).
I picked up "Songs in Red and Gray" in 2001, and was actually dissapointed in it. I eventually found a few songs on there I liked, (such as Harbor Song and Maggie May) but in general it sounded overproduced. There was that voice, and those keys, and that guitar, but there was so much EXTRA on top of that, it felt overdone. In her previous albums, the guitar drove the melody, in this one it was dragged along by everything else.
Then I saw her in concert.
She'd come to Austin twice since I had moved there, and I hadn't been able to see her because of other comitments. When I heard she was coming in August, I bought tickets the HOUR they ewnt on sale. I wasn't missing this. And it was everything I wanted it to be. She played at the One World Theater, which is just a small stage, a small seating area, and is very intimate.
She played for two hours or so, and played songs from all her albums, including some from her upcoming album. Hearing really reminded made me remember why I liked her music to - her concerts are just her and her guitar. Mike Viceglia will play bass behind her on some songs, but otherwise it's a very simple affair.
I did managed to talk to her for a bit after the show, and let her know that she was the inspiration for Carrie and her music. We talked for about a half hour, and she really IS a fascinating person. She's done some Second Life stuff as well, but, darnit, I keep missing it (she was last on on the 13th for a listening party!)
I had preordered Beauty and Crime some months ago, and got it in the mail on the day it was released. It's a very short album, only about 30 minutes long. Unfortunately, a lot of the songs feel even more overproduced again. There are songs on there I really like, like Zephyr & I and Figurines. But the rest...well...not so much. In Zephyr & I, the song is quirky, almost popish, but still is a "Suzanne Vega" song. Figurines is the closest to the simpler style of song I like, although it still has a lot of other stuff tracked into it. In general, though, the lyrics are great, the music is just over produced. Not as much as MAchine Ballerina on Red and Grey, but in general, it's still "louder" than the last album. Usually there is one song that's in that "simpler" style, which there isn't on this album.
I've recently read about problems she had with her previous albums not selling and that Songs in Red and Gray and Beauty and Crime were attempts to broaden the audience. The things I liked about the previous albums are the things they're steering away from, which, well, aren't my tastes. Guess you can't please everyone. I'll more than likely get the next album she produces, although maybe have a listen to the tracks before actually buying it.
An early birthday present for me came in the mail a few days ago, Suzanne Vega's new CD "Beauty & Crime." I've been a big fan of hers since the early 90s, when
hurricane_amy introduced her to me (as she did a LOT of music back then). A few days later, I went out and grabbed the latest CD, 99.9F. I really liked it, but the one song that really sang to me (har har) was Song of Sand. After all the clanging and banging of the other songs, this it was such a quiet little song. Just a voice and one guitar. A few days after getting that CD, I bought all her previous ones, and I was so happy to hear how "simple" the songs were. Her first album is just her, her guitar, and occasionally some background instruments. As you go through the albums, they get a little more complex, but not by much. Thankfully, I found out, 99.9 was the experimental album and they weren't all banging and clanging (not that I minded, I just liked the simple stuff more).
I've picked up each successive album as it's come up - Nine Objects of Desire, which I loved because it kept everything I really liked about 99.9 and dropped everything I didn't like nearly as much (one of my favorite songs of hers is on that album - Honeymoon Suite).
I picked up "Songs in Red and Gray" in 2001, and was actually dissapointed in it. I eventually found a few songs on there I liked, (such as Harbor Song and Maggie May) but in general it sounded overproduced. There was that voice, and those keys, and that guitar, but there was so much EXTRA on top of that, it felt overdone. In her previous albums, the guitar drove the melody, in this one it was dragged along by everything else.
Then I saw her in concert.
She'd come to Austin twice since I had moved there, and I hadn't been able to see her because of other comitments. When I heard she was coming in August, I bought tickets the HOUR they ewnt on sale. I wasn't missing this. And it was everything I wanted it to be. She played at the One World Theater, which is just a small stage, a small seating area, and is very intimate.
She played for two hours or so, and played songs from all her albums, including some from her upcoming album. Hearing really reminded made me remember why I liked her music to - her concerts are just her and her guitar. Mike Viceglia will play bass behind her on some songs, but otherwise it's a very simple affair.
I did managed to talk to her for a bit after the show, and let her know that she was the inspiration for Carrie and her music. We talked for about a half hour, and she really IS a fascinating person. She's done some Second Life stuff as well, but, darnit, I keep missing it (she was last on on the 13th for a listening party!)
I had preordered Beauty and Crime some months ago, and got it in the mail on the day it was released. It's a very short album, only about 30 minutes long. Unfortunately, a lot of the songs feel even more overproduced again. There are songs on there I really like, like Zephyr & I and Figurines. But the rest...well...not so much. In Zephyr & I, the song is quirky, almost popish, but still is a "Suzanne Vega" song. Figurines is the closest to the simpler style of song I like, although it still has a lot of other stuff tracked into it. In general, though, the lyrics are great, the music is just over produced. Not as much as MAchine Ballerina on Red and Grey, but in general, it's still "louder" than the last album. Usually there is one song that's in that "simpler" style, which there isn't on this album.
I've recently read about problems she had with her previous albums not selling and that Songs in Red and Gray and Beauty and Crime were attempts to broaden the audience. The things I liked about the previous albums are the things they're steering away from, which, well, aren't my tastes. Guess you can't please everyone. I'll more than likely get the next album she produces, although maybe have a listen to the tracks before actually buying it.
