Photos By George Holz, courtesy of Suzanne Vega
FALL 2024
Get ready for an enchanting musical journey as the legendary Suzanne Vega takes center stage at the picturesque Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center on Saturday, October 5, at 8 p.m. This American singer-songwriter, whose melodic journey has captivated audiences for nearly four decades, is set to serenade the Berkshires with her folk-inspired tunes. Remember those catchy ‘80s and ‘90s hits that had you humming along? Vega is the mastermind behind songs like “Marlene on the Wall” and the hauntingly beautiful “Luka,” and her a cappella tune “Tom’s Diner” really put her on the map.
This song not only topped charts when remixed as a dance track, but also played a surprising role in tech history—it was used to fine-tune the MP3 format! Talk about a claim to fame; Vega is now affectionately known as “The Mother of the MP3”! Vega spoke with me about her evolving approach to songwriting and musical exploration, her experiences with various recording technologies, her views on the music industry’s changes, and her literary influences.
We’re so excited to welcome you to the Berkshires in October! You’ve performed in Western Massachusetts a few times—what do you like about the Berkshires? My daughter
went to Williams College, and I’ve always enjoyed my trips to the Berkshires. My husband and I have taken many long, beautiful trips out there, and we’re really looking forward to coming back. And it’s so exciting to be doing new material again.
Your tour is titled “Old Songs, New Songs, and Other Songs.” Can you elaborate on what fans can expect from this intriguing mix? Are there any surprises or lesser-known tracks you’re particularly excited to showcase alongside your classics? We’ve been on tour in Europe this summer, and I’m not sure whether we’ll stick with the ones we’ve been doing now, or whether we’ll have even newer songs by the time we get to the Berkshires, but there’s a section for brand-new stuff. I also do some deep cuts—we do “Penitent” from Songs in Red and Gray, and “Left of Center.” And we do a newish song called “I Never Wear White.” And then that all ramps up to “Luka” and “Tom’s Diner.”
How do you approach songwriting differently now compared to earlier in your career? I think at this stage of the game, I’ve written songs every way it’s possible to write them. I’ve written songs that have lyrics first; I’ve written songs with the melody first. I’ve had songs that had the title first, or just an image or a vision of something. I’ve had songs where other people write the bridges, and I’ve had songs where people write all the music. I’ll take the inspiration however it comes, and I do whatever I have to do to get that song to straighten up and fly right.
You’ve explored various musical styles throughout your career. Are there any genres or musical traditions you’d like to experiment with in the future? Well, interestingly, I have a new song that’s kind of a soul music song. It’s something that could have been written in the 1970s. I listened to a lot of the soul stations growing up. Even now, there’s a station in Newark, New Jersey—WBGO—and on the weekends, they play all these Motown type songs. I have a new song that I’ve written called “Love Thief” that has a sort of a R&B feel to it, which a lot of people seem surprised by. That’s kind of thrilling to me because I grew up listening to and loving music by Marvin Gaye and Curtis Mayfield—that whole genre. This is a side of my personality that people may not know, and this will be on my new album we’re hoping will come out in April of next year.
I heard that you experimented with an early recording technology called the Edison Wax Cylinder, which was the first popular format for music distribution from the late-19th century. As someone whose song “Tom’s Diner” was used in developing the MP3 format, what are your thoughts on being part of both the earliest and one of the most recent chapters of audio recording history? That’s very funny. It was fascinating working with the wax cylinder because when I heard “Tom’s Diner” through that medium, it sounded old, like it was a song from the 1920s. There’s something about the melody of that song—it is so simple and it sounds like it could have been a melody from any time. The medium of the wax cylinder made it sound old and old timey, which I loved. It came out with a little bit of a hit of the needle and then a kind of slightly warbly sound. It sounded like those old recordings. I just thought it was fascinating. I felt like I was listening to myself back in what might have been 1910, like it was part of the spirit of the age. When they were working with my voice on developing the MP3, I was completely unaware of it. But the inventors at the Fraunhofer Institute in Germany invited me to go there, and when they played my voice before they refined it, to my ears, my voice sounded like Linda Blair in The Exorcist!
What changes in the industry have you found most challenging or exciting over the course of all those years? Well, interestingly, what is the most challenging is also the most exciting. I really liked my career in the very beginning. I was very successful right from the start, and my first five years in the industry were my most successful. From the ages of 25 to 30, I sold millions of albums, which I have to say I liked. But that also came with a sense of responsibility. It also came with the knowledge that, at some point, that honeymoon would be over, and I would probably be dropped. This did happen, of course, but it happened much later, and I was on the A&M label for 18 years. So we had a good, long, healthy relationship. When I was dropped, I began to worry. But then I found that having my own record label is really great. I followed in the footsteps of Aimee Mann and Ani DiFranco, who had their own record labels, and now I’ve got mine and I can do what I want and I find that I am, in fact, making money from that, which is just a very good feeling.
What’s your label called? It’s called Amanuensis Productions.
That’s an interesting name! I’ve read that you incorporated the letters “A” and “M” intentionally as a play on your previous relationship with A&M. Is that true? Not at all. In fact, it hadn’t even occurred to me until you just said it! I guess you’re right. It does have “A” and “M” right in the front. But it was a play on words: Amanuensis is a servant who is a scribe who takes dictation. And I was thinking that, at my best when I’m writing songs, I feel that I’m kind of writing down things that come through me, you know, as though I’m the servant. And the other thing is that now because I have my own record label, I get to own the master recordings, which is what we call the recorded finished product. So my little slogan is “Amanuensis: where the servant owns the master.” That was my little joke. And now you’ve made it even better; that’s brilliant! Totally unconscious.
You’ve collaborated with many artists over the years, and I’m curious if there’s a dream collaboration that you’d like to realize someday? I was friends with Danger Mouse for a while, and he makes very interesting productions. So I don’t know if he would be up for that kind of thing, but I would. I’d also like to work with Anderson.Paak. I’m a big fan of his work, and I like Silk Sonic, which is his work with Bruno Mars. I actually approached them to see if they would like to think about doing something with me on my new work, but I haven’t heard back yet.
In the age of streaming and playlists, how do you feel about the concept of albums? Do you still approach creating an album as a cohesive work? I think I’ll always make albums, and it isn’t even so much that I approach it that way first. I just think that if you work on a group of songs at one period in time, you’re going to have themes that will draw it all together. Therefore, why not make an album because it’s going to tell a story anyway? I like making albums. I know that some people don’t sit and listen to the whole thing, but at least they exist in the ether, and even on the streaming services, you can listen to a whole album. You don’t have to own the physical copy, but at least it exists in concept, and that is meaningful to me.
Your music often features vivid storytelling. Are there any authors or literary works that have particularly influenced your lyrical style? I’d like to think so. I’ve always loved James Joyce’s Portrait of the Artist as a Young Man, partly because he does it in a third person. I like that little bit of distance that he puts in the narrative. The other person I think of right away is Sylvia Plath because of how she used the sounds of her words as well as the meaning of the words. That was a big revelation to me when I first started reading her work, the daringness of the subject matter and then also the way she organized the consonants and the vowels. It was like magic to me, like I was listening to a kind of verbal percussion which I just found really powerful.
You’ve explored a variety of mediums beyond music, including playwriting. Are there other art forms you’d like to explore in the future? I suppose I would like to work with more visuals. I’d love to play around more with painting. I did a bit of that in the 1990s, and I’d like to go back to exploring color and line. My brother and sister are both artists, and I love their work. I’ve learned so much over the years from them, and I’ve gotten a feel for how to understand what they are wrestling with in terms of form and emotion. My sister works in fiber art, and my brother works with giant canvases. It’s like part of the dialogue of our family.
I’m curious what advice you might give to younger singer songwriters who are just starting out. My advice would be to really figure out what you have to say that’s different from other people. If you write something and it seems vaguely familiar, then write something else. That goes for developing your own style of dress and your image, how you want to look, and what your sound is. Another thing: just keep going. If you find a closed door, don’t stand around in front of it hoping it will open up. Go somewhere else where they love you and go from there. Oh, and one more thing—get a good lawyer and don’t sign anything without that lawyer looking over everything.
Great advice! Thanks so much for your time, and we can’t wait to see you at the Mahaiwe on October 5! This performance promises to be an unforgettable evening of music and memories.
—Samantha Anderson