Suzanne Vega, Musician

Did he know your brother personally?
They had become friends in the last years before my brother passed away.

Do you pay attention to the street art scene now?
To some degree; it’s harder to follow because there’s not as much graffiti on the subway. There are still some places where you can go see it out in Queens so from time to time I see it. I wouldn’t say I seek it out.

Your daughter Ruby (13) also sings; has she been performing with you on tour?
She comes out once in a while but right now she’s at sleep-away camp. She just starting joining me recently; last year or the year before she was at sound check and she asked us if she could sing back-up because she’s a really good singer. So she does it once in a while but she has her own interests and her own life; I try not to drag her around too much.

What music is she into?
Hip-hop, R&B, pop, and she’s starting to get into some classic rock. She’s not really into folk music.

Have you gone to see any bands she likes live?
No, actually, we haven’t. We listen to music a lot around the house. She wanted to go see Panic! At the Disco but it was unbelievably hard to get tickets.

Is there anything she plays that you really don’t respond to?
Yeah, I’m not really crazy about the White Stripes but she really likes them. Conversely I really like the Yeah Yeah Yeahs and The Strokes and she doesn’t really care about them.

Beauty and Crime also features Lee Renaldo [Sonic Youth] on one song. How did you end up working with him?
He’s someone I’ve run into for 15 years all over New York and we’ve always been friendly and chatted about working together. So I thought he’d be a good guy to bring in on a couple of songs; he actually plays on two songs.

Is there any chance of him sitting in during any of your New York appearances?
I don’t know; I guess I’ll have to ask him and find out!

The song Edith Wharton's Figurines is dedicated to Olivia Goldsmith. Can you tell us who she is and why you dedicated the song for her?
Olivia Goldsmith was a writer; one of the works she’s known for is called The First Wives Club. I had sort of followed her writing; she’d written a couple of little style books that I thought were really cute. And she unfortunately died at the age of 55 while having a kind of routine chin tuck. She had a bad response to the anesthesia. And it made me sad that she died in that way, sort of seeking after beauty. So that’s what the song is about: women and what they do for beauty.

The song Bound has to do with your new husband. Could you elaborate on that because I think it’s a fascinating love story.
The song was written for my husband; he had asked me to marry him in 1983 and I told him I needed time to think about it. And 23 years later he asked me again and I finally did say yes. He had kept a Christmas card I’d given to him in which I told him I was bound to him forever and then he sent it to me when were corresponding after all those years. So I did write the song for him but it could also be taken in other ways. Some people have read it as sort of directed to the audience and I sort of see it that way as well.

In what way?
Well, the chorus is: “I’m asking you if you still want me”. So in that sense it could be considered a question posed to the audience.

Speaking of the audience, can you share the strangest encounter you’ve had with a fan?
I try to forget the really weird ones, to be honest. [Laughs.] I just push them far away and don’t access them anymore. For a while we had a shopping bag in my house labeled “Psycho Fan Mail” and we’d just put all of those in there. The weirdest wasn’t so much my fan; it was someone who became infatuated with my bass player. She tried to start a relationship with him and when she was refused we had a death threat at Glastonbury in 1989. I’d say that’s the most extreme example of a fan – but not my fan personally.

Is it hard for you to stay enthused about playing older songs like Luka that are still immensely popular?
No, no, not hard because I love seeing the audience get excited and they really do; they really respond to it. Luka is a very special song for a lot of people and I don’t begrudge it at all.

Can you share a classic New York story?
About a year ago I was walking and a homeless woman asked me for a dollar. As I was digging around in my purse to get her one she started to tell me she thought I had taken on the weight of the world and I was thinking too much and that I really should take it easy! And when I gave her the dollar she kissed me on the arm. [Laughs.] And I thought, “Oh my god if a homeless person is telling me I have the weight of the world on my shoulders…” And when she kissed me I was like, “You really don’t have to do that, I will give you the dollar, you don’t have to kiss me for it.”

What's your idea of a perfect relaxing afternoon in New York?
One place I’ve discovered recently that I love is the Shakespeare garden in Central Park. I just love that corner of the world. It’s like a quiet place even though you’re right in the middle of things. There are benches there and beautiful pathways with all the plants from Shakespeare’s plays. That’s my new favorite secret place that’s no longer secret.

Yeah, I love that spot too but it’s kind of tucked away so I don’t think everyone stumbles upon it.
I know; you have to really look for it and once you find it it’s amazing; it’s right there under your nose. But you have to kind of seek it out.

If New York elected Mayor Vega what would be the first thing you'd change?
I would try and address the homeless situation. Because it just seems very sad to me that there’s still such a problem with the homeless in New York City. Some neighborhoods have it worse than other neighborhoods. But it just seems to me like there ought to be a way to address it. I don’t know how exactly – if it takes speaking with each person to figure out what their situation is and try to figure out how to get them back on their feet. But that’s one of the things I think is the saddest thing about New York.

Do you go see much live music in New York?
Not really. I did for a while when I was in my twenties. But lately I’m either traveling or touring myself or getting up at the crack of dawn to make breakfast for my daughter. So I don’t hang out as much as I used to.

Do you have a favorite venue you like to go to or perform at?
Well a lot of them have closed, unfortunately. I used to love the Bottom Line; that was one of the classic New York places to play for me. The Living Room is not bad. Once in a while I’ll go to the Beacon Theater. I’ve seen some great shows at the Bowery Ballroom.

Just back on the topic of your new marriage; do you have any advice for people who are over forty and looking for love again?
Don’t throw away your old love letters because you never know who might come back into your life!