The Beauty of Song, Part Two: Folk-rock singer/songwriter Suzanne Vega

In the 1980s, Suzanne Vega was the favorite pop singer of everyone who hated 1980s pop.



She was the second coming of Joni Mitchell, with, as one critic noted, a touch of Lou Reed.

Vega's self-titled debut album and her single "Marlene On the Wall," both from 1985, were favorites among the college kids of the period (me included) for their literate lyrics and driving folk rock. Her 1987 single "Luka," about child abuse from the perspective of the victim, went to number three on the Billboard singles charts. The album that featured it, Solitude Standing became a bigger success than her debut LP, thanks to songs like the title track, "Night Vision," and the a capella tune "Tom's Diner." Fans hoped she would lead a revolt against the mindless MTV pop of the time, but Vega's success proved to be an aberration from the norm. And she didn't want to lead a revolution anyway.

She continued as a respected singer-songwriter, releasing acclaimed albums such as 99.9 F and Nine Objects of Desire in the nineties. In 2007. she issued her seventh album, Beauty and Crime.