The title of this entry is taken from a Syd Straw song called "Heart of Darkness" on an album (CD, for those of you born after 8 tracks) called Surprise. My sweetheart bought me the now-rare CD for Christmas and my love for it has been rekindled. I wore my tape of it out my second year of college, so it is nice to hear such a fresh rendition of it.Syd Straw is not aversed to truth. She is a mythmaker and a storyteller. Her songs have several combined musical stylings within each song and throughout the album. They are rife with metaphor, clever turns-of-phrase, and irony. There is a brief biography on her website:
"Raised in California and Vermont, schooled in New York, Syd Straw started her career as a back-up singer for Pat Benatar, then joined the eclectic Golden Palominos (featuring Michael Stipe, Matthew Sweet, and Anton Fier). In 1989, she released her first solo album Surprise on Virgin records. Her most recent album, War and Peace, features The Skeletons from Springfield, Missouri, deemed by Rolling Stone as "the greatest bar band of all time." In between and during all of this, Syd has maintained an acting career (Pete & Pete, Tales of The City), and collaborated with a slew of other artists, including: Rickie Lee Jones, Freedy Johnston, Marc Ribot, David Sanborn, and Eric "Roscoe" Ambel, just to name a few."
Aside from the music and the lyrics on Surprise, the sound recording is creative. People who like consistency to sound recording in their musical choices would be disappointed. She records the songs in several different locations, including Brian Eno's house, so the sound from song to song is inconsistent. Personally, I think this fact improves the flavor of the album and gives it a certain intimacy.
Song by Song:
Think Too Hard: This song has a strong rock/folk flavor and explores the problem of thinking and wishing too much and being and living too little. It's really fun and rocks.
Heart of Darkness: This song is about how guilt and rumination get in the way of being a benefit to others. It is beautiful, haunting, and melodic.
Chasing Vapor Trails: This song is about moving on from and ended relationship. It is mournful, ironic, and defiant.
Almost Magic: When there's a change of heart in a relationship--this song portrays the sadness and disenchantment with a pinch of desperation.
Crazy American: This is a song about American rugged individualism and frontier spirit. It contains some of the patented Syd Straw lines:
"...any place I hang my hat
is someone else's home....
Humour is a serious thing;
Ask the man,
Ask the man who dies laughing...."
is someone else's home....
Humour is a serious thing;
Ask the man,
Ask the man who dies laughing...."
Hard Times: This is a traditional folk tune by Stephen Foster from 1859 which she handles with reverence.
Future 40s: This is fun song that incorporates a duet with Michael Stipe of REM, whom Straw was in the Golden Palomino's with.
The Unanswered Question: This song's meaning is vague but contains two lines that are thought provoking:
Future 40s: This is fun song that incorporates a duet with Michael Stipe of REM, whom Straw was in the Golden Palomino's with.
The Unanswered Question: This song's meaning is vague but contains two lines that are thought provoking: