253. SOLITUDE STANDING by Suzanne Vega

1987 brought us American singer songwriter Suzanne Vega's second (and most popular) record, owing to the inclusion of the upbeat sounding but downright depressing track, 'Luka,' which deals with the topic of child abuse. However, the song that made more of an impression on me when the album first came out and continues to affect me to this day is 'Gypsy.' Vega reportedly wrote it 10 years prior to releasing it, at the young age of 18 or so. I can't quite remember what I was doing at that age but it definitely would not have been writing such an exquisite song (unless somehow a beer...or two was involved). Two other tracks I would recommend you listen to are 'Ironbound/Fancy Poultry' and title track 'Solitude Standing.'

Before I sign off on today's edition of Daily Records, I wanted to plug an excellent interview with Vega that my friend and music industry insider from across the pond, Keith Jopling, did a few years ago. Not only is this interview worth a listen but you should check out the rest of The Song Sommelier website - you can definitely go down a rabbit hole over there!