Trying to think of a recipe I’ve forgotten. I keep a notebook by my bed now.
Originally asked
The Guardian, to a different person each week, The Q&A
A long-running fixed question in The Guardian's weekly Q&A questionnaire.
You answer as yourself. Nobody on FLAPSS answers as anybody else.
The Guardian, The Q&A, The Guardian, 9 September 2017 source ↗
Others on this question
View all 196 →Our son. And ideas for Woman’s Hour, or businesses to start.
My girlfriend [Cuban model Jessica Ledon].
The studio. I work late.
More from Suzanne Vega
View profile →The most extravagant thing was a bottle of 1904 armagnac for $1,000. I spent $10,000 on a Martin guitar in the 90s. I also spent $100,000 on a Fairlight keyboard and I ended up giving it away. Oh well.
Ten more closets: I am a hoarder.
There are a few. As far as getting started, lots of people who really want to make a song have figured that out already. I very rarely get asked for advice from people who have never written a song and want to know how to get started. It’s usually about getting stuck or feeling like they’ve painted themselves into a corner. I remember getting asked a question from this one kid who was probably 13 years old. He wanted to know if it was okay to always write in A minor. He liked writing classical piano pieces and his favorite key was A minor. My favorite key is also A minor, so he wanted to know if that was okay.
A death threat at Glastonbury festival in 1989. The police told me not to go on, but I said I had to because I was headlining. So I wore a bullet-proof vest. It seemed unlikely that I would be assassinated, but it was shocking and very stressful.
An astronaut, a writer, a dancer.
How little money really changes things. It buys doctors but not health, clothes but not taste, makeup but not beauty. When I was young and didn’t have anything, I imagined money had more power.
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