The Song That Changed My Life, Vol.47

Some songs just give you that eerie feeling and here is the one that does it for me.

Music Guru and writer states:

This was the first song converted to MP3. "Karlheinz Brandenburg used a CD recording of Suzanne Vega's song "Tom's Diner" to assess and refine the MP3 compression algorithm. This song was chosen because of its nearly monophonic nature and wide spectral content, making it easier to hear imperfections in the compression format during playbacks. Some refer to Suzanne Vega as "The mother of MP3""

In the late 80's music was going through a weird transition of hair metal and ballads to acoustic sounding songs and dark stories (either super heavy metal or easy going vibing music -- no in between). Suzanne Vega grew up in Santa Monica and later on moved out east to NYC. Her sound is impressive because, she gives a ultra modern and timeless sound in her voice. She spent time in theaters acting and preforming in front of crowds -- she's not afraid of crowds to say the least.

Her 1987 classic tracked right away,  she wrote her wordy a cappella tune "Tom's Diner" in 1981 during a visit to a diner in her neighborhood, the Upper West Side of Manhattan.

What I love about the song is that it tells a very normal story about a normal experience, very mundane experience.

And I look the other way
As they are kissing their hellos
And I'm pretending not to see them
And instead I pour the milk

 

Roll Tide.