Sarah McLachlan: Resurfacing (interview) - Sitcoms Online Message Boards

MonarC · 10-28-2003, 02:23 PM

The Lilith queen explains her new disc and the self-doubt she suffered while making it.

by Brian Ives and C. Bottomley

In the five years since the release of her album Surfacing, Sarah McLachlan lost her mom to cancer, and gave birth to daughter, India. The Nova Scotia songwriter says the title of her new Afterglow disc refers to such key moments. To her diehard fans, it must have also bittersweet connotations of the time McLachlan spent away from the studio, immersed in her family.

At the end of the ‘90s, McLachlan had become a powerful force in popular music. Her music mingled introspection with ethereal vocals and slick electronic textures, and songs like the fragile “Angel” or the rapturous “Possession” were soundtracks to the ecstasies and disappointments of her fans. Of course, McLachlan was also the prime mover behind the Lilith Fair, a traveling cavalcade of women in music that was instrumental in introducing the likes of Jewel, the Dixie Chicks and Missy Elliott to a wider audience. Plenty of artists have tried to fill McLachlan’s slippers in her absence, including Norah Jones and Vanessa Carlton. But Afterglow proves there’s only one Sarah. On the new single “Fallen,” her plush soprano plunges headlong into the song’s emotional content, while Pierre Marchand’s production provides a blanket of pianos and cellos. “Answer” is a whispery ballad for the midnight hour, while “Perfect Girl” is an anthem for the Thirteen set - discovering your true identity in a world of conforming pressures can be tough.

The 35-year-old McLachlan says her thoughts on death and birth will be addressed on her next album. She also warns that those hoping for the return of Lilith Fair should prep for disappointment. But Afterglow satisfies in the short term. The disc contains plenty of the wisdom and empathy we expect from McLachlan. The flame-haired performer sat down with VH1 to talk about why she almost gave up on the new disc, bombing before the Pope, and finding the focus of “Fallen.”

========================
(INTERVIEW)

VH1: The musical climate has changed a lot since you went away. Do you ever wonder where you fit in?

SM: I felt pretty happy that I wasn’t putting out a record for a while. [Looking at] the industry, and the kind of music that was successful during that time, it felt right to take a break. I’ve really been living in a bubble the last few years. People often ask what I think about downloading. I’m like “I should probably read up on that shouldn’t I?” [Watch Clip]

VH1: What have you been listening to for the past few years?

SM: I honestly don’t listen to much music. My husband is voracious. He buys every new CD out there, so I hear it peripherally through him. I’ve been attracted to Coldplay’s A Rush of Blood to the Head, U2’s All That You Can’t Leave Behind … then I’ve got my old faithfuls that I go back to if I want to listen to music. I’ve been so immersed in my own stuff that I don’t tend to listen to a lot of other people’s music.

VH1: How are the life-changing events with your mom and daughter reflected in the album itself?

SM: I think a lot of things about my daughter and my mother will be on the next one. I need a lot of time to process stuff. The stuff on this album is six or seven or even eight years old. So give me another five or six years!

VH1: During your break, did you ever think you might not want to come back?

SM: My priorities changed after having a child; I’ve been so immersed in my own stuff that I don’t tend to listen to a lot of other people’s music. My focus was completely on being a mother. I was about three-quarters of the way through Afterglow before my daughter was born; I knew I’d be completely distracted after the fact. But I went back to [making music] too soon, and pressured myself to get it done before I should have. I put myself in a pretty big rut. At that point I hated everything I was doing and thought it was all crap. I thought, “I’ve lost it. I shouldn’t be making music anymore because I’m not enjoying it. I don’t think what I’m doing is quality work.” But I just needed to give myself some time. So I walked away from it for a while. It was probably the best thing I could have done. [Watch Clip]

VH1: Was there a certain song that renewed your faith in your abilities?

SM: “Fallen” was the first song I wrote on this record. It took a really long time to find a focus for it, over two and a half years - which was too long. We’d work for a month, go away for two months, and come back and work together. My producer [Pierre Marchand] and I worked in different parts of the country. He had a child about two months before I did, so we’re both in a pretty distracted place. God, we recorded drums maybe five times for that song before we found the right sound! It sounds silly, but we really struggled with it. I’m so glad that we persevered because it’s one of my favorite songs on the record.

VH1: What is “Fallen” about?

SM: It’s about going too far and realizing you can’t come back and that your actions have consequences. Sometimes those consequences aren’t what you expected them to be. A depressing sentiment really, but …

VH1: What was it like making the video?

SM: I was pretty much soaking wet for the most of it! [Laughs.] I was in the bathtub, I was in the rain … there’s a lot of water in it. It looks beautiful. I'm very happy with it.

VH1: Afterglow reminded me a lot of your 1993 record, Fumbling Towards Ecstasy.

SM: A lot of people have told me that. That makes me really happy because I think Fumbling in some ways is my strongest album. Even though I love Surfacing, Fumbling was easier to make and I think it’s more well rounded.

VH1: The album almost begs to do one or two shows with an orchestra.

SM: I would love that. It scares the hell out of me though, just because it’s something I don’t know much about. I’ve done it once before and I had a bad time with it. I was playing for the Pope and I had laryngitis, and they learned the song in the wrong key. It was a comedy of errors! I would love to do something like that with a good orchestra, but then you have to find someone to score it. [Watch Clip]

VH1: Will you be bringing back Lilith Fair?

SM: Probably not. It was so much work and frankly, I don’t have the energy anymore. It was an amazing undertaking, but I believe that things have their time and their place. We did that for three years and everybody loved it and we left it on a really high note. You can only reinvent it so many times, and it would start to lose its luster. I want to leave it where it’s got a nice place in people hearts and my heart. [Watch Clip]

VH1: I’ll bet you get a lot of people asking you about, though.

SM: Daily! “When are you going to put out Lilith again?” I’m like, “Oh, God, I want a life!”

VH1: It made an important point - that there was a lot of diversity among female singer/songwriters.

SM: It helped change a lot of the old school attitudes within the industry, and we formed a lot of important friendships and bonds. People in the industry, especially musicians, long for camaraderie, but we’re constantly on the road, promoting our own albums. We never got a chance to meet or hook up. So it was a good experience for that and also to play with musicians that you’ve great admiration for.

VH1: So lots of musicians should tour with the Indigo Girls because they know how to break the ice?

SM: They’re the greatest. They came in early on and started knocking on everybody’s doors saying, “Come on, let’s play together.” That’s exactly the kind of vibe I wanted. But I was a little shy. I thought, “What if somebody shuts the door in my face?” They’re like, “Ah, come on, it’ll be great!”

MonarC · 10-28-2003, 09:39 PM

that's sad about her mom. Aren't there any Sarah fans here?

PashminaDietrich · 10-28-2003, 10:35 PM

Sarah fan reporting in! Thanks for posting that; I've been waiting patiently (more or less

) for her next album. When exactly is Afterglow coming out?

crazy411chic · 10-28-2003, 11:53 PM

Wow..I never knew she became a mom.
So sad to hear of her mothers passing. I heard on song already and just have not had the time to buy it yet. I have two other cd's of hers.

MonarC · 10-29-2003, 12:54 PM

i love her song "Adia"

MonarC · 11-04-2003, 03:25 PM

AFTERGLOW,” SARAH MCLACHLAN
Why, Sarah, why? You have a beautiful voice, a way with a melody. So why is this album just so, well, boring?

It’s been six years since McLachlan, she of the soaring vocals and the Lilith Fair-organizing, released a studio album. “Afterglow,” her latest, wasn’t worth the wait.
There’s no denying what a lovely, clear voice she has, but one wishes McLachlan had used it on songs with better lyrics and heart-catching music. Instead, it’s a bland, 10-song collection that is nowhere near her best work.
She covers familiar ground, the emotional morass of difficult relationships. But songs such as “Stupid” and “Drifting” just don’t get under the listener’s skin the way her best efforts can. And “Push,” the lyrics of which seem to celebrate someone she can depend on, is just tepid.
In “World on Fire,” she turns her attention outward, but not to any great effect. She promises to “bring to the table, all that I am able.” There’s a compelling lyric.
It’s a sad state of affairs when listening to a new album makes you want to run back to the older ones so you can forget what you’ve just heard (Arista).
— Deepti Hajela

that sux! has anyone heard this album yet?

10-28-2003, 02:23 PM	#1
MonarC The truth will set you free Forum Fanatic Join Date: Dec 05, 2002 Location: 3rd Stone From The Sun Posts: 9,525	Sarah McLachlan: Resurfacing (interview) The Lilith queen explains her new disc and the self-doubt she suffered while making it. by Brian Ives and C. Bottomley In the five years since the release of her album Surfacing, Sarah McLachlan lost her mom to cancer, and gave birth to daughter, India. The Nova Scotia songwriter says the title of her new Afterglow disc refers to such key moments. To her diehard fans, it must have also bittersweet connotations of the time McLachlan spent away from the studio, immersed in her family. At the end of the ‘90s, McLachlan had become a powerful force in popular music. Her music mingled introspection with ethereal vocals and slick electronic textures, and songs like the fragile “Angel” or the rapturous “Possession” were soundtracks to the ecstasies and disappointments of her fans. Of course, McLachlan was also the prime mover behind the Lilith Fair, a traveling cavalcade of women in music that was instrumental in introducing the likes of Jewel, the Dixie Chicks and Missy Elliott to a wider audience. Plenty of artists have tried to fill McLachlan’s slippers in her absence, including Norah Jones and Vanessa Carlton. But Afterglow proves there’s only one Sarah. On the new single “Fallen,” her plush soprano plunges headlong into the song’s emotional content, while Pierre Marchand’s production provides a blanket of pianos and cellos. “Answer” is a whispery ballad for the midnight hour, while “Perfect Girl” is an anthem for the Thirteen set - discovering your true identity in a world of conforming pressures can be tough. The 35-year-old McLachlan says her thoughts on death and birth will be addressed on her next album. She also warns that those hoping for the return of Lilith Fair should prep for disappointment. But Afterglow satisfies in the short term. The disc contains plenty of the wisdom and empathy we expect from McLachlan. The flame-haired performer sat down with VH1 to talk about why she almost gave up on the new disc, bombing before the Pope, and finding the focus of “Fallen.” ======================== (INTERVIEW) VH1: The musical climate has changed a lot since you went away. Do you ever wonder where you fit in? SM: I felt pretty happy that I wasn’t putting out a record for a while. [Looking at] the industry, and the kind of music that was successful during that time, it felt right to take a break. I’ve really been living in a bubble the last few years. People often ask what I think about downloading. I’m like “I should probably read up on that shouldn’t I?” [Watch Clip] VH1: What have you been listening to for the past few years? SM: I honestly don’t listen to much music. My husband is voracious. He buys every new CD out there, so I hear it peripherally through him. I’ve been attracted to Coldplay’s A Rush of Blood to the Head, U2’s All That You Can’t Leave Behind … then I’ve got my old faithfuls that I go back to if I want to listen to music. I’ve been so immersed in my own stuff that I don’t tend to listen to a lot of other people’s music. VH1: How are the life-changing events with your mom and daughter reflected in the album itself? SM: I think a lot of things about my daughter and my mother will be on the next one. I need a lot of time to process stuff. The stuff on this album is six or seven or even eight years old. So give me another five or six years! VH1: During your break, did you ever think you might not want to come back? SM: My priorities changed after having a child; I’ve been so immersed in my own stuff that I don’t tend to listen to a lot of other people’s music. My focus was completely on being a mother. I was about three-quarters of the way through Afterglow before my daughter was born; I knew I’d be completely distracted after the fact. But I went back to [making music] too soon, and pressured myself to get it done before I should have. I put myself in a pretty big rut. At that point I hated everything I was doing and thought it was all crap. I thought, “I’ve lost it. I shouldn’t be making music anymore because I’m not enjoying it. I don’t think what I’m doing is quality work.” But I just needed to give myself some time. So I walked away from it for a while. It was probably the best thing I could have done. [Watch Clip] VH1: Was there a certain song that renewed your faith in your abilities? SM: “Fallen” was the first song I wrote on this record. It took a really long time to find a focus for it, over two and a half years - which was too long. We’d work for a month, go away for two months, and come back and work together. My producer [Pierre Marchand] and I worked in different parts of the country. He had a child about two months before I did, so we’re both in a pretty distracted place. God, we recorded drums maybe five times for that song before we found the right sound! It sounds silly, but we really struggled with it. I’m so glad that we persevered because it’s one of my favorite songs on the record. VH1: What is “Fallen” about? SM: It’s about going too far and realizing you can’t come back and that your actions have consequences. Sometimes those consequences aren’t what you expected them to be. A depressing sentiment really, but … VH1: What was it like making the video? SM: I was pretty much soaking wet for the most of it! [Laughs.] I was in the bathtub, I was in the rain … there’s a lot of water in it. It looks beautiful. I'm very happy with it. VH1: Afterglow reminded me a lot of your 1993 record, Fumbling Towards Ecstasy. SM: A lot of people have told me that. That makes me really happy because I think Fumbling in some ways is my strongest album. Even though I love Surfacing, Fumbling was easier to make and I think it’s more well rounded. VH1: The album almost begs to do one or two shows with an orchestra. SM: I would love that. It scares the hell out of me though, just because it’s something I don’t know much about. I’ve done it once before and I had a bad time with it. I was playing for the Pope and I had laryngitis, and they learned the song in the wrong key. It was a comedy of errors! I would love to do something like that with a good orchestra, but then you have to find someone to score it. [Watch Clip] VH1: Will you be bringing back Lilith Fair? SM: Probably not. It was so much work and frankly, I don’t have the energy anymore. It was an amazing undertaking, but I believe that things have their time and their place. We did that for three years and everybody loved it and we left it on a really high note. You can only reinvent it so many times, and it would start to lose its luster. I want to leave it where it’s got a nice place in people hearts and my heart. [Watch Clip] VH1: I’ll bet you get a lot of people asking you about, though. SM: Daily! “When are you going to put out Lilith again?” I’m like, “Oh, God, I want a life!” VH1: It made an important point - that there was a lot of diversity among female singer/songwriters. SM: It helped change a lot of the old school attitudes within the industry, and we formed a lot of important friendships and bonds. People in the industry, especially musicians, long for camaraderie, but we’re constantly on the road, promoting our own albums. We never got a chance to meet or hook up. So it was a good experience for that and also to play with musicians that you’ve great admiration for. VH1: So lots of musicians should tour with the Indigo Girls because they know how to break the ice? SM: They’re the greatest. They came in early on and started knocking on everybody’s doors saying, “Come on, let’s play together.” That’s exactly the kind of vibe I wanted. But I was a little shy. I thought, “What if somebody shuts the door in my face?” They’re like, “Ah, come on, it’ll be great!”

10-28-2003, 09:39 PM	#2
MonarC The truth will set you free Forum Fanatic Join Date: Dec 05, 2002 Location: 3rd Stone From The Sun Posts: 9,525	that's sad about her mom. Aren't there any Sarah fans here?

10-28-2003, 10:35 PM	#3
PashminaDietrich Oh no, she's baaack Senior Member Join Date: Jul 20, 2003 Location: north of Arlen, south of Southfork, and stuck in the middle with you... Posts: 1,733	Sarah fan reporting in! Thanks for posting that; I've been waiting patiently (more or less ) for her next album. When exactly is Afterglow coming out?

10-28-2003, 11:53 PM	#4
crazy411chic Member Occasional Poster Join Date: Oct 24, 2003 Location: usa Posts: 36	Wow..I never knew she became a mom. So sad to hear of her mothers passing. I heard on song already and just have not had the time to buy it yet. I have two other cd's of hers.

10-29-2003, 12:54 PM	#5
MonarC The truth will set you free Forum Fanatic Join Date: Dec 05, 2002 Location: 3rd Stone From The Sun Posts: 9,525	i love her song "Adia"

11-04-2003, 03:25 PM	#6
MonarC The truth will set you free Forum Fanatic Join Date: Dec 05, 2002 Location: 3rd Stone From The Sun Posts: 9,525	AFTERGLOW,” SARAH MCLACHLAN Why, Sarah, why? You have a beautiful voice, a way with a melody. So why is this album just so, well, boring? It’s been six years since McLachlan, she of the soaring vocals and the Lilith Fair-organizing, released a studio album. “Afterglow,” her latest, wasn’t worth the wait. There’s no denying what a lovely, clear voice she has, but one wishes McLachlan had used it on songs with better lyrics and heart-catching music. Instead, it’s a bland, 10-song collection that is nowhere near her best work. She covers familiar ground, the emotional morass of difficult relationships. But songs such as “Stupid” and “Drifting” just don’t get under the listener’s skin the way her best efforts can. And “Push,” the lyrics of which seem to celebrate someone she can depend on, is just tepid. In “World on Fire,” she turns her attention outward, but not to any great effect. She promises to “bring to the table, all that I am able.” There’s a compelling lyric. It’s a sad state of affairs when listening to a new album makes you want to run back to the older ones so you can forget what you’ve just heard (Arista). — Deepti Hajela that sux! has anyone heard this album yet?