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Pop
Music A
brooding Merchant sings of the seasons in a womans life
By ROBIN TAYLOR
Last night, I served steaks and potatoes to a group of men at the
restaurant where I work. They were a father and two adult sons, the sons about
my age. I greeted them, and the father, right away, said that I looked
real nice to him. I smiled and tried to move the conversation to
the restaurants nightly specials. Later, not to be deterred, he asked if
he could take me home with him. I said that my husband probably wouldnt
appreciate that. We both laughed, though not for the same reasons. He thought
he was suave, captivating. I was concerned about my tip, ever vigilant to any
change in dining dynamic that might threaten it. Sometimes, I have to cater to
egos. Its part of the job.
Ive worked in food service, on and off, for nearly 10 years.
I got my start at a tourist bar in Waikiki. I wore a tiny skirt and flowered
blouse and sold mai tais and Blue Hawaiis. Now, I work at a steak house
that specializes in multi-pound steaks for hearty cowboy appetites. Im
older, in my thirties, and have traded my short skirts and leis for jeans and
long-sleeved denim shirts.
In both jobs, Ive dealt with unwanted male attention. What
surprises me is how that attention has changed over the years. No longer do
young men leer at me and flirt. Now it is their fathers, men old enough to be
my father, who lavish me with attention.
I read once that men ideally want a woman who is half their age,
plus five or six years. By that formula, Im ripe for a man in his early
fifties. That makes sense, judging by the attention Ive received lately.
When I was in Hawaii, it was men my age, maybe a little older, who flirted with
me. These men dont give me a second glance now, unless its in
embarrassment over the behavior of their elders.
As much as the attention annoys me, I wonder how Ill feel
when all the men twice my age are dead, and nobody bothers with me anymore. I
fear that Ill miss the flirting, just a little. My feminist side is
appalled that Id ever admit it, but I have a hunch that many women, even
the worlds most glamorous, feel the same. Does Cindy Crawford, now 32,
ever wonder how much longer shell grace magazine covers? What about Julia
Roberts? Helen Hunt? I confess that Im happy when I see one of them
shining on a television news show or a supermarket tabloid cover. As long as
they are seen as beautiful, maybe I can still be beautiful, too.
Still, theres a large group of young ones vying for the
publicity, the Gwyneth Paltrows and Jennifer Love Hewitts of the world. Heck, I
know that 31 isnt old. But our culture likes its women young, and none of
us stays that way forever.
Natalie Merchant, former lead singer for 10,000 Maniacs and
herself 34, has a new album that delves into these emotions and more.
Ophelia, which debuted at number 8 on the Billboard album charts,
explores the seasons of a womans life.
The CDs cover and inside pictures show Merchant in a variety
of roles, all taken from the title song, Ophelia. In that song,
Merchant sings about Ophelia, bride of God, rebel girl,
sweetheart, demigoddess, mistress,
hurricane, madwoman. The album then flows into songs
that speak more about Ophelia and every woman, and the joys and struggles of
the female journey.
This is a womans album. That doesnt mean that men
wont appreciate it. They will, especially if they can honor a powerful
and sometimes dark femininity. The album does have its upbeat moments, with
several songs that are reminiscent of Merchants debut album, the
multi-platinum 1995 Tiger Lily. In general, though, Ophelia is a
heavy collection, one that broods, questions -- but ultimately exudes hope.
Merchant, who grew up in the Catholic church, is enjoying a graced
popularity these days. Shes a co-headliner with Sarah McLachlan at this
summers traveling all-women Lilith Fair music festival, and she recently
made the cover of Entertainment Weekly. Ophelia is her second solo
album; on it, she plays piano, Wurlitzer and Hammond, along with writing every
song, except for the final tract, When They Ring the Golden Bells,
a 110-year-old hymn newly arranged for Merchants album.
The first single from Ophelia, Kind and
Generous, made it into the top 10 on the Billboard charts. Its a
song devoted to saying thank-you, guaranteeing it a spot on the play list at
wedding receptions and graduation parties for years to come. Merchant sings
thank you at least 30 times during the song and la la
la even more than that. Its an upbeat, catchy tune, even though
toward the end, the thank you thank you starts to blur into a
nearly indistinguishable mush. Still, its a good reminder to give thanks
to the people who love us, and refreshing that such a positive message has
received so much radio airplay.
Along with giving thanks, Merchant gives advice. The song
Life is Sweet is a pep talk for the oppressed little girls of the
world, the young Ophelias, who grow up with mothers who are bitter
brides and fathers who are iron men, battle ship wrecked on dry
land. When their parents tell them that Life is hard/Misery from
the start/Its dull, its slow, its painful Merchant
counters with a gift of hope. But I tell you life is sweet, she
sings. In spite of the misery/Theres so much more, be
grateful. Here, there is no denial of pain. Its a part of each of
our lives, which are all so very short and over before you
know it. The prayer, then, is that well be thankful in
spite of the struggles and will cherish every precious minute of it.
Ndea Davenport, formerly of the Brand New Heavies, joins
Merchant for the lilting Break Your Heart. This song has a
deceptively upbeat jazziness, with a smooth trumpet accompaniment and mellow
string undertones. The music runs contrary to the lyrics though, which examine
the suffering and sadness pervasive in todays society. People
struggle, people fight/For the simple pleasures in their lives/The troubles
come from everywhere/Its a little more than you can bear, they
sing. In typical Merchant style, the song doesnt end with this
acknowledgment of pain. Instead, she admonishes the listener to carry on, even
though the way things are will break your heart. Dont
spread discontent, she says, Dont spread the lies. Dont
make the same mistakes with your own life.
While all women can relate to the soul ruptures and
disillusionment of Break Your Heart, the haunting My
Skin is aimed at those of a certain age, that time when we realize how
fleeting youth is. Im the slow dying flower/In the frost killing
hour/Sweet turning sour and untouchable, Merchant sings. If this
isnt bad enough, so often theres a lover, a partner, who witnesses
the changes and reminds us of what we used to be. Do you remember the way
that you touched me before/All the trembling sweetness I loved and adored/Your
face saying promises whispered like prayers/I dont need them, she
sings.
Shes right. As time passes, we grow into our changing
bodies, changing lives, and no longer crave the approving glances and clever
comments that we once grasped. Instead, we need life -- rough, wild, real. We
need relationships that grow beyond appearances. We need the darkness ...
sweetness ... sadness ... weakness that gave us our gray hair and stretch
marks. We need all the strange, holy gifts of time, because they catapult us
into our own skin, away from that place where men control us by their attention
or lack of it.
The albums final song is a lovely fusion of past and present
that brings a timeless quality to the collection. When They Ring the
Golden Bells was written in 1887, but its words of hope are perfect for
an album like Ophelia. The song reminds us of that far off sweet
forever/Just beyond the shining river, where we will know no sin, sorrow
or anguish, but only blessing and freedom. It is a song of unmistakable faith
that gives the album an upbeat conclusion. Very few contemporary pop artists
would be gutsy enough to record a 19th-century hymn like this. Merchant ignores
industry conventions, and it works.
Ophelia is more than just a collection of songs. It is a
story of women, a celebration of life, of all its angst and joys, from the time
when we first find our voices to the day when the golden bells ring for us.
Through our lives, it is the years that teach us. They make us stronger. They
give us ourselves.
Robin Taylor writes from Dayton, Nev.
National Catholic Reporter, July 31,
1998
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