Modern Rock Tracks No. 1s - Suzanne Vega and "Blood Makes Noise"
Suzanne Vega steps out of Tom's Diner and into a completely different musical space with "Blood Makes Noise," a song that seemingly influenced the sound of alternative music for years to come
Suzanne Vega - “Blood Makes Noise”
Weeks atop the Billboard Modern Rock Tracks chart: 1 week (October 10, 1992)
Previous Modern Rock #1 hit: Peter Gabriel - “Digging in the Dirt”
Next Modern Rock #1 hit: R.E.M. - “Drive”
Billboard Hot 100 chart toppers during this time:
Boyz II Men - “End Of The Road” (9 total weeks, beginning 8/15/92)
We’re running out of years where female-led acts top the Modern Rock Tracks charts.
It happens fairly quickly. Peeking ahead, I found that 1996 appears to be the last real high-water mark for female vocalists at the top of the alternative charts. Between the end of 1996 and the turn of the century, only two female-fronted acts will top the MRT charts: Garbage and Hole. Once Hole disappears from the top slot, it’ll take another four and a half years chronologically before we’d see another female-fronted group (Evanescence).
Long story short: While there’s little doubt the music I’ll be covering in this space is good and important in its own way, it feels strange to move forward into an era with so few female-led acts, especially given how unique these performers were and how much they contributed to the growth of alternative rock in the ‘80s and early ‘90s.
And for me, someone whose greatest awakening into alternative music happened in the mid to late ‘90s when many of the female alt-rock progenitors disappeared from the scene, I feel somewhat robbed of the experience of not only hearing these terrific performers, but also witnessing their contribution to the growth and diversification of what would become alternative music.
Take Suzanne Vega, for example. I think most people hear the name and think of her late ‘80s pop gems, “Tom’s Diner” and “Luka,” both of which tend a little bit more toward a centrist, pop-minded aesthetic. It’s difficult to categorize these songs as “alternative” in the sense that they’re as well known in pop-music circles as they are in the landscape of evolving alt-rock.
What I was not expecting was “Blood Makes Noise,” a song that’s so sonically and tonally different from these hits that I had to double check and make sure I had the right artist. And sure enough, I did, and with her one and only MRT chart topper, Vega managed to put together a track that was both ahead of its time and helped informed so much of what would come after.
In 1992, for all the possible tracks you could cite as “the future of alternative music,” this one should have been near the top of the list. It’s remarkable. I defy you to listen to this song and not hear the beginnings of industrial rock, of modern bass-led guitar rock, or even the emergence of acts like Lorde or Billie Eilish decades after the fact, females who are soft-spoken yet powerful in their own right. If I listen closely enough, I can hear bits of at least a half-dozen future tracks from artists as diverse as Paula Cole, Garbage, Nine Inch Nails and Prodigy, among others.
To be clear, this is not one of my personal favorite tracks, and I don’t see it going into my regular rotation, but if I’m reviewing it critically, I can’t help but heap praise on it because it sounds so fresh and new, even 30+ years removed from its one week atop the Modern Rock Tracks chart. This track could find a home in the modern era given the range and styles we’ve seen hitting the top of the charts in recent years, in much the same way Kate Bush found new life on the charts with her now-timeless classic “Running Up That Hill.”
And Vega has a way of making the sound of blood coursing through your body … sexy. Part of that is her vocal performance; she can pull off a deep, haunting voice with a flirtatious whisper all at the same time. But the video itself, a very of-the-era stylized video with early digital editing and silhouettes, is punctuated with occasional glimpses of Vega, staring you down with those haunting big eyes while playfully tossing her hair back.
Lyrically, the song’s narrator appears to be having a conversation with a doctor, wherein the narrator is afraid of something and trying to communicate it, but can’t because of the noise created by the blood in their body. It’s difficult to put that thought into words, which is why the song is so perfect at capturing that idea, but I think most anyone can relate to a moment where your heart is beating so fast that the blood is pumping through your body at speeds that cause the sound to reverberate in your head.
I think it's really cool that you're concerned
But we'll have to try again
After the silence has returned
'Cause blood makes noise
It's a ringing in my ear
Blood makes noise
And I can't really hear you in the thickening of fear
The percussion of the song succeeds in punctuating the sounds that the lyrics themselves cannot convey, and I like the harmony created between the two things. And because the song’s run time is relatively short (just a bit over two minutes), the idea doesn’t overstay its welcome — just like those moments when blood is rushing through your body loudly. If you can’t hear because of increased blood circulation for more than a couple of minutes, you really need to find a way to calm down or you’ll face more serious health consequences.
Following this chart-topping success, Vega would continue on a long and productive career, though she would never again grace the MRT charts with her presence. As she matured, her sound did as well, and she would find a home on charts more focused on an older demographic, such as the Adult Alternative Airplay chart. But given the move away from female-led acts in the late ‘90s and beyond in the modern alternative rock space, it’s not a huge surprise that she didn’t continue to chart there, though I think the innovations she started to explore with tracks like “Blood Makes Noise” absolutely had an impact on popular alternative music going forward.
Rating: 7/10
Chart Check: A look at other notable MRT chart songs from this time period
The charts did not turn over a lot during Suzanne Vega’s one week atop the MRT chart, so “Chart Check” is a little bit sparse this time around. I did manage to feature a former #1 MRT artist, and I do have Beavis and Butthead’s interpretation of “Blood Makes Noise,” but that’s about it. I’ll have more to add to this section with next week’s chart-topping track, which topped the charts for five weeks and thus left room for more tracks to peak in its wake.
“Blood Makes Noise” as reviewed by “Beavis and Butthead”: They didn’t like the song as much as I did, but at least they provided a solid minute of snappy comedy.
“Stinkin’ Thinkin’” by Happy Mondays (#21): Former MRT chart #1 artist Happy Mondays topped out at #21 behind Suzanne Vega with “Stinkin’ Thinkin’,” the last track from the band to appear on the MRT charts. This track is a bit more streamlined and less of a funky groove than their superlative chart topper “Kinky Afro,” but it’s still pretty terrific.
I've always a big fan of Blood Makes Noise as well as the album from which it originated, 99.9 F. It was a whole new sound for Vega that opened up her music to a new audience. I highly recommend the rest of the album, especially the title track, Rock in This Pocket (Song of David), Fat Man and Dancing Girl, As a Child, Bad Wisdom, and As Girls Go.
I just came across Solitude Standing in my vinyl collection! I loved her so much, and I’m surprised I didn’t continue to follow her releases! I don’t think I’ve heard this song or anything off 99.9 F. Will have to remedy that ASAP.
At some point, I intend to do a project on 90s alternative women and she was on my list - probably because I went through charts gathering names. I guess I didn’t realize or notice a drop off, but then I wasn’t especially looking for chart toppers or paying much attention to the charts themselves. So interesting though because to me, the 90s were ablaze with female artists.