Tom Moon on Suzanne Vega

"'My name is Luka, I live on the second floor.' Thus begins New York pop-folk songwriter Suzanne Vega's disquieting story of a city kid's attempt to deal with a volatile (and seemingly violent) home situation. Vega focuses not on the details of the kid's plight but on his awkwardness. She sketches his brave front—and the way it barely hides his fear, his sense of being overwhelmed. The song … sparked nationwide discussion about the domestic abuse of children. … The title tune alternates between a steady rock pulse and ethereal free-falling passages that seem borne from a daydream. … Solitude Standing yielded another improbable hit—the cinema-verité 'Tom's Diner,' which Vega sings a cappella. This song, which was remixed by the British producers DNA first without her permission then with her blessing, became a massive club hit the following year. … When audio engineer Karlheinz Brandenburg was developing the MP3 audio format for computers, he used the original 'Tom's Diner' as a test, explaining that if he could get the program to translate Vega's warm voice, it could translate anything" (1,000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die, pp. 827-828).