Suzanne Vega - Beauty & Crime

Vega has always been a scholarly folkie. After graduating from the performing arts school featured in the film musical Fame, she majored in English literature and began writing thoughtful songs like “Luka,” her 1987 hit about domestic abuse. Now, Vega has joined Norah Jones on the once jazzy Blue Note label. Songs like “Edith Wharton’s Figurines” and “New York is a Woman” carry on in a literary vein, while “Pornographer’s Dream” cleverly sets a tale of desire to a seductive bossa nova beat.

July 17