This installment: Solitude Standing by Suzanne Vega:
And it does have some vague archaeological import! At least for me. It came out in my first couple of years of grad school so it has that connection, but I also took it to Egypt my first time in 1988. Back in those days, kids, we could only bring a bunch of cassette tapes if we wanted to listen to something, so basically you packed as many in as you could so you wouldn’t get too bored. This was one of them. There’s one track in particular, Calypso, that still makes me sigh. We went to Alexandria a few times and stayed at an old 1930s-era hotel called the. . . .Metropole? Hmmmm. Must try to remember which one. Anyway, it had huge, high ceilings and tall doors/windows opening up directly to the outside. It was near the Mediterranean so I always got a room facing the sea, about 4-5 floors up so there was an unobstructed view. Oh.My.God. How utterly pleasant. Especially after having been living in a tent in the boonies for a while. The weather was cool but still warm, the salt air coming in. . . .Christ, that was nice.
Anyway, I’d always been a big fan of the Odyssey anyway and that was my first encounter with the Med. That was where it actually happened so to speak. It still kind of gives me the goosebumps today. I should dig up a picture of that view. . . .
UPDATE: RE, Calypso, two notables who have played her fairly recently. Naomi Harris in the ‘Pirates of the Caribbean franchise:
And Vanessa Williams in a TV miniseries version of The Odyssey from a few years back:
Let me tell you, that picture does not do Williams justice in that role. When she first appeared on screen as Calypso my jaw literally dropped.
