Rolling Stone Magazine, via Facebook, mentioned that Karen Carpenter died thirty years ago. I shared the article, and commented that it made me both angry and sad. Angry that she was so talented and died so young, and that she'd still be alive today if she had been able to get some help, or allowed herself to get help. I'm not sure what the appropriate terminology would be. Because of the way I was introduced to her story, I'll probably always think that her family contributed to her death. Maybe they feel guilty, too. Maybe they don't. I just don't know.
As a kid (as a boy, to be more precise), I thought their music was corny and embarrassing (maybe I thought it was embarrassing because I secretly liked it - that and ABBA). Not until I was older did I allow myself to enjoy things, no matter what other people said. A lot has been said about Karen Carpenter's voice, and I think it was something special. For one thing, she sang at a lower octave than most female singers, giving it, I guess, a "sultry" tone, but, something more than that. It was a voice that made her sound much older than she was. And there was always a sadness in it, a melancholy that haunted even their most upbeat songs. I think that's the allure of disco music, too (sorry about the huge digression there). Underneath all the glitter is the depressing notion that it's all temporary - that you'll be swallowed up by the darkness as soon as the moment's over, and you have to go home (which reminds me of the Marshall Crenshaw song "She Hates to Go Home". What can I say? My love of music knows no bounds.)
You always wonder, when someone passes away so young, what she'd be doing today. She'd be in her sixties now, finally having grown into her voice. Would she have been able to break free from her brother? Have gotten a hot young musician to produce her "comeback" album (Jack White? The Fountains of Wayne guys?) Who knows?
So what's my favorite Carpenters song? Well, it would be the one written by Neil Sedaka. "Solitaire". Maybe because I can relate to it, or maybe because it's just a great song. Either way, that's my choice, and I'm sticking to it.
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