PUBLISHED IN THE HAMILTON SPECTATOR ON TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 1998
By Nick Krewen
JULIANA HATFIELD has made her Bed and now she wants you to listen to it.
Bed is the fourth and latest album by the Boston-based doyenne of the alternative music scene, and as she explains down the line from Ottawa, one of her most naked.
"With Bed I got back to opening myself up more, trying to be honest and just talk about what was going on in my head and in my life, without being too embarrassingly blatant about it," says Hatfield, 31, who first received acclaim as a member of the Boston alt-rock trio BLAKE BABIES in the late '80s.
While this may not seem like much of a concession, Hatfield has been known for being notoriously private and even cryptic when it comes to the songs that comprise such acclaimed solo albums as Become What You Are and Only Everything.
One of her most popular songs, "My Sister", received a lot of raised eyebrows when it was heard because Hatfield doesn't even have a sister. But the Berklee-trained singer and songwriter purposefully throws out red herrings when it comes to writing lyrics.
She admits as much herself.
"Ever since my first album for Atlantic, the Become What You Are record, I've been trying to obscure the meaning of my music," Hatfield explains. "My first album was called Hey Babe, and it was totally naked and open. I did it blindly, and I felt like an idiot later. When I listened to it, I was shocked by how naked it was, and it really freaked me out.
"It hurt me because I was so exposed. So ever since I've been trying to mask the little details and be more vague and cryptic leading up to my last album Only Everything, which was the most shaded and obscure thematically. I even went as far as writing a song in French (`Fleur De Lys') so no one would understand it in my country."
So what changed for Bed?
"I was feeling raw and hurt and extremely frustrated, and I guess I just had to get it out of my system," says Hatfield, who plays the Downstairs John with HAYDEN and JOSH ROUSE Friday.
"I had to get all those feelings out or I was going to explode. I felt like my life was out of my control a little bit, and I just needed to yell something out in songs or I was going to explode. I got a lot of non-positive feelings out of my system."
The volcanic performance of Hatfield and her trio on Bed, and its angular punk edge verify her emotional state. However, the Berklee graduate says Bed isn't overtly soul-baring. She still retains some mystique.
"It is naked, but it's not as naked as a diary entry," states Hatfield. "It's not that plain or obvious. There's more craft put into the lyrics. It's very honest, but it's not always clear about what I'm talking about. For example, the song `I Want To Want You' is sort of about sex, but I don't know if you would ever know that."
Although she's been described by The Trouser Press Guide to '90s Rock as "the Sassy-generation spokeswoman of adolescent angst," Hatfield prefers to let her music do the talking.
"Labels diminish the humanity of the person that's being labelled," she explains. "It's hurtful, because I hear someone's name with a label attached, and it makes me think a certain way. Labels diminish the truth. I know it's hard for writers and for people to describe the complex individuality in music, but people definitely label things way too fast."
Although her past few recordings have been with a band, Hatfield is currently touring solo, armed with her acoustic guitar and her honeycomb voice.
She promises a hearty selection of songs from all four solo albums, and maybe a couple of Blake Babies tracks thrown in for good measure.
And Juliana Hatfield hopes people identify with her songs.
"I just hope that they feel some truth, and that it's the same truth for them as it is for me," says Hatfield.
"I feel like there's a small handful of emotions that everyone feels, and I write about stuff that everyone feels at certain times. So it's just nice to have someone recognize something of themselves in there."
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DISCOGRAPHY
WITH BLAKE BABIES
1987 -- Nicely, Nicely -- Mammoth
1989 -- Slow Learners
1989 -- Earwig
1990 -- Sunburn
1991 -- Rosy Jack World EP
1992 -- Hey Babe (solo)
1992 -- Forever Baby EP
1992 -- I See You EP
1993 -- Innocence And Experience
1993 -- Become What You Are (as Juliana Hatfield Three)
1995 -- Only Everything
1998 -- Bed
COLLABORATIONS
1993 -- Various Artists, Reality Bites (as The Juliana Hatfield 3)
1993 -- Various Artists, Caught In The Attic
1994 -- Various Artists, Safe And Sound Benefit In Response To Brtookline Clinic Violence
1994 -- Various Artists, Rare On Air Vol. 1 (with Evan Dando)
1996 -- Various Artists, O Come All Ye Faithful
1999 -- Various Artists, Return Of The Grievous Angel -- A Tribute To Gram Parsons (with Evan Dando) -- Almo Sounds
THANKS: Kevin Shea, Jill Morison
©1998, 1999 Nick Krewen, Octopus Media Ink