Suzanne Vega - Book And A Cover

What this video is

Released in 1998 during Suzanne Vega's transitional post-99.9°F period, 'Book and a Cover' was distributed only via an overseas compilation, reflecting the fragmented international release strategies common to mid-career artists in the late-90s pre-streaming landscape. The video's surrealist manipulation of the New York City skyline—most notably inverting the World Trade Center towers with an airplane passing…

Why it matters

Represents a rare intersection of literary folk-pop songwriting and MTV-era high-concept visual direction. The video's surrealist imagery and fast-cut editing challenged the genre expectation of the static performance-style video common to singer-songwriters of the era, demonstrating how late-90s…

The director

Los Angeles-based photographer and music video director. Self-taught visual artist active in the 1990s–2020s. Directed music videos for artists including Jewel and The Cardigans. Received two Director of the Year nominations at the MTV and Billboard Music…