VH1 intervw 15052003

There hasn’t been a musical 360 like this since country superstar Garth Brooks became moody Trent Reznor-lookalike Chris Gaines. Jewel, the fey folk chanteuse with the acoustic guitar and the earth colors, has reinvented herself as a dance diva.

You've likely seen her “Intuition” video by now. Soon you'll hear her 0304 album. Goodbye Annie Oakley, hello Donna Summer.

The switcheroo might not be as shocking as some might believe, however. Anyone who has been listening to Jewel’s albums will note how she’s accelerated from the bare campfire ditties of Pieces of You to electric guitars and ethnic rhythms on 2001’s This Way. When a remix of that album’s “Serve the Ego” topped the Billboard charts, the singer decided that maybe the time was right to shake things up a bit more.

0304 won’t nudge Kraftwerk out of retirement. But it is Jewel at her most ambitious. Synths burble on “Run 2 U” and inventive tech glitches mark the deranged “America.” Amid the drum machines and rapping, though, are some even more startling elements. Who could have predicted “Intuition’s” café accordion or “Fragile Heart’s” whistling?

Longtime fans needn't fear too much. Still moved by a catchy tune and lyrical influences like Bob Dylan and Cole Porter, the singer's cornerstone elements remain in place. It's just the facade of what she calls “a modern interpretation of big band music," that's momentarily shocking.

The “Intuition” clip confuses her standard character even further. Here she peels out of her plain folkie skin to explore other possibilities. Which Jewel is your Jewel? Sex goddess? Booty-shaking ghetto superstar? Hosed down hottie? The singer says it's a chance to laugh at her own image, and a stab at making her artistic image relevant for another decade or so. She spoke to VH1 about selling sex, great jazz singers, and putting brains into dance pop.

VH1: There’s a lot of bumping and grinding in the “Intuition” video. Has sex always been part of your image?

Jewel: Music is one of the most sensual things you can watch a person do, to the point where it’s almost embarrassing when you see someone shut their eyes and sing on stage. It’s very intimate. People have always responded to me that way. I’ve been able to live as a paradox on stage. I’m shy, but outgoing. I’m sexy, but I’m also a down-to-earth person as well. Duality exists everywhere. I don’t think it’s anything to escape from. The video just talks about that. [Watch Clip]

VH1: The video also boasts your first wet T-shirt moment. Is there a fine line between being comfortable in your sexuality and exploiting it?

Jewel: I don’t have an answer, to tell the truth. Obviously, sex is always sold. I’d feel really uncomfortable if I put my sexuality before my lyrics or intelligence. But I don’t mind them coming together. A lot of people say you can’t be sexy and smart or authentic at the same time. I don’t believe it.

VH1: You're really toying with your longstanding media image in this video. Are you starting to work on a grander scale, like Madonna or David Bowie?

Jewel: Yeah, I was a bit slow to come to it. I wasn't comfortable doing [that kind of] stuff, unless it was true to who I am. I felt it was important for me to develop as a person, so that what stares back at me through culture looks like me as much as it can. But it’s been 10 years since I started. Very few people make it 10 years, fewer make it 20 and very few make it 30. So now I’m looking at my career thinking, “How do you make it another 10?” I might as well sell Pieces of You my entire life. You need to change. Artists have to grow and play with concepts. They have to keep the game interesting for themselves, so that they feel alive and relevant.

VH1: Will the dance pop production of 0304 seem unfamiliar to Jewel fans? Is this your Highway 61 Revisited or Achtung Baby?

Jewel: I think it’s familiar, but I might be a really bad judge. This record sounds like the same way that music sounds like in my head. Fans who have seen me live have seen me perform classical music, a lot of rock stuff, even jazz standards. My lyrics are my lyrics; they’re the center. It’s just that now I have a lot of rhythm going on.

VH1: Why did you make such a drastic musical change?

Jewel: When I made this record, I had a pretty good idea that we were headed for war. Big band music was it its zenith during the Second World War, because people wanted an escape. They wanted to feel young, sexy and alive. I wanted my record to make you feel that way too - young, sexy and smart. That’s what I set out to do. The rest is up to the fates!

VH1: Who are the big-band singers that always impress you?

Jewel: Ella Fitzgerald was always one of my favorites. I like the way she sings Cole Porter songs. She has a lot of intelligence and she sang his lyrics well because of that. Porter’s lyrics are clever; there’s a lot of sexual innuendo, but it isn’t obvious. Ella sang them with a wink. Sarah Vaughn has flawless tone. Every time I hear her sing, her tone is immaculate and constant.

VH1: You’ve said that it’s always harder to write songs about love. Why is that?

Jewel: Many minds greater than mine have tackled the subject of love and done it so well. It’s hard to say something about love that hits you in a new way. This is especially true for songs, because they have to be done so fast. You can’t slow down and open up like you do in a poem. Measures click by and time keeps ticking … being able to say something that will stop you and move you and touch you about love that you feel like you’ve never heard before is really a challenge. Anger is very easy. It’s very accessible. It’s an easy vein to tap. Love is a subtle, translucent thing. It moves all the time. You always have to seek it and find it and be quiet and listen better. I just find it a real challenge. [Watch Clip]

VH1: And here you are aiming for Cole Porter’s sophistication, while a lot of dance music is mere fluff.

Jewel: I used to think it was disposable, but I realized I was a songwriter who would use dance music in a certain way. It’s opened up the world for me. If you try to deny it, it’s like being a painter and saying “I’m not going to use red or yellow. I’m only going to paint with these colors.” Now I can use programming, I can use sequencing, I can use synthesizers. I can use those colors to serve my goal, and it’s still emotional. All these songs are emotional. They hurt you when you hear them. They should still move you that way. [Watch Clip]

VH1: You mentioned escapism earlier on, but new songs like “Haunted” and “America” deal with paranoia and the state of the nation. How does the music complement the message?

Jewel: That’s the cool thing about it. It’s a hologram. Anyway you slice it; you’re hopefully going to get to the same thing. Songs like “Doin’ Fine” can be considered very glib, but to me, it’s very sad. That’s the cool thing about being a songwriter. If somebody wants to listen to that record and have fun they can do that. If people want to see an ironic meaning to it, then they can do that too.

VH1: Did you have to go to school on dance music before making the album? Do you go to clubs and hang around with a whistle round your neck and some Vicks Vapo Rub?

Jewel: I didn’t listen to records; I didn’t study. I knew exactly how I wanted it to sound, but I had to find somebody that [could help me]. Normally, somebody would say, “That sounds like a horrible idea, Jewel. It sounds like a pickle and peanut-butter sandwich.” When I described it to [producer and co-writer] Lester Mendez, he got it. It was like writing with a part of me with 20 or 30 years of technical experience. I was able to do a song like “Run 2 U,” and it didn’t seem weird to him that I was going to put folk lyrics and melodies against a dance beat.

VH1: How do you make sure the music is working on the groin as much as it is on the heart?

Jewel: It’d be misleading to say this is a straight-up dance record. Anybody who expects a dance record out of this would probably be mad. It’s just combining a lot of different styles of music and technology. Not everything is a hardcore thumping song. Everything grooves though. I never went to clubs [to see if it worked]. You know when something’s right. You know when the shoe fits because it fits!

VH1: Does making such a break with the "Pieces of You Jewel" seem liberating?

Jewel: It’s a liberating and great feeling. I’m at a point now where I’ve proven everything I needed to prove. I’ve sold a lot of records. Now I can do just what moves me. That’s something I’ve always done, but I feel freer about it.

VH1: You’re performing at this year’s Divas. What’s it like at those massive star-studded events?

Jewel: It’s not as communal as I had dreamt of as a kid. I’ve dreamt of Emmylou Harris, Johnny Cash, and Bob Dylan hanging out after shows and playing guitars in hotel rooms. It isn’t like that. Everybody’s really busy. They show up, sing, and go on to the next appointment!

		Fri. May 16.2003 11:42 AM EDT
		Jewel: Let’s Face the Music and Dance The superstar pulls a switcheroo with her sound and her look. Ready for the dance version of Jewel? by C. Bottomley

			Jewel (Photo: Publicity)