Morse, S. (1999, October 6). "Cole mines the depth of spirituality." The Boston Globe, pp. E1, E4.

OVERVIEW

Paula Cole, 31, calls Rockport—on Boston’s North Shore—home, studied at Boston’s Berklee College of Music, and lives in Manhattan. She was a hit at Lilith Fair and received a Grammy award for best new artist. In fact, she won seven Grammy nominations in 1997. Her work includes:

• "This Fire" album (1996) sold millions.
• A novelty hit from that album, "Where Have All the Cowboys Gone" is a parody on men’s macho lifestyles.
• "I Don’t Want to Wait" became a pop song and theme for "Dawson’s Creek" TV show.
• Her long awaited second major album, "Amen," came out in October, 1999. Cole both wrote and produced this album.

Her latest album in this Globe reviewer’s opinion is a "beautifully, contemplative, R&B/soul-accented record about love and spirituality." Paula herself sees the album as a "platform and opportunity" and says:

I was finally willing to discuss my spirituality in music. I was shy about it before.

Admitting the influence of Marvin Gaye (especially "What’s Going On," 1971 which "extended hope for the unity of all people and races), Coles continues:

For me, God is an energy that bonds all life. You’re meant to be your own Buddha and your own Jesus. I think it all boils down to love. If you look at Gandhi and at his life and teaching, or at Jesus or Buddha, it all comes down to love. You can’t even change it with religion or conversion to religion. But you can change it with love. You can touch an individual on a daily basis, and you can touch the world in a lifetime through that.

From the first song of the album, "I Believe in Love":

The clouds may come, the clouds may go, and I’ll still be here…
I believe in love as the center of all things.

"Ultimately, the album is all about hope—and about Cole’s humility in the face of her remarkable success. She has diva-like vocal pipes, but not a diva-like disposition," this reviewer concludes. In Paula’s words:

Fame can be dangerous. It can take you away from where you are sometimes. And it can also make you a nasty bitch sometimes.

It’s dangerous if you start to believe you are the center of the universe. You kind of are when you’re on the road, because you have all these employees and they’re there to make it all work. But it’s really important to have time off and be with your family and go grocery shopping yourself and clean your toilet yourself. I’ve since had time to do that, and I feel more invigorated by it…I was so busy that it really became hard to see my family and my friends, and I suffered personally because of that.

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION AND DISCUSSION

1. Do you like the music of Paula Cole? Do you anyone else who does?
2. What does this article have to say about success? Do you think any young professional athletes or musicians could profit from its lessons? Do you sometimes find yourself losing your center?
3. What does spirituality have to do with losing one’s center or finding one’s center and regaining the energy needed to be creative and fulfilled?
4. Do you think Paula Cole’s spirituality could be described as New Age spirituality?
5. What is your assessment or critique of New Age spirituality—which some estimate to be the religion of some 30 million Americans?
6. How do you understand and articulate your own spirituality?
7. If yours is the spirituality of a more traditional religion, how do you approach and help the many young people growing up with some form of New Age spirituality?

IMPLICATIONS

1. The music of Paula Cole represents the intermingling of different types of popular musical traditions and genres. You can hear reflections of the styles of Marvin Gaye, Whitney Houston, and others in her music—though it is distinctly her own.
2. The late 1990s reflect a reaction of empty or vulgar ideas and lyrics. Tracy Chapman, Arrested Development, Erykah Badu, Jewel, and many others began pointing to social concerns and searching for real answers.
3. Those all who teach and care about young people should pay attention to the world’s spiritual mood and quest at end of the millennium.
4. We can help young people consider their spirituality and quest through the songs of these artists.

Dean Borgman cCYS