In the arms of an angel

January 31, 2011 10:35 AM

How Sarah McLachlan Saved DMC's Life. (From the Moth podcast.)

IGN has a text interview that fleshes out the story a bit.

Just Like Me, the song DMC and Sarah McLachlan recorded together.

DMC: My Adoption Journey, the Emmy winning documentary about DMC's search for his birth mother, in several parts on DMC's website.

posted by kmz (41 comments total)

When I listened to that podcast, and I heard the part where DMC refused to tour with his band unless they listened to his Sarah McLachlan CDs, I realized that celebrities are just like us, except even more irritating.

That said, his love of SM was pretty cute. He sounded so excited about her music, I almost wanted to forgive him for pitching fits that would get me fired.
posted by jenlovesponies at 10:45 AM on January 31, 2011

DMZ is a really freakin nice guy. He has done a lot to help adoptees get rights to their original birth certificates and find their biological family members. Now if I can just convince the world that we should try to prevent women (who want to parent and need resources) from losing their children...

(rubbing hands together and thinking of a diabolical plot) muahahaha.
posted by xarnop at 10:47 AM on January 31, 2011 [1 favorite]

LOL!!! DMC wahahha
posted by xarnop at 10:48 AM on January 31, 2011

(Ok---- "really nice" doesn't mean I know whether he throws hissy fits LOL!!--- But seriously he has really gone out of his way to generate awareness of this issue)
posted by xarnop at 10:49 AM on January 31, 2011

Yes! Holy crap, I had no idea that DMC, he of Devastating Mic Control, could sound that quavery! Nor did I realize at all that he was depressed. That was a freakin' great story. I didn't know that there was a documentary about him. Thanks for posting this!

jenlovesponies: The reason he wouldn't get fired for his demands is that he's the boss. Or at least one of the bosses. It'd be like you starting a company, then getting fired for demanding that everyone read some tangentially-related-to-the-business article. Sure, not reasonable, but not really a tantrum.
posted by ignignokt at 10:52 AM on January 31, 2011

That was unexpected. Next you'll be telling me those were Darryl's burgers and not Ronald's.
posted by Hoopo at 10:57 AM on January 31, 2011 [1 favorite]

I had no idea that DMC, he of Devastating Mic Control, could sound that quavery!

That would be spasmodic dysphonia.
posted by deadmessenger at 10:59 AM on January 31, 2011

Shouldn't have walked that way.
posted by l33tpolicywonk at 11:02 AM on January 31, 2011

Sorry, I couldn't get through the Squarespace promo.
posted by parmanparman at 11:09 AM on January 31, 2011 [1 favorite]

So, I was a returning adult student in college - 33 at the time - and I showed up early for one of my 200 level history courses. A young (18ish), female classmate of mine arrived, and seeing as I was the only one there sat next to me.

Me : How you doing ?
Her : Life sucks.
Me : Really ?
Her : Yeah. Never date a boy who likes Sarah McLachlan. He'll only break your heart.
Me : I see. I'm sorry.
Her : It's fine. But if I go to a boy's house and he has any Sarah McLachlan in his music collection, I'm leaving. Do you like Sarah McLachlan ?
Me : Not really. Paul Oakenfold did a remix that I kind of liked.
Her : You're married, though, right ? Figures.

I lost touch with her after that class, but in the gender studies class I took I mentioned that, and everyone agreed that it was true.
posted by Pogo_Fuzzybutt at 11:13 AM on January 31, 2011 [11 favorites]

DMC
Sarah McLachlan
posted by DU at 11:15 AM on January 31, 2011

It's true. I like Sarah McLachlan (I have 2 of her early CDs), and I broke some hearts.

But there's always the one I didn't break (and the girl who liked SM and broke my heart), so it's not totally true.
posted by mrgrimm at 11:24 AM on January 31, 2011

I once spent some time between Sarah McLachlan and a sofa.
Every time her name comes up I have to mention it.
It's in the contract.
(Disclaimer: No hearts were broken in the making of this post.)
posted by Floydd at 11:26 AM on January 31, 2011 [1 favorite]

I love it when Metafilter posts read like they're from an episode of Family Guy

Lois: Well, that was interesting.

Peter: Like that time Sarah McLachlan Saved DMC's Life.

*Cue zany flashback clip unrelated to story line*
posted by bondcliff at 11:29 AM on January 31, 2011 [21 favorites]

Here's the song he mentions: Angel (YT - hope it's not US only ...)

I prefer her from back in the day: "my one and only love song"
posted by mrgrimm at 11:30 AM on January 31, 2011

I too once had a huge crush on Sarah. Now me & DMC have something in common.
posted by GuyZero at 11:45 AM on January 31, 2011

Who is Sarah McLachlan?
posted by nzero at 11:49 AM on January 31, 2011

I was going to say Floydd's story could work as a Family Guy non sequitur.

Floydd, this story must be shared.
posted by emelenjr at 11:51 AM on January 31, 2011

> Then I thought 'That Harry Chapin record was such a heartfelt record. That record is generational. When all of us are dead and gone, that Harry Chapin record'll be here because it was a song, it was some real s---.

The next time I cue up a song I'd rather no-one knows I like on my iPod I'm going to picture someone like, say, The RZA or Jay-Z being moved to tears by "My Heart Will Go On" or "At 17" and feel better about myself.
posted by The Card Cheat at 11:52 AM on January 31, 2011 [1 favorite]

Sarah is too busy making the world cry with her anticruelty commercials.

*shakes fist*
posted by stormpooper at 11:53 AM on January 31, 2011 [5 favorites]

For a moment there I was looking forward to the possibility of a new run of Deloreans.
posted by JohnFredra at 11:56 AM on January 31, 2011

For a moment there I was looking forward to the possibility of a new run of Deloreans.

They go back in time three years and save your life?
posted by ChurchHatesTucker at 12:02 PM on January 31, 2011

When I first heard this story, it really stood out to me as a great example of something I'm not sure many people realize - that musicians themselves tend to have way more eclectic and open tastes in music than their fans do. Their opinions and judgments might ultimately be a little harsher, but when you ask musicians what kinds of music and what musicians have their respect - not their "influences," but what they really hear in others' music - they often name some surprising names.
posted by Miko at 12:20 PM on January 31, 2011 [13 favorites]

>> They go back in time three years and save your life?

Depends on whether you know any Libyans. DMC
posted by JohnFredra at 12:41 PM on January 31, 2011

Who is Sarah McLachlan?

Who are these people that value talking/typing over listening/reading?
posted by hermitosis at 12:43 PM on January 31, 2011 [1 favorite]

I once spent some time between Sarah McLachlan and a sofa.

Did I buy drugs from you once? I did once buy drugs from a guy who was going with Sarah M at the time. Later, she and her record label more or less destroyed a friend of mine's career ... so I've been mostly keeping my mouth shut about her since.

Vancouver is such a small town.
posted by philip-random at 12:47 PM on January 31, 2011 [1 favorite]

It's tricky to rock a rhyme that's right on time.
Tricky, tricky, tricky!
posted by not_on_display at 12:48 PM on January 31, 2011

His voice is eerie.
posted by Flex1970 at 2:32 PM on January 31, 2011

Sarah is too busy making the world cry with her anticruelty commercials.

Holy cow, those are some commercials.

And this was a great story. Thanks.
posted by Benny Andajetz at 2:32 PM on January 31, 2011

That was good. Thanks for posting it.
posted by Flood at 4:08 PM on January 31, 2011

Did I buy drugs from you once?
Nope. I have never knowingly sold drugs in Vancouver.

I was a stage hand working at the Madison Civic Center when she was touring back in the '90s. It was a "six bus, three truck" tour" and one of the trucks was catering, so it was an easy load-in.
Nick & I were tasked with carrying the sofa to the green room, which was located under the stage down a narrow maze of hallways full of right-angle turns. I'm a big guy, 6'4", 250, but Nick is bigger, and he reacts to any resistance by pushing harder. I was backing down the hallway, my shoulders rubbing the walls, commenting on the fact that it was a Canadian sofa, when I bumped into something squishy at the end of the hall.
I stopped.
Nick, true to his nature, pushed harder.
I said: "Nick! Hold up!" and pushed back.
He pushed harder.
The squishy thing behind me said "Ooof." In Canadian.
I shoved back, hard, and knocked Nick off his feet and dropped my end of the sofa. Nick, cursing, tried to crawl out from under the sofa while I turned around to face the squishy thing.
Sarah McLachlan.
She said "Excuse me." I shrugged: "Sorry. It's Nick. You know."
She smiled fetchingly, and retreated into the green room. We set the sofa down in the green room and continued the load-in.
We shared a moment there with the sofa, Sarah and I. But Nick has never forgiven me.
posted by Floydd at 4:41 PM on January 31, 2011 [10 favorites]

It's interesting that she seems to be one of the few women who a lot of male artists from various fields and music genres are deeply touched by. I think Tommy Lee said he was, too. What other women are like that?
posted by CruisinForABruisin at 5:29 PM on January 31, 2011

Pamela Anderson?

Hey-yo, I'll be here all week!
posted by hincandenza at 6:18 PM on January 31, 2011 [1 favorite]

When I was a DJ at the Tennessee Tech radio station back in '92 (Christ, that long ago?) we had a pair of tickets to give away on air to a SM show at a little venue in Nashville that doesn't exist anymore (328 Performance Hall anybody?). 2 things became obvious during our shift: Either my buddy and I had no listeners, or nobody knew who the F Sarah McLachlan was. (Fumbling Towards Ecstasy didn't come out till the next year, and Solace was good, but not the breakthrough album Fumbling was.) Regardless, nobody called in, we couldn't give the tix away. We wound up giving them to a couple of friends of ours, who went to the show, and consequently wound up hanging out with Sarah and the band for a bit after the show.

Relevance? None...just telling a could've been me story.

Fascinating post.
posted by rhythim at 6:30 PM on January 31, 2011

What a great story. "That's what music is supposed to do"...
posted by Coaticass at 6:59 PM on January 31, 2011

When you say she was squishy, how squishy are we talking here?
posted by dixiecupdrinking at 8:45 PM on January 31, 2011

I love how DMC got all fanboy...

If you don't regularly listen to the Moth, you're missing out. There have been some amazing episodes lately.
posted by The ____ of Justice at 12:37 PM on February 1, 2011

> musicians themselves tend to have way more eclectic and open tastes in music than their fans do. <

That’s true, and they also get a little irritated when their fans try to pigeonhole them. Your average death metal dude has far wider ranging tastes than the average man in the street. Anecdotally, there seems to be a correlation that the bigger artists are more open minded, whatever the genre.
posted by bongo_x at 8:27 PM on February 1, 2011 [1 favorite]

Yup. Tom Araya's favorite album? Paul Simon's Graceland.
posted by ignignokt at 10:21 AM on February 2, 2011

WHAT!?
posted by not_on_display at 7:59 PM on February 2, 2011

Seriously.

My favorite records would surprise people. I love "Graceland" by PAUL SIMON. I am a huge fan of THE BEATLES. I like THE EAGLES, CAT STEVENS. I grew up listening to Sixties music: JANIS JOPLIN, HENDRIX, THE DOORS, YES, THE WHO. I grew up listening to all that shit. I listen to everything, even the great sounds of the Seventies. Bands like BOSTON and VAN HALEN. That was when metal started getting heavy.

posted by ignignokt at 8:07 PM on February 2, 2011 [2 favorites]