Before forming the Dream Syndicate, Wynn played guitar in the Davis, California-based band The Suspects, whose members included vocalist Kendra Smith (who later played bass in the Dream Syndicate) and Russ Tolman and Gavin Blair (who would form True West (band)); in 1979 they released a single, "It's Up to You" b/w "Talking Loud." Two years later, under the name 15 Minutes, he self-released another single, "Last Chance for You" b/w "That's What You Always Say" (later performed by the Dream Syndicate), which owed much to Joy Division.
Though they were popular with critics, an influence on other musicians, and signed briefly to a major label, The Dream Syndicate were never really commercially successful. They did establish, however, the fan base on which Wynn built his solo career.
Since 1990, Wynn has released a number of albums exploring various musical styles. His first solo album, Kerosene Man, included backing work by bassist Fernando Saunders (a frequent sideman of Lou Reed, to whom Wynn was often compared early in his career), drummer D.J. Bonebrake from the L.A. punk band X, Howe Gelb of Giant Sand and saxophonist Steve Berlin from Los Lobos. Peter Buck, from R.E.M., played on its follow-up, Dazzling Display, and co-wrote the title song. Backing on Melting in the Dark (1996) was provided by the Boston band Come.
Here Come the Miracles (2001) was his best-selling solo album to date, and the best-reviewed, appearing at year's end on numerous critical Top Ten lists.
In 1985, Wynn wrote a collection of songs with Dan Stuart of Green on Red, and recorded and released them as Danny and Dusty. This collaboration was revisited in 2007 for a second Danny & Dusty album. In the '90s he was a part of the indie supergroup Gutterball along with Stephen McCarthy of The Long Ryders and Brian Harvey and Johnny Hott of House of Freaks. In 2008 Wynn and his wife Linda Pitmon collaborated with Scott McCaughey (The Minus 5) and Peter Buck (R.E.M., The Minus 5) for a record with songs about legendary baseball players - this collaboration is known as The Baseball Project.
The double CD From a Man of Mysteries: A Steve Wynn Tribute was released by the German label Blue Rose in 2004 and features Wynn's songs performed by the likes of Concrete Blonde, the Silos, Chuck Prophet, The Minus 5 and others.
Wynn also records as Steve Wynn & The Miracle 3.
Wynn is at present more popular in Europe than in the United States. While domestic tours are rare, he continues to perform regularly overseas.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steve_Wynn_%28songwriter%29
Shades of Blue
Steve Wynn Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Working like detectives digging through the muck and haze
Count our blessings if we still can find our way through
Shades of blue
I guess someday we'll do our best to pick ourselves apart
And try to draw a line directly from the mind into to the heart
Swimming through the stream of memories and films in
I don't know what happened, what went wrong or if I even care
burned out in a firefall or drowned in oceans of despair
And now I try to draw a line to here back from the better times
I lose myself in words and rhymes
And if we have our wits and want to travel back in time
We may amaze ourselves with all the things that we might find
Lost in wine and roses, bits of me and you and
Shades of Blue
The opening lines of Steve Wynn's "Shades of Blue" anticipate a moment of reflection, a time when we might look back on our lives and take stock of the highs and lows, the moments of joy and the times of sorrow. The analogy of working like detectives is fitting, for it suggests a process of sifting through evidence, trying to find clues that might help us make sense of our past. The muck and haze are metaphors for the tangled jumble of memories and experiences that we carry with us, the things that we might need to excavate in order to get a clearer picture of who we are and where we've been.
As the song continues, Wynn suggests that this process of excavation is no easy task. We may need to pick ourselves apart, to try to draw connections between our thoughts and our emotions, to sort through our memories and make sense of the stories that we've told ourselves. The stream of memories and films in shades of blue suggests that this process might be overwhelming, a flood of images and emotions that we need to navigate in order to find a way through.
The final stanza of the song brings a note of hope, suggesting that if we're willing to do the work of reflection and introspection, we might be able to find something valuable in our past. Lost in wine and roses, bits of me and you and shades of blue suggests the possibility of rediscovering the moments of joy and beauty that have been obscured by the trials and tribulations of life. On the whole, "Shades of Blue" is a thoughtful and introspective song, one that acknowledges the complexity of human experience and the difficulty of making sense of our lives.
Line by Line Meaning
I know someday we'll look back on the way we've lived our days
Acknowledging the inevitability of retrospection and reflection on how we spent our time
Working like detectives digging through the muck and haze
Comparing the act of searching for meaning in life to being a detective sifting through the dirt and confusion of everyday existence
Count our blessings if we still can find our way through
Suggesting that despite the difficulties we may face in life, there is still cause for gratitude and hope
Shades of blue
Using the color blue as a symbol for the complex emotions and memories that color our lives
I guess someday we'll do our best to pick ourselves apart
Anticipating a desire for self-analysis and introspection as we try to make sense of our experiences
And try to draw a line directly from the mind into to the heart
Pointing to the difficulty of reconciling intellectual understanding with emotional truth
Swimming through the stream of memories and films in
Describing the way in which our recollections and imaginings color our perception of reality
Shades of blue
Reiterating the idea of complex emotions and memories represented by the color blue
I don't know what happened, what went wrong or if I even care
Expressing confusion, apathy, and perhaps a sense of disillusionment in the face of life's challenges
burned out in a firefall or drowned in oceans of despair
Using vivid metaphors to describe the intense emotional pain and fatigue that can result from difficult experiences
And now I try to draw a line to here back from the better times
Attempting to find hope by looking back on happier moments in life
I lose myself in words and rhymes
Turning to creativity as a means of processing and working through difficult feelings
And if we have our wits and want to travel back in time
Hypothesizing about the possibility of revisiting past experiences with the benefit of hindsight and self-awareness
We may amaze ourselves with all the things that we might find
Suggesting that self-reflection and introspection can yield surprising discoveries about ourselves and our lives
Lost in wine and roses, bits of me and you and
Invoking a nostalgic, romanticized vision of the past, filled with both joy and melancholy
Shades of Blue
Once again emphasizing the thematic importance of the color blue as a symbol for the complexity of human emotion and experience
Contributed by Skyler T. Suggest a correction in the comments below.