The Scarlett Letters: Why She's Singing

Scarlett Johansson talks about her surprising debut album, and why Tom Waits holds the key

By Alan Light
Special to MSN Music

Still in her early 20s, actress Scarlett Johansson has already graduated from starlet to star in a series of smart career moves: Since her teens, she's focused on smart film roles and won the approval of acclaimed directors from Woody Allen and Robert Redford to Sofia Coppola and Christopher Nolan. She's displayed undeniable sex appeal (Esquire magazine named her "Sexiest Woman Alive") while retaining an old-school glamour clinched by fashion endorsements. And she's maintained that high visibility while avoiding the pitiless glare of the tabloids.

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Now the New York native is releasing her first album as a singer. And, as with her film work, she's chosen to sidestep safer conventions to build her debut around an artist whose work is as gritty as its interpreter is glamorous. Then again, Johansson's choice to record Tom Waits' songs as the primary repertoire for the album, "Anywhere I Lay My Head," resonates with her admiration and insight into the work of her parents' generation. As the focal point in director Bennett Miller's dreamy, nostalgic video for Bob Dylan's "When the Deal Goes Down," she added another testament to musical tastes that reach far beyond her demographic peers.

I recently spoke with the actress and singer about her musical aspirations and how the new album took shape.

MSN Music: To start with the obvious -- why use only one writer for your first record, and why Tom Waits?

Scarlett Johansson: I had done a song for a friend's album that was benefiting Music Matters, which is a really great organization. Then I was approached to record a whole album, which was an opportunity that I just couldn't pass up. But I was trying to think of what to do -- I'm obviously not in a band. I don't write songs. I think of myself as a musical person, but it seemed pretty daunting.

So I thought of doing standards, and I wanted to do "I Never Talk to Strangers," where Tom duets with Bette Midler. But people were like, "You're going to do a Tom Waits song with a bunch of Cole Porter songs? That's kind of strange." Then it turned into "Maybe a few more Tom Waits songs," and then "Maybe I'll just do an album of Tom Waits songs."

As simple as that seems, that's how it came about. I've always been a huge fan. His melodies are so beautiful and his voice is so distinct, and when I sang along, I had my own way of singing his songs, so I thought it was maybe something that I could reinterpret.

You did some karaoke in "Lost in Translation" and a cameo at Coachella with the Jesus & Mary Chain. Is music a central part of your life?

Absolutely. I've always loved to sing, ever since I was a little girl. I had originally wanted to do musical theater, which I probably shouldn't admit. That's how I started acting. My whole childhood I was training to be a vocalist, as well as do stage theater. That never ended up working out, because my voice was too deep for, like, the young Cosette in "Les Miserables."

Also, I have huge stage fright, and singing is such a vulnerable, intimate thing. When I was younger, I used to be like [sings] "Broadway!" Then puberty happened, and all of a sudden I was like, "I'll never do this again." That buried my head in my shell. But I always continued to sing, and music has always been a huge part of my life, even part of my preparation for acting.

How did you and your producer, Dave Sitek, settle on the album's distinctive sound?

So I had this idea to do these Tom Waits songs, but I didn't know how to go about it. I tried to get the exact Tom sound, and sing along to that, and it sounded awful. Really bad, corny, something you'd sing in a bar or lounge. I was trying so many different things -- "Oh, let's try using a Spanish guitar. No, that's awful." "Let's try recording outside. That's terrible." Everything was terrible about it.

I knew in my mind what I wanted it to sound like, and how I felt when I listened to these songs. I needed somebody to lead me in the right direction, or lead me to the right musicians, or something. A mutual friend called and said, "Do you know Dave Sitek from TV on the Radio?" I had seen them in New York and had them constantly playing in my headphones. Dave and I got on the phone, and in the conversation, he used the words "kind of like a cough medicine/Tinkerbell sort of vibe." And I was like, "Oh, my God" -- those are the magical words.

It was reported that you were making the record in New Orleans, but Lafayette, La., where you actually worked, is very different from New Orleans. How did you end up there?

We knew we didn"t want to work in L.A., and we didn't want to work in New York. We were fortunate enough to have the opportunity to dream big. Dave suggested maybe going to Iceland. That might not seem to be comparative, but it was, in a way. It was kind of another world.

Dave and I drove from Los Angeles to the studio together and played songs and told stories and got to know one another. When we got there, you could see the fog rolling in, because it's below sea level and all the clouds were rolling onto the freeway. I remember opening the windows and the car being filled with this intoxicating, incredible smell. It smells like the air is full of life and the soil is wet. It's like a land that time forgot. That's the only way I can describe it, really. It's just an incredible place.

Do you know how Tom Waits feels about the record?

I've heard from people who are friends with him that he's very excited about it. Of course, I didn't want to do it without his blessing. I wanted to make sure from the very beginning that he was comfortable with the whole idea. I sent him some of the early recordings and he was like, "Go ahead, go forward with it." So he's been really supportive -- not on the sidelines, but from a far, far distance. But I've heard he's very pleased with it, so that makes me very happy.

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