This interview is terrific: https://pitchfork.com/features/5-10-15-20/throwing-muses-kristin-hersh-on-the-music-that-made-her/
― Video Drama (morrisp), Thursday, 29 October 2020 06:49 (three years ago) link
TM = Ut for lightweights― mark s, Monday, July 2, 2001 8:00 PM (nineteen years ago) bookmarkflaglink
even xgau was not this wrong
― rip van wanko, Thursday, 29 October 2020 15:19 (three years ago) link
Ha ha. 19 years later, Mark S's throwaway line still sticks in my head!
Happy to be a lightweight.
― Michael Jones, Thursday, 29 October 2020 16:14 (three years ago) link
This is kind of following on from me talking about major labels on the Jawbreaker thread but I'm curious about Hersh in that interview being angry about signing to 4AD, but with Throwing Muses, her solo stuff and one 50 Foot Wave release, she wasn't finished with them until about a decade ago.
― Robert Adam Gilmour, Tuesday, 2 February 2021 18:36 (three years ago) link
I’ve never heard her say a bad word about 4AD; wasn’t it signing to Warners (albeit encouraged by Ivo) in the US that was the disastrous thing?
― Michael Jones, Tuesday, 2 February 2021 21:30 (three years ago) link
correct
― Überschadenfreude (sleeve), Tuesday, 2 February 2021 21:40 (three years ago) link
KH is not exactly unsung, but still a bit surprising to me how relatively less talked about she an TH is, compared to, say, the Deal sisters.
― Mule, Saturday, 15 May 2021 12:20 (three years ago) link
and* TH
what is TH
― akm, Sunday, 16 May 2021 17:00 (three years ago) link
tanya honnely?
throwing huses
Jesus, sorry. Giant brainfart. T Muses, not T Donelly.
― Mule, Sunday, 16 May 2021 18:49 (three years ago) link
back on the 2003 self-title this afternoon, what a blast, maybe my favourite Muses? surely nottime changes on "Solar Dip" are absolutely core to this band
― assert (matttkkkk), Thursday, 11 August 2022 03:50 (one year ago) link
Yes! The 2003 s/t is maybe my favourite album of theirs since Leslie left. The rest of the power trio era is too shiny but this is the right kind of heavy and sunburnt raw. It feels like a drawn-out fight on one long too-hot afternoon. I find it hard to tell the songs apart but I get little sticky bitchy lines from them in my head all the time: "Here's a big fat aspirin, maybe you'll choke - that's not funny." "I don't like you any more than you know, I still like you too much." "I think your nose is broken, but you mouth is working." She's such a great writer and I think that gets kind of lost in the interpretations (hers too) of so much of her work as instinctive.
It's a shame this album seems to have slipped out of view, I feel like I never see Hersh talking about this time or any of these songs. I wonder if they are a snapshot of a period in her previous marriage she wouldn't want to go back to.
― verhexen, Friday, 12 August 2022 16:17 (one year ago) link
on a related note, her recent cover of "Like A Hurricane" totally rules
― thinkmanship (sleeve), Friday, 12 August 2022 16:23 (one year ago) link
perfect description, verhexen!
― assert (matttkkkk), Friday, 12 August 2022 23:46 (one year ago) link
also I mis-hear the chorus of “Pandora’s Box” as “milk-fed shithead” which is an insult I treasure; the real lines “your milk-fed shaved head / you move like an insect” are fantastic too
― assert (matttkkkk), Friday, 12 August 2022 23:48 (one year ago) link
was Tanya Donelly's "The Party" ever released anywhere except the the Muses debut 7"? doesn't seem like it...
― thinkmanship (sleeve), Friday, 12 August 2022 23:54 (one year ago) link
nope, nor adapted into anything else that I know of
― assert (matttkkkk), Saturday, 13 August 2022 00:45 (one year ago) link
A boy was tangled in his bike foreverA girl was missing two fingersGerry Ann was confusedMr. Huberty had a gun in his headSo I sit up late in the morning and ask myself againHow do they kill children?And why do I want to die?
― Mule, Thursday, 9 February 2023 00:09 (one year ago) link
written at age 18 iirc, just amazing
― sleeve, Thursday, 9 February 2023 00:19 (one year ago) link
incredible song. love that album so much
― j.o.h.n. in evanston (john. a resident of chicago.), Thursday, 9 February 2023 00:35 (one year ago) link
all time opening couplet
"I could be a smack freakand hate societyI could hate Godand blame dad"
― sleeve, Thursday, 9 February 2023 00:46 (one year ago) link
Just an astounding song. The emotional power blows you away. Such an incredible band.
― Mule, Thursday, 9 February 2023 06:43 (one year ago) link
A shout out to Leslie Langston’s bass play on the early albums as well. Such melodic lines.
― Mule, Thursday, 9 February 2023 06:45 (one year ago) link
I think she's a senior social worker in MA these days!Yep: https://medical.mit.edu/find-a-provider/leslie-langstonExtraordinary player, fully half the appeal of the Muses' early records to me.
― assert (matttkkkk), Thursday, 9 February 2023 07:01 (one year ago) link
That’s awesome.
― Mule, Thursday, 9 February 2023 07:08 (one year ago) link
I watched some of those YouTube videos where the video maker plays along with records on his bass, and the guy tackled a couple of early Muses songs. Ofc it was fun to hear the bassline brought out front, but also: iirc he freely admitted it was a bit puzzling and hard, and LL came along in the comment field going something like "hi! the reason that bit doesn't quite work is because you need to use the thumb from the top of the fretboard at the same time you see". This was couple of years ago or something?
― anatol_merklich, Thursday, 9 February 2023 07:53 (one year ago) link
Ha, that’s excellent. Just a natural, free-floating coolness to these guys.
― Mule, Thursday, 9 February 2023 08:20 (one year ago) link
In the mid 90s I interviewed them for a no-circulation music zine - in Australia - and when they toured they invited me and a friend to the band room after, gave us drinks and cigarettes, Bernie showed me how to open a bottle using another bottle … it was a blast and they were such nice folks. K was a bit reserved after delivering a huge show but I probably would have passed out if I’d talked to her.
― assert (matttkkkk), Thursday, 9 February 2023 09:44 (one year ago) link
Fun fact: I played "Hate My Way" for my family on or about Xmas day, from my phone. In boring moments we've developed a game where one nominates "the best song ever", choosing something fresh each time. This might have been the first time there were demands that such a selection be turned off lol.
― Nag! Nag! Nag!, Thursday, 9 February 2023 10:18 (one year ago) link
jesus christ I told my same little fan boy story twice in the same thread, wow cool guy
― assert (matttkkkk), Thursday, 9 February 2023 12:27 (one year ago) link
I love K. Hersh pretty much across the board. Saw her a couple years ago with Bob Mould and she remains a compelling presence.
For Muses particularly, of course yes to University ("Bright Yellow Gun" already mentioned upthread) but for many persons of my age and class and temperament, there is an iconic scene in Empire Records set to the song "Snakeface." It is a memorable one.
― Auf Der Martini (Ye Mad Puffin), Thursday, 9 February 2023 13:00 (one year ago) link
the next song's opening line is right up there too.
"He won't ride inCars anymoreIt reminds him ofBlowjobs"
― stirmonster, Thursday, 9 February 2023 14:55 (one year ago) link
xp I've also thought "Hate My Way" is the "best song ever" at times, but it's definitely something that would freak out normies.
I think Limbo is their best album after the debut. It's always been underrated coming after University, made worse by its absence from streaming due to being on Ryko. It has my favorite rhythm guitar tone ever-- shimmery, surfy, just perfect
― J. Sam, Thursday, 9 February 2023 16:41 (one year ago) link
My dad brought Limbo home to me from a work trip to Chicago (we lived in Norway) when I was 12, after an older cousin had bought University for my birthday the year before. Those records (as well as Doolittle, which the same cousin bought me for Xmas the same year) rewired my brain.
― Mule, Thursday, 9 February 2023 17:01 (one year ago) link
My college station played "Bright Yellow Gun" a few times in early '95 (approximately as much as they played Belly's "Seal My Fate"), but it's hard to tell what their profile was like. Was University a thing in alterna-music circles?
― Malevolent Arugula (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Thursday, 9 February 2023 17:07 (one year ago) link
J. Sam otm re the guitars on Limbo. The solo on The Field, god yes.
― Mule, Thursday, 9 February 2023 17:35 (one year ago) link
Was University a thing in alterna-music circles?
It certainly was in the Boston area, lots of play on WFNX.
― Gerald McBoing-Boing, Thursday, 9 February 2023 17:44 (one year ago) link
seems like it got a decent promotional push — makes sense since Belly and the Breeders had broken through to some extent. i saw a pretty under-attended show on the University tour though.
― tylerw, Thursday, 9 February 2023 17:48 (one year ago) link
University came right after Belly/Breeders for me and was just what I needed. I vividly remember the big Rolling Stone story on Throwing Muses, with its, uh, provocative photos (that few magazines would dare to stage now).
― The Triumphant Return of Bernard & Stubbs (Raymond Cummings), Thursday, 9 February 2023 20:46 (one year ago) link
I miss the all-consuming fervour I used to feel for this band
― assert (matttkkkk), Tuesday, 10 October 2023 06:30 (eight months ago) link
The go listen to their entire catalog in a row, it'll reignite it.
― Gerald McBoing-Boing, Tuesday, 10 October 2023 22:22 (eight months ago) link
I found Red Heaven in a pawn shop and tried it because I knew there was some connection to Belly, who I was a big fan of. “Pearl” won me over big time.
― Cow_Art, Wednesday, 11 October 2023 00:57 (eight months ago) link
It's a great song. I recommend their 2003 self-title for more of that giant-wave vibe.
― assert (matttkkkk), Wednesday, 11 October 2023 04:28 (eight months ago) link
Limbo is the last one that I spent time with, but I don't remember a lot of it. University was the big one for me, and the first one. I had a shirt with a bright yellow gun on it which I probably wouldn't wear today.
Saw Kristin and Vic Chesnutt in Atlanta. If I remember right, they both had acoustic guitars and would go back and forth, trading songs. Very, very good.
― Cow_Art, Wednesday, 11 October 2023 06:47 (eight months ago) link
I had the same shirt and thoughtlessly put it on a few days after the Port Arthur gun massacre (which was near my city). Had to retreat into a bathroom and flip it inside out when I realised the looks were not from Throwing Muses fans.
― assert (matttkkkk), Wednesday, 11 October 2023 07:03 (eight months ago) link
So I sit up late in the morningAnd ask myself againHow do they kill children?And why do I wanna die?They can no longer moveI can no longer be still
― Mule, Tuesday, 17 October 2023 13:35 (eight months ago) link
^chills down the spine at that part
― J. Sam, Tuesday, 17 October 2023 19:09 (eight months ago) link
am down with a Throwing Muses listening thread
― hat trick of trashiness (Alfred, Lord Sotosyn), Tuesday, 17 October 2023 20:06 (eight months ago) link