“Milan”
More than one night up all night with a song and I sorta lose patience. 'Cause the kids still get up every morning and the pancakes aren't gonna make themselves and blinking that feels like sandpaper eyelids is distracting, to say the least. Then the song loses patience with me, thinking I'm never gonna get it right, and starts playing louder and repeating mean "pertinent" lyrics and burrowing melodic lines into my brain. Well...that's when I start thinking maybe I should be a mailman.
After a week of this, I started thinking maybe I should be an ax murderer and that's when Milan started to really speak its piece. Not only did it keep me up for a week straight in the swampy heat of a New Orleans summer, it's actually about keeping me up for a week straight in the swampy heat of a New Orleans summer. What the hell? I was in a sorry state and needed to be, I guess.
Milan itself comes off very civilized, of course; it only makes me look bad, which, after all, is what it set out to do: mess up my hair and smear my mascara and make me lose my temper while it just ambles along, sounding like a goddamn pop song — the bastard.
Milan and I didn't get a long very well until I figured this out, but I did figure it out: this is not an overwrought song, it just has an overwrought singer. So I finished it, slamming my notebook shut and shoving my guitar back on its stand. Then I said a polite goodnight to Milan (who very kindly shut the hell up for once), went to bed and slept of all things. The next morning, I realized I had another Throwing Muses song on my hands ("Good! Let Bernie and Dave handle it!"), so I recorded this demo version along with a fistful of other new Muses songs.
Still don't know what made Milan think it could get away with behavior like that, but, as it says: "All's fair in New Orleans," which seems to be altogether too true.
Love,
Kristin
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“Sunray Venus”
The band I started when I was fourteen, Throwing Muses, never broke up. We never suffered "creative differences," we didn't get complacent and sucky; we've always adored each other and were driven to play good music together. But touring and recording both cost money and don't always make enough to pay the bills, so eventually, we could no longer afford to work. Happily or sadly, we were at the top of our game when we made the decision to stop.
Songs don't care how much studio time you can afford, though; they just keep singing themselves at you. And I know a Muses song when I hear it: intricate and dynamic, they're easy to spot. When one came to me, I would learn it and then put it away. The Muses songs I've collected over the years had nowhere to go, so they just sat — on demos, in notebooks, in my head. There are dozens of them. Sometimes, I'd play them solo, but I knew better...they needed to be in the Muses' hands. I just didn't believe that was an option.
When we got a chance to play a show, we'd jump at it. But the songs we played were a decade old or more—some I'd written when I was a teenager. During shows, whenever I looked down at the set list at my feet, I was haunted by the unheard music waiting in the wings.
Now with the help of CASH and my Strange Angels, it looks like the Muses may work again. We're certainly willing — breathless with anticipation, actually — and the songs are just as vital as I remember them. If this band that never belonged in the music industry could finally make music without the industry, it'd be a real coup. Bernie and Dave are hearing these songs for the first time here, when they're posted and will be working out their parts long distance, Bernie in Seattle and Dave in Rhode Island. I'm in New Orleans, of course, so we definitely have some details to iron out, but for now, we're just thrilled to be thrilled again. There's nothing we love more than working.
This song, "Sunray Venus," is the first in a series of demos that the band will be hearing, playing along with, tearing apart, etc. We can't wait to throw it up in the air and let it come crashing back down again, falling into place as the dust settles. We love that.
Even at fourteen, we knew that striving for success in music was inherently tragic, as success in the music industry was, for the most part, ugly and devoid of substance. We still wanted to play for people, though, so we did. Our shows were crazy, magic parties where the listeners played as big a role as the musicians. Music happens between people. We never forgot that.
So here we are again, amazed by the power of listeners, making music happen between us. Thank you.
Love,
Kristin
P.S. — As usual, please share this music — keeping in mind that theses ARE only demos. Repost these songs, use 'em in podcasts or torrent them. Help us tell the story of what's happening here. This is going to be a more comprehensive project and we need all the help we can get to spread the word about this CASH project. My Strange Angel subscriptions will help ensure that the Muses project is brought to fruition.
download "Sunray Venus" — 320k MP3 FLAC Apple Lossless
all downloads licensed with a Creative Commons BY-NC-SA license.
The music here is yours to download. Please consider making a one-time contribution to the artist using the form to the right.