The other side of the A…
1 October 2020
Band: Belly
B-side: Sweet Ride
A-side: Gepetto
Released: 1992
Climbing out
We stumble around
All smoky and soaked to the bone
I carry the crown of a girl underground
I’m down for a sweet ride
Studio recording…
Acoustic…
BELLY: Discography
Top singles from the past…
24 February 2020
Band: Throwing Muses
Single: Counting Backwards
B-sides: Amazing Grace on 7″ and
Amazing Grace, Same Sun and Cottonmouth on CD
Released: 28 January 1991 via 4AD
Album: The Real Ramona – third LP
(last album with Tanya Donelly in the band)
Here’s the original video clip & lyrics…
Counting backwards I count you in
I don’t remember him
I don’t remember
In time I rope you in again
I try and turn you back through him
I built a tower in my bones
I spill the mortar through my home
Don’t let your heartbeat keep you safe
No telling what keeps me awake
One hundred fingerprints I hear
A hundred linger in my ear
Measure fortune killing tim
Knockouts from the past…
In this ‘Today’s Yesterday Knockout’ series it’s mostly the massive hit singles or timeless, famous singalongs that get all the attention. Let’s break this obvious habit now and then, as there are heaps of grand songs out there that for some mysterious reasons did not become worldwide humdingers.
‘Moonbeam Monkey‘ by TANYA DONELLY is a significant example of such an aural diamond that is, probably, only know by her devoted fans. This intimate pearl featured
on her second, wondrous, solo LP Beautysleep released in 2002. It’s actually a magical duet with the late great singer/bassist and versatile artist Mark Sandman of Morphine (1989–1999). Sit down, relax and embrace this enchanted magnificence with both ears…
I’m an angel dark, darker than loam
Come to steer your runaway home
I’m a moonbeam monkey on spec
Come to bring your strange kid back
No one saw him gimpy going round the bend
And no one but me knows the stuff it takes to mend him
I will get him back on the right track
I will bring your strange kid back
He saw something there, something in the ice
Sees it still when he closes his eyes
He’s not talking, just taking it alone
I will bring his story home
He’s not talking, just taking it alone
He’s a good boy, your good son
I’m an angel dark, darker than loam
I will bring your strange kid home
TANYA DONELLY: Facebook
Back sleeve/track list of Beautysleep…
The Jukebox Series: only the greats can fill a Wurlitzer with memorable moments…
THROWING MUSES were formed in 1981 in Newport, Rhode Island by two tremendously singer-songwriters, Kristin Hersh and half-sister Tanya Donelly (who left in 1993 to
join The Breeders for a while, before starting her own shining band Belly). A high-quality songwriting band throughout its long (with a couple of breaks, Hersh‘s solo albums and line-up changes) succesful career. Overall the Muses approach to pop music was always emotionally electrifying, weirdly catchy, artistically challenging and of course Hersh‘ voice was/is one of a wondrous kind and her harmonies with Donelly‘s angelic vox generated several standout sparks. Chosing the usual 15 songs to fill the Wurlitzer wasn’t easy at all.
After multiple changes/additions/deletes forth & back,
here are TURN UP THE VOLUME‘s 15 picks…
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Songs selected from the following albums: House Tornado (1988) / Hunkpapa (1989) / The Real Ramona (1991) / Red Heaven (1991) / University (1995) / Limbo (1996) / Throwing Muses (2003 / Purgatory-Paradise (2013)
THROWING MUSES: Biography – Discography
Going back in sonic history looking for memorable albums…
22 January 2018
BAND: BELLY
ALBUM: STAR
RELEASED: 25 January 1993 – 25 years ago / The LP was certified Gold by the Recording Industry Association of America for sales of at least 500,000 units on February 21, 1994
ALL MUSIC wrote: “Tanya Donelly’s songwriting began to blossom on Throwing Muses’ Real Ramona, and Belly’s debut, Star, is where it reaches fruition. Using the trancy harmonies of dream pop as a foundation, Donelly expands the genre’s boundaries, trimming away its pretensions and incorporating a flair for sweet, concise pop hooks and folk-rock inflections. She also spikes her airy melodies with disarmingly disturbing lyrics. Images of betrayal and death float throughout the album, but what hits home initially — and what stays after the album is finished, are the hooks, whether it’s the rolling sing along of “Gepetto,” the surging “Slow Dog,” the melancholy ‘Stay’ or the cool, detached sexiness of ‘Feed The Tree.’ An enchanting debut.”
TURN UP THE VOLUME! says: STAR still shines like a glittering diamond. Sparkling, twinkling and, yes, totally starry-eyed. Tanya Donnely‘s angelic voice gives the whole dreamy experience a special touch, a glamorous color and a lasting impression while
the mixed emotions keep it all human and real. Magnificent record by a magnificent
band with a magnificent singer/songwriter…
THREE HIGHLIGHTS: Feed The Tree / Gepetto / Full Moon, Empty Heart
* FEED THE TREE – the vibrant single…
* GEPETTO – elevating galvanism…
* FULL MOON, EMPTY HEART – magical in sound and vision…
Pop paradise in full…
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And this year the great return with new album DOVE – All info on PledgeMusic
TURN UP THE VOLUME 