Throwing Muses - Two Step
This track, which closes their album “The Real Ramona”, is the only track which has ever been credited as written by Throwing Muses and not either Hersh or Donelly. As Tanya left to form Belly following this LP, there’s something about this track that always just says “end of an era” to me. There’s something else curious about the song too - it’s so very much not a Throwing Muses song. It’s not as raw/energetic/grating/confronting as a track written by Hersh. Neither is it as pop-driven/accessible/bright as a track written by Donelly. I think the co-write here is spot on. It’s unequivocally a Muses track, and maybe it’s just because I’m looking for them but you can see the spawning here of both frontwomen’s future sounds. The squalling guitars here are as good as anything on Throwing Muses’ “University”, the simple and heartfelt execution on a par with Belly’s sublime “Stay”. It was the first Throwing Muses song to make me sit back and go “huh” because it truly felt greater than the sum of its parts. And what a set of parts.
two step behind the rest / one fingertip too long
a hole in the box they carry / spills sugar in the road
Throwing Muses - Devil’s Roof (Acoustic)
As part of the release of her book “Rat Girl”, Kristin Hersh has recorded, with Throwing Muses, acoustic versions of some of the tracks referenced in the book. If you’re not aware already, “Rat Girl” is a memoir/diary style of thing of very early Throwing Muses prior to the release of their first album back in 1986.
This song has always had a charming quality for me, and it works acoustically definitely, but it was also the first song they played when they toured last year so I was immediately transported back to a hot little tent set up in Hyde Park Barracks thinking “holy crap, that’s Throwing Muses right there, and they’re fantastic”.
You can download the entire “Fall” Season Session here. Please, do. And check out her book “Rat Girl” (which is being released as “Paradoxical Undressing” in the UK) if you enjoy autobiographies, or clever storytelling, or writing about bands, or all of the above.
