Kristin Hersh (Throwing Muses) - synonymous with stark, candid writing. Turning reality into a sonic adventure.
Throwing Muses – Live In Paris – 1995 – Past Daily Soundbooth
Throwing Muses – The Black Sessions Studio 105, Paris – February 16, 1995 – RFI International –
Throwing Muses with Kristin Hersh in concert for Bernard Lenoir and The Black Sessions at Radio France International on February 16, 1995.
More favorites this weekend – Throwing Muses as well as founder Kristin Hersh as a solo artist have been one of the really bright lights in independent American Music for these past few decades. Considered wildly underrated and criminally overlooked, it’s almost par for the course that someone with this vision and point of view is deemed not mainstream material. Breath a sigh of relief over that one – except for the financial drawbacks of sustaining a career and getting a message across while trying to put food on the table is a constant source of frustration with just about every artist whose work is outside the acknowledged box. If we lived in a world where artistic integrity and innovation were actually given their just rewards – it would be an entirely different place.
But it isn’t, so . . .
Suffice to say it’s imperative that Artists like Hersh and her bandmates, contemporaries and peers are supported at every turn – and even if you think you as one person don’t make a difference, think again. You do.
Throwing Muses formed in 1981 in Newport, Rhode Island, United States, that toured and recorded extensively until 1997, when its members began concentrating more on other projects. The group was originally fronted by two lead singers, Kristin Hersh and Tanya Donelly (stepsisters), who both wrote the group’s songs. Throwing Muses are known for performing music with shifting tempos, creative chord progressions, unorthodox song structures, and surreal lyrics. The group was set apart from other contemporary acts by Hersh’s stark, candid writing style; Donelly’s pop stylings and vocal harmonies; and David Narcizo’s unusual drumming techniques eschewing use of cymbals. Hersh’s hallucinatory, feverish lyrics occasionally touch on the subject of mental illness, more often drawing portraits of characters from daily life or addressing relationships.
If you aren’t already familiar with Throwing Muses or Kristin Hersh and her offshoot projects, you really need to sit down and spend some time with this concert. Hopefully it may convince you to go exploring. There’s a lot to discover and it’s all very much worth it.
