Tuesday Lunch hour with Throwing Muses – one of the bands that renewed my faith in contemporary music from the 80s onwards. They are here in this RNE Radio 3 broadcast, performing at the Primavera Sound Festival on May 29, 2009 and in stellar form.
Throwing Muses is chiefly Kristen Hirsh, whose work and collaborations have always provided a wildly satisfying adventure into one persons creative journey. Much of what music is about is conveying a point of view, a vision – that view of life that, even though we’re all staring at the same object, presents it in a way that all makes sense. I like her work and I like her voice – it’s a voice that rings a whole lot of harmonious emotional chords (in me) and I find myself nodding a lot because she speaks my language. Well, she speaks a lot of peoples languages – that’s part of her universal appeal – her music is a welcoming tent, and in these days we need all the universal messages we can get. Much as social media stands a chance a being great, it’s also a tremendous isolator. And Throwing Muses creates a strong bond we can all use at this particular point in time.
Music heals, if you didn’t already notice. It heals in a lot of different ways and in a lot of different forms – the bottom line is that it is capable of conveying a strong and lasting message of unity and strength. Funny how innocuous notes and crafted phrases do that.
Am I going over the top? Not really – when you think of the times you were casually listening to something and the turn of phrase or progression of chords got every hair on the back of your neck standing straight up – it’s the power that music has for all of us – sometimes we just have to keep listening in order to find it. There’s a lot of noise and a lot of mediocrity to sift through – but it’s there, and when you find it, life makes sense.
Throwing Muses was a band with a lot to say – Kristen Hirsh is an artists who continues to say it.
We’re lucky – we’re fortunate – we have something to hold on to in times of hideous distraction and mindless proclamation.
The set’s not long. It’s a little under an hour – you have lots of time to press play and check it out. Maybe you’ll love it and maybe you won’t, but you got a chance to hear Throwing Muses for maybe the first time – your horizons just expanded – keep it going.
In the meantime . . .
