I have to be honest. I don't understand what the big deal is with 10,000 Maniacs. I'd never even heard of them until their 1993 MTV Unplugged show, and even then, that didn't blow me away. Which is why it was odd that when my co-worker started listening to that album that I was like, "Hey, I know that song," with each and every tune that came and went.
This led me to start looking at their discography, and being a little shocked to find that not only were they around in the 80's, but that there were several songs on the records that I kind of wanted. Not necessarily because I "had" to have them. More so because I just kind of wanted to check that box. This was made easy to do when I came across a listing on ebay that had all three of the albums I was looking at a low starting bid of $4.00.
Well, apparently I was the only person on Earth looking for 10,000 Maniacs albums that week, because I won that listing for my opening bid. Neat! I love when that happens.
10,000 Maniacs were never really known to be mainstream, and this point was drilled home all the more harder by them mainly being played on college campuses where the students made it a point to not play well known artists or popular music. What's ironic is that this ultimately pushed them into the limelight as their popularity grew around schools.
The band started in 1981as Still Life, but by September of that same year had renamed the group, 10,000 Maniacs. They would self release their debut 1983 album, Secrets Of The I Ching, and had a minor hit with, My Mother The War. However, it wouldn't be until Peter Leak became interested in the group, and become their manager, that they would sign a recording contract.
Natalie Merchant would front the band as lead singer from 1981 to 1993, but then leave to pursue a solo career. Coupled with her haunting voice and the musical style of the band, they would garner great success, selling consecutive platinum albums for 1987's In My Tribe, 1989's Blind Man's Zoo, and 1992's Our Time In Eden.
When Merchant left, her role was filled by Mary Ramsey, the second half of the folk duo, John & Mary. However, under her lead, the band never saw the success and sales that previous albums received. Merchant, on the other hand, would find great success as a solo artist, releasing albums from 1995 through 2017.
Today, I want to see what all the fuss was about. Like I said, there were songs I discovered I knew, and wanted to add to my collection. But, what I wanted to see was if there was something else I may have missed from this multi-album platinum selling band. I decided to do so by starting with their last entry in the 80's, 1989's Blind Man's Zoo.
10,000 Maniacs has a unique sound to it. Somewhat folksy, definitely alternative rock, and pretty much not for me. While I didn't hear anything that I would label as "bad" on this particular record, it just overall wasn't for me.
I can see why people would like this group. Their tracks have a tendency to feel a little deeper rooted than most mainstream music. I can definitely envision young college students reading far more into the lyrics than perhaps was intended to be there, sparking philosophical conversations for hours.
In fact, in typing the above, it may have finally struck me. This music feels like it's for hipsters. Counter-culture, independent thinking. You know, those annoying people. It may very well be that reason that I don't particularly care for this music. Basically, just take all the lyrics from it, and replace select words with the likes of, "establishment," "organic", "my bad", and so on. Let's just try this with the opening lyrics to one of their most popular songs, Trouble.
Original Lyrics:
Trouble
Disturb me with all your cares and your worries
(Trouble me) on the days when you feel spent
New Lyrics:
Establishment
Disturb me with all your my bad, and your worries
(Establishment) on the days when you feel organic
Yeah, that definitely seems to work.
Well, now that I've insulted every 10,000 Maniacs fan out there, I guess I'm done. Long story short, 10,000 Maniacs has hits, but meh, passable.
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Disclaimer: They Toy Box does not endorse or contribute to piracy. Retro Spins posts are intended for educational and entertainment purposes only. None of the music discussed here is available for sale, downloading or distribution.
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| THIS WEEK ON THE CHARTS January 12, 1980 |
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| THIS WEEK ON THE CHARTS January 12, 1985 |
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