6. The BreedersPod
I saw Throwing Muses and the Pixies play at the Town and Country in 1988. I remember because we were not long from being signed 4AD ourselves and I thought, ‘Fucking hell, we are on a label with these two astonishing bands’. I was quite cowed by that. I was hugely into both of them. I think Kim [Deal] needed somewhere where she could play the music that she wanted to play. ‘Gigantic’ was allowed to slip through, but beyond that I don’t think much of her song writing was very welcomed. Similarly, for Tanya [Donelly], who always had a slightly more poppy edge than Kristin [Hersh].
I thought it was really interesting that the two girls went and did a separate project where they could come out from the shadows and throw their music out there without feeling it has to fit with someone else’s mould. It’s an interesting choice to make it with Steve Albini. This could have easily could have been very produced record and it’s interesting that it went down the very raw, live route, and massively benefits. I really love things like that ‘Metal Man’ track where you’ve got Josephine with this really plummy English voice going on about a ‘65 pickup, narrating this story. Normally you’d go, obviously you’re not going to get the person who sounds like a fucking geography teacher to do the vocals on that song, but the fact that they do is what makes it really interesting and quirky.
