History Music / ThrowingMuses

In any case, it was in the wake of Hersh's accident that her songwriting in particular began to present themes of disassociation, mental breakdown and panic using eccentric song structures and intricately worked arrangements that mixed up JanglePop with PostPunk, FunkRock, CountryMusic and FolkMusic, all dolloped with healthy amounts of lyrical {{Angst}}. In view of Donelly's later success with her somewhat LighterAndSofter band Music/{{Belly}}, commentators sometimes remark on how relatively conventional her songs were compared to Hersh's, but on the early recordings at any rate, the difference was in the subject matter rather than in feel; Donelly's tortured, boiling songs were usually about love ("Green", "Reel") whereas Hersh's tortured, boiling songs were usually about free-floating self-hatred ("Call Me", "Hate My Way").

Langston left in 1990. In 1991, Donelly left amicably to be bass player in Music/TheBreeders and then formed her own band, Music/{{Belly}}, which went on to have chart success: "Feed the Tree" got to No 1 on the US Modern Rock Track chart. Donelly also sang the duet, a cover of [[Music/BigStar Chris Bell's]] "You And Your Sister" with Kim Deal (Music/ThePixies) on the album ''Music/{{Blood}}'' (1991) by Music/ThisMortalCoil.

Throwing Muses are an AlternativeRock band, formed in Newport, Rhode Island in 1980 by step-sisters Kristin Hersh (vocals, guitar) and Tanya Donelly (vocals, guitar) while they were still in school. The original lineup solidified with the addition of Leslie Langston (bass) and David Narcizo (drums); Narcizo, who had classical training in the snare drum but had never played a full kit before, inherited a cymbal-less drumkit from the band's previous drummer and [[CombatPragmatist decided to go with that]]. Hersh was the main songwriter and is now the only one; Donelly also wrote songs, and was lead singer on her own material until her departure in 1991.

[[caption-width-right:350:The classic lineup of Throwing Muses, from left to right: Leslie Langston, David Narcizo, Tanya Donelly, Kristin Hersh]]

* NeoclassicalPunkZydecoRockabilly: This is actually a fair description of their sound.

* MohsScaleOfRockAndMetalHardness: Violently subverted. Musically they range from 1 to 4, periodically going up to 5 from ''Red Heaven'' onwards; in terms of emotional intensity and lyrical content, they go up to 10.

In 2003, the Muses got back together with a second SelfTitledAlbum (featuring the return of Donelly, but only on backing vocals.) In 2004 Hersh formed hardcore trio 50 Foot Wave, which has been described as 'Throwing Muses, if they were faster, meaner and also swore a lot'; the band pioneered the now-increasingly-commonplace pay-what-you-can scheme for its recordings. In 2013 another Muses album appeared, minus Donelly, who was restarting her own musical career after spending several years focusing on her other career as a doula. ''Purgatory / Paradise'' got glowing reviews. Since then, the reformed band has toured the USA and Europe with Donelly as support.

* DVDCommentary: Hersh and Narcizo provided a commentary as a free download to anyone who bought ''Purgatory / Paradise''. It consists of 70 minutes of them teasing each other, going off on tangents, telling stories and basically doing almost anything except talk about the album. At one point Hersh actually takes a phone call from the engineer who mastered it, who in turn is a bit surprised to find himself asked to contribute to the commentary track.

* SopranoAndGravel: When Tanya Donelly was in the band they were a rare two-female version of this, with Hersh as the gravel, at least some of the time (see PerishingAltRockVoice, above.)

Langston left in 1990. In 1991, Donelly left amicably to be bass player in Music/TheBreeders and then formed her own band, Music/{{Belly}}, which went on to have chart success: "Feed the Tree" got to No 1 on the US Modern Rock Track chart. Donelly also sang the duet, "You And Your Sister" with Kim Deal (Music/ThePixies) on the album ''Music/{{Blood}}'' (1991) by Music/ThisMortalCoil.

Between 1985 and 1986, the period covered by Hersh's book, the band signed a deal with UK label Creator/FourADRecords; Hersh was hospitalised following a suicide attempt; the Muses recorded their [[SelfTitledAlbum first album]], and Hersh got pregnant. ''Throwing Muses'' earned them critical respect but not exactly massive sales. In the US, the band signed with Creator/SireRecords, but over time they realised that their US label, unlike their UK one, had signed them in order to attract other alternative bands that it was more interested in.

* ''University'' (1995)