When I first heard the name for this New York State-based band, 10,000 Maniacs, I'd originally thought that it was some sort of punk outfit or heavy metal group, and therefore something that I should clear away from. Instead, it was into alternative rock and college rock, and led by singer-songwriter Natalie Merchant.
At the time that their 9th single "Trouble Me" was released in May 1989, I was just a couple of months away from taking off to Japan to start my first post-university job and so the nervousness and stress were rising like magma to the caldera. So with something like "Trouble Me", it was quite the melodic salve. For an alt-rock band, this particular song was very untroubling pop. It and the music video were so calming, folksy and whimsical thanks to the words, music and arrangement by Merchant and composer Dennis Drew that I swore that it was downright Canadian! I almost expected to see the CBC logo near the end of the video.
From what I've read of the "Trouble Me" article on Wikipedia, Merchant had written the song for her father who had been in hospital at the time. The music video has the singer help out an old woman to meet up with her friends in the neighbourhood and so I thought especially during these times of the pandemic, "Trouble Me" had me thinking about families worrying and trying to take care of their older members. The song was also a track on 10,000 Maniacs' 4th studio album "Blind Man's Zoo" which also came out in May 1989.
After the party-hearty New Wave of Wang Chung last week, I thought that this week's ROY article could be a little more chill.
Now, which songs were in the Top 3 positions of the Oricon May 1989 chart?
1. Shizuka Kudo -- Arashi no Sugao （嵐の素顔）
2. Princess Princess -- Diamonds
3. Akina Nakamori -- Liar
Hi, Brian.
ReplyDeleteYeah, Akina can look absolutely stunning in some photos and then just appear as the friendly girl-next-door in some others.