Because Pia Mia was clearly the only artist I could choose, and I have been wanting to post about this real outlier of a single of hers.
She was discovered by Babyface on YouTube.... who helped her get a real record deal and even a hot 100 hit.
What she lost was her creative control, so she left Interscope Records and started self-releasing music. This song was less hip-hop and more country.... and I gotta say, it suits her. Her voice is huge.
When I say her voice is huge, perhaps it's better if I feature a live version of the song....
And R. City are from there, hailing from St. Thomas. Sure, they do record in Atlanta, but they are from the USVI.
I think that's pretty cool.
This song is by far their biggest hit, hitting the top 10 in the US and worldwide. Toni Tennille gets a songwriting credit because the chord progression in the chorus is straight out of 'Do That To Me One More Time", no joke.
Anyway, the song itself was NOT written by Adam Levine, so that's something.
They also don't need Adam Levine around to perform the song - which the duo co-wrote as well. In fact, I think it flows better without him and retains more of a reggae flair.
I have been holding this song back for a long while. I go back and forth on it, honestly. I don't always love the song, but I always like it. And, as I write this, I am in a love period.
Tori Amos grew up in Baltimore, and since today is Maryland day, I felt it was time to uncork it.
This was one of Amos's biggest hits - a breakthrough of sorts in the UK. She had bigger pop hits but no song did better on alternative radio.
And it's about.... cornflakes? No, "cornflake girl" is slang for someone close to you who betrays you - specifically used around the practice of female genital mutilation. And now you know.
The song itself is something of an upbeat waltz and you're going to be tapping your toes to this song for the rest of the day. You're welcome.
And she made two videos for the song - her insistence. She WANTED two DIFFERENT videos. The US version featured Amos driving a truck full of women.
The UK version is much better. It's kind of a reverse Wizard of Oz situation where Dorothy goes to hell.
Not shockingly, her 1997 performances of the song live sounded just like the record. Well, not identical. It's a little different. But the flair and sound are still there.
And, kind of shockingly, the 2015 performances also sound like the record, but with glasses.
She actually seems to perform it with more personality here.
She does still perform, by the way. Here she is in 2023, still sounding incredible.
At this point, both Tanya Donelly and Fred Abong had left the band, leaving only Kristin Hersh (Tanya's stepsister.... or half sister. It's never actually been clear to me. But they are sisters) and David Narcizo, both of whom you see in this video. (Leslie Langston, their original bassist, did return to do some bass work).
What resulted is arguably the worst reviewed Throwing Muses album - Red Heaven. This is not me saying this (and, truth be told, Allmusic tells me it's Hunkpapa which I love but I understand the bad reviews). I think Red Heaven is a revelation and I'd rank it 2rd in my list of their albums (House Tornado being inarguably better).
Go ahead. Debate me in the comments.
The band released two different versions of this single, and I own them both somewhere. Or I lost them in a past move. I don't know. Anyway, it's a fun song that is probably as close as they came to a pop hit.
I think it would be really intimidating to meet Kristin Hersh in reality. I had the chance to in 1995, and I regret not doing it because I found it quite intimidating.
But if you watch the interview and the intense solo performance of the song, you might understand where I'm coming from. It's intense, and as someone who has seen Throwing Muses live twice and will do so a third time if given the opportunity, yeah. She's intense.
Yeah. This is gonna be a two post day. Sorry. But I couldn't choose between two sisters again.
Belly is a fully, 100% Rhode Island band. The four original members went to high school together in Newport, Rhode Island. And, well, they had some degree of success in the 1990s after leader (and my favorite doula) Tanya Donelly's stints in Throwing Muses (more on that in the second post) and the Breeders (more on THEM later this month, probably).
In fact, the debut album by Belly was supposed to be The Breeders's second album. Early demos of Star are clearly labelled "The Breeders". Tanya went in a different direction, and this song wasn't included in those demos - which may explain its unique sound.
To be clear, by all indications I have seen, Tanya didn't get kicked out of either previous band. She left both to focus on Belly of her own accord.
Although Fred Abong - also ex-Muses - was the bassist when the song was recorded (and therefore, his is the bass you hear), he had left the band soon after the release of Star and was replaced by Gail Greenwood by the time this video was made. That's her playing bass in the video. Thankfully, Greenwood is also from Rhode Island, although she had relocated to Boston when she was recruited.
By the way, Belly did break up.... but they got back together in the mid-2010's. Here they are - the Gorman brothers, Donelly and Greenwood - performing this song in the KEXP studios in 2018.
Lest you think I'm lying about them being back together, this is them in 2024.
I want you to focus not on Tanya - who is wonderful but please. I've said enough - but on Gail Greenwood. She brings JUST as much energy as she did in the 1990s.
