Posted by bryan on February 04, 1997 at 13:25:38:
i have a few questions/comments regarding the songs on the holy single (which is beautiful, by the way). first, being an avid big star/alex chilton fan, i was intrigued by the song "jesus christ", with which i was not familiar. is this on an album that i don't have yet, or is it a more obscure tune (even for chilton)? what was the impetus for recording this song? anyone?
second, the "amazing grace" has been rendered in many different ways by many different modern pop/rock artists (i can think of the lemonheads and ani difranco, if you're itchin' fer examples). what is the attraction here? kristin hersh's interpretation/arrangement of the song is markedly different from most of the ones i've heard. it's a bit more intimate, but that isn't the right word either.
the last two songs on the record are inextricably linked (for me) but i have a question before i explain.
who is the hersh that wrote "sinkhole", and how did this song come about (a wide open phrasing for a wide open answer)? i'm assuming that it's a family affair, but maybe not. you never can tell.
finally, i have to mention the transcendent quality that the songs "sinkhole" and "can the circle be unbroken" assume. every time i hear these songs i feel like i'm 6 years old running around in the sun drenched back yard of my parents house, but that's ancillary to your concerns. to my now 19-year-old brain, these songs are closely related to the kind of music that koerner, ray and glover make. music that truly defies categorization, and is inexplicably powerful and emotional. passionate, i guess you could call it. while people like iris dement and palace music seem to exhibit some of the same qualites, the only songs i've ever heard that come close to this kind of ... well whatever it is, are those of kristin hersh, and this is exemplified and compounded in the two final tracks of the holy single. whew! thanks if you've made it this far, and i'd appreciate anyone's feedback. just a couple more questions : are there any more concept ideas like this in the works? also, are there any other fans of any of the other musicians i've mentioned out there? thanks. Oh, and when are these reissues of the early muses stuff that i've heard so much about going to be released? i'm tempted just to buy the import vinyl, but that's pretty damn expensive. thank and again apologies for the length of the post.