Throwing Muses – Hate My Way ….80’s Underground Mondays

A nice guitar riff to start this song off by Throwing Muses.

The band was formed in 1981 by step-sisters Kristin Hersh (vocals/guitar) and Tanya Donelly (guitar/vocals), who were both at high school at the time. Initially called Kristin Hersh And The Muses, the line-up was completed by bassist Leslie Langstons and drummer David Narcizo.

They lived close to Providence, Boston and New York and so they could play a club quite often in both places. They had a lot of colleges and some local newspapers, magazines, and radio stations to promote them.

They were the first American band signed to the British 4AD label. An eclectic blend of jerky guitar pop and songwriter Kristin Hersh’s eccentric vocals, the early work by Throwing Muses was quite different than their peers. A year later 4AD would sign Pixies based in part on the band’s connection to Throwing Muses, and by the mid-1990s much of the label’s roster was made up of American bands.

This song was on their self-titled album Throwing Muses in 1986. The song was written by guitar player and singer Kristin Hersh. She wrote every song on the album except one.

Their latest album Sun Racket was released on Fire Records on September 4, 2020.

Kristin Hersh: “We didn’t mean to ever be strange. I guess we were because everybody says we were,” “It’s almost like speaking your own language. I find we kept people out of our world by doing that.”

Hate My Way

 I could be a smack freak
And hate society
I could hate God
And blame Dad
I might be in a Holocaust
Hate Hitler
Might not have a child
And hate school
I could be a sad lover
And hate death
I could be a neuro
And hate sweat
No
I hate my way

I make you in to a song
I can’t rise above the church
I’m caught in a jungle
Vines tangle my hands
I’m always so hot and it’s hot in here
I say it’s all right

My pillow screams too
But so does my kitchen
And water
And my shoes
And the road

I have a gun in my head
I’m invisible
I can’t find the ice

A slug
I’m TV
I hate

A boy, he was tangled in his bike forever
A girl was missing two fingers
Gerry Ann was confused
Mr. Huberty
Had a gun in his head

So I sit up late in the morning
And ask myself again
How do they kill children?
And why do I wanna die?
They can no longer move
I can no longer be still

I hate
My way

Author: Badfinger (Max)

Power Pop fan, Baseball, Beatles, old movies, and tv show fan. Also anything to do with pop culture in the 60s and 70s... I'm also a songwriter, bass and guitar player.

18 thoughts on “Throwing Muses – Hate My Way ….80’s Underground Mondays”

  2. the singer sounds a bit like Susanna Hoffs which is a good thing. Song doesn’t really do it for me though, but it sounds ahead of its time. It might have done well five or six years later.

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  3. I realize my comments start sounding like a broken record – pretty good tune by a band I had not heard of.

    And, btw, I had the same initial reaction Dave had – the lead vocals did remind me a bit of Susanna Hoffs. In part that could be because I coincidentally caught her July 4 performance on CNN last night.

    I guess I’m largely ignorant when it comes to the “underground scene” – and, yes, this also applies to some other music genres. So thanks for continuing to educate me! 🙂

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    1. Some of these bands are new to me also Christian…it’s nice seeing people who recognize them and say “hey” I remember them…and some like The Replacements I hope people start liking…them I knew.

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  4. I recognize the name, and feel I should know their music, but neither this song or others I pulled up on YouTube ring any bells. Agree – I really like the opening guitar riff and like the lead singer vocals – a bit of an edge to them. Where Hersh and Donelly in any other bands as I feel that their names are familiar as well.?

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