Kim Shattuck RIP

@troggy thanks so much for sharing this unreleased performance! Kim knew her strengths musically and always delivered an excellent set list. They should've been headlining and playing big venues every night!

 

Yeah, I assume the above show is from shortly after Blonder and Blonder was released.

 

It should be noted that Elvis Costello paid tribute to Kim on a post. He seemed to be a fan, pointing out his favorite songs.

Also during the Who show at the Hollywood Bowl on Friday, they put up a big tribute to Kim on the screen before they came on. Kim would've been so proud!

 

RIP

 

I just saw that post. That was really nice of him and he does seem to be a genuine fan.

And I never thought about it before but Sad Tomorrow, one of the songs he mentioned, really sounds like it could be one of his.

 

Right, the new album is now due tomorrow. I ordered mine online, as I doubt any of the local places will have it. I really can't wait to hear it.

 

great!

 

R.I.P.

 

From the new album...

A Lovely Day Boo Hoo

 

No Holiday

 

I checked youtube this morning and it looks like most, if not all, of the tracks from the new album have been uploaded. I'm going to wait and listen to everything on the disc when it arrives.

I was listening to Happy Birthday To Me in the car on the way to work this morning. I know that Blonder and Blonder is considered their high water mark but this is still just a terrific album.
I kept getting hung up on the tune, "My Crazy Afternoon". I've always liked this song but it hit me this morning just how great it is.



I'm not a musician, let alone a songwriter, so I don't know how Kim wrote such incredible hooks into her songs but it never failed.

By 1997, alternative rock was in full swing as a radio format and, for the most part, it was the dregs. Meanwhile, The Muffs were still on a major label and totally ignored.

 

The new album is excellent. I was wondering if it was gonna be a thing where you'd have to make allowances for how it was put together. Like, "well I guess it's pretty good considering..." but it's not like that at all. It's really a great album.

 

Anyone else with reviews of "No Holiday", post away here!

 

I don't have the new album yet. I hope to have it sometime this week.

Meanwhile, here's a nice, long interview with Kim from 2016 that I enjoyed over the weekend. In fact, I finished listening to it this morning before work.

 

I'm really impressed with No Holiday. A very strong set of material and performances, and if anything a little more pleasantly diversified than other Muffs LPs - to its benefit.

When you read about the difficult conditions under which this album was made - it's a miracle it exist, much less sounds so good. Honestly, you wouldn't know there was anything unusual about its creation.

 

She really had an incredible talent for writing melodies. Eighteen songs on this thing and every one has a great catchy melody.

 

Agreed, I received my copy on Monday. Spent yesterday listening to it in the car. I didn't find myself getting hung up on one song or another and having to put it on repeat like I often do with their albums but it's a really good listen. More later.

 

Today's earworm. I must have really slept on Happy Birthday To Me. It's chock full of fantastic tunes.

 

Same. She seems to be incredibly consistent in her songwriting - right up to and including No Holiday. Memorable melodies and hooks galore. There's still quite a bit of her catalog for me to explore, but so far I'm really impressed by it.

Shattuck seems to be a bit like Harry Nilsson in this respect: a prolific, talented songwriter, but easily best known by the general public for a cover ("Kids in America")!

 

In the interview from 2016 I posted earlier this week, she mentioned that she received a platinum record for that being on the Clueless soundtrack. She couldn't find it though, thinking it was probably behind some stuff in her closet.

 

Question: So now that we know when/how No Holiday was recorded... when was The Coolies EP recorded?

 

To be honest, I didn't look yet to see when No Holiday was recorded.

 

Yahoo published an in-depth article about how and when it was recorded. Short version: as early as December 2017, Kim couldn't play a guitar and was already having trouble speaking. It sounds like all of her vocals date from prior to that - taken from in-progress recordings, demos, etc.

Full article: How late Muffs frontwoman Kim Shattuck made final album while secretly battling ALS: ‘Nothing would stop her from doing what she loved to do’

Based on that, it seems like the Coolies EP must have been recorded earlier than December 2017, too. (If you look at quotes from Kim in the last year or so, you can tell they are from written responses - lots of "!" and things you wouldn't necessarily transcribe person-to-person).

 

I hadn't read that. It's an amazing story. And all the more so because the record is just so good. It really is. I love it.

As for the Coolies thing I don't know but I'd guess 2015-16 or so.