six degrees of 4AD

It started, I think, when I was 12 or 13. Maybe 14. But it was the year that The Breeders' Cannonball was played incessantly on local radio (I loved you, NU 107) and MTV Asia (hello, Alternative Nation). That year my aunt went to the US, and brought home, on my cousin's request, two albums: the Sweet Relief compilation, and The Breeders' Last Splash.

As he had become my touchstone when it comes to music (and continues to be), I borrowed both tapes (it was the early 90s. Come on), and thus began my love for all music unknown. Sweet Relief was a compilation for the benefit of Victoria Williams, and it featured Matthew Sweet (because Sick of Myself was also on constant rotation then) and Evan Dando (he was adorable in 1993. The music of the Lemonheads weren't half-bad, either). And of course, Opelousas was a crazy, lovely song.

The Breeders and Last Splash, however. I didn't know what to make of it. It was certainly different from everything else I've listened to before (at this time I was heavily into Guns N' Roses. Yes. I know.). But I kept listening to it, trying to figure it out.

Then my cousin brought Belly into my life. Now, Belly I got. Not the really great lyrics, no, I was shallow then. But the music... ah, the music. The guitars, with Tanya Donelly's voice: this made sense to me. Of course, the music video for Feed The Tree was a study in whatthefuck, but the song deserved better.

I don't know what I read (probably a magazine profile on The Breeders, because that's how it works out sometimes), but I discovered several things: 1) Kim Deal used to be part of The Pixies (which seemed to be something important, though I didn't know why then), 2) Tanya Donelly used to be part of The Breeders (hmm...), 3) there was a Breeders album with Tanya Donelly before Last Splash (of course there is) and 4) Pixies, The Breeders, and Belly all belonged to the same record label. Interesting.


First: this mystical first Breeders album.
Entitled Pod, it's Kim Deal's first record separate from the Pixies, because Frank Black (or Black Francis, or whatever) refused to let the Pixies perform more of her songs. So she enlists Tanya Donelly (then of the Throwing Muses), and they created this album that sounds both soothing and angry at the same time.

Of course, one can only assume that Tanya Donelly didn't leave the Throwing Muses, sharing co-writing duties with Kristin Hersh, just to share co-writing duties with Kim Deal. Hence Belly was born.
Belly came out with Star in 1993. In 1995, they released King, which became my favorite album for the year. Red, Silverfish, Super-connected, Now They'll Sleep and Untitled and Unsung are still on constant rotation in my music life, even though I don't know why I have such a deep connection to this album. Is it the easy melodies? Is it the sweet-on-the-surface/twisted-and-dark-underneath composition of the lyrics? Is it Tanya's sweet voice singing such dark lyrics? (Yes.)
(Years later, during the awesome early days of MYX and Studio 23, they would air Later... With Jools Holland, and Tanya would explain that in ancient Chinese(?) culture, when a woman is convicted of adultery, they would tie a dog to her, even until after it dies. Thus explaining Slow Dog, from the Star LP.)

King would be the last Belly album (aww). But in the articles about Belly (or The Breeders. I don't know anymore), I discovered that Tanya (currently a solo artist) was part of the Throwing Muses.

And like all the others, the Muses was part of 4AD.

I was beginning to love this record label. I never cared about record labels before, but if a band was with 4AD, I automatically wanted to listen to it.

I loved a handful of Pixies songs even before I cared about who they were: Here Comes Your Man, Cecilia Ann, Gigantor, and Wave of Mutilation.
I loathed Black Francis for "firing" Kim Deal from The Pixies. But the more I learned about The Pixies, the more I understood their place in the bigger scheme of things. They gave music a totally different sound. Much like Sonic Youth, they sounded completely different from most that have come before. Kurt Cobain, Radiohead's Thom Yorke and even Blur's Damon Albarn love them/wanted to be them.

And introducing me to the incessant quality of band leaders to want to break out and explore other venues for their songwriting (even when they all sound exactly the same), Kim Deal took The Breeders' hiatus as an opportunity to form The Amps, releasing Pacer.

Throwing Muses was different because I only liked them as a musical landmark for Tanya Donelly, although I do like Bright Yellow Gun. Yes, I played favorites between the stepsisters Tanya and Kristin, but what could I do? Tanya came first. Kristin Hersh's solo work isn't bad, although they deviate so much from the pop alternative sound I'm familiar with.


To become more familiar with the sound of 4AD, click
- here for copies of compilations the label's released over the years,
- here for a basic guide,
- and here for the official website.
Why the official site comes last, well, that's just me.

And adding to my love for 4AD? Album covers were always something else.


Some, the works of Vaughan Oliver (like these four above, plus the Muses and Breeders before), can be seen here.


And if you're asking, where in Metro Manila did (you) find such obscure albums? Well, since you're asking (even if you're not), it was a little record store in the former Park Square 2, called Music Nook (I remember fondly my first loves). It took a while, but being bored with nothing to do, I went past all the current pop albums that greet you at the front door, and went to the back, where few dare to tread, and I came upon this wonderland.

Unfortunately, Music Nook's long closed, and it's so hard to find these albums locally. Especially since Music One/Tower have become not so different from Odyssey.