The Breeders, circa 2002. (Image source).
Unfortunately, my musical enjoyment throughout childhood was hindered by my parents. For the most part their musical tastes were distinct from mine and they had little patience for what I liked if it differed from them. Though they didn’t specifically forbid me from listening to certain forms of music, they did raise a big stink when I made it public. Hence, I had the tendency to listen to many different musical genres behind their back.
The first time I heard The Breeders was while watching MTV in the early 90s. A few months after we first installed cable TV at home I caught sight of the music video for “Cannonball”. The video was eye-catching and very interesting visually. But what most caught my attention the brief portion of the chorus when she said “In the shade, in the shade” very sweetly and then repeated it with her sister Kelley. To me it seemed like a siren’s call; a call to come and join them to relax.
Though the rest of “Cannonball” had nothing to do with that, it was that snippet that was my invitation to buy the cassette of Last Splash and listen to an infinite amount of times. It also compelled me to try to catch their videos on TV as many times as possible. (Hence, this post). Obviously, this was all done without my parents’ knowledge despite my desire to play it loudly on the living room stereo instead of surreptitiously on my Walkman. It was weird to have to grow up and be two-faced; one side publicly enjoying Billo’s Caracas Boys and Lisandro Mesa, while also quietly liking The Breeders, Miguel Bosé, and Smashing Pumpkins.
A few days ago it was announced that The Breeders will release a new album in April and embark on a concert tour. As you might imagine I’m eagerly looking forward to it and hope that past vices have not hurt Kim and Kelley’s voices too much.
More importantly, there’s a living room stereo where Mountain Battles will be playing at full volume in a few months time. Regardless of the tastes of others.
