The Muffs - Live on Air! 1993 & 1995.

In the early '90s, it felt like my cup was just starting to brim...but it hadn't runneth over just yet.  So let's see, there was plenty of crucial American indie rock to be had (Sebadoh, Superchunk, Treepeople), dream pop was at it's absolute zenith (My Bloody Valentine, Ride and the Lilys), not to mention the latest permeation of punk (Bad Religion, Dischord Records, etc) and don't even get me started on the geyser that was gushing out of the American northwest. Still, by 1992 I wasn't convinced that the Clinton years would rival (or even less probably, outdo) the musical output of the 1980s. Then, sometime in the spring or summer of 1993, a certain co-ed earworm from southern Cali named The Muffs burrowed it's way into my hairy noggin by virtue of their slammin' self-titled LP, and at that point I was sold on the notion that the '80s would in fact have a decade of equal significance adjacent to it.

With that pithy and analytical little intro out of the way what more can I tell you than you probably already know about one of the finest punk and roll aggregations to ever combust their way out of the City of Angels?  Seven albums, at least as many singles, soundtrack placements, multiple band  lineups, tours galore, and of course, one song used in a Fruitopia TV ad. Then, seemingly out of the blue, front-woman and focal point Kim Shattuck left us in 2019 after losing a private battle with ALS. What's left is a near-monumental legacy and body of song. 

I'm not sure if there's much that was left on the Muffs cutting room floor, with all the band's Warner Bros. output having recently been reissued an expanded. Dare I say a live album of some type somewhere down the line?  I don't pride myself on being a collector of their bootlegs, but I do have a couple items I'm sharing tonight. Hot on the heels of their aforementioned debut is a fairly lengthy in-studio performance from September 1993 on L.A.'s KXLU (during one of the the station's fund drives) featuring a generous thirteen tunes including a cover of The Saint's "Kissin' Cousins." Next is a similar setup circa 1995 in support of Blonder and Blonder on WDRE's Underground Lounge in Philly. Eleven tunes interspersed with amusing call-in interview queries.  Both of these sets are a blast with the Muffs requisite humor and full-volume aplomb firmly on display. I'm making them available in MP3 and FLAC. A big thanks to whomever taped these off the radio and went to the effort of digitizing them.

WXLU, Los Angeles 9/17/93
01. -intro-
02. I Don't Like You
03. New Love
04. Saying Goodbye
05. Lucky Guy
06. -thanks-
07. From Your Girl
08. Every Single Thing
09. Better Than Me
10. Kissin' Cousins
11. Another Day
12. -thanks-
13. Brand New Chevy
14. Big Mouth
15. Right In The Eye
16. I Need You
17. -closing comments-

MP3  or  FLAC

WDRE Underground Lounge, Philadelphia 5/23/95
01. Agony
02. Lucky Guy
03. Saying Goodbye
04. Sad Tomorrow
05. Bed Of Roses
06. -interview-
07. End It All
08. Oh Nina
09. Red Eyed Troll
10. Ethyl My Love
11. -tour dates-
12. New Love   
13. Big Mouth
14. -interview-

MP3  or  FLAC