Why Do Birds Sing? (CD)
Violent Femmes
Amoeba Review
Joanna Ricco 05/26/2010
The Violent Femmes preserve their niche for raw stripped-down college rock on 1991’s Why Do Birds Sing?—that is, everything is under-polished, bratty and dutifully rambunctious. Released nearly a decade after the quirky three-piece Milwaukee band first formed, there are a few signs of change though. For one thing, the Femmes were far more successful in 1991, though they never were a huge commercial success. “More Money Tonight” isn’t the kind of song that would have ended up on their 1983 eponymous debut, which featured those angsty classics “Blister in the Sun” and “Add It Up.” Nevertheless, singer Gordon Gano is one of a kind. The band’s cover of Culture Club’s “Do You Really Want to Hurt Me?” is so sweet in its ugliness that it becomes something altogether their own.
Track Listing
Disc 1 Titles |
Artist |
Length |
---|---|---|
1.
American Music
|
Violent Femmes | 03:50 |
2.
Out the Window
|
Violent Femmes | 02:51 |
3.
Look Like That
|
Violent Femmes | 02:45 |
4.
Do You Really Want to Hurt Me
|
Violent Femmes | 04:49 |
5.
Hey Nonny Nonny
|
Violent Femmes | 04:34 |
6.
Used to Be
|
Violent Femmes | 03:37 |
7.
Girl Trouble
|
Violent Femmes | 02:58 |
8.
He Likes Me
|
Violent Femmes | 03:07 |
9.
Life Is a Scream
|
Violent Femmes | 01:53 |
10.
Flamingo Baby
|
Violent Femmes | 02:37 |
11.
Lack of Knowledge
|
Violent Femmes | 01:54 |
12.
More Money Tonight
|
Violent Femmes | 03:59 |
13.
I'm Free
|
Violent Femmes | 03:25 |