Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

The Muffs

Kim Shattuck started the Muffs with Melanie Vammen in Los Angeles in 1991. They were fresh out of a metal-ish act called Pandora. In the next couple of years they would generate enough buzz as a pop-punk quartet to hook up a major record deal. Some rock critics will minimize this event by saying that grunge inadvertently facilitated the deal for the Muffs. Perhaps they are correct. Consider that at the time all the majors were in a frenzy to sign the next Nirvana. How else to otherwise explain such big-money attention lavished on a band as plainly derivative as the Muffs? Shattuck and Vammen were schooled by the bigger bands of their era — such hotness as the Pixies or the Ramones, who were in turn influenced by the Beatles and Television and the New York Dolls. But in the end, all roads lead back to the Kinks. They always do.

One could argue that the Muffs’ Blonder and Blonder and Happy Birthday to Me (both on Reprise) are among their best. Money has to be a factor, because it buys more time in better studios. But then again, did the label see something of value in the band that was not obvious? The fact that the Muffs are still around suggests they did. Shattuck’s high-school lyrics hold a certain outsider appeal: “You lied to me now/ I can hear you say/ You’re a dick, you’re a dick/ And I could care less.” And her pop hooks have fanned the flames for a rash of other indie bands, such as the Queers, who publicly adore them. A homemade band, and not so much better than the neighbor kids’ garage-rock band, hence the charm. Five-chord rock and roll, once again made as attainable as it was for so many of us during the 1960s.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Dirty Sirens and Octa#grape also perform.

The Muffs: Soda Bar, Sunday, March 3, 8:30 p.m. 619-255-7224. $10

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Coyote tracks in frail San Diego avocado grove

Second place winner in Reader neighborhood writing contest

Kim Shattuck started the Muffs with Melanie Vammen in Los Angeles in 1991. They were fresh out of a metal-ish act called Pandora. In the next couple of years they would generate enough buzz as a pop-punk quartet to hook up a major record deal. Some rock critics will minimize this event by saying that grunge inadvertently facilitated the deal for the Muffs. Perhaps they are correct. Consider that at the time all the majors were in a frenzy to sign the next Nirvana. How else to otherwise explain such big-money attention lavished on a band as plainly derivative as the Muffs? Shattuck and Vammen were schooled by the bigger bands of their era — such hotness as the Pixies or the Ramones, who were in turn influenced by the Beatles and Television and the New York Dolls. But in the end, all roads lead back to the Kinks. They always do.

One could argue that the Muffs’ Blonder and Blonder and Happy Birthday to Me (both on Reprise) are among their best. Money has to be a factor, because it buys more time in better studios. But then again, did the label see something of value in the band that was not obvious? The fact that the Muffs are still around suggests they did. Shattuck’s high-school lyrics hold a certain outsider appeal: “You lied to me now/ I can hear you say/ You’re a dick, you’re a dick/ And I could care less.” And her pop hooks have fanned the flames for a rash of other indie bands, such as the Queers, who publicly adore them. A homemade band, and not so much better than the neighbor kids’ garage-rock band, hence the charm. Five-chord rock and roll, once again made as attainable as it was for so many of us during the 1960s.

Sponsored
Sponsored

Dirty Sirens and Octa#grape also perform.

The Muffs: Soda Bar, Sunday, March 3, 8:30 p.m. 619-255-7224. $10

Comments
Sponsored
Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Pacific Beach – car thief's paradise

Take photos of your automobile and license plate
Next Article

Pet pig perches in pocket

Escondido doula gets a taste of celebrity
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.