“Since redundancy characterizes oral thought and speech, it is in a profound sense more natural to thought and speech than is sparse linearity. Sparsely linear or analytic thought and speech are artificial creations, structured by the technology of writing. Eliminating redundancy on a significant scale demands a time obviating technology, writing, which imposes some kind of strain on the psyche in preventing expression from falling into its more natural patterns. The psyche can manage the strain in part because handwriting is physically such a slow process — typically about one-tenth of the speed of oral speech (Chafe 1982). With writing, the mind is forced into a slowed-down pattern that affords it the opportunity to interfere with and reorganize its more normal, redundant processes.”

-Walter J. Ong, Orality and Literacy

The most underrated band in history is the Throwing Muses.

I speculate the reason they never got their proper due despite being hugely influential and innovative is their music wasn’t surface angry, it was complex, and most of the members were quite femme. This last at a time when denying and denigrating femininity among many — and especially progressive — women was expected. Yes, this was an understandable rebellion against unrealistic expectations but at the time any band that did not do this was seen as traitorous.

For this reason people like Amanda Marcotte and those more intellectually capable still discount Throwing Muses, despite later bands like Sleater-Kinney citing them as major influences.

The Muses forged music in the 1980s that sounded like it was from 20 years in the future. They were also one of the first major female-led indie bands, if not the first (Sleater Kinney as implied above came a good bit later).

If you want to listen to the Muses, “The Real Ramona” is their best album, but all are pretty good.

You’ll probably find them derivative but the reason is because they originated a lot of the sounds and conventions that informed and shaped 30 years of later music.