This band was really underrated in the 90s. Of course they were never as good as Nirvana, Alice in Chains or Pearl Jam at their best but they were a good band and unfortunately people tend to overlook them when discussing women of rock in the 90s. What are some of your opinions on them? Have any of you met Louise or Nina?

I will say that the song "Number One Blind" is one of the best songs about wanting to stay in bed.

by Anonymous

reply 22

March 13, 2020 7:20 PM

They were a good band I saw them in concert a couple of times and then they just seemed to disappear.

Frogpond was another good band from back then that disappeared.

by Anonymous

reply 1

July 2, 2014 3:56 PM

I've actually heard Nina Gordon was a bitch in real life, but I'm not sure. I know she and Louise had a dramatic falling out but they talk now.

by Anonymous

reply 3

July 2, 2014 4:00 PM

R3, not only do they talk but they're on a tour together! They were (are) a great band with many quality songs. Their first album doesn't have any bad songs on it. For some reason the music establishment looked down on them, and even now, they get lost in the shuffle. They weren't riot grrl (Hole and so on), nor were they quirky singer/songwriters (Bjork etc.).

The Foo Fighters' signature song "Everlong" was inspired by Louise.

by Anonymous

reply 4

July 2, 2014 5:29 PM

R4, now that you mention it, I like them MUCH more than the Foo Fighters. I actually read that Steve Albini hated Liz Phair, The Smashing Pumpkins, and most of the other rock artists that came out of the early 90s Chicago scene. He was dead wrong about those artists, especially veruca salt.

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by Anonymous

reply 5

July 2, 2014 5:35 PM

Sorry, reply 5 is by R3, not R4

by Anonymous

reply 6

July 2, 2014 5:36 PM

[quote] I actually read that Steve Albini hated Liz Phair,

Almost everything Albini ever touched sounded like muddled shit.

Also, in Phair's case, she said no to his dick a few years earlier and it led to that nasty bitter rant he wrote about her.

by Anonymous

reply 7

July 2, 2014 5:42 PM

Really, R7? Didn't know that about Phair and Albini. I agree that he isn't a good producer (sorry, Steve, "recorder"). His albums sound as if someone turned on a microphone in a garage and had the band play. He also wrote intentionally inflammatory music because he either couldn't write the real thing or he was too scared to be honest in his songs.

by Anonymous

reply 8

July 2, 2014 5:48 PM

R7, HAHAHAH. I'm glad she turned him down. There is so much resentment in his letter. Liz Phair's debut puts all of Steve Albini's productions for other artists--even Rid of Me--to shame. Where did you hear that she turned him down?

by Anonymous

reply 9

July 2, 2014 5:49 PM

Apparently Dave Grohl behaved less than honorably towards Louise - I.e. cheating.

by Anonymous

reply 10

July 2, 2014 5:58 PM

Nope, never heard of 'em.

by Anonymous

reply 11

July 3, 2014 4:55 AM

Sad this thread isn't getting more attention. I figured Veruca Salt would have had a legion of gay fans.

by Anonymous

reply 12

July 3, 2014 4:57 AM

I've never heard that Albini came onto Phair in a sexual sense. She did write "Glory" about him, though.

I disagree that his albums sound 'muddled' or whatever. He is an expert at recording drums. People who really know their rock really, really like his technique. I'm dying to record with him. Yes, his recordings are pretty dry. If you want lots of effects, you'd better have it mixed somewhere else.

Veruca Salt is a painfully average band. Their rock songs sound like really boring 70s cock rock; their pop songs (see: Nina Gordon's solo output) are similarly uninspired. I was in my mid-teens when "Seether" came out. I liked it at the time. My tastes have changed, I guess.

by Anonymous

reply 13

July 3, 2014 5:11 AM

I slept with the brother of one of the band members a couple of times. I feel like such a whore, I can't remember either of their names.

by Anonymous

reply 14

July 3, 2014 5:21 AM

I disagree with R13 about Veruca Salt's output. Many of their songs from their second album, produced by Metallica's famed schlock producer Bob Rock, sound like what you described. I think the bad members thought it was badass to record with him and have a big sound, but their first album had much more heart (and was much better). I've linked to a song from their first album. I think Post and Gordon were able to express a range of emotions so honestly with their voices.

Do I think the band is one of the greatest ever? Certainly not, but I think they were a step above many of their peers. They were accused of being a Breeders ripoff, but I think Veruca's music was much less oblique and, well, better, even if they didn't have Kim Deal's Pixies cred.

Was the band member male or female, R14?

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by Anonymous

reply 15

July 3, 2014 6:31 AM

R15, completely agreed, this thread deserves more attention. It like the second cd too, though. Some of it just sounds like bar music, but the ballads are terrific. Proof: "Benjamin". Also, who can resist "The Morning Sad"?

R13, Seether sounds much better live, without the high pitched vocals (look at the clip). Nina Gordon's career isn't as strong as she had hoped, no doubt. But I think she will always be remembered for the title track off her first cd "Tonight and the Rest of my life", since it was played in The Notebook and every commercial for every other romantic movie played during the 00s.

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by Anonymous

reply 16

July 3, 2014 1:31 PM

[quote] I figured Veruca Salt would have had a legion of gay fans.

I saw them once and there was a good number of "family" there. I liked them, they were certainly better than Hole and that phoney Courtney Love. This is DL, home of countless threads devoted to Janet Jackson, Madonna and Liza. Veruca Salt just is not on the DL radar.

by Anonymous

reply 17

July 3, 2014 2:04 PM

R17, so true, since this thread didn't mention Lady Gaga's penis/vagina and how she rips off Madonna, this thread won't see too many people commenting.

Btw, how was Hole live, did they suck?

by Anonymous

reply 18

July 3, 2014 2:10 PM

R15, I'm a Deal fan, not a Pixies fan, couldn't care less about them. True, she has a career because she was in that band, and I imagine being in the Pixies shaped her sensibilities as a writer/arranger. However, I think she's far better than Charles Thompson/Black Francis. She's a true musical auteur, and Veruca Salt don't even deserve to be mentioned in the same sentence.

But since you cast your vote, I might as well ask why you think VS is a better band.

by Anonymous

reply 21

July 4, 2014 6:34 AM

Veruca Salt were an okay band, though many of their contemporaries were better (or at least more interesting). Hole was a much better band IMO. Fun fact: Louise Post of Veruca Salt was in a short-lived band called Bastard with Courtney Love in the early 2000s.

by Anonymous

reply 22

March 13, 2020 7:20 PM