by: Karla Peterson
10,000 Maniacs makes pretty music about ugly things, and lead singer and lyricist Natalie Merchant thinks the combination works beautifully.
On songs such as What's the Matter Here (from the 1987 album In My Tribe) and Please Forgive Us (from the new LP Blind Man's Zoo), Merchant sings about child abuse and the Iran-Contra scandal in a pure, melting voice that makes these current events sound as soothing as poetry.
"It is a bit of an ambush," said Merchant, who appears with the Jamestown, N.Y., band tomorrow at San Diego State University's Open Air Theatre. "We call it the Trojan Horse theory. People think What's the Matter Here? is a lovely ballad, and before they realize it, they're singing along with a song that's about a poor boy being abused by his parents. I have to guess that after awhile, people do know what they're singing about."
When they listen to Blind Man's Zoo, fans will be tapping their toes to the beat of news on the march. In Poison in the Well, Merchant sings about "a small spill" in a water supply ("Someone's been a bit untidy, they'll have it cleaned up in a week"), while The Big Parade examines the sad shadow cast by the Vietnam War Memorial and the mournful Dust Bowl is narrated by a poor mother who dreams of escaping poverty by winning the lottery.
"I've become much more aware of the news over the last year," Merchant said during a phone interview from Vancouver, Brithsh Columbia, one of the many stops on the group's current tour. "I grew up in a house where no one watched the news on television and no one read the paper. I've been discovering these things as I get older, and the news has affected me more than it ever has before.
"Also, when the last tour ended, I got very ill and I spent two months in bed," the 25-year-old singer continued. "Maybe that contributes to the feeling of hopelessness on the new record, because it seems to be about victims more than anything else. I don't plan themes ... it all comes out unconsciously."
With Blind Man's Zoo in Billboard magazine's Top 20, the band is bringing its enchanting folk-rock and haunting stories to a bigger audience than ever, and Merchant hopes the music will make the message easier to hear.
"I guess primarily I want our music to affect people's emotions and thoughts, because that's what music does for me," Merchant said. "Music is one of the few things that can change my mood, it is that powerful. Maybe we can't change anyone's mind, but a song might enhance and support a feeling someone already has ... As long as people are affected, I won't dictate what happens."