by: Eliza Wing
Natalie Merchant, the twenty-one-year-old lead singer and songwriter of 10,000 Manaics, says her lyrics are like Dr. Seuss - there's something in them for people of all ages. So a song about the arms race, Back O'the Moon, also tells the story of a little girl named Jenny who lives across the street and won't play with Natalie.
Formed in 1981, the band released a critically acclaimed LP, Secrets of the I Ching, two years later, then toured up and down the East Coast. Finding that their sometimes eerie, sometimes gentle but always catchy pop music was better received in England, they headed to London for several gigs. One month later, in the fall of 1984, Elektra signed them. The result is The Wishing Chair, produced by Joe Boyd (Richard Thompson, R.E.M.). The band hopes its subtle message music will reach a broad audience. Natalie explains: "We'd like the youth of America to like us. We don't know if they will. We don't know if it's over their heads or not - and I'm afraid of that sometimes."