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10000 Maniacs
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10000 Maniacs

10,000 Maniacs formed in the early 1980s when a group of students from the State University of New York at Buffalo started playing together. They originally...

album129 lyric pages photo_library2 photos groups16 listeners here now Editor's note live
person Curated by Ethan Walker LyroVerse team
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Among The Americans Video on page · 4 visits arrow_forward Arbor Day Video on page · 3 visits arrow_forward Bread & Circuses Video on page · 3 visits arrow_forward What's The Matter Here Video on page · 3 visits arrow_forward 'Til I Say So Video on page · 2 visits arrow_forward A Campfire Song Video on page · 2 visits arrow_forward
Editor's note

10,000 Maniacs, the thoughtful folk-rock band from Buffalo.

A college-town band that found its voice with Natalie Merchant's distinctive vocals and literate lyrics.

If you're new to them, start with 'More Than This' from 'In My Tribe.' It's the one that still gets played on the radio sometimes, and it holds up.

They wrote songs that felt like short stories set to music, often with a quiet urgency. 'What's The Matter Here' from their 1989 album 'In My Tribe' is a good example, it's a folk-rock tune that asks hard questions without easy answers. That album, and Merchant's voice, gave a lot of people a soundtrack for thinking things through.

They started as students in Buffalo, calling themselves Still Life before becoming 10,000 Maniacs in 1982. Their second album, 'In My Tribe,' brought wider attention in 1989, and they kept recording through the '90s even after Merchant left in 1993. The original lineup got back together for a tour in 2013.

edit_note Ethan Walker · LyroVerse team · Apr 20
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LyroVerse editor's notes are short interpretation guides, not final verdicts. If something needs a correction, visit About or Contact.

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10,000 Maniacs formed in the early 1980s when a group of students from the State University of New York at Buffalo started playing together. They originally called themselves Still Life before changing their name to 10,000 Maniacs in 1982. The band included vocalist Natalie Merchant, guitarist Robert Buck, bassist Steven Gustafson, drummer Jerome Augustyniak, and keyboardist Dennis Drew.

Their self-titled debut album came out in 1987, but it was their second album, 'In My Tribe' from 1989, that brought them wider attention. That album included 'More Than This,' a song that became particularly well-known for its plaintive lyrics and Merchant's distinctive vocals. Other songs like 'These Are Days' and 'Hey Jack Kerouac' also found an audience during this period.

Merchant left the band in 1993 to pursue solo work, but 10,000 Maniacs continued recording and releasing albums through the 1990s, including 'Our Time in Eden' in 1992 and 'Candy Everybody Wants' in 1996. The original lineup reunited for a tour in 2013.

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Where should I start with 10000 Maniacs on LyroVerse?

The Start here section opens with Among The Americans, Arbor Day, and Bread & Circuses so you can move through the artist's stronger lyric pages first.

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LyroVerse currently has 129 visible lyric pages for 10000 Maniacs.

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Yes. There are 2 photos available, and the preview gallery on this page links to the full photos section.

Does LyroVerse have an editor's note for 10000 Maniacs?

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