MARIANNE PILLSBURY: The Wrong Marianne LP

Marianne Pillsbury

The Wrong Marianne LP

© 2004 Marianne Pillsbury (616892567721)

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Smart, cynical, punky alterna-pop-rock: Liz Phair and Juliana Hatfield take The PIxies on a raucous road trip and pick up hitchhiking members of Luscious Jackson and The Go-Go's along the way.

notes

What if Liz Phair had written lyrics for The Go-Go's? What if Juliana Hatfield had joined The Pixies? What if Courtney Love and The Beach Boys had a "sassy surf rock love child"? Buy The Wrong Marianne LP and find out!

**Top 12 DIY Pick in PERFORMING SONGWRITER MAGAZINE November 2004*

**Best Alt/Rock Song in THE GREAT AMERICAN SONG CONTEST 2004 for "Boo Hoo"**

**"Boo Hoo" selected for inclusion on ROCKRGRL Magazine's Discoveries 2005 compilation CD**

Jon Pareles of THE NEW YORK TIMES says:
"On her debut album, 'The Wrong Marianne,' Marianne Pillsbury is as frank as Liz Phair and as tuneful and upbeat as the Go-Go's, dissecting romantic disasters and then bouncing back with lighthearted choruses. She's as tough as she is irrepressible."

BEHIND THE MUSIC:
Marianne Pillsbury was formed in the 1970s in Portland, Maine. After a near-fatal brush with musical theater, Marianne attended Brown University where she showed her first signs of rock & roll rebellion by writing her senior honors thesis, "Pop Icon Prince's Dual Obsession with Sexual Ecstasy & Religious Salvation: A Textual & Cultural Analysis." She then moved to New York City where she worked as an advertising copywriter for several years, perfecting her barbed lyric persona and learning to play guitar in her spare time.

Then one day she decided her life would be 33% new & improved if she moved to San Francisco. There she successfully parlayed her talent for concocting clever advertising concepts into crafting contagiously catchy pop songs. She also met her Fairy Godproducer, Bonnie Hayes, who rescued her from the evil clutches of Corporate America and convinced her to record some of her songs, 5 of which were unleashed on the world via The Wrong Marianne EP. The song "Supersize" from the EP received Honorable Mention in the 2001 John Lennon Songwriting Contest.

Released in early 2004, Marianne Pillsbury's debut album The Wrong Marianne has received enthusiastic reviews from The New York Times, Time Out New York, The Boston Herald and The San Francisco Chronicle and elicited comparisons to the best work of Liz Phair, Juliana Hatfield and Jill Sobule. These days Marianne can be found back in NYC rocking out at venues like Mercury Lounge, Pianos, Luna Lounge and Arlene's Grocery with her pop-punk band, The Marianne Pillsburys.

reviews

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  • Ooooh, shiny!
    author: Scott David Gray

    Taken individually, every song on this CD is filled with energy and drives ones interest. Taken as a whole, the album is well put together -- the songs leading well into one another, without rehashing. It's hard to bring myself to give 5 stars to something I review. But if I give 4, then it looks like I'm saying 'just a bit better than average.' So, five it is. The band is solid.And Maryanne's vocals are strong. Supersize: The album starts out in that lovely realm between edgy and cute. The chorus is amusing -- but I go back and forth on whether or not it is just a little *too* goofy for the song. Layaway Girlfriend: Not the catchiest tume on the album, but the chorus is memorable. Unintentional: This song sounds like something from Julianna Hatfield. Of the songs on the album, it's the one with the softest edge. Which, I guess, says something about the album -- the song isn't particularly soft. Boo Hoo: You've probably heard this song. If you haven't, you need to get out more. Strangely, this song seems to have a little less replay value than most of the other songs on the album -- but it is the one which is most recognizably 'awesome' on a first listen. Sweet and Sour World: It has a driving beat, and catchy tune. I'd like to hear this one done live. (It doesn't sound like they'll be in Boston for a bit, so I may just have to drive to NYC.) Swallow a Fly: This song is the most fun one on the album. I like the way that Marianne sings this. I'll let you fill in the rest.

  • left me discombobulated!
    author: max pillsbury

    I love all the songs on this cd. fantabulus

  • Awesome
    author: Tara Jay

    The CD is awesome as I knew it would be after listing to the songs on Yahoo Launchcast and this website. The style of music IS different than any I have heard and I have a unique taste of rap and rock, but this CD would have 2 be one of the best!

  • KICK ASS!!!!!!!!!!!!
    author: Tena Robison

    I just got this cd today I ordered it. I had to wait two weeks to buy it cause I had to wait until I got paid so everyday I came to this site and juts listened to the clips until i got it. I LOVE IT!!!!

  • Just your average everyday masterpiece
    author: Mike

    New songs expand Marianne's EP to full length album. Marianne's waggish take on (her) relationships, and ingenious production by Bonnie Hayes make for a must-have CD. The Wrong Marianne's brings to mind all many great 80's bands I loved, Waitresses, Voice of Beehive, Romeo Void, etc. No it's not a retro album, The Wrong Marianne is a 21st century offspring of the great female-fronted bands. If you're not hooked on the album by the first 15 seconds of the opening track than, well, I don't know but I think you will be.

  • Fantastic!!
    author: Collected Sounds

    The music is fun, punky pop/rock and Pillsbury's lyrics are intelligent and witty. The instrumentation is well arranged and well performed and matches the whimsical nature of the lyrics very well. I could weigh in with my opinions of why each song is great, but I'll leave that up to you. Go ahead and buy it, you won't regret it. "The Wrong Marianne" sounds like a summer CD to me. One that will be cranked in our backyard in a sharing gesture to the neighborhood this summer.

  • as frank as Liz Phair and as tuneful and upbeat as the Go-Go's
    author: Jon Pareles, The New York Times

    "On her debut album, 'The Wrong Marianne,' Marianne Pillsbury is as frank as Liz Phair and as tuneful and upbeat as the Go-Go's, dissecting romantic disasters and then bouncing back with lighthearted choruses. She's as tough as she is irrepressible."

  • author: Time Out New York

    "Marianne Pillsbury started writing songs while recovering from a bad advertising job, and she's used her commercial gifts to craft pop songs out of even the most banal subjects."

  • Fun, punky pop-rock
    author: Collected Sounds: A Guide to Women in Music

    "The music is fun, punky pop/rock and Pillsbury's lyrics are intelligent and witty...The Wrong Marianne sounds like a summer CD to me. One that will be cranked in our backyard in a few months while we barbeque and have drinks."

  • "...not bad"
    author: Chuck Eddy, The Village Voice

    This Maine-born local sweet-and-sour non-wallflower (and not your layaway girlfriend, she says) singer-songster’s new CD (produced by ’80s Frisco new waver Bonnie Hayes) ranges from post-mid-’80s Chrissie Hynde to...exile-in-guyville indie nostalgia...

  • Infectious pop-rock ditties
    author: MaineToday.com

    Pillsbury's tongue-in-cheek approach to lyrics and her hook-laden melodies make this a delight.

  • Vintage Liz Phair
    author: Time Out New York

    Marianne Pillsbury is a local singer-songwriter with a smooth voice that recalls vintage (i.e., the good side of) Liz Phair.

  • author: Northeast Performer Magazine

    ...maybe that brash, humorous style that brought [Liz] Phair to the limelight will propel Marianne Pillsbury as well...pop ditties, with crunchy guitars and synthesizers, and hooks that will set you to shouting along before you have time to stop and realize what you're saying. It's like the Bangles if Susanna Hoffs was singing the words you were thinking while you watched her coyly preen on the TV screen.

  • Officially smitten with Marianne Pillsbury
    author: Agouti Music

    I would like to tell the world that I am officially smitten with Marianne Pillsbury. She is equal parts adorable and intelligent, pragmatic and clever...Pillsbury really hits the mark with "Unintentional." This is one of my favorite songs by anybody at any time ever...good singing and amazing sardonic lyrics...more people need to express themselves the way Marianne does lyrically.

  • A tough and triumphant rock sound...
    author: Womanrock.com

    A tough and triumphant rock sound comes from Marianne Pillsbury on The Wrong Marianne. Full of vigor and energy, the songs are pure fun even when Marianne defiantly proclaims, "I'm not your layaway girlfriend."

  • author: Some horny fan

    Matthew Sweet going down on Liz Phair in a late night laundromat.

  • author: Marianne's friend's boyfriend's cousin

    Sheryl Crow channeling Kurt Cobain channeling Debbie Harry.

  • author: Drunken audience member

    The bastard stepdaughter of a drunken orgy with The Rolling Stones and The Go-Go's.

  • very nice
    author: Mom

    The songs are very nice. I just wish she would smile more.

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