Like the Weather

The first charting single for 10,000 Maniacs (#68 US), "Like the Weather" was written by lead singer Natalie Merchant, and is simply about being in a foul mood on a day when the weather is horrible and she can't find a good reason to get out of bed.

The dark lyric stands in opposition to the buoyant music on this track: while Merchant is delivering lines like "A quiver in my voice as I cry, 'What a cold and a rainy day,'" the band is playing a chipper tune. "We liked to play toe-tapping music," bass player Steven Gustafson said in his Songfacts interview. "Stuff you could dance to with a big beat. Her view of the world was sometimes in stark contrast to that joy we got from playing. It made us unique."

The video was directed by Adrian Edmondson, who is best known for his work as an actor: he starred in the British shows The Young Ones and Bottom. Edmondson is also a comedian, and his sardonic wit is at play in this clip, which finds Merchant in a beatific state amid a colorful, breezy set as she sings the rather morose lyrics.