Leap Year Treat: Mrs. Miller Does Her Thing

 

Seeing how this day only comes once every four years, I knew I had to come up with a worthy blog post, but I never expected it to be about this. Sometimes even I surprise myself; after six years of on and off searching for the entire album, I found it! While I've been a fan of Mrs. Miller for many years, and I have a few of her albums, Mrs. Miller Does Her Thing has been my elusive white whale.

Just who is Mrs. Miller? you might be asking yourself. This is what Wikipedia has to say about her. I stumbled upon her thanks to the Ultra Lounge series back in 2003 and instantly fell in love. I must warn you, Mrs. Miller isn't for everyone, and I strongly suggest you take her in doses. Even I can't get through more than a few songs at a time.

Perhaps the best quote I've ever read about her comes from Mark Everett, aka E from the Eels:

"Most people have one of two reactions when they first hear Mrs. Miller: laugh, or leave the room. But I really love her and respect her as an artist. You can hear her good heart and joy of performing shine through the snickers from the producers in the control room that masterminded the cruel joke of making this sweet lady sing modern pop hits for their novelty amusement. As someone once said: 'People can say Mrs. Miller couldn’t sing, but they can’t say she didn’t sing.'"

If you're an Eels fan, I'm sure you've heard Mrs. Miller; she is usually blasted during the intermission between the opening band and when the Eels take the stage. E went to such great lengths as to co-write a musical about Mrs. Miller. A great article on it can be found here. To this day, I still kick myself for not finding a way to make it to one of the shows, even if it was only a two week run. I hope that one day a DVD of this will surface...

Another great quote comes from the linear notes of this album, found on the incredible website Mrs. Miller's World:

Mrs. Miller is an experience that should happen to everyone once. We don't mean just seeing or hearing Mrs. Miller. We mean being a Mrs. Miller, and having that elusive, magic chance we all dream about. The chance to do your own thing, whatever it may be. Mrs. Miller's thing is singing. Singing her heart out. And it's all she's ever wanted to do.

I'm still trying to work that into my website redesign. Someday, I'm going to be the Mrs. Miller of concert photography!

It is my duty, nay, privilege, dear readers, to share with you the entire album.

Mrs. Miller Does Her Thing 

I believe Mrs. Miller would say I am the woMan!