#Christa Hillhouse

[astralbondpro]

4 Non Blondes // What's Up

[weaversweek]

18 "What's up?" - 4 Non Blondes

writer Linda Perry

"Linda's one of life's drivers; a strong, confident person, she opens her mouth and her gut. Linda won't take no for an answer. She stirs up feelings in a person - a rare gift."

Part of the UncoolTwo50 project, marking the best singles from 1977-99.

The lineup is Linda Perry (singer, the one with goggles) with Roger Rocha (guitar, token bloke), Christa Hillhouse (bass, sometimes wore a cap to hide braids), Dawn Richardson (drummer, long dark hair). Formed in 1989, the group broke through to the mainstream in 1993.

Christa Hillhouse chased down Linda Perry, who was doing acoustic covers in San Francisco bars. It quickly emerged that Linda Perry would be the group's driving force, writing songs including "Spaceman" and "What's up?", and the rest of the album. By the time of their commercial breakthrough, Linda had stopped doing acid: falling off a third-floor balcony gave her enough of a scare.

Speaking to Vox magazine, Hillhouse dismissed claims that the group was manufactured.

"Given the choice I'd rather play a crowded club where you can touch the audience and the energy blows the roof off, than an arena. Of course we'd rather headline. We don't limit ourselves to that 'What's Up' style either. Dawn and me, we get to wank a little on stage. Show off a bit. Now we also know the difference between a club and an arena but we won't set off fireworks just because we're playing with Aerosmith."

"What's up?" was about Linda's then-girlfriend Laura MacAllister, and "the frustrations of being a woman and not feeling like you're being heard or appreciated." It is a simple song, unpretentious, straight to the heart. It comes from the era of grunge, and there's some grunge-lite part of the group's aesthetic, but it isn't grunge. It's not a trendy song, it doesn't try to be fashionable. Nor does it tie itself to a time; if someone had said "What's up?" was a cover of an obscure Joni Mitchell track from 1973, we would not have been a surprise.

Some see that as a problem: lots of music journalists like to concentrate on the zeitgeist, the ups and downs of fashion; last year's heroes are this year's villains and next year's nostalgia. 4 Non Blondes appealed to a diverse crowd: kids who thought Linda Perry looked cool, college students who wanted to be in (or with, or as good as) the band, older listeners who found Morgan Lawley's video sparked some nostalgia.

Over the years, "What's up?" has gathered a reputation as one of the worst records ever, some sort of crime against music. This reputation is wholly undeserved. Dean Ween is typical of the haters, and let's pick apart his problems:

This is the most obnoxious fucking hollering I've ever heard in my life. I could envision the horrible, horrible female that was singing it [..] Then I saw the video for it, and the people that I imagined would be so loathsome as to make such a piece of shit of a song looked identical to what I imagined them to be in my mind.

In one paragraph, Dean Ween reveals that he cannot appreciate a great alto belt when he hears it. Dean Ween reveals himself to be judgemental, misogynist, and doesn't even bother to disguise his homophobia. He perpetuates the myth that the male gaze is the only judgement that matters, completely forgetting that 4 Non Blondes a) make their music and make it bloody well, and b) were 25% bloke.

Strikes me that Dean Ween's criticism, and that of so many people who echo his points, is rooted in a deep-seated hatred of the human spirit. Indeed, I haven't found any critique that doesn't stem from "critic doesn't like it" or "critic is homophobic and/or sexist (probably and)".

Fie on them. "What's up?" is an honest song, written from experience. Perhaps critics like Dean Ween have never been ignored; maybe they should. Perhaps critics like Dean Ween have never hung out with lesbians; maybe they should. Perhaps critics like Dean Ween have never made music as good; maybe they should try.

Linda's vocal control is superb: she knows when to be quiet, when to shout out, and excellent production means she always sounds great. (Shame that shitty radio stations over-compress the vocal, but that is because shitty radio stations gotta shit.)

"What's up?" did become an albatross around Linda Perry's neck. Interscope Records wanted another similar hit, Linda knew it was lightning in a bottle; first she split the group, then made the solo confessional album In Flight, full of odes to drug use and queer love. This century, she's become a top-drawer songwriter, writing "Get the party started", "Beautiful", "What you waiting for", and discovering the army singer James Blount. Ah well, nobody's perfect.

[best-overplayed-song]

fun facts

4 Non Blondes bassist Christa Hillhouse said she was having sex when she heard Linda Perry working on "What's Up?" down the hall. she abruptly stopped and ran into her room to ask her what she was playing because she liked it so much

the band chose to name the song "What's Up?" to avoid confusion with Marvin Gaye's song "What's Going On"

Delores O'Riordan said she wrote "Dreams" about her first time falling in love

[radiomaxmusic]

Monday, April 15, 2024: 1pm ET: Feature LP: 4 Non Blondes - Bigger, Better, Faster, More! (1992)

Bigger, Better, Faster, More! is the only studio album by American rock band 4 Non Blondes, released on October 13, 1992. The first single was “Dear Mr. President”, which bass player Christa Hillhouse told Songfacts “was about the hierarchy of power and government.” The second single, “What’s Up?”, reached No. 1 in several countries and went gold in the United States, while the album itself went…

[completeandrandommusic]

What's Up?

[the-greatgig-inthesky]

4 Non Blondes - Drifting

[felipe2020me]

4 non blondes

4 Non Blondes was an American alternative rock band formed in 1989. The group consisted of bassist Christa Hillhouse, guitarist Shaunna Hall, drummer Wanda Day, and vocalist and guitarist Linda Perry. The band is mainly known for their single "What's Up?" released in 1993.

In 1995, 4 Non Blondes participated with the song "Misty Mountain Hop" in the Encomium work, album tribute to Led Zeppelin.

Their leader and singer Linda Perry has worked solo since the band disbanded in 1995, producing songs on albums by Christina Aguilera, Celine Dion and Pink.

On May 11, 2014, the group gathered for a small concert during a fundraising event titled "An Evening For Women," which took place at the Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles. I don't know

[classicrockblog1]

Linda Perry (born April 15, 1965)[1] is an American Grammy nominated #rocksinger - #songwriter, and record #producer. She first became known as the #lead #singer and primary #songwriter of 4 Non Blondes, and has since founded two record labels, composed and produced hit songs for several other artists. They include: Christina Aguilera — who had a worldwide hit with Perry’s “Beautiful”; Gwen Stefani — who had a worldwide hit with Perry’s “What You Waiting For?” from her album Love. Angel. Music. Baby; Adam Lambert— “A Loaded Smile”;[2] andGrace Slick — “Knock Me Out”. Perry has also contributed heavily to albums by Courtney Love and Kelly Osbourne as well as signing and distributing James Blunt[3] in the United States.

In June 2015, Perry was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame.

After some time spent paying her dues as a solo singer at Bay Area (San Francisco) clubs and coffeehouses, Perry composed her first professional song, called “Down On Your Face”, and was recruited into the band 4 Non Blondes by its founder Christa Hillhouse in the middle of 1989. After several years of playing locally and negotiating with various record companies, the band finally signed with Interscope Records and released its debut album, Bigger, Better, Faster, More! on October 9, 1992. The album, featuring Perry as lead singer and dominated by her compositions, was an immediate success and spawned a hit single, the Perry-penned “What’s Up?” (often erroneously called “What’s Going On?” after its prominent chorus lyric).

In February 1994, Perry had a solo appearance in Roger Daltrey’s production, album and video A Celebration: The Music of Pete Townshend and The Who. She shared the stage with theJuilliard Orchestra and members of The Who as she sang “Doctor Jimmy”, “Acid Queen”, “I’m Free” (in a duet with Roger Daltrey) and the encore for “Join Together” with original The Who members John Entwistle and Pete Townshend. In 1994, a CD and a VHS video of the shows were issued with the songs “Doctor Jimmy” and “I’m Free”, while in 1998 a DVD was released with the song “I’m Free” only.

In June 1994, 4 Non Blondes guitarist Roger Rocha was replaced by Concrete Blonde member Jim Mankey, who had just played for Van Halen’s cover “I’m the One” recorded as the theme from the movie Airheads. During sessions at Interscope studios in Los Angeles, the band struggled to come up with a followup to Bigger, and Perry left the band during the attempt to pursue a solo career. The band recorded one last video, for a cover of Led Zeppelin’s “Misty Mountain Hop” with Dave Navarro on guitar.

[hpdigitalo]

Ich habe das Video interessant gefunden. Schaue es dir auf YouTube an: What's Up? https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B6GdsRIbTSk Provided to YouTube by Universal Music Group What's Up? · 4 Non Blondes Bigger, Better, Faster, More ! ℗ An Interscope Records release; ℗ 1992 UMG Recordings, Inc. Released on: 1992-01-01 Producer, Studio Personnel, Mixer: David Tickle Studio Personnel, Engineer: Mark Hensley Associated Performer, Guitar: Shaunna Hall Associated Performer, Bass Guitar, Vocals: Christa Hillhouse Associated Performer, Vocals, Guitar: Linda Perry Composer Lyricist: Linda Perry Auto-generated by YouTube.

[aud2bme]

Listen to 'What's Up by 4Non Blondes

Listen to ‘What’s Up by 4Non Blondes

4 Non Blondes was an American rock band from San Francisco, California, formed in 1989. The group was formed by bassist Christa Hillhouse, guitarist Shaunna Hall, drummer Wanda Day, and vocalist and guitarist Linda Perry. Wikipedia Genre: Alternative rock Origin: San Francisco, California, United States(1989) Albums: Bigger, Better, Faster, More!, Music from the Motion…

[teddykaczynski]

i want you

[best-overplayed-song]

fun facts

when asked what "Killer Queen" is about, Freddie Mercury said: “It’s about a high class call girl. I’m trying to say that classy people can be whores as well. That’s what the song is about, though I’d prefer people to put their interpretation upon it – to read into it what they like"

4 Non Blondes bassist Christa Hillhouse said she was having sex when she heard Linda Perry working on "What's Up?" down the hall. she abruptly stopped and ran into her room to ask her what she was playing because she liked it so much

the band chose to name the song "What's Up?" to avoid confusion with Marvin Gaye's song "What's Going On"

[carolynmappleton]

SXSW 2014 and South By South First

Enjoyed having my sister, Katharine Cole in town for SXSW Music (#sxsw14) and South By South First at El Mercado.

At top right is an Instagram of Katharine (right) and Christa Hillhouse of 4 Non Blondes fame at Freddie's Place. We visited over breakfast - great fun!

[akkamusic-blog]

"And I see what I see a new world is over me And I'll reach up to the sky And imagine I'm a spaceman In another place and time..."

[allmuuuuusic]

4 non Blondes - What's up?

Album: Bigger, Better, Faster, More! (1992)

[alt-girl]

What's Up 4 Non Blondes