Song of the Week: Belly - "Feed the Tree"

Rating: 8.3/10

I've been on a bit of a '90's binge lately, and the trend continues with the song of the week, Belly's 1993 single "Feed the Tree." The standout track from what is generally recognized as their best album, Star, "Feed the Tree" was the band's highest-charting song, climbing all the way to #1 on Billboard's modern rock chart. Some may consider Belly a one-hit wonder, and there's some truth to that. This is the Boston-based group's only well-known song, and none of their other videos received heavy rotation on MTV. But in truth, Star is jam-packed with great guitar-driven tracks like "Gepetto" and "Angel," and the band probably deserved more attention than they received.

Still, "Feed the Tree" is clearly cream of the crop. Former Breeders/Throwing Muses member Tanya Donelly delivers an excellent, sincere vocal performance as brothers Chris and Thomas Gorman set the tone in the background. Surreal, cheery lyrics ("this little squirrel I used to be slammed her bike down the stairs") only play into the sunny, feel-good attitude of the song. Perhaps there's more to the lyrics, as Donelly has mentioned in the past it has to do with respect, making lines such as :take your hat off, boy, when you're talking to me" a little more understandable. The song relies heavily on it's guitar work when Donelly isn't singing, and that's perfectly fine. "Feed the Tree" is a song that shouldn't be over thought, just enjoyed for what it is. Listen below.