Pillars of Art Pop Martha and the Muffins Reimagine Buffalo Springfield’s “For What It’s Worth” in Response to the Gun Violence Epidemic

Described by UK critics as “one of the most innovative of their era”, Martha and the Muffins emerged from 1977 Toronto’s early punk/new wave/art pop scene in various clubs along Queen Street West and the Ontario College of Art, where several members of the band attended. The first Canadian band to sign to a UK label, Martha and the Muffins recorded their first album, Metro Music, at The Manor Studio near Oxford, England. After 1980’s “Echo Beach” became a Top 10 single around the world and earned them a JUNO for Single of the Year, Martha and the Muffins toured extensively in Britain, Europe, and North America including dates with Roxy Music. Since then, the band has released eight studio albums, three of which were co-produced with Daniel Lanois (U2, Bob Dylan, Peter Gabriel). 

More recently, founding members Martha Johnson and Mark Gane (inducted into the Canadian Songwriter HOF) went through their extensive archives to select 12 rare singles, B-sides, and unreleased tracks. For the band’s global audience as well as the uninitiated, Marthology: In And Outtakes offers a behind-the-scenes glimpse of the original and diverse avenues of Martha and Mark’s songwriting which has defined them as a groundbreaking band.

When speaking on the inspiration to do a rendition of Buffalo Springfield’s “For What It’s Worth”, Martha and Mark had this to share:

Not only is Buffalo Springfield’s 1966 classic “For What It’s Worth” timeless in its own right, but Stephen Stills’ poignant lyrics are more relevant than ever. Over the ensuing decades, his words have lent themselves brilliantly to constant reinterpretation depending on who the artist is covering the song, their own sensibilities and the times in which they find themselves. Gun violence is an ongoing societal blight, a perverse virus perpetuated by hypocrites mouthing their meaningless recitations of ‘thoughts and prayers’. With this in mind, our interpretation is slower, darker and considers the possibility that events that were once rare and unacceptable are now met with a shrug of indifference.