Synopsis

Throwing Muses turn "Counting Backwards" into a playful, surreal numbers game. Rather than following a conventional narrative, the video places the band inside a series of visual situations built around counting, countdowns, and numerical imagery. The performance footage is mixed with comic and oddly disjointed images, giving the clip the same unsettled energy as the song. Its deliberately strange structure favors association and rhythm over a clear storyline, making the video feel like a fast-moving collage of numbers and pop absurdity.

Factoids & Trivia

• "Counting Backwards" was released in 1991 as the first single from *The Real Ramona*, the final Throwing Muses album to feature Tanya Donelly.

• A contemporary Billboard item described the clip as playing with numbers and using images associated with counting backward. The video was produced for Cascando Studios.

• The production generated a substantial paper trail. The New York Public Library's Michael Shamberg collection preserves contracts, correspondence, cost summaries, expense reports, notes, and purchase orders relating to the video.

• The song itself was inspired by a hypnotism technique, giving the video's fixation on counting a psychological dimension beyond the title's obvious countdown joke.

• The single became the band's biggest radio success at the time, reaching No. 11 on the Billboard alternative and college radio chart.

• The song later appeared in the soundtrack of the 2012 film *The Perks of Being a Wallflower*, helping introduce it to a new audience.