EC1: The Faint ”Danse Macabre” & Nurses ”Dracula” w/ Ced

Purchase album picks on Bandcamp: https://thefaint.bandcamp.com/album/danse-macabre-deluxe-edition-remastered 

https://nurses.bandcamp.com/album/dracula 

 

Nurses’ 2017 follow-up is on Bandcamp on a “name your price” basis and should be owned by everyone w/ the faintest interest in experimental, electronic pop music or edgy music in general:  https://nurses.bandcamp.com/album/naughtland    .  The music video for the “single” from the album, “Fortress”, is excellent, involving a Portland queer art collective:  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bq2zcdjA7Ps 

 

Structure:  Ced’s thoughts on “Danse Macabre” (up to 2:36); Songs versus albums, owning versus streaming (2:36-4:10); Ced’s consideration of song themes & genre on “Danse Macabre” and an explanation of the appeal of the controversial “Agenda Suicide” & his legal background/rejection of capitalism (4:10-8:37); Does dance music age well?  Ced’s nostalgia & general taste in music (8:37-10:30); The possibility of dying before 40 & how “successful” are The Faint as a band? Oberlin memories & Beach House connection.  Ced the indie rock partisan was there before the bands hit the big time.  Recommending music to friends & loved ones.  Selling out as a hipster concern  (10:30-19:14).  Black and dark but not goth.  Electronic dance punk as a style of music w/ consideration of imitators & “derivative” sounds.  Cel’s current musical interests & uses for music, his appreciation of Spotify, and his intensity.  (19:14-24:40)  Side projects of The Faint & Wolf Parade, thoughts on the discography (or at least other favorite songs).  Leaving it to Spotify & what makes a good or bad song, thoughts on very popular music.  Artist compensation on streaming services  (24:40-33:50).  The deluxe version’s additional tracks.  Spotify playlists as an existential threat to the album.  Relative concerns of artist compensation versus existential threats to humanity, democracy, etc. (33:51-37:35).  RIYL The Faint (37:35-40:56).  Ratings for “Danse Macabre” (40:56-41:42).  Transition between album picks & Cel’s initial thoughts on “Dracula” (41:42-45:02).  The importance of a good live show and whether we’d ever go to a concert “blind” today (45:02-48:04).  Basic specs for “Dracula” & hypotheses for the ongoing obscurity of Nurses.  Music Ced doesn’t like and reasons to remember names of musicians/bands (48:04-52:53).  “Best-of” lists on Pitchfork & elsewhere, favorites from the 2010s (52:53-58:45).  Ced is a fan of Dracula.  Reviews of the album. DJ Poseur heaps praise on “Dracula”, albums where songs connect to each other (1:03 ish).   Nurses discography, Spotify’s algorithm & the lure of the obscure for DJ Poseur, putting the kibosh on Kanye conversation.  RIYLs (1:04:01-1:09:05).  Ratings for “Dracula” (1:09:05 to end).

 

RIYL The Faint - Supersystem, Mobius Band, The Fever, The Faux, Out Hud/!!!, The Rapture, The Show Is the Rainbow (also NE)

 

1.3-hr. mix of 20 songs for fans of The Faint:  https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLCBeakfAKFQa3K0yjwO9ZlvZgxSgLsjW5 

 

Nurses is RIYL - We Ragazzi; Dios (Malos); Shimmering Stars; Animal Collective; Fredrik

 

I mention that “Dracula” is #2 on my list of favorite albums of the 2010s, in full here:  http://www.omnifoo.info/pages/Favorite%20Superlatives.html#2010s 

 

The vampire rock band movie from Canada (starring Alice Cooper, Iggy Pop, and many more) “Suck” https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1323605/?ref_=nv_sr_srsg_5