"Yup, It's Spooky Time" Spotify Playlist
Added 2023-10-02 14:33:51 +0000 UTCHappy October to all!
I added all of my spooky songs to a Spotify Playlist and will continue adding the new ones every week in October.
October Project '23 is in full swing with 'Living Dead In Washington D.C.' being unleashed upon the world. I'll be honest - between Dianne Feinstein dying, the ethical debate surrounding AI generated images, and it being perceived by some as ageist toward elderly people in general - the winds are pretty fully out of my sails on this one. I think I just need some time away as I've been obsessing and tweaking almost daily for weeks at this point. Despite all of that, I really can't give Rachel enough public gratitude her help crafting something so disturbingly unique. And I'm incredibly stoked for what's coming next!
Feliz!
Nick
Comments
To be honest I was happy you used less AI in the final version because it's something that's so murky ethically to me, so I'm in the minority in that (while I appreciate Rachel's work) that element didn't click with me. But I do think anyone calling the song ageist is reacting emotionally and ignoring what you're actually saying and who you're saying it about. I think it's unfortunate you've had people push their own personal baggage onto you for this one. I really, really liked the song. It's really interesting to me that it's not subtextual the way most of your other stuff is (especially Swords), it's much more direct and heart-on-your-sleeve in both expressing empathy and expressing rage and contempt. In going through your interviews and stuff for the video essay I've been working on I think at some point you mentioned being in a red state and the correlation between that and feeling the need to keep certain ideas and criticisms more subtextual? Which I related to as someone from Georgia. But if this represents a move towards a more direct voice, I think that's awesome too, and I hope people almost willfully misinterpreting your song that is about abuse of power as saying old people are disposable or whatever don't discourage you from pursuing it! I was always pretty hesitant to be overtly political in my own work before 2016 but then getting into stuff like Chapo Trap House and Hbomberguy's work (both of which are extremely direct/aggro/at times vulgar in criticism) made me appreciate that kind of aggro directness more and want to incorporate it in my own writing. It is more likely to upset people but it is what it is. (And I don't mean to imply your previous work was lacking at all, you have done some incredibly bold and incisive social commentary, it's just apples and oranges vs how in-your-face this particular song is about a sensitive topic). And I think Feinstein dying just proved your point. The woman was 90 and them parading her around was a farce. I really hope this doesn't discourage you at all, in general but also from this different style of songwriting if you are thinking of pursuing it further. It's easy to see you are always trying to approach serious topics with a level of basic human respect and empathy and good faith for people who aren't horrific ghouls and I wish the audience would return the favor. Even if they don't, your work is still heard and appreciated.
Shannon Strucci
2023-10-03 00:28:14 +0000 UTCI saw your thoughtful response to one such comment on YT (which was offered respectfully, from my outside perspective). This song has been a recurring topic for us. We've had some wonderful conversations and debates. One of them was actually why this wasn't ageist. I'm sorry you're not getting to enjoy the release like you should. I thought that it was gutsy and biting, and showcased your talents. It's really just a heck of a song and video. Honestly now one of my favorites. (I love the 'gently rotting corpses' part, those words just smush together so beautifully even though they shouldn't!)
Cece
2023-10-02 22:38:00 +0000 UTCIt's not ageist in the slightest, (and I say this as a Californian who will be 53 in a couple of months, so age and Feinstein both seem like fair play to me). It's about equity in representation. US voting age is 18 and the US median age is currently 38.9. Yet the average age of those in the House is 57.9 and 65.3 in the senate. That's a lot of numerical non-representation no matter how you slice it.
Scot Burklin
2023-10-02 16:54:06 +0000 UTCIt's a fantastic piece of work! The unfortunate timing of something beyond your control and creative intentions doesn't take anything away from that. Worthwhile comedy is rooted in social critique and always at risk of being twisted or misinterpreted. Anyone who's followed you for any length of time knows there's not a single bad bone in that spooky skeleton living inside your body.
Jonathan Ryan
2023-10-02 15:34:04 +0000 UTCI wouldn't let yourself be brought down too much by anyone ragging on Living Dead for those points you mentioned. For one, it's a great song with a wonderfully unsettling video. I think anyone harping on about ageism isn't receiving the song with the intent in which it was created. It's really well produced cutting satire.
Robert McGrath
2023-10-02 15:06:20 +0000 UTCLiving Dead is the best work you've done since at least songs on the computer 1 in my opinion and that's not a slight on everything else in between
Jesse Palmer
2023-10-02 15:00:43 +0000 UTCHell Yup! Living Dead is the jam and it is hauntingly stunning thanks to Rachel!
Cooley
2023-10-02 14:54:18 +0000 UTCI think you should be proud of Living Dead. It’s an incisive take on what is increasingly becoming a serious problem. Also a bop.
Amanda Ainsworth
2023-10-02 14:35:40 +0000 UTC
