Editorials
10 Albums That Are Perfect For A Rainy Day!!!
I’ve never hidden my love for Depeche Mode, the electronic band that not only survived the 80’s but is still incredibly popular and relevant today. Their music is catchy yet dark, throbbing with melancholy and nostalgia. The 2005 album is one of my all-time favorite albums and, much like Terminal Twilight, is an album that I can start on track 1 and leave to play throughout.
More known for blending the progressive jazz/rock/folk of the 60’s and 70’s with modern black and death metal, Opeth is nonetheless still widely recognized for writing gorgeous mellow tracks. While the band was initially very nervous issuing Damnation, especially only a few months after what many hail as their heaviest album (Deliverance), their fears were unfounded as the fan base not only accepted but in fact embraced the metal-absent release. It’s a rich, organic, warm album that features some stunningly beautiful moments while maintaining an air of sadness.
A truly mesmerizing album, Night Is The New Day is a work of art, one that practically demands the full attention of the listener. I wasn’t as taken with The Great Cold Distance as I had been by Viva Emptiness, so hearing the work on NITND was nothing short of a thrill. This along with with In Absentia are the two albums that feature heaviness that may seem out of place with the rainy day theme. However, in context, it fits entirely.
This group, along with White Willow, are perhaps the least known on this list, which is a near criminal shame. King Cobb Steelie’s Mayday sounds like a mix of Portishead and Depeche Mode, mixing in snappy trip hop-esque beats with electronic landscapes, clever guitar work, enchanting vocals, and more that can only be appreciated with a full listen. But what drew me into this album was the usage of real life ambient sounds, such as rusty doors squealing shut, being used in the background of tracks. The unexpected sounds added in whole new depths to the music, mixing music with the natural world around me.
I honestly can’t tell you the number of times I’ve listened to this album. Easily in the hundreds, that’s for sure. Yamaoka weaved a glorious soundtrack, one that still haunts and entrances people to this day. He took the near industrial ambience of the original soundtrack and gave it a haunting musical depth that I’d, to that point, never heard nor experienced before. Even today, when the thunder is rumbling and the sky is pouring and streaks of rain slide down my windows like tears, I put this album on and just lay back to enjoy the moment.
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Editorials
‘The Vampire Lestat’ Concert Event Launches New Season With The Ultimate Expression Of Fandom
There are thousands of passionate fans decked out in gothic chic and champing at the bit like feral creatures. They’re screaming for Lestat, a legendary vampire-turned-rock star, as if the entire crowd has been glamored into submission.
The entire experience is magic, but not because some supernatural thrall has been activated. What’s going on is even more special. It’s the power of the effusive fandom that’s been authentically assembled by AMC’s sublime Immortal Universe, namely Anne Rice’s Interview with the Vampire, now, The Vampire Lestat.
The Vampire Lestat is far from the first Anne Rice adaptation, and it’s not as if there’s been a lack of erotic vampire material for audiences to sink their teeth into. On June 2nd, during a one-night-only spectacle, New York City’s prestigious Beacon Theatre shook from Sam Reid’s bravado performance and an audience full of adoring fans who had already memorized Lestat’s songs.
It’s clear that The Vampire Lestat just hits differently than its predecessors. It’s become more than just a TV series at this point, and this opulent display of ego, swagger, and pure sex is the perfect way to premiere the new season and give back to the fans who helped make Interview with the Vampire/The Vampire Lestat such a breakout success. It’s exactly the sort of hyperbolized hedonism that would make Lestat cackle.
For all intents and purposes, AMC has successfully created the illusion that this concert/premiere is just one of the many destinations on Lestat and his band’s 54-stop tour that is simultaneously playing out on this season of television. It’s such a sophisticated and thorough level of interactive fan engagement that the audience doesn’t just understand, but also manages to accentuate through its involvement.
It’s a level of seamless synergy that’s not unlike the give-and-take relationship of vampire and victim.
Before the concert started, “LeStans” were sitting in the Beacon and flipping through a fake Rolling Stone issue with Lestat emblazoned on the cover, complete with interviews with the undead frontman inside. Other fans were admiring the vinyl pressing of Lestat’s EP as they walked past a section of undead band merch. Fandom and fantasy blur together, and it all becomes this elaborate, immersive experience. Fan celebration, erotic gothic fantasy, and a lavish rock concert transform into one beautiful thing.
To this point, AMC Global Media’s Chief Content Officer and President of AMC Studios, Dan McDermott, introduced the event by reiterating to fans, “You are the heartbeat of the series.” That’s abundantly clear on nights like this as that heartbeat collectively pulses to this performance. In terms of how AMC engages with The Vampire Lestat’s fans, it’s as bold a reinvention as the season itself.
This intuitive gamble speaks to AMC’s creativity in this department and a fandom that is eager to seize such opportunities. It’s the same innovation that led to zombie walks for The Walking Dead and real-life Los Pollos Hermanos restaurant pop-ups from Breaking Bad. It’s a great way to pump up the audience for The Vampire Lestat and then maintain that enthusiasm for the whole season.
For most series, a rock ‘n’ roll concert just doesn’t make any sense as a promotional tool. The Vampire Lestat finds itself in a very unique position where it can deliver an excellent concert at an iconic theater, but also use it to showcase The Vampire Lestat’s music by Daniel Hart (who was shredding on stage alongside Reid and the rest of their band) and, more than anything, Sam Reid’s endless charisma.
The way in which Reid feeds off of the crowd’s energy, modulating his performance and giving different sections of the Beacon life, is a perfect distillation of the series’ thoughtful relationship with its audience and how it’s become such a breakout success for AMC. AMC Studios President Dan McDermott emphasized that the fans are the reason that the show is still here and why an event like this is even possible. It’s rare to see a series in which every single cog in the machine is so perfectly attuned to its fans. Reid’s fans already cheer whenever they see him, so why not translate that to a concert setting?
It’s clear in this season of television that Reid was born to be a rock star, but it’s surreal to see him effortlessly command the stage — and the audience — at every step of the concert. He recites Shakespeare monologues and bitches out Armand between songs, all while the audience screams in support. For the duration of this concert, Reid is Lestat, and he’s given thousands of fans a memory that’s as immortal as any vampire.
Now bring on the encore and get this show on the road!
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