Interviews -The Faint-

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In the last song of the album, "A ballad of a paralyzed citizen", you wrote about a man who tried to help a drowning kid(actually he was only pretending) and got paralyzed. Did you write this song from a true story? What are inspirations when writing lyrics?

Todd：I wanted to see if I could tell a short story in a song. It's really hard to do. There are only so many things you can say in a song without making it 20 minutes long. I think that stories are the hardest songs to write.

Your lyrics seem to me to be abstract in general, and also reflect certain problems in the society today, like bad working situations and violence. How did the idea come to your mind of singing somewhat dark lyrics along with very catchy, pop electro disco sounds? Do you think that is an effective way to express your concern to your audience and the society?

Todd：We grew up listening to Fugazi and the Pixies. I think I like to write lyrics about society in order to make people think about some certain aspect of life that they might normally overlook. I probably got it from Fugazi. I want to sing about things that seem unusual, fucked up, amazing, and visually striking. I think that the abstract stuff is a Pixies thing. But actually, all the lyrics make sense to me(except on MEDIA, I can't remember that far back)

I think Devo is one of the earliest bands that combined punk attitude with danceable electro disco sounds. They came to Japan last year to perform for Summer Sonic rock festival and are scheduled to do a show in the Central Park this summer. After some decades, they once again have got high reputations. How do you like Devo, in terms of both past and present?

Todd：I think that devo is an awesome band. They live in their own world. Their videos rule.

Your vocal style reminds me of singers like John Foxx from Ultravox,Simon Le Bon from Duran Duran and Damon Alburn from blur. They are all British, not American. How did you establish your own vocal style?

Todd：I don't know. I remember wanting it to sound confident. Beyond that, it wasn't so much created, it just kind of exists.

Tell me how "Danse Macabre" remix album was released from Astralwerks label. Is it true that Paul Oakenfold asked you to do remix in person? How did you choose the remixers, like photek? How do you like the remix album?

Todd：We knew that paul was a possibilty because we heard that he had helped to nominate us for some award or something. We chose some of the remixers and others were suggested by errol at astralwerks. I think it turned out pretty good.

Are you very interested in remixes? Do you want to do remix yourself?

Todd：Yes, it's fun to hear what somebody else wants your song to sound like.
Yes, we do remixes for other people too. We are doing one for Yeah Yeah Yeahs right now.

You toured with Radio4, and how do you think of so called post punk revival bands like Radio4, Rapture, !!! and other bands from DFA? Also, what are differences between you and electroclash bands like Liars and A.R.E. weapons? They came to the scene after the release of "Danse Macabre".

Todd：My favorites are The Rapture and !!!. I don't think post-punk ever went away, so i don't think of it as a revival. I think that the bands you named have come from a similar place that we have. I think of them as peers, I guess.

"Danse Macabre" was released in 2001 and I guess you are working on new album which will be out in September. Could you tell me about it as much as you can?

Todd：I am very happy with the way our new record "Wet from Birth" has turned out. It's our best yet. I hope you like it.

I am really looking forward to seeing your show for the first time at Summer Sonic 2004. This summer, we have Green Day, Beastie Boys, Avril Lavigne, lots of newcomers and Japanese bands, and thousands of audience will come to see. What would be your performance like?

Todd：Normally we play in a dark room with a buch of flashing lights. We usually play in front of a 9 foot by 24 foot moviescreen behind us. We make videos for each of the songs that change with the beats of the music. It's a dance party. Hopefully, we can do something like this in japan, but I know that it is a festival and we might have to compromise on some things. We are just glad to finally get to play in japan. Hopefully, we can come back and do our show exactly the way we like to soon after this one.

Please give messages to your fans and listeners here in Japan.

Todd：Dance with us.

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