Kevin Bronson on July 9th, 2020

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Songwriter-journalist-promoter Daiana Feuer, dispenser of the innocently sung, subversive ukulele jams in Bloody Death Skull, admits 2020 is putting her through the ringer. In today’s QUARANTUNES, she shares the freshly penned “Give a Shit,” along with a rundown of her roller-coaster lockdown and a most eclectic playlist.

THE LATEST FROM BLOODY DEATH SKULL

Bloody Death Skull is the product of the vivid musical imagination of Daiana Feuer, a singer-songwriter, journalist* and promoter. She has profiled music and musicians for many a publication, staged shows both in L.A. and in the desert and with a rotating supporting cast dispensed her innocently sung, subversive ukulele jams all over L.A. In a parallel universe where “Pee-wee’s Playhouse” were a weekly club night in an underground speakeasy where they serve psychedelics instead of whiskey, Bloody Death Skull would be the house band.

It’s been a bit since BDS released any new music (some is in the works), owing to the varying exploits (see below) that vie for Feuer’s time. But here is a first look at “Give a Shit,” which she says emerged from the “Song Club” she is in with fellow L.A. songwriters Eleni Mandell, Inara George, Alex Lilly and others. “The assignment was to write a political song,” Feuer says. “I am constantly at odds with my distaste for the petty superficial distractions of politics on the ‘news’ and the actual things we should care about. So that’s in here.

“I also hope that if the world ends, I’m in a pool and I am drunk.”

Since we’re in a time that is testing anybody with even the widest absurdist streak, it’s worth sharing the lyrics:

“I don’t like politics. In fact it makes me sick to listen to NPR when we’re driving. Some sort of gag reflex, I just can’t handle it, but that doesn’t make me insensitive. I still give a shit about our land and I’ll be the first jumping out of her seat to lend a helping hand. But I can’t sit and listen to people talk all day about what the president did or didn’t say, it makes me want to shrivel up inside like a raisin. I want to be outside. Feel the falling rain. I don’t want any dog, man, woman or child to feel unnecessary pain. So maybe this is part of the American dream? It’s hard enough to be a good human being and I’m just doing the best I can. I still give a shit about where we stand. You know this life is just a tiny speck in a sea of sand. Sometimes I wish for civilization to collapse before I must pay taxes or my school loans back, and maybe this is a little insensitive. But if the end of days is drawing near, I want to be floating in a hotel pool drinking an ice cold beer. I still give a shit about where we stand, and as the flames engulf everything maybe we can hold hands. I still give a shit.”

* Feuer is the former managing editor of Buzz Bands LA.

HOW ARE YOU HOLDING UP AND WHAT ARE YOU DOING TO MANAGE THE ‘STAY AT HOME’ EDICT?

Daiana Feuer: I have so many dang hobbies, so I have lots to do but still get restless, of course. Sometimes I get sad, press my face against the sliding glass door that leads to the backyard and just sigh, watching my breath fog the glass. I have gotten too drunk. I learned to bake pita. I have been consumed by the internet on many days and watched endless TV. Oof. But, on the bright side, I started going on little camping trips, which is pretty much my favorite thing in the world. I been writing a bunch of articles and putting on a weekly Friday Night Showcase for a new publication called Los Angeleno and I’m on Week 13! Which means I have published little concerts from like 60 bands? That’s been a fulfilling part of this experience, knowing that for one hour every week people have been tuning in and feeling connected even for a few minutes to the great gift and fantasy of music. And the artists have dazzled me with what they’ve done, some really going out of the box, some just giving it straight and raw. I love music so much.

WHAT ARE YOU MOST LOOKING FORWARD TO WHEN THIS IS OVER?

Hugging a friend. Playing music with other people. Seeing live music. Going to the beach. I tend to feel awkward when it comes to small talk with acquaintances, but gosh what I would give to have a weird social interaction right now. I think I would do a good job. Also, I miss my parents. They are really lonely and I wish I could have dinner with them. Oh shit, I’m going to cry.

ANYTHING WE SHOULD KNOW ABOUT THIS PLAYLIST?

Daiana Feuer: Buzz Bands LA reached out to me just before Memorial Day, and then pretty much the world exploded. I spent days watching live videos of chaos ensuing across the country and schooled myself on a lot of Black history, and then attended my very first protest, which was so intense because I happened to have chosen the march that was attended by 50,000 people. From being around just my boyfriend for months and then surrounded by that many people, wow, it was equally incredible and overwhelming. I am a white-looking Latina, and I really took some time to grapple with what that means and how it has shaped my experience. For a while, I felt like I needed to take a step back and listen to what was happening, but now I have come around and want to share the music I love. It’s a great, valuable thing to do. This playlist reflects the music I have been listening to at home during this experience. I’m very drawn to songs that combine cultures and are rhythm-heavy or just things that are absurd.