"Dumas began his Dr. Death radio show on KLSU in December of 1983"
December 10, 2024 11:28 AM   Subscribe

"A small but influential independent record label ... C'est la Mort specialized in ethereal, ambient, dream pop, & darkwave bands." Ca. 1990, an interest in 4AD groups like His Name is Alive (2024 boxset; eponym for a quiescent MeFite) may have led you to early work by The Magnetic Fields (2024 Tiny Desk previously) on "Doctor Death's" compilations from C'est La Mort, also introducing artists like Area, The Millions, Orange, Collection d'Arnell-Andr�233;a, Ivory Library, and The Arms of Someone New. A mainstay of the series was "a somewhat obscure post-punk band from San Francisco ... Often paired [live] with ... bands like Necropolis of Love." Contributing songs like "Market," "Rousseau's Rainbow," "Dilemma," etc., M-1 Alternative also had albums less available now, but their early work is available on Bandcamp. And KLSU is still going.
posted by Wobbuffet (5 comments total) 23 users marked this as a favorite
 
Outstanding post, thank you for taking the time to put it together. :)
posted by Nosmot at 1:17 PM on December 10 [2 favorites]


I guess if you hang out here long enough, things from your past will finally appear. Back in the late 80’s (I think) I got this record of a Canadian band, Handful of Snowdrops, that I heard on a local college radio station. C’est la Mort label. Over a couple of years I got more by that label’s artists. When I heard of a new Handful of Snowdrops coming out, I couldn’t find it anywhere. Thanks to liner notes, I had Woody Dumas’ phone number so I called him up. He told me that there was a problem with the cover art, but that it would be out soon. Lots of great stuff, on cassette, LP, and CD that I still listen to. I have that SF post punk band on cassette. Thanks!
posted by njohnson23 at 4:15 PM on December 10 [3 favorites]


Welp, this will be a rabbit hole I won’t be surfacing from any time soon.
posted by Eikonaut at 5:26 PM on December 10 [2 favorites]


Amazing to see Area on the blue, and even more amazing to learn that there was a video for "I'll Gather Flowers"! I got into them around 1990 via a friend, the late Vickie Mapes, who had a radio show in Kansas City, "Suspended in Gaffa" featuring female artists. I stuck with Lynn and Henry through the various Moon Seven Times albums. And their separate projects, Shotgun Wedding (Lynn) and Lanterna (Henry, whose most recent release under that name was just 3 years ago!)

What a wonderful FPP.
posted by jburka at 8:03 PM on December 10 [2 favorites]


My favorite track from a Doctor Death compilation, stuck in my head for 30+ years, Cut by Double Happiness.
posted by schoolgirl report at 5:04 AM on December 11 [1 favorite]


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