In my past experience, strip clubs are not generally the happiest of places. Unless they have changed in the last few decades, they seemed frequented by mostly joyless older men, and populated with generally attractive women sometimes in it for the art of the pole dance, but always for the lucrative tips. It seemed what some women found degrading, others embraced. Yet for men, it always felt like an exercise in frustration, unless you dated strippers, or lusted after the spice.
“She’s a woman on fire
In this moment, I yearn for her
~
She’s my deadly desire
For my secrets, I’ll burn”
Mareux was previously featured in my Audio Ambrosia Playlist #1 with his darkly sleazy track Gopnik about Russian “gangster-adjacent characters” that threaten fellow pedestrians for their money and electronic gizmos. Originally an EMT in Los Angeles intending to become a PA (Physician’s Assistant), Mareux (aka Aryan Ashtiani) started making music and after nearly ten years suddenly hit it big with his hypnotic remake of The Cure‘s “The Perfect Girl” going viral on TikTok and generating over 2.3 billion views. Both videos “The Perfect Girl” and “Night Vision” star Violet Chachki, the winner of the seventh season of RuPaul’s Drag Race, and both are showcased below for completeness.
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“I’ve never really listened to goth music. Really, ever in my life. It was… just the music I wanted to make. And then, I kind of got categorized as being a goth band or goth artist. I’ve listened to all different types of music in my life. Then, my sister exposed me to a lot of bands back in the day, like indie bands. She showed me Interpol, [and] when I first heard their first album, I was like… blown away. I wanted to sound like them and, you know, kind of emulate them in a way. Then, that opened the door to Joy Division, New Order, The Smiths, and The Cure and like all the, you know, big bands of the 80s. So, yeah, I kind of draw inspiration from that.“
“And I can’t look back
‘Cause I’m not in control
~
And so, she calls for me
All the way home“
“For me, [this album] ‘Lovers From The Past’ marks the first time that my work has been organized in a very intentional and curated way. It’s taken me over a dozen years to get here from when I first began writing music as Mareux. It’s the absolute best bit of my creative qualities and storytelling. I love setting the mood and this album is incredibly moody. I hope it can inspire and connect with my fans for years to come,” shared Mareux.
“I’m gonna move in closer to your light
I’ve never felt so helpless until tonight”
The song’s lyrics have an imposing effect when sung within the confines of the dimly lit strip club backdrop. A gritty implication that his hunger remains unsatiated and possibly only one-sided. An undulating synth provides the deep-inset bassline throughout, percolating around the lyrics and bathing the track in grimly gossamer bells of heavenly heartache. This because on the precipice, the spice dances both ways.
“I’m having late-night vision of your glow
I want to love you slowly and toast the snow”
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LABEL: BANDCAMP
Excerpts from BlurredCulture’s interview with Mareux are included above
Cover Art “cyberian” © 2023 – disturbedByVoices – All Rights Reserved
I’m 60 now, but when I was young I had many strip club experiences. Here is one of them:
When I was 30 and in the best shape of my life, I wanted to try it for the experience and to see how much money I made. I had a friend who was a DJ at a strip club, so I got a few outfits, tried the day shift and made a killing! Cha-ching! $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
I think I made so much money because I was a new girl because I made more than the regulars. Money was flying everywhere on the stage. I had a hard time gathering it all up.
I was lucky that the other women were very cool (you hear so many stories that women were so competitive, stealing each others’ clothes and shoes, but that didn’t happen).
One of the dancers said to me, “Take all that money you made, and buy some great outfits. When you come back tonight, you’ll make double that money.”
Most of the dancers were pretty “girl next door” types. Only one of them was of a supermodel status. But everyone there was cool and respectful towards me, the new-comer. It really put strippers in a good light, in my eyes. I could honestly say I’d be friends with any of them.
I chose not to come back, for a variety of reasons. #1, I had to do a few shots to work up the nerve to dance.; #2, Some of the men were really creepy and wanted a lot more than a dance for their dollars; #3. To be honest, I thought it was boring. I had more fun talking to the other girls than going out and dancing even though I got to choose my own songs. It just wasn’t as fun as writing. There was a mirror above the dance area, and I’d look up at myself throughout the shifts, asking myself, “What the hell am I doing here?”
In conclusion, I’d like to add, not all the guys there were creepy. There was a group of long-hairs, probably musicians, who were just having beers, not even looking at the girls — their eyes were more focused on the sports television. Maybe they had wives or girlfriends and just wanted to hang out with each other on a Saturday afternoon. I thought they were cool for not oogling us.
Anyway, great post, and that “Night Vision” song is very good. I never heard it before. Thank you!
I’ve had a number of experiences involving friends and when we were teenagers we would go to Canada to drink (you only had to be 18) and there was a strip club on the border at that time frequented by a lot of quiet oglers. We made it a point to hoop and hollar and otherwise liven up the environment, and the women appreciated it (it was a positive spiral).
Yeah I understand the money is insane and what a cool thing that you took the opportunity to try something different, you’re clearly a free soul.
Can you imagine the money you would’ve made if you’d done the night shift instead?
Thanks for sharing, Maryanne! 💀
“Night Vision” is sensuous and mesmerizing, and the video’s great.
Truth, perfect words. If it wasn’t so slow, it would probably make a pretty great song to strip to. Back in the day, it was songs like Prince’s “Erotic City”. Thanks for reaching back, Jeff! 💀
The youtube links are blocked, so I can’t listen to this music. I tell you so you can check them.
Sorry, the embedded videos aren’t working for you (and thank you for letting me know). Does the link work if you click it here?: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3B1kFZ3LfLM