THE RIDER: Pop Music Fever Dream's Top 10
Tim Seeberger on sandwiches, water slides and not giving a single fck about music theory
Pop Music Fever Dream — the queer post-punk/no-wave project of Tim Seeberger & pals — is, shall we say, on a roll.
First off, the drop of their brand-new single “Another Screen,” along with accompanying music video (“an eerie depiction of The Endless Scroll™️”).
Next up on the live front, a show NEXT THURSDAY (9/12) at Alphaville with Cel Ray, Dog Date and Balaclava (grab your tix here!).
And then, the week following, PMFD will release their new EP Songs for Emotion — what Tim describes as “a labor of love that sums up the last two years of my life. It’s a yearning for identity and a search for it in liminal spaces, uncanny backrooms, and a thick fog of memories.”
And, of course, there’s the release show for the record, perfectly presented by our pals over at Show Brain, at the venue known mysteriously as Trash Bridge. And complete with free pizza. (DM 4 ADDRESS.)
Oh, sorry — you thought that was it? NOPE!
Come October 2nd, Pop Music Fever Dream is opening for a little band by the name of Sunflower Bean at Baby’s All Right. (Sold out, sweetie! But you can go ahead and join the waitlist right here.)
And thennnnnnnn… commmmmmessssss …. TOUR!
Which, in extremely rad fashion, includes several dates supporting A Place To Bury Strangers.
(^ lil taste of PMFD live at the park)
Got that all straight? Incredible. Now go send a much-deserved congrats text to the band—bc DAMN!— then proceed to bump those sweet, sweet PMFD tunes….
… and read on for Tim’s Top 10, a rider ft. handshakes, water slides and the perpetual importance of the tasty snack.
WOO! PMFD 4 EVER! Plz enjoy~
PMFD’S TOP 10
1. Handshakes
Mundane, but it’s a symbolic meeting of the minds in our band. When one of us has a really good parallel idea with somebody else, the person who didn’t say the idea out loud yet won’t say “that’s what I was thinking!” Instead, they’ll just shake the other person’s hand. Nicole introduced this to me and now it’s expanded to the rest of the band. I really like it when it happens. Very endearing, very heartening. Makes me know that we’re all gelling as a band and on the same page.
2. Pre-show pizza
This is usually just how it happens by happenstance. Idk. “New York City is the greatest city in the world” or something like that.
3. Not knowing music theory
Who the fuck cares?? ??? Just, like, write a good song.
4. Always having a tasty snack on hand
Since the band’s inception, we’ve always encouraged having a good snack on hand. I brought water bottles, granola bars, and bananas for everyone to the first full-band pmfd practice. The rest is history. I regained my love of salt and vinegar chips recently because Carmen usually buys them if we stop at a bodega whenever we’re together.
5. Homemade sandwiches
Nicole and I are regularly sharing notes on the sandwiches we make. We have our shit down pat. I also introduced the concept of packing a loaf for tour, which is taking a loaf of bread out of its bag, making pbjs and then putting them all right in the bag again. I swear those pbjs hit so hard right at hour 1.5 of the 4+ hour tour drives AND 5 minutes into the post-show car ride to wherever we’re sleeping.
6. Premeditating what I climb on during shows
I really try to seek out the most dangerous or innovative things to scale during our performance of “The Internet (And Other Modern Observations) Pt. 1.” I gotta make sure everyone gets their money’s worth when they come to the pmfd rock and roll show! Sometimes Carmen, Nicole, and Domenico get to watch the gears turn in my head as I figure it out in realtime. It’s really special to hear that after the show.
7. A water slide
Now we’re just getting into listing things I love. There’s something so wonderful about a water slide. Water slides are so saccharine to me. I like being in the water too. And they’re so dangerous, which is cool in a way that they’re readily available to use so it’s not cool but it is. And I like them despite not really wanting to go to water parks because they’re kind of nasty (I say this as if I wouldn’t immediately say yes if presented with the opportunity to go to the Dreamworks-themed indoor water park in the American Dream Mall.) I used to watch pov water slide videos on this YouTube channel called TUBERIDES where the format was the same and it was really soothing. I still put one on from time to time. Nothing like watching two random European guys go down every slide in some immaculate yet empty indoor water park in Poland with 2010s tropical diet pop beats in the background and wondering why we don’t have cooler water slides in the states. I’d really love to shoot a pmfd music video in an indoor water park. Can someone help make that happen? Thanks <3
8. Heritage tours
It’s a phrase my dad coined as a joke when taking us to his old childhood haunts in Albany, a city you can drive around in like 10 minutes. I do this every time I’m home on Long Island or visit somewhere I used to live like New Bedford, MA. For me, it’s really just going to all the food places I like. Domenico did this with me when I visited his hometown aka Portland, OR in May. Very yummy time. I know this seems like a common practice for most nostalgic people, but I like that my version has a funny name :)
9. Food
Generic I know, but this list is mostly about that. It’s almost 1 am as I write this and all I’m thinking about is a nice bowl of Honey Nut Cheerios with oat milk BUT I’ve already brushed my teeth for bed so I’m having that existential, childhood-fear crisis of “Oh no, if I have this I’ll have to brush my teeth again and they won’t be cleaned well bc they’ll be food in my teeth and my toothpaste will taste like cereal” or something like that. Anyway, risotto is incredibly easy to make and everyone should make it and meal prep come the winter. Fuck the summer hardbody. Except August and September. Those shits fuck. I like when it cools down and it’s less humid but I can still wear shorts. Also a good latte is always awesome. An iced oat milk vanilla latte is a nice little summer treat (can you tell I’m queer??). That’s not food but fuck you I make the rules here (Sam actually does but I have free rein in this section!!!). Also I’m a firm believer that you can make any recipe better with about 5-10 mins worth of extra work to put your dish over the edge. It’s the little things, you feel?
10. Having fun
It’s fun to have fun. It’s cool when “people” “do” “things.” I think it’s noble when people go on vacation to see things. Love can be cool sometimes. I think things are nice. It’s nice to be nice. It’s cool to be kind. I think things will turn out all right. I think I’ll turn out all right. Everything will be alright, like it always has been. Free Palestine. Free the Congo. Free all the oppressed so that we may all be truly free. May we all live to see a brighter day and a better future filled with hope and gratitude and the end of capitalism. This new EP means a lot to me. I can’t wait for you to hear it. Come to our free release show on Sept 19 at Trash Bridge (114 Scott Ave) with Pippy presented by Show Brain, ok? Love you. Bye.
PS from Tim: I had the bowl of cereal and brushed my teeth and it was all right, like it always has been <3
The Top 10 above written + provided by Pop Music Fever Dream. Follow the band at @pmfd.nyc, and add the songs to your Spotify playlists!
Feature image provided by the band.