The Faint is an indie rock/dance punk band. Formed in Omaha, Nebraska in 19… Read Full Bio ↴The Faint is an indie rock/dance punk band. Formed in Omaha, Nebraska in 1995 The Faint was originally known as Norman Bailer, a reference to Norman Mailer. The band Norman Bailer also included Conor Oberst, of Bright Eyes, with whom The Faint toured in 2005. He left shortly after joining and wasn't let back into the band when he attempted to come back. They recently split from their longtime home Saddle Creek Records to record their latest album "Fasciinatiion" on their own label, "blank.wav".

The band consists of Clark Baechle, Todd Fink (formerly known as Todd Baechle), and Joel Petersen. They signed to Saddle Creek Records and released a few singles, but were unable to establish widespread sales, though they were extremely popular in the Omaha-area. After adding Matt Bowen, The Faint released Media, which established them within a small, national community of fans. While touring, Bowen left and was replaced by Jacob Thiele who helped move the next album, Blank-Wave Arcade, towards a more dance and electronica influenced sound. The album was an underground hit. Partway through the creation of the morose Danse Macabre, The Faint added Dapose, a death metal guitarist formerly of LEAD. Danse Macabre was also a critical and commercial success and has helped to establish a wider fanbase for the band. Their 4th album, released in 2004, is called Wet from Birth.

In 2002 bassist Joel Petersen released the first album from his solo project, Broken Spindles, and he has since released two subsequent albums and had a U.S. tour. Guitarist Dapose also has a side-project, Vverevvolf Grehv, releasing his first album in 2008.

On December 12th, 2005, The Faint announced that they have moved out of The Orifice (a rented out warehouse they used to record Wet from Birth) and into ENAMEL, a 100-year-old building where they recorded the tracks for their next album, Fasciinatiion.

1995 | Sine Sierra (Norman Bailer) | Lumberjack
1998 | Media | CD Saddle Creek [LBJ-21]
1999 | The Faint / Ex-Action Figures (split) | 7» Saddle Creek [LBJ-25]
1999 | Blank-Wave Arcade | LP/CD Saddle Creek [LBJ-29]
2000 | Blank-Wave Arcade Remixes | 12»PD Saddle Creek [LBJ-33]
2001 | Danse Macabre | LP/CD Saddle Creek [LBJ-37]
2001 | Mote / Dust | 12»EP Gold Standard Laboratories [GSL 47]
2001 | Agenda Suicide | CDS Fierce Panda [NING 117]
2003 | Danse Macabre Remixes | 3LP/CD Astralwerks [ASC 83269]
2003 | The Conductor | 12»EP Astralwerks [ASC 83862]
2004 | I Disappear | 12»/CDS Saddle Creek [LBJ-66]
2004 | Wet From Birth | LP/CD Saddle Creek [LBJ-67]
2004 | Desperate Guys Saddle Creek
2008 | The Geeks Were Right Blank.wav
2008 | Fasciinatiion Blank.wav

the violent
The Faint Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I checked in a room today
Up above the downtown market bricks
Right now a boy gets old
A boy gets bitter
A boy learns not to trust
Someone inside his room
The door locks tight
You keep the door locked

Months went by and doors got kicked in
Two outlaws collecting what they loaned
In a room beside my walls
A girl gets choked
She can't pay back the loan
48 more hours to go
"48 more hours" that's all they say
In two more nights
I hear a sound
A shrill from one thin wall away

[Chorus]
Every place is the same
Every day is the same
Every place is the same
Violent
There's a conflicting sound
Hear the arguments loud
Everyday,

The sounds of the violent, violent, violent

I moved uptown a bit
Not much changed
The conflict's never gone
But just as a calm sets in
A police line barracades
A place next door I asked
Around the lot a store
Clerk told me two young
Kids were shot mother
Was near the tracks dragged
To where a train would go past

[Chorus: x2]

The sounds of the violent, violent
The sounds of the violent, violent

Overall Meaning

The Faint's song "Violent" seems to be about the constant cycle of violence and conflict that occurs within a given area or neighborhood. The lyrics are a reflection of the day to day life that people experience, dealing with violence as an ever present threat. The song begins with the singer making a rhetorical check-in discussing how he has found himself in a room above a downtown market; a safe haven from the violence at street level. The singer notes that even though he is in a relatively safe place, the conflict and violence has still found its way up to him, as he hears violent arguments and someone being choked in the next room. The door is always locked, and even still, violence has found a way in.

The first verse illustrates the anxiety and mistrust that comes with constant violence, as the singer observes a young boy getting bitter and learning not to trust. This cycle of violence and suspicion seems to be ongoing and unending. In the second verse, the outlaws from the area demand money from the girl next door, leading to more violence. As the days pass, the singer hears a shrill sound from one thin wall away, indicating the constant presence of violence.

The chorus of the song is repetitive, emphasizing the cyclical nature of violence, and how it continues to exist despite people's best efforts to escape it. The singer concludes by moving uptown, but as expected, nothing really changes. The conflict never dissipates, and there is always some form of potential danger lurking around the corner. "Violent" is a haunting commentary on the impact that violence and conflict can have on people's daily lives, and how it changes people's outlook on the world.

Line by Line Meaning

I checked in a room today
The singer moved into a new room today.

Up above the downtown market bricks
The room is located above the downtown market bricks.

Right now a boy gets old
A boy is aging.

A boy gets bitter
The boy is losing his innocence and becoming angry.

A boy learns not to trust
The boy realizes that he cannot trust others.

Someone inside his room
There is someone else in his room.

The door locks tight
The singer locks his door.

You keep the door locked
The artist is advising someone to keep their door locked.

Months went by and doors got kicked in
Months went by and people broke into rooms.

Two outlaws collecting what they loaned
Two criminals are collecting money they loaned to others.

In a room beside my walls
There is another room beside the singer's.

A girl gets choked
A girl is being choked.

She can't pay back the loan
The girl is unable to pay back her loan.

48 more hours to go
There are only 48 more hours left.

"48 more hours" that's all they say
All they say is "48 more hours".

In two more nights
In the next two nights.

I hear a sound
The artist hears a sound.

A shrill from one thin wall away
A high-pitched sound is coming from the next room.

Every place is the same
Every place is the same.

Every day is the same
Every day is the same.

Violent
Things are violent.

There's a conflicting sound
There are sounds that are in conflict with each other.

Hear the arguments loud
The singer hears arguments loudly.

The sounds of the violent, violent, violent
The sounds of violence are heard.

I moved uptown a bit
The singer moved to a new location.

Not much changed
Things didn't change much.

The conflict's never gone
The conflict never goes away.

But just as a calm sets in
Things calm down.

A police line barracades
The police put up barricades.

A place next door I asked
The singer asked about the place next door.

Around the lot a store
There is a store around the lot.

Clerk told me two young
The clerk told the artist about two young people.

Kids were shot mother
The kids' mother was shot.

Was near the tracks dragged
The mother was dragged near the tracks.

To where a train would go past
Where a train would go by.

The sounds of the violent, violent
The sounds of violence are heard.

Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: ALAN DONOHOE, JAMES HORN-SMITH, LASSE PETERSEN, MATTHEW SWINNERTON, MATTHEW JAMES SWINNERTON

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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