The roots of Gene lay in a band called Spin, which featured guitarist Steve Mason and drummer Matt James. Spin disbanded after their career was sidetracked by their bassist's injury in a car crash, yet Mason and James continued playing together, recruiting bassist Kevin Miles through a mutual friend. The trio eventually met Welsh native Martin Rossiter, and the quartet formed Gene in 1993. Over the course of the next few months, the band wrote a batch of songs and had performed a number of concerts by the end of the year. A pair of music journalists, Keith Cameron and Roy Wilkinson, formed the Costermonger label in order to release Gene's debut single, "For the Dead," in April 1994. Nearly every copy of the limited-edition release sold out within the first week, and Gene soon became favorites of the British music weeklies. That July, "Be My Light, Be My Guide" became a number one hit on the indie charts, and Gene had emerged as one of the leading new bands of the burgeoning Britpop movement. Major-label interest beckoned, and the group signed with Polydor, who subsidized Costermonger in the U.K. An acclaimed third single, "Sleep Well Tonight," followed in September, and in January of 1995, Gene was named Best New Act at NME's Brat Awards.
Until the release of the group's debut album, Olympian, in the spring of 1995, Gene had continued to build momentum, partially because Martin Rossiter had adopted Morrissey's technique of giving articulate, outrageous and witty interviews. Olympian, however, was greeted with mixed reviews, and although the group had a sizable fan base -- the album debuted in the Top Ten -- they were soon overshadowed by the legions of groups that popped up in the wake of Blur and Oasis' success. Even so, "Haunted by You" and "Olympian" both became Top 20 hits. Early in 1996, To See the Lights, a collection of B-sides and BBC sessions, was released in England. For the remainder of the year, Gene was quiet, preparing their second album, Drawn to the Deep End. "Fighting Fit" was released as a teaser in the fall and became a Top Ten hit, but Drawn to the Deep End didn't follow through on its success. Although it debuted in the Top Ten upon its release in early 1997, it was greeted with decidedly mixed reviews and quickly fell down the charts, although the group's core audience remained loyal. By the new millennium, the band was without a label. They founded Contra and issued the live set Rising for Sunset: Live at the Troubadour in 2000. The album went almost unnoticed among the indie scene, however a true comeback loomed ahead. In mid-summer 2002, Gene emerged with Libertine, their strongest material since Olympian. A late summer/early fall trek across America coincided with the release.
Bibiography by Stephen Thomas Erlewine
There is another artist ith the same name:
2) GENE (جين) a Syrian neoprogressive rock band, one of the best acts in the Syrian rock scene, they started under the name ZODIAC playing progressive rock songs for bands such as ( Karmakanic ) later on they changed their name to GENE and decide to use Arabic lyrics with the progressive music creating a very unique style of their own, proving again how flexible Arabic language can be.
They are:
Maen rajab: Guitars
Omar harb: Bass guitar (The Hourglass - Anas & Friends)
Shadi Ali: Vocals (Guest in Anas & Friends)
Sahel Zen Eldien: Drums
Hazem Al-Ani: Piano & Keyboards
Anas Abd al-Moumen: Guitars (Anas & Friends)
GENE released their debut self-titled album in August 2008 .
Olympian
Gene Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
With that something I will grow
Make me crazy with your arms
It's all gone hazy,
It's all gone wrong Olympian, framed by God
So bring me water to cool off
Formidable and not afraid Of the next world, just delayed
How can you decline such grand designs?
I'm flattered that you thought
I make a good reward, but
How can you survive my blatant lies?
I'm flattered that you thought
So come taste my good reward
I wanted to be there with you
For I can only be normal with you
I'm taking your life for you
The lyrics of Gene's song Olympian are complex and can be interpreted in different ways, but at the core is a yearning for connection and validation. The singer is looking for something tangible to hold onto, a person or a feeling, that can help them grow and find meaning. The phrase "Make me crazy with your arms" suggests a desire for passion and intensity, but the following line "It's all gone hazy, it's all gone wrong" shows that this intensity has a downside, perhaps causing confusion and disorientation.
The figure of the Olympian, "framed by God," represents a lofty ideal or standard that the singer feels they must live up to, but it's an impossible standard. The image of bringing water to cool off suggests that the singer is overheating, both emotionally and mentally, trying to meet these standards. However, they're not afraid of the next world, just delayed - perhaps a reference to the afterlife or a metaphor for some kind of enlightenment or resolution.
The latter part of the song seems to address someone else directly, asking them how they can decline "such grand designs" and referring to "blatant lies." The singer is flattered that this person thought they could be a good reward, though it's unclear what this reward would be. The final line "I'm taking your life for you" is cryptic and open to interpretation, but it suggests an act of sacrifice or possibly a willingness to take on someone else's burdens.
Overall, the song Olympian combines abstract imagery with a yearning for human connection and the desire to find meaning and purpose within a confusing and overwhelming world.
Line by Line Meaning
Give me something I can hold
I need something tangible to hold onto in order to move forward and grow
With that something I will grow
If I have something to hold and focus on, I will be able to grow and develop
Make me crazy with your arms
Hold me tight and make me feel alive, despite the chaos and confusion around us
It's all gone hazy, It's all gone wrong Olympian, framed by God
Everything seems blurry and unclear, like we're trapped in a surreal, godly realm where everything is beyond our control
So bring me water to cool off
I need something to soothe and calm me down in the midst of this chaotic, surreal experience
Formidable and not afraid Of the next world, just delayed
I am strong and brave enough to face whatever comes next, whether it be in this chaotic, surreal world or in the next life
How can you decline such grand designs?
Why would you turn down such amazing, grand opportunities?
I'm flattered that you thought I make a good reward, but
I appreciate that you think I am worthy of such grand rewards, but...
How can you survive my blatant lies?
How can you continue to trust and accept me when I am being dishonest and deceitful?
So come taste my good reward
Despite my lies and deceit, I still have something good to offer - come and experience it for yourself
I wanted to be there with you
I long to be by your side and experience life with you
For I can only be normal with you
You bring out the best in me and make me feel like I can be my true, authentic self
I'm taking your life for you
I am committed to living my life for you and doing everything in my power to make it the best it can be for us both
Lyrics © BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC
Written by: KEVIN MILES, MARTIN ROSSITER, MATT JAMES, STEVE MASON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind