Nicolas Godin studied architecture at the École nationale supérieure d'architecture de Versailles, and Jean-Benoît Dunckel studied mathematics, before forming a band in 1995. Before founding Air (erroneously considered as an acronym of Amour, Imagination, Rêve, which translates to Love, Imagination, Dream), Dunckel and Godin played together in the band Orange with others such as Alex Gopher, Xavier Jamaux and Jean de Reydellet. The former two subsequently contributed to remixes of tracks recorded by Air.
Initially Godin worked alone, recording a demo with members of Funkadelic as his backing band before releasing his first entirely solo effort, "Modular Mix", which featured production by Étienne de Crécy.
Career
After making several remixes for other acts in the first half of the 1990s, Air recorded its first EP, Premiers Symptômes, in 1995. The band released its first album, Moon Safari, in 1998. Its first single, "Sexy Boy", was heavily played on alternative radio stations. The album received universal acclaim and became an international success. In 1999, Air composed the score The Virgin Suicides to Sofia Coppola's debut film of the same name; in 2012, Air wrote its second score to Georges Méliès' Le voyage dans la lune.
Other works
Air has often collaborated with Coppola. Air drummer and former Redd Kross member Brian Reitzell put together the soundtrack to 2003's Lost in Translation, including one original contribution by Air titled "Alone in Kyoto". The soundtrack for Coppola's October 2006 film Marie Antoinette featured a track by Air ("Il Secondo Giorno"). Air wrote and played the music of the album 5:55 by Anglo-French actress and singer Charlotte Gainsbourg, which was released in August 2006. Air has recorded a DJ mix album, Late Night Tales: Air, for Azuli Records' Late Night Tales series. The release was initially scheduled for October 2005, but was delayed several times. It finally was released, complete with a new sleeve design, in September 2006. Darkel, a solo album by Dunckel, was released that same year.
City Reading (Tre Storie Western) (2003) started as an idea for a collaboration with contemporary Italian writer Alessandro Baricco, known for his unusual characterizations and lyrical, poetic style. Baricco contacted Air in summer 2002 with the idea to marry narration of texts from his book City with live original musical accompaniment. The performance premiered live in November 2002 at Rome's Teatro Valle and was deemed such a success that both parties resolved to make a full studio recording.
Influences and musical style
Air is associated with a variety of musical styles: electronica, space pop, dream pop, progressive rock, downtempo, chillout, trip hop, ambient, electronic pop and space rock. Dunckel grew up listening to both classical and electronic music, especially Kraftwerk. He later took an interest in what he called the "English dark rock" of Siouxsie and the Banshees and Joy Division, while being a fan of David Bowie, Iggy Pop and Lou Reed. Brian Eno and Cluster were two of the electronic acts who inspired him the most. He cites among his favorite artists: Maurice Ravel for classical music, François de Roubaix for music soundtracks and Siouxsie and the Banshees for pop music. Dunckel shared with Godin a special liking for the music of Michel Legrand, Philip Glass and Grace Jones. During his childhood, Godin was fascinated by the Beatles before later discovering the soul of Sly and the Family Stone. The duo were influenced by progressive rock pioneers Pink Floyd.
Air uses many of its studio instruments (like Moog synthesizers, the Korg MS-20, Wurlitzer and Vocoder) on stage, where their ability to improvise is more clearly highlighted. The band performs the well-known tracks from the albums live as extended or altered versions. Air often collaborates (both in the studio and live) with artists like Beth Hirsch (Moon Safari), Françoise Hardy ("Jeanne"), Jean-Jacques Perrey ("Cosmic Bird"), Gordon Tracks ("Playground Love" and "Easy Going Woman" – Gordon Tracks is a pseudonym of the French singer Thomas Mars from Phoenix), Beck (10 000 Hz Legend) and Jean-Michel Jarre ("Close Your Eyes" from Jarre's Electronica 1: The Time Machine). They also invited Dave Palmer on their 2004 tour and drummer Earl Harvin, Vincent Taurelle and Steve Jones on their 2007 tour.
Studio albums
Moon Safari (1998)
10 000 Hz Legend (2001)
Talkie Walkie (2004)
Pocket Symphony (2007)
Love 2 (2009)
Le voyage dans la lune (2012)
Soundtrack albums
The Virgin Suicides (2000)
Music for Museum (2014)
Extended plays
Premiers Symptômes (1997)
Collaborative albums
City Reading (Tre Storie Western) (2003)
Mix and remix albums
Everybody Hertz (2002)
Late Night Tales (2006)
Compilation albums
Twentyears (2016)
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Air is one of the many aliases of Pete Namlook. He has been releasing ambient music under this name since the release of an eponymous album in 1993.
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Japanese noise rock, Air is an alias of Koji Kurumatani first released album Wear Off in 1996.
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Air is a late 90s Indonesian Pop band that became popular with their "Bintang" song.
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Air was a jazz trio with its roots steeped in Chicago's Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians (AACM), and was formed originally in 1971. The jazz trio Air formed from within the Muhal Richard Abrams Sextet, which was active on the Chicago scene contemporaneously with the birth and growth of the AACM and groups such as the Art Ensemble of Chicago. Henry Threadgill on reeds, hubcaphone, and percussion; Fred Hopkins on bass, and Steve McCall on drums formed the trio when Threadgill was commissioned by Columbia College to score and adapt Scott Joplin's work for a performance honoring Joplin's centenary (Joplin's birth has been established now as sometime in 1868) and a rebirth of interest in the noted ragtime composer. All three men were Air signs in the zodiac, and so adopted the name.
They performed first around Chicago, while maintaining residency with Muhal Abrams group, which also featured Kalaparusha Maurice McIntyre and Wallace McMillan, both reed players. The Air "brand" remained a side project until all three reunited in New York in 1975, and began recording under that name for India Navigation, Nessa, Black Saint, and Novus. The trio broke up when Steve McCall left in the early 1980s, and when Pheroan Aklaff joined in 1982, they recorded as New Air, and recorded several albums under that name, including Air Show No. 1 in 1986, which featured Cassandra Wilson on vocals. Andrew Cyrille ultimately replaced akLaff before the band eventually was superceded by the burgeoning careers of its members: Threadgill with his groups Sextett and Very Very Circus, and Hopkins as the go-to bassist for Threadgill, David Murray, and Hamiet Bluiett. McCall's health forced his retirement from touring around 1980, and the dynamic drummer and effusive and gracious man who was a cofounder of the AACM with Muhal Abrams and Fred Anderson, died of a stroke in 1989.
This Air is listed as Air (4) on Discogs and is also been identified on last.fm as Air (Fred Hopkins, Steve McCall, Henry Threadgill) and Air with Fred Hopkins, Steve Mccall, Henry Threadgill (sic: McCall's name misspelt), and possibly also other alternative spellings of the group's name exist.
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Air was a psychedelic folk rock band featuring Googie and Tom Coppola, John Siegler and Mark Rosengarden. They released their first self titled album in 1971.
Car Thief
Air Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
In a motherfucker's face with the cue ball
Then I met this girl she tried to gank me
So I smacked her in the pocket with M.C. Plank Bee
Me and my crew out breaking windows
The bingo the lotto you know I'll never win those
Possession is half the law
I had my routines before all y'all
You ain't nothing but a car thief biting routines
I'm a city slicker I ain't no townie
Right now I wish I had another hash brownie
Like Ricky always said you've got to toke and pass
Or Mookie's gonna kick your fuckin' ass
You try to take what isn't yours like a God damn rat
I'm a writer a poet a genius I know it
I don't buy cheeba I grow it
People always trying to get next to me
But I'm down with Jalil Donkey and Ecstasy
Smoked up a bag of elephant tranquilizer
Because I had to deal with a money hungry miser
Had a caine filled cool with my man Rush Rush
Saw my teeth fall in the sink when I started to brush
You be doing nose candy on the Bowie coke mirror
My girl asked for some but I pretended not to hear her
You can't deny me you always want to try me
You're just gonna get your ass kicked
Homeboy throw in the towel
Your girl got dicked by Ricky Powell
The Godfather of Soul is in the belly of the beast
For smoking that dust at St. Anthony's Feast
Sometimes you've got to let someone trip on their own
Shoelace before you tell them to tie their shoe
All the wife beaters and all the tax cheaters
Sitting in the White House pulling their peters
Buy me cheeba from the cop down the street
The only cop with a rope chain walking the beat
Like a sneaky pouch time bomb tickin'
Like the beat to my rhyme just kickin'
Space cake cookies I discover who I am
I'm a dusted old bummy 'Hurdy Gurdy Man'
Five-O caught me now I'm going to the mountains
Said good-bye to my girl my lawyers and accountants
My mind is kinda rhymin' and I think I oughta think
So I'm rockin' all the rhymes and I'll have another drink
So the lights are flashing my mind is spinning
I feel like it is always the beginning
Of another rhyme I'm rapping M.C.'ing I rock
You ain't nothing but a car thief who must be stopped
The lyrics to "Car Thief" by Air are a stream of consciousness narration about the singer's experiences with drug use, crime, and a general sense of apathy towards life. The song begins with a description of a violent altercation at a pool hall, which sets the tone for the rest of the lyrics. The singer then talks about his crew, who are breaking windows and participating in illegal activities. He asserts that possession is half the law and that he had his routines before anyone else. The singer appears to be an outsider in society, referencing his status as a city slicker rather than a townie.
As the song progresses, the lyrics become more surreal and introspective. The singer talks about smoking elephant tranquilizer and dealing with money-hungry misers. He describes himself as a writer, poet, and genius, and notes that people are always trying to get next to him. The song contains references to drug use, sex, and violence, and ends with the singer being caught by the police and leaving his girl and his old life behind.
The lyrics to "Car Thief" are a reflection of the countercultural attitudes that were prevalent in the 1990s. The song juxtaposes themes of violence, drug use, and apathy with a sense of rebellion and nonconformity. The lyrics are rife with references to drugs and drug culture, including hash brownies, coke mirrors, and elephant tranquilizer. The song contains references to several figures from popular culture, including James Brown, who is referred to as the Godfather of Soul, and Ricky Powell, a noted New York City photographer who was associated with the Beastie Boys.
The lyrics to "Car Thief" also contain a critique of American society, with references to wife-beaters and tax cheaters in the White House. The song portrays a sense of cultural alienation and disillusionment with the status quo. The song's title suggests that the singer is not just a car thief, but a thief of culture and society itself. The lyrics to "Car Thief" have been interpreted in many ways, with some seeing them as a commentary on the state of America in the 1990s, while others view them as a reflection of the existential angst that is common to many young people.
Line by Line Meaning
Some static started in the pool hall
A commotion began at the pool hall
In a motherfucker's face with the cue ball
Someone hit another person in the face with a cue ball
Then I met this girl she tried to gank me
The singer met a girl who attempted to steal from him
So I smacked her in the pocket with M.C. Plank Bee
He hit her in the groin with a blunt object
Me and my crew out breaking windows
The artist and his friends were vandalizing property
The bingo the lotto you know I'll never win those
He knows he won't ever be lucky
Possession is half the law
Having something can make it legally yours
I had my routines before all y'all
He had his own way of doing things before others copied him
Your whole life is coming apart at the seams
Your life is falling apart
You ain't nothing but a car thief biting routines
You're just a petty thief copying others
I'm a city slicker I ain't no townie
He's from the city, not a small town
Right now I wish I had another hash brownie
He wants to get high
Like Ricky always said you've got to toke and pass
He's quoting his friend Ricky, who advocated for sharing drugs
Or Mookie's gonna kick your fuckin' ass
Mookie will beat you up if you don't share or smoke drugs
You try to take what isn't yours like a God damn rat
Stealing makes you a lowly rat
I'm a writer a poet a genius I know it
He's very confident in his creative abilities
I don't buy cheeba I grow it
He grows marijuana himself
People always trying to get next to me
People always want to be close to him because of his talents or drugs
But I'm down with Jalil Donkey and Ecstasy
He's friends with people named Jalil, Donkey, and Ecstasy
Smoked up a bag of elephant tranquilizer
He consumed a large quantity of a powerful drug
Because I had to deal with a money hungry miser
He used drugs to cope with a greedy person
Had a caine filled cool with my man Rush Rush
He had a cocaine-filled container with his friend Rush Rush
Saw my teeth fall in the sink when I started to brush
He lost his teeth due to drug use
You be doing nose candy on the Bowie coke mirror
You snort cocaine off a mirror with David Bowie's face on it
My girl asked for some but I pretended not to hear her
His girlfriend asked for cocaine, but he ignored her request
You can't deny me you always want to try me
People are always curious about him and his drugs
You're just gonna get your ass kicked
You're going to get hurt or punished
Homeboy throw in the towel
Give up
Your girl got dicked by Ricky Powell
Ricky Powell had sex with your girlfriend
The Godfather of Soul is in the belly of the beast
James Brown is in jail
For smoking that dust at St. Anthony's Feast
He's in jail for using drugs at a festival
Sometimes you've got to let someone trip on their own shoelace before you tell them to tie their shoe
Sometimes people need to make mistakes before they learn
All the wife beaters and all the tax cheaters
Bad people are in positions of power
Sitting in the White House pulling their peters
Politicians are masturbating instead of doing their job
Buy me cheeba from the cop down the street
He wants someone to buy him marijuana from a corrupt cop
The only cop with a rope chain walking the beat
The cop is flashy and corrupt
Like a sneaky pouch time bomb tickin'
Something dangerous is going to happen soon
Like the beat to my rhyme just kickin'
He's flowing and rapping well
Space cake cookies I discover who I am
He used drugs to have a personal realization
I'm a dusted old bummy 'Hurdy Gurdy Man'
He's a drug user and a bum
Five-O caught me now I'm going to the mountains
The police arrested him and he has to go to jail
Said good-bye to my girl my lawyers and accountants
He's leaving behind the people in his life for prison
My mind is kinda rhymin' and I think I oughta think
He's trying to be creative while in prison
So I'm rockin' all the rhymes and I'll have another drink
He's still rapping and still using drugs
So the lights are flashing my mind is spinning
He's having a hallucination
I feel like it is always the beginning
He's stuck in a loop and can't escape
Of another rhyme I'm rapping M.C.'ing I rock
He's still rapping and performing
You ain't nothing but a car thief who must be stopped
He's insulting someone who steals cars
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Adam Horovitz, Adam Nathaniel Yauch, John Robert King, Matt Dike, Michael Louis Diamond, Michael S. Simpson
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Noah Reed
They warn you about how dangerous it is to handle this yourself, but the police won't do anything about it themselves.
Kojo Owusu
Police will make a report and dats about it.
DBZ Guru
Makes a report then sits in a office with 1000s of other documents of stolen vehicles. Get in line basically
Sky Cloud
Won't get any better if they get defunded.
x user99
Case and point, the guy was chasing him for 30 minutes.
Eric Alvarez
Cops really won’t do anything but let your truck get stolen. Take matters into your own hands!!
Nobody
Just shows how incompetent police forces can be sometimes
m.
Cops found my stolen motorcycle in one piece. The idiot rode it to work. Took a while to clean the all the dread juice off, but other than that I can't complain.
Matthew M
Leave to professional psychopaths who control society with the threat of death or locking you in a cage
Jose Roman
What you want the police to magically stop the car thevie right there and then? It's not that simply and things could really have ended badly for someone.