After years of recording in relative seclusion in the hills of Los Angeles, Ariel Pink (the first non-Animal Collective member on the Paw Tracks roster) made his official Paw Tracks debut with The Doldrums. Recording at home with a guitar, bass, keyboard, and 8-track (the drum sounds were created with his mouth).
Ariel Pink blends Lite FM and warped lo-fi pop into something by turns beautiful and confusing. Some may find his personal yet detached approach highly addictive, while others may be instantly turned off by the obvious lo-fi production and the vocal drumtracks.
In the summer of 2003, Pink passed a CD-R on to New York based band Animal Collective after being introduced by mutual friend Jimi Hey (of All Night Radio and Beachwood Sparks) at one of their shows. Unbeknownst to Pink, Animal Collective had recently started their own record label, Paw Tracks, and several weeks later they contacted him expressing an interest in releasing his music. Pink became the first musician on the label aside from the members of Animal Collective. The next year, the label reissued The Doldrums, an album which had been originally recorded in 1999. Since then, Paw Tracks (now co-owned by Carpark Records) has released two other reissues of Pink's previous recordings, Worn Copy and House Arrest.
Pink has gradually caught the attention of media sources around the United States as well as internationally. As most of his albums are self-made, many of them have never been heard by fans. Almost all of Pink's albums which have been commercially released come from his yet-unfinished "Haunted Graffiti" series and are thus the best known.
Pink's tours have generally been met with much negativity, primarily because his music was never intended to be performed live for commercial audiences. As he explained to LA Weekly:
“People boo me everywhere...They don't even hide their contempt. I'm used to it now...Hey, I'm giving audiences the real thing...For better or worse, I'm out there, and those are the circumstances. People don't like it when it seems like you don't know what's happening, or I'm getting bummed out with certain aspects and I can't hide it. I think people feel that pain and just think it's bad.”
Initially playing shows alone with pre-recorded music, Pink has since employed the efforts of keyboardist Kenny Gilmore, bassist Tim Koh (White Magic), drummer Jimi Hey, and guitarist Cole M. Greif-Neill (Ethnik Klensr) as Haunted Graffiti. However, even with a backing band unfamiliar audiences are generally hostile towards the unrehearsed nature of the live compositions.
In July, the band embarked on Pink's "Thanks Mom, I'm Dead" tour.
One genre that may interestingly define Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti is one known as Hauntology.
Alisa
Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Alisa
But your cries won't cease to echo
Alisa
You're in my heart, you're in my dreams, you're in my soul
Alisa
(x2)
Beat my chest, pull my hair, and I start to break, oh
Alisa
But that still won't make you go away
Alisa
You're in my heart, you're in my dreams, you're in my soul
Alisa
You're in my heart, you're in my dreams, you're in my soul
Miss you, oh
I thought I could go on, I was wrong
Alisa
Well I need you here to carry on
Alisa
You're in my heart, you're in my dreams, you're in my soul
Alisa
(x2)
Gonna cry, gonna cry, hello, bring it on now
Alisa (x8)
The lyrics of Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti's song Alisa is an expression of the singer's inability to let go of a woman named Alisa. Despite trying in vain to forget her, her cries continue to echo, suggesting that she is still very much present in his thoughts and emotions. He acknowledges her strong hold on his heart, dreams, and soul, highlighting how deeply embedded she is within his being. The raw and intense emotions are further emphasized in the second verse as he beats his chest, pulls his hair, and starts to break, yet these actions still won't make her go away.
The chorus reaffirms the extent of the singer's feelings for Alisa as he repeats the phrase "You're in my heart, you're in my dreams, you're in my soul" several times over. The outro then becomes a lamentation as he admits to missing her and realizing that he was wrong in thinking he could go on without her. The song concludes with a mournful repetition of her name and an energetic cry of "hello, bring it on now".
The lyrics of Alisa are highly emotional and expressive, suggesting a deep sense of attachment and longing for the eponymous character. The use of repetition reinforces this sense of obsession and highlights the intensity of the singer's feelings. Interestingly, Ariel Pink has mentioned that the song was not written about anyone in particular, and that the name Alisa was chosen because it fits nicely with the melody.
Line by Line Meaning
I tried in vain to let you go
I attempted without success to move on from you.
Alisa
The subject of the song, the person the singer is addressing.
But your cries won't cease to echo
Even though the person the singer is addressing is not physically present, he can still hear her cries (possibly metaphorical).
You're in my heart, you're in my dreams, you're in my soul
The person the singer is addressing occupies a significant place in his emotional and mental life.
Alisa
The subject of the song, the person the singer is addressing.
Beat my chest, pull my hair, and I start to break, oh
In response to the emotional pain of missing the person he is addressing, the singer experiences physical symptoms such as chest beating and hair pulling.
But that still won't make you go away
Despite the physical pain he experiences, it does not help to alleviate the emotional pain of missing the person the singer is addressing.
You're in my heart, you're in my dreams, you're in my soul
The person the singer is addressing remains an integral part of his emotional and mental life.
You're in my heart, you're in my dreams, you're in my soul
The person the singer is addressing remains an integral part of his emotional and mental life.
Miss you, oh
The singer expresses his longing for the person he is addressing.
I thought I could go on, I was wrong
The singer thought he was able to move on from the person he is addressing, but realizes he cannot.
Alisa
The subject of the song, the person the singer is addressing.
Well I need you here to carry on
The singer confesses that he needs the person he is addressing in his life in order to continue functioning.
You're in my heart, you're in my dreams, you're in my soul
The person the singer is addressing occupies a significant place in his emotional and mental life.
You're in my heart, you're in my dreams, you're in my soul
The person the singer is addressing remains an integral part of his emotional and mental life.
Gonna cry, gonna cry, hello, bring it on now
The singer anticipates more emotional pain and prepares himself for it.
Alisa
The subject of the song, the person the singer is addressing.
Contributed by Miles V. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@sorrowfulsatchel679
[Verse 1]
I tried in vain to let you go
Alisa
But your cries won't cease to echo
[Chorus]
Alisa
You're in my heart, you're in my dreams, you're in my soul
Alisa
You're in my heart, you're in my dreams, you're in my soul
Alisa
[Verse 2]
Beat my chest, pull my hair, and I start to break, oh
Alisa
But that still won't make you go away
[Chorus]
Alisa
You're in my heart, you're in my dreams, you're in my soul
Alisa
You're in my heart, you're in my dreams, you're in my soul
Miss you, oh
[Verse 3]
I thought I could go on, I was wrong
Alisa
Well I need you here to carry on
[Chorus]
Alisa
You're in my heart, you're in my dreams, you're in my soul
Alisa
You're in my heart, you're in my dreams, you're in my soul
[Outro]
Alisa, Alisa
Gonna cry, gonna cry, hello, bring it on now
Alisa, Alisa
Alisa, Alisa
Alisa, Alisa
Alisa, Alisa
Alisa, Alisa
@jaganshi5444
Got a copy straight from the man himself in an aircraft hangar at a show in Atlanta when I was a soft young lad. Seems like a lifetime ago now. Painfully surreal, this song is about his first wife. If you see this comment Ariel, you're an amazing person and artist and meeting you was one of the coolest experiences from my teen years. They say not to meet your idols, but man you were so cool and it was a life changing experience getting to hang with the hero of my adolescence. Fan from the beginning and fan for life
@jimmygoesblao
apparently the day he signed divorce papers with Alisa his younger sister was in a car accident and suffered a brain injury
@thomasrainbow
I got to meet him once too in Portland and we got to talk about aliens and do coke bumps in my friends '82 Jaguar and smoke weed in the basement of a New York Dolls show <3 He's the best
@rosa-sr7nl
he left me on seen on instagram TWICE 😔
@DigiFolk
im sure he was glad you were soft :D
@thandofiltane9706
This is comforting news. All my favs seem to have serious asshole potential in interviews which frightens me. But I'll never really know. So this uh... "Testimonial?" is pleasing.
@technicolorgiallo1111
For me, this track never gets old.
Discovered Ariel Pink in 2017 and never stopped.
@thomasdupont7186
2017 ? pfff that 's nothing ! I used to listen to him in 2008....
@technicolorgiallo1111
@Thomas Dupont You're an idiot.
@lindboknifeandtool
@Thomas Dupont that’s awesome, I found him in 2023