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.
Crybaby
Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
we got a problem here
she's out of control
she wants something
she can't say the words out loud
tell her a story or sing her a lullaby
tryin' to get her to stop cryin' so loud
baby's cryin'
cause i can't give her what she don't know
what she wants
night after night no sleep
ain't all so good for neither her nor me
rocking her cradle pick her up and down
doesn't seem to help it only serves to disturb her
baby is cryin'
tellin' the neighbors to get off my front door
baby's cryin'
i'm too tired to keep trying to get her to get tired no more
what's left? (x3)
i've tried everything
what's left? i don't know!
we've got a problem here
she wants something she can't explain, i know
all i can do is state my desire
tell her a story or sing her a lullaby
baby is cryin'
tryin' to get her to stop cryin' so loud
baby's cryin'
cause i can't give her what she don't know what she wants
such a crybaby
such a crybaby
In Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti's song "Crybaby," the singer faces the challenge of trying to comfort a inconsolable baby. The song explores the difficulty of communicating with someone who wants something, but cannot express it in words. The baby's cries become overwhelming for both the baby and the singer, as they struggle to figure out what the baby wants. The singer tries to soothe the baby by telling her a story or singing her a lullaby, but nothing seems to work. The sleepless nights and constant crying create a sense of desperation for the singer, who has tried everything and is at a loss for what to do next.
The song can be interpreted in a broader context beyond just a baby's cry. It can be seen as a commentary on the challenge of communication and the difficulty of trying to understand someone's needs and desires. It speaks to the idea that sometimes our emotions and wants are too complex to express explicitly in words, and we may need to rely on indirect forms of communication or intuition to connect with others.
Overall, "Crybaby" is a melancholy and introspective song that delves into the complexities of human emotion and the challenges of communication.
Line by Line Meaning
we got a problem here
There is a problem that needs to be addressed.
she's out of control
She is behaving erratically and without restraint.
she wants something
She desires something intensely.
she can't say the words out loud
She is unable to articulate her desires verbally.
tell her a story or sing her a lullaby
Provide her with some sort of comfort in the form of a story or song.
my baby is cryin'
The singer's child is crying.
tryin' to get her to stop cryin' so loud
The singer is attempting to calm their child's loud crying.
cause i can't give her what she don't know what she wants
The artist is unable to satisfy their child's desire, which the child cannot even articulate.
night after night no sleep
The situation of dealing with the crying child has resulted in many sleepless nights.
ain't all so good for neither her nor me
The lack of sleep is affecting both the child and the artist negatively.
rocking her cradle pick her up and down
The singer is attempting to soothe and calm their child by rocking her in the cradle.
doesn't seem to help it only serves to disturb her
Despite the artist's efforts to calm their child, it appears to be having the opposite effect and is actually further agitating her.
tellin' the neighbors to get off my front door
The singer is annoyed with the noise of their crying child and does not want to be interrupted.
i'm too tired to keep trying to get her to get tired no more
The singer is exhausted and cannot keep attempting to calm their child when it is not working.
what's left? (x3)
The singer has exhausted all options and does not know what else to do.
i've tried everything
The artist has exhausted all attempts to calm their child.
we've got a problem here
The problem of the crying child still needs to be addressed.
she wants something she can't explain, i know
The child's desire is intense but cannot be verbalized or explained.
all i can do is state my desire
The singer can only communicate their own desires.
such a crybaby
A term used to describe someone who cries or complains excessively.
Contributed by Zachary N. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@thedreamsoldierful
When I first heard ariel pink over 10 years ago I thought of him as a stand out lofi artist. Now I think of him as undoubtably one of the most brilliant minds to ever come to the indie genre
@subsamadhi
Hes easily one of the most slept on innovative musicians of all time at this point. He's been making music for almost 30 years
@leviathan-supersystem
@@subsamadhi Along with Kevin Barnes, though he's seen a bit more claim to fame.
@alexanderjames5689
Brent Miller yes! And Panda bear/Avey Tare!
@drewhamp4626
second that man i cud hear since his earliest stuff his songwriting was just always there
@joshb8976
I genuinely believe this dude changed the trajectory of pop music single handedly over the past 15 years and people don’t even know it.
@Archetype77
This track was originally released in mid 2003, for those who didn't know, and Worn Copy is an epic classic that definitely deserves this re-release!
@tulegit1
I’m crying cuz this remaster sounds so damn good.
@G-G._
fakgot
@sophisticatedluna6503
@@G-G._ fuck nightcore, all my homies hate nightcore