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.
L’estat
Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Stood five hundred years
Painted black by love
Bathed in widows' tears
She had a maid
The maid remained to tend her
She tied and drowned her
But she loves him (yeah yeah)
She loves him (yeah yeah)
And how she loves that estate
Estate, estate...
She wouldn't concede out of vanity that
Her servant would ever
Find her love
Her reflection would cry
Down in the lake where she threw the
Corpse for all time
Oh, madame, sad is this estate
Love blew the roof of your estate
Madame, mad mad love
Madame, cheer up!
Madame Morse Estate
Fell one summer's day
Rolling down to the water
Where the madams made pants
To her mother, she loves her
She loves her
Oh, and how she loves her (yeah yeah)
And how she loves that estate
She wouldn't concede out of vanity that
Her servant would ever
Find her love
Her reflection would cry
Down in the lake where she threw the
Corpse for all time
Oh, madame, sad is this estate
Love blew the roof of your estate
Madame, mad mad love
Madame, mad mad love
Madame, or love that's mad?
Cheer up!
The first verse of the song talks about Madame Morse Estate which has been standing for 500 years and painted black with love, indicating that it has a dark history. The use of the phrase "bathed in widows' tears" adds to the sense of tragedy and sadness that surrounds the estate. The second verse tells the story of a maid who worked for Madame Morse Estate and was caught in bed with her gardener. Madame Morse, in a fit of rage, ties and drowns the maid. But despite this, Madame Morse still loves the estate and remains attached to it.
The chorus emphasizes Madame Morse's love for the estate despite the tragedy that has taken place there. The repetition of the phrase "she loves him" reinforces Madame Morse's attachment to the estate and could also be interpreted as her love for the gardener. The third verse describes how Madame Morse wouldn't admit that the maid, her servant, might find love too. Her vanity here shows, and her decision to drown her maid is a testament to her cruelty. The verse ends with the image of Madame seeing her reflection in the lake and the reminder that she threw the corpse there.
The final chorus repeats the same lines as the previous ones but adds a new line – "Madame or love that's mad?" which can be interpreted as a question posed to Madame Morse about her state of mind and motivations.
Line by Line Meaning
Madame Morse Estate
Referring to a large home or property that belonged to a woman named Morse.
Stood five hundred years
The estate had been standing for a long time - five hundred years.
Painted black by love
The black paint on the estate was supposedly put there out of love, though it's unclear whose love is being referenced.
Bathed in widows' tears
The estate is described as being soaked in the tears of widows, possibly suggesting that it's a place of mourning or melancholy.
She had a maid
The woman who owned the estate had a servant working for her.
The maid remained to tend her
The maid stayed behind to take care of the estate and the woman who owned it.
She tied and drowned her
The woman who owned the estate tied up and drowned her maid, likely as a punishment for some misdeed.
When she caught her in bed with her gardener
The reason for the maid's punishment is revealed - she was caught in bed with the woman's gardener.
But she loves him (yeah yeah)
Despite her anger at the maid and her lover, the woman still loves the gardener.
And how she loves that estate
The woman has a deep affection for her estate as well as the gardener.
Estate, estate...
Repeating the word 'estate' suggests the woman's fixation on her property.
She wouldn't concede out of vanity that
The woman's refusal to admit that her servant might be capable of finding love is motivated by her own vanity.
Her servant would ever
The idea of the servant trying to find love is unthinkable to the woman.
Find her love
The idea of the servant trying to find love is unthinkable to the woman.
Her reflection would cry
The woman's image in the lake supposedly weeps because of her guilt over her crime.
Down in the lake where she threw the
The lake is where the maid's corpse was disposed of.
Corpse for all time
The woman has permanently disposed of the evidence of her crime.
Oh, madame, sad is this estate
A lament for the sadness and tragedy associated with the estate.
Love blew the roof of your estate
Imagery of a roof being blown off suggests that love has disrupted the calm and order of the estate.
Madame, mad mad love
The woman is described as being deeply in love, to the point of madness.
Madame, cheer up!
An exhoration for the woman to find some happiness despite the tragedy that has occurred.
Fell one summer's day
The estate falls apart or collapses during the summertime.
Rolling down to the water
The estate appears to roll or tumble down towards water, possibly suggesting that it's built on a hill or slope.
Where the madams made pants
It's unclear what this line means - potentially it could be a non-sequitur, or referencing an obscure historical detail.
To her mother, she loves her
The woman expresses her love for her mother, though it's not clear how this line fits into the rest of the song.
Madame, or love that's mad?
A question of whether the woman's intense love is healthy or unhealthy.
Cheer up!
Repeating the exhoration to 'cheer up' suggests that it's important to find happiness even amidst tragedy.
Lyrics © OBO APRA/AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@John_Greek
Ariel we’re still here for you fella
@jeremyfox7599
Amen to that
@garettfrancfort4019
Even more now.
@sotired4895
100%
@alexanderwood3465
Its so stupid he got cancelled over attending a Trump rally - it seems so arbitrary compared to what others have been cancelled for...
@desisdosis473
@@alexanderwood3465Be thankful that there is at least ONE GOOD artist, that supports your ideas.
@Vomitbukkake
The zoom in on the drummer and ariels whole demeanor during this video is something you can't teach. Ariel pink just is. Lol been a fan since like 06-07
@deengew
Loverboy rules
@Bandstand
Your sound & visuals always amaze me
@liamrushin5405
love your videos, love that you dig ariel too