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 lyrics of Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti's song L'estat tell the story of Madame Morse Estate, an ancient house that has been painted black by love and tears. The story opens by describing the age of the estate, which has been in existence for five hundred years. The Estate is said to have been painted black by love, which is the primary feeling that seems to reign over its environs. This love causes a lot of sadness as the Estate is bathed in widows' tears, making it a place of sorrow.
The song then goes on to introduce the characters of Madame Morse and her maid. Madame Morse is possessive and jealous, as she forbids her maid from finding love with anyone else, even though she herself is in a relationship with her gardener. The maid is eventually caught with the gardener and Madame Morse ensures that she pays dearly for her betrayal by drowning her in an act of vengeance.
However, despite her actions, Madame Morse still loved the estate and the gardener who caused so much pain. The song ends with an appeal to Madame Morse Estate to cheer up and to let love triumph over pain.
Overall, the lyrics of L'estat explore themes such as love, jealousy, betrayal, and sorrow. The story it tells is one of possessiveness and revenge, but it also hints at the possibility of redemption and forgiveness.
Line by Line Meaning
Madame Morse Estate
The mansion owned by Madame Morse
Stood five hundred years
The mansion stood for five centuries
Painted black by love
The mansion has a dark history due to love
Bathed in widows' tears
The mansion has a sad, mournful aura
She had a maid
Madame Morse had a servant
The maid remained to tend her
The servant stayed to take care of Madame Morse
She tied and drowned her
Madame Morse killed her servant by tying and drowning her
When she caught her in bed with her gardener
Madame Morse caught her servant in bed with her gardener, leading to her murder
But she loves him (yeah yeah)
Madame Morse is in love with her gardener
She loves him (yeah yeah)
Madame Morse is deeply in love with her gardener
And how she loves that estate
Madame Morse is attached to the estate she owns
Estate, estate...
Madame Morse is fixated on her estate
She wouldn't concede out of vanity that
Out of vanity, Madame Morse refused to believe that her servant could find love
Her servant would ever
Madame Morse's servant would never
Find her love
Find true love and happiness
Her reflection would cry
Madame Morse was deeply affected by her own image in the lake
Down in the lake where she threw the
Madame Morse threw her servant's corpse in the lake
Corpse for all time
The servant's corpse will never be found
Oh, madame, sad is this estate
Madame Morse's estate has a melancholic atmosphere
Love blew the roof of your estate
The effects of love have damaged Madame Morse's estate
Madame, mad mad love
Madame Morse is a victim of intense and destructive love
Madame, cheer up!
Despite her troubles, Madame Morse should be optimistic
Fell one summer's day
One summer day, Madame Morse died
Rolling down to the water
Her body fell and rolled down to the water
Where the madams made pants
Nearby, women made pants
To her mother, she loves her
In her final moments, Madame Morse expressed love for her mother
She loves her
Madame Morse loves her mother
Oh, and how she loves her (yeah yeah)
Madame Morse's love for her mother is strong
Madame, or love that's mad?
Whether Madame Morse's love is sane or insane is unclear
Cheer up!
In spite of everything, Madame Morse should be happy
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: Ariel Marcus Rosenberg
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind