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.
Politely Declined
Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
One more time
I will be forced to ignore
Your pressure violently
I guess there's no use
In phoning what I said
I'm not angry a lot
...
And I'll politely decline
I'll put an end to your query
I'll pop a cork in it, scurry
I will
Then, I'll politely decline
If you call me
...
And you complete as a woman
Now what can I do?
Forget your offer
I guess it's a game
To break all the rules
See, my wall's going up
Too hard to explain
That you're really a bore
Leave me alone
I politely decline
You every time, it's a clue
It's not that I'm busy, it's you
Find ways to make me turn blue
Once again, I'll politely decline
When you call me
And may move on with your story
As if I told it to you
I'm getting a fever
Just from your face
Won't you get out of my way
Get out of my pace
Don't even bother trying
To make it all right
'Cause I was lying to you
When I was being polite
Now they're malicious, they try
To make you break down and cry, cry
For no reason why
For no reason why
Malicious, they try
To make you break down and cry, cry
For no reason why
For no reason why
If I politely decline
I'll put an end to your query
I'll put a cork in it, scurry
And get the fuck out of here!
Once again, I'll politely decline
You withdraw me
And stay a lone woman (x2)
I politely decline
You every time, it's a clue
It's not that I'm busy, it's you
Christ, you make me turn blue!
Once again, I'll politely decline
When you call me
And may move on with your story
As if I told it to you
Ah, ah-ah, ah
... Exit stage right
The song "Politely Declined" by Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti is a track about declining offers or invitations politely but firmly. The song talks about the singer rejecting someone's offers, possibly a woman's, despite the person's insistence to keep calling or contacting. The lyrics convey a sense of frustration on the singer's part, and they hint that the offers are frequent and unwanted. The song presents an adamant response of "no thanks" to the persistent caller while also pointing out that their behavior is creepy and bordering on harassment.
The song has a rhythmic and catchy melody, and the lyrics are repetitive, reinforcing the denial of the singer's offers. The lyrics "I'll put an end to your query/I'll put a cork in it, scurry" show the singer's disdain for the persistent caller and their eagerness to avoid them. The song's outro line, "Exit Stage Right," reinforces the idea that the singer wants to leave the situation or conversation definitively and quickly.
Overall, "Politely Declined" is a song about setting boundaries and refusing offers politely but firmly. It highlights the importance of being assertive and sticking to one's decisions even when others may not respect them.
Line by Line Meaning
If you ask me to call
If you request for me to contact you
One more time
A subsequent action, after numerous requests
I will be forced to ignore
I will have to disregard that request
Your pressure violently
Your persistence and nagging in nature
I guess there's no use
There is an absence of purpose
In phoning what I said
Communicating about what was mentioned earlier
I'm not angry a lot
I am not frustrated or annoyed, but
...
And I'll politely decline
And I will courteously refuse
I'll put an end to your query
I will terminate your interrogation
I'll pop a cork in it, scurry
I will stop the conversation and depart hastily
I will
Then, I'll politely decline
Next, I will kindly reject
If you call me
If you attempt to contact me
...
And you complete as a woman
When you act as a female
Now what can I do?
What solution proves feasible?
Forget your offer
Disregard your proposal
I guess it's a game
It appears to be a sport
To break all the rules
To ignore every regulation
See, my wall's going up
Observe that barriers are being constructed
Too hard to explain
Difficult to express
That you're really a bore
That you are overwhelmingly tedious
Leave me alone
Abstain from contacting me
You every time, it's a clue
Each instance from you serves as a hint
It's not that I'm busy, it's you
I am not preoccupied, but your behavior causes difficulty
Find ways to make me turn blue
Discover methods to distress me
When you call me
Each instance you contact me
...
And may move on with your story
Proceed with your narration
As if I told it to you
As if I communicated with you on the subject previously
I'm getting a fever
I am experiencing an intense agitation
Just from your face
Simply from witnessing you
Won't you get out of my way
Will you not shift to another position?
Get out of my pace
Depart from my stride
Don't even bother trying
Please do not make an attempt
To make it all right
To reconcile the circumstance
'Cause I was lying to you
Since I was untruthful with you
When I was being polite
While displaying courteousness
Now they're malicious, they try
Presently, they are cruel, they endeavor
To make you break down and cry, cry
To cause you to falter and weep
For no reason why
Without prompting or justification
...
If I politely decline
When declining in a courteous manner
You withdraw me
You cancel our meeting
And stay a lone woman (x2)
And be alone
You every time, it's a clue
Each occasion from you is an indication
Christ, you make me turn blue!
Goodness, you cause me to feel troubled!
Ah, ah-ah, ah
... Exit stage right
End scene and depart rightward
Contributed by Mason N. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
CCS4VELY
We need all the old ariel videos back!!!
sergio max
yep !
Christian Hower
You have done a fine service for keeping this around
Jonathan T
Second that
Chris Jr
One of the best! Love you Ariel for always.
Edward Miller
one of the True unsung. Stars 🌟 of the Rock Music world.
Radoslav Kovalčík
Everyday in playlist at work
I dont know why i love this song soooo f•k much 😄
Gesethemene Bujolds
this blew my mind in 2007, still so great
Dan
One of the few music videos in my opinion tha tactually made a great song better.
Swank
I hope this around until the day I die thank uuu