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.
Young Pilot Astray
Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I see it in your face, this day awaits
Young pilot astray
Young pilot astray
Here you are
Young pilot astray
Young pilot astray
I looked inside you, but you left no trace
It's all a dream, you say, it's not too late
Young pilot astray
Young pilot astray
Here you are
Young pilot astray
I, I could have loved you
You never told me that you felt this way
And I, without you, I step away
Young pilot astray
Young pilot astray
Here you are
Young pilot astray
Young pilot astray
Here you are
Young pilot astray (x4)
Young
Pilot astray
The lyrics of Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti's song "Young Pilot Astray" convey a sense of loss and confusion. The singer awakens on the day the object of his affection departs and is left to process the aftermath of the relationship. He searches for evidence of her in his life but finds nothing. He acknowledges the dreamlike quality of the situation, but it doesn't ease his pain. The chorus repeats, "Young Pilot Astray," perhaps invoking a metaphor of a youthful pilot whose plane has gone off course, symbolizing how the relationship has gone wrong.
The song overall evokes a feeling of nostalgia and melancholy. The lack of closure leaves the singer with a sense of longing and regret. In this sense, the song might be relatable to many people who have experienced broken relationships.
Line by Line Meaning
I woke up on the day you went away
I found myself waking up on the day you left me
I see it in your face, this day awaits
I can see in your expression that this day was coming
Young pilot astray
A young person who has lost their direction in life
Young pilot astray
A young person who has lost their direction in life
Here you are
This is where you find yourself
Young pilot astray
A young person who has lost their direction in life
Young pilot astray
A young person who has lost their direction in life
I looked inside you, but you left no trace
I searched deep within you, but found no evidence of who you truly are
It's all a dream, you say, it's not too late
You claim that everything we had was just a fantasy, but there's still time to make things right
You never told me that you felt this way
You never revealed your true emotions to me
And I, without you, I step away
Without you, I must move on and leave this behind
Young pilot astray
A young person who has lost their direction in life
Young pilot astray
A young person who has lost their direction in life
Here you are
This is where you find yourself
Young pilot astray
A young person who has lost their direction in life
Here you are
This is where you find yourself
Young pilot astray
A young person who has lost their direction in life
Young pilot astray
A young person who has lost their direction in life
Contributed by Matthew T. Suggest a correction in the comments below.