After several personnel changes, Kano and Brown recorded an eight song EP in 1995 with bassist Alex McKinney and lead guitarist Grey Brewster. The "Green Album," as it is widely known, sold about 10,000 copies.
In 1996 the band was signed by Atlantic Records. They released their major label debut, Radiance, in 1998. The first single, "What I Didn't Know," was a minor hit. During the recording phase for their next album, Brown left the band to attend college. He was replaced by Jeremy Vogt, who performed with the likes of Tonic and The Connells. Brewster also dissolved his membership with the group and was replaced by Mike Garrigan, the lead singer and songwriter of Collapsis.
This new line up played their first show on March 31, 2001, at Ziggy's in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. The new set included Garrigan's Collapsis anthem, "October". [correction they actually played their first show with this lineup in Boone, NC]
Athenaeum's sophomore album Athenaeum was released on September 18, 2001. However, it received little promotion in the wake of the September 11th attacks.
Athenaeum was eventually dropped by Atlantic Records. They toured for an additional three years and released their final record, Hourglass, a collection of rare outtakes and demos, before performing their last show at Ziggy's in Winston-Salem, North Carolina on December 28, 2004.
Kano and Garrigan subsequently formed the band mg4 (with Alex McKinney, the original bassist for Athenaeum and Jeremy Vogt), who released an EP in the summer of 2004 titled Gravity Affects Me. "mg4" continues touring to date and information on shows can be found at Mike Garrigan's official website.
Discography and stand-out tracks :
- Radiance (1998): "What I Didnt know", "Flat Tire", "Radiance"
- Athenaeum (2001) : "Comfort", "Frozen in time", "Suddenly"
- Hourglass (2002) : "On Her Way", "Family Tree", "One Day at a time"
All my life
Athenaeum Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Your skin still brown from yesterday
But I pretended not to notice
You just turn and walk away
All my life I've been a little weird
Friends of mine they've always disappeared
And I'm still running from the things I've feared
Alone
On my own
You would always send good pictures
Your skin the perfect souvenir
But I pretended not to notice
You just turn and disappear
All my life I've been a little strange
Friends may come and go but I can't change
And you've got your so darlin' don't complain
Just fade away
Alone
On your own
I used to see you in the summertime
You always new just what to say
You're not alone
All my life I've been a little weird
Friends of mine they've always disappeared
And I'm still running from the things I've feared
To fade away
Don't fade away alone
The lyrics of Athenaeum's song "All My Life" tell a story of missed chances and regret. The singer is aware of someone they know being outside their window but chooses to ignore them, causing that person to walk away. The song also deals with the theme of feeling out of place and different from others which is a common feeling that people experience.
The line "All my life, I've been a little weird. Friends of mine, they've always disappeared" conveys the struggles of feeling like an outsider and not being able to connect with others easily. The fear of being alone and fading away without making an impact is a recurring theme throughout the song.
The repetition of the phrase "Alone, on my own" and "Alone, on your own" emphasizes the feeling of isolation and the realization that the singer's choices have led them to be alone.
Overall, "All My Life" is a poignant meditation on missed opportunities, regret, and the fear of being alone.
Line by Line Meaning
You were right outside my window
I saw you standing outside my window.
Your skin still brown from yesterday
Your skin was still tanned from yesterday.
But I pretended not to notice
I acted like I didn't see you.
You just turn and walk away
You ignored me and walked away.
All my life I've been a little weird
I have always been a little peculiar throughout my life.
Friends of mine they've always disappeared
My friends always seem to leave me behind.
And I'm still running from the things I've feared
I'm still avoiding the things that scare me.
To fade away
To disappear and go unnoticed.
Alone
By myself, without anyone else.
On my own
Handling things by myself without help from others.
You would always send good pictures
You used to send me nice photographs.
Your skin the perfect souvenir
Your skin was always the perfect reminder of the places you went.
But I pretended not to notice
I acted as though I wasn't interested.
You just turn and disappear
You just vanished into thin air.
All my life I've been a little strange
Throughout my life, I've always been unconventional or bizarre.
Friends may come and go but I can't change
People may enter and exit my life, but I can't change who I am.
And you've got your so darlin' don't complain
You have your own life, so don't complain about mine.
Just fade away
Just disappear without anyone noticing.
Alone
By myself, without anyone else.
On your own
Handling things by yourself without help from others.
I used to see you in the summertime
I used to see you during the summertime season.
You always new just what to say
You always knew the right things to say to me.
You're not alone
You're not by yourself, someone is always there for you.
Don't fade away alone
Don't disappear by yourself, it's important to have people around who care for you.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: MARK KANO
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind