As a teenager, Slug (Sean Daley) became entranced with hip-hop, graffiti, and breakdancing, forming the Rhymesayers label and collective (originally known as Headshots) with two high-school friends, Siddiq Ali (Stress) and Derek Turner (Spawn). After some early gigs as Urban Atmosphere -- where Slug DJed behind Spawn's rhyming -- the pair hooked up with producer Ant (Anthony Davis), as well as like-minded locals such as MC Musab, Mr. Gene Poole, and the Abstract Pack, forming an underground hip-hop clique dedicated to freestyling and clever lyricism. In 1997, Atmosphere released their debut album, Overcast!, which received college radio airplay and earned an underground hip-hop following thanks to Slug's deeply personal, poetic musings, as well as Ant's bare-bones -- but inventive -- production.
Atmosphere participated in the supergroup the Dynospectrum (who released a self-titled album on Rhymesayers in 1998) and Slug contributed to another supergroup, Anticon's Deep Puddle Dynamics (whose full-length The Taste of Rain...Why Kneel appeared in 1999). The Headshots collective concluded their series of underground cassettes with a seventh volume in 1999, later reissued as an Atmosphere release called Headshots: Se7en. The group also began a series of limited releases (often sold exclusively on tour) titled Sad Clown Bad Dub, beginning with an extremely scarce 1999 cassette.
A year later, Atmosphere (then down to the duo of Slug and Ant) released the Ford One and Ford Two EPs, followed by the Lucy EP in 2001. Collected as the 2001 full-length Lucy Ford: The Atmosphere EPs, the three EPs were built around the theme of Slug's complicated relationship with his ex-girlfriend, the lost love of his life. As Atmosphere's following increased beyond underground hip-hop circles, they toured consistently, both at home and overseas; while Ant usually didn't accompany the group on the road, Mr. Dibbs of the group 1200 Hobos often joined in behind the turntables while Slug was assisted on the mike by young rappers like the teenaged Eyedea. In June 2002, Atmosphere unleashed God Loves Ugly, an 18-track effort that returned to previous themes ("F*@k You Lucy"), but also contained the group's pop-friendly single "Modern Man's Hustle," which reached the Top 20 of the U.S. rap singles chart.
By this time indie rap superstars, Atmosphere returned with their fourth album, Seven's Travels, in 2003, followed two years later by You Can't Imagine How Much Fun We're Having. Following the record's success, Ant began regularly touring with the group. They continued to put music out during the next couple of years, including the free download Strictly Leakage in late 2007, a near-party album that they followed up with When Life Gives You Lemons, You Paint That Shit Gold in April 2008. The record featured plenty of live instrumentation and guest background vocal spots from Tom Waits and TV on the Radio's Tunde Adebimpe; it was also their highest-charting album, hitting number five on the Billboard 200. The "double EP" To All My Friends: Blood Makes the Blade Holy appeared in 2010, with the full-length album The Family Sign following in 2011.
In 2014, the group released the album Southsiders, which featured the single "Bitter" and became another Top Ten-charting hit. The following year, Atmosphere celebrated the ten-year anniversary of You Can't Imagine How Much Fun We're Having by reissuing the album as a four-LP set (including instrumental versions of all the album's songs), in addition to The Fun EP, a picture-disc vinyl issue of an EP of You Can't Imagine outtakes that was originally released as a promo CD in 2006. In 2016, they returned with Fishing Blues, an album that featured the single "Ringo" along with guest appearances from MF Doom, Kool Keith, and Aesop Rock. While the set peaked just outside the Top 20 on the Billboard 200, it became their second album to top the U.S. indie chart. Mi Vida Local, an urgent reflection on middle age, appeared in 2018, followed a year later by the full-length Whenever. The Day Before Halloween arrived on that exact date in 2020, with Atmosphere unexpectedly switching to sci-fi/horror-informed themes over spooky, synth-heavy backdrops. Nearly a year later, Ant and Slug swerved back to their signature sound with Word?, which included guests such as Evidence, Aesop Rock, Sa-Roc, and MF Doom.
Biography by Dan LeRoy
There are other artists with the same name:
2) A Polish rock group, established in 1993 in Leszno, Poland, with Marcin Rozynek as a vocalist. In 1994 the group appeared at Mokotowska Jesień Muzyczna, where they were runners-up just behind Myslovitz. Two years later they won competition Marlboro Rock In. In 1997, Atmosphere released their self-titled debut album, Atmosphere, and in 1999 released Europa Naftowa. Atmosphere was awarded the Album debut of the year 1997 by magazine Tylko Rock and was nominated for the award Fryderyk in 1998 in the category Debut of the Year. In 1998, Atmosphere appeared at the National Festival of Polish Song in Opole with song Niewielki Skrawek Ziemi. Disbanded after Marcin Rozynek departure for a solo career. However, Atmosphere regrouped recently with a new line-up and is recording a new album.
3) An obscure one hit wonder Italo-disco group of the early 80’s. The group was produced by Franco & Venise Scopinich, and their one single “Swede’s Scandal” was realased on Superradio Reccords (label owned by Franco & Venise Scopinich).
4) A thrash metal band of the same name from Vietnam who have released two demo's.
The Ocean
Atmosphere Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Tap tap tap lick the globe against the moon
For the next tune we'll let the camera zoom into the bedroom
The more she raises her voice, the less I really hear
The more she leaves the house, the less I spend on beer
All thoughts are clear,
Chain smoker box of ???
Got to shed this excess gear before we cross this bridge
We can get some land and make a plan
Woman and man
But your only twenty something are you ready to change?
You've accomplished plenty running
Are you tired? Are you hungry?
Up to no good, but down to try to hard
And to depart and sever the old ways of gauging the weather
And when they ask if you treat me right
I have to lie and yes if i'm to answer the question
Here I dance again in front of the mirror, solitair
Wondering where you are, what's the time, why am I losing all my hair?
If I could hook half as good as you looked
I'd trade in my head phones and my notebook
For all the time you took up to shine
Shook up my align-ment, hooked up to silence
Cause these footsteps is my steps
Sample: "Just Get out and don't come back again"
Slug: And don't come again
(2x)
[Verse 2 : Slug]
Ok enter mommy's little socia path
Hoping I have the sober cells left
To taste the smoke on her breathe
Chosen my steps
Prepare to pour a ear fill
Trying to drive her soul
Keep your hands on the steering wheel!
One at nine the other at three
Won't ever find another like she
I call it thief because she took it
Put the key in the hole and started upsetting cruise control
BAM! Hit a tree, my fault I wasn't looking
Distracted, but ain't no body acting surprised
Mapping out a plan to put me back in her eyes
She laid her hand on her thighs
Damn near went blind
And spread my wings to fly and clear my mind,
And usually i'm at top of the game
Atleast I used to be
This is new to me
I can't explain what you do to me,
Moving me, seducing me, inducing me, reducing me down
To figuer or not how I can go about improving me,
Soon we'll see
This whole world will see this
Superhero features
But girl is the weakness
Speaking of the mirror trying to gather my reflection,
Sold my sense of direction for some affection
Now i'm straining, striving, trying to see the ocean
I'm riding, driving, I'm trying to make it to the ocean
Lifting up every shell and holding it up to my ear
I'm trying to hear the ocean, I got to feel the ocean (2x)
[Verse 3: Slug]
Deep within I swim a river of lust,
Beginners luck
Rising tide inges the crust
Hunger, feed my need to free my seed
I cry, I bleed, I fly, I flee
I tried to be everything to each partner I find
But the bottom line is rain always starts in the mind
So I climb inside the rhyme
And riddle the growth of the stome
And sip and swallow the aura
Hit it closer to home
It's a quarter 'til two,
I'm still waiting anxious
Got to surface, the tools, the motivation to paint this,
don't know which colors to use, detail is not my game
So now I'm through differentiating heaven and pain
I'm just another straight cat trying to rest my tail
Prepared to go to war and scared to check the mail
She's a bird with crippled wings
Intrigued by the simple things (it's too simple, your too simple)
You could take the bone out the chicken
But you can't take my girls out to lunch without me thinking
Probably somethings up
If you can't take it with you then fuck it I ain't goin?
I?ll just sit here for now and dream about the ocean
Carouselic ???? contagious carnival of carnage,
Wearing a name tag that says artist
Holding the harness, controlling the motive
Floating the waves
Looking for that ocean
Now i'm straining, striving, trying to see the ocean
I'm riding, driving, I'm trying to make it to the ocean
Lifting up every shell and holding it up to my ear
I'm trying to hear the ocean, I got to feel the ocean (2x)
Sample: "Just Get out and don't come back again"
Slug: And don't come again
(6x)
The lyrics to Atmosphere's song The Ocean convey a deep sense of introspection and dissatisfaction with one's current situation. The first verse seems to be about the struggles of a young couple, possibly struggling with communication issues and financial difficulties. The singer seems to be reflecting on the state of their relationship, and whether or not they are ready to take the next step and commit to each other. In the second verse, the focus shifts to the singer's own struggles with addiction and love. He seems to be caught in a cycle of self-destructive behavior, unable to break free from the hold his lover has over him. The final verse is the most abstract, with the singer using ocean imagery to explore his own internal struggles and journey towards self-discovery.
The repetition of the lines "I'm trying to see the ocean, I'm trying to make it to the ocean" seems to represent a longing for something greater than oneself, a desire to break free from the limitations of one's current circumstances and reach a more enlightened state of being. However, the repeated sample of "Just get out and don't come back again" at the end of each verse suggests that the singer is stuck in a cycle of destructive behavior, unable to break free from his own limitations.
Overall, The Ocean is a powerful and introspective song that delves deeply into the themes of addiction, love, and self-discovery.
Line by Line Meaning
Tap tap tap lick the globe against the moon
Making futile attempts to achieve something impossible
For the next tune we'll let the camera zoom into the bedroom
Intending to create something more personal and intimate
The more she raises her voice, the less I really hear
Tuning out of a nagging situation
The more she leaves the house, the less I spend on beer
Being happy with somebody gone and the resulting benefits
All thoughts are clear, Chain smoker box of ???
Mentally seeing things clearly yet indulging in habits that are not good for you
Got to shed this excess gear before we cross this bridge
Needing to let go of something unnecessary before moving forward
If we make it to the opposite side of where we stand
Hoping to achieve something greater by moving away from the present
We can get some land and make a plan, Woman and man
Starting afresh with a partner and a new dream
But your only twenty something are you ready to change?
Questioning the preparedness and willingness to change
You've accomplished plenty running
Having achieved a lot by moving away from the current position
Are you tired? Are you hungry?
Asking if the person is in need of a break or refreshment
Up to no good, but down to try too hard
Willing to try hard to do the wrong thing, or the right thing at the wrong time or place
And to depart and sever the old ways of gauging the weather
Leaving behind the old methods that do not work anymore
And when they ask if you treat me right, I have to lie and yes if I'm to answer the question
Having to pretend that everything's fine when it really is not
Here I dance again in front of the mirror, solitair Wondering where you are, what's the time, why am I losing all my hair?
Feeling lonely and disoriented while being preoccupied by one's appearance and situation
If I could hook half as good as you looked, I'd trade in my head phones and my notebook
Being willing to give up one's own interests and hobbies for somebody else
For all the time you took up to shine, Shook up my alignment, hooked up to silence, Cause these footsteps are my steps
Realizing how much influence someone had in one's life, leading to altered priorities
Ok enter mommy's little sociopath, Hoping I have the sober cells left, To taste the smoke on her breathe
Entering a relationship with a person who has problems and hoping to survive it
Chosen my steps, Prepare to pour a earfill, Trying to drive her soul, Keep your hands on the steering wheel!
Preparing oneself to take control of the situation and hoping it doesn't go wrong
One at nine the other at three, Won't ever find another like she, I call it thief because she took it
Describing an unmatched and precious experience that somebody took away
BAM! Hit a tree, my fault I wasn't looking, Distracted, but ain't nobody acting surprised
Encountering a disaster by lack of attention, while nobody is shocked by it
Mapping out a plan to put me back in her eyes, She laid her hand on her thighs, Damn near went blind
Thinking about a strategy to get someone's attention again, and getting overwhelmed by it
And spread my wings to fly and clear my mind, And usually I'm at top of the game, At least I used to be, This is new to me
Describing the need to clear one's mind and try new and different things
I can't explain what you do to me, Moving me, seducing me, inducing me, reducing me down, To figure or not how I can go about improving me
Feeling that somebody is having a great influence and impact, but unsure whether it is good or bad
Deep within I swim a river of lust, Beginner's luck, Rising tide ignites the crust, Hunger, feed my need to free my seed
Describing primal instincts and drives and the initial phase of acting upon them
I cry, I bleed, I fly, I flee, I tried to be everything to each partner I find, But the bottom line is rain always starts in the mind
Describing different emotional and physical states and how one tried to be all things to all partners, despite underlying instability on the inside
So I climb inside the rhyme, And riddle the growth of the stone, And sip and swallow the aura, Hit it closer to home
Using music and poetry to come to terms with one's inner growth and issues
I'm just another stray cat trying to rest my tail, Prepared to go to war and scared to check the mail, She's a bird with crippled wings
Feeling like an outsider or misfit, while being ready for action but afraid of consequences or surprises in the future, and seeing someone else as weak and vulnerable
Intrigued by the simple things (it's too simple, you're too simple), You could take the bone out the chicken, But you can't take my girls out to lunch without me thinking, Probably something's up
Describing how simplicity is being interpreted as naivete by somebody else, while also seeing ulterior motives in simple things
If you can't take it with you then fuck it I ain't goin', I'll just sit here for now and dream about the ocean
Refusing to leave something behind and choosing to do nothing instead, while dreaming of something greater
Carouselic ???? contagious carnival of carnage, Wearing a name tag that says artist, Holding the harness, controlling the motive, Floating the waves, Looking for that ocean
Describing a confusing and overwhelming environment while playing a role in it, and still searching for one's personal fulfillment
Now I'm straining, striving, trying to see the ocean, I'm riding, driving, I'm trying to make it to the ocean, Lifting up every shell and holding it up to my ear, I'm trying to hear the ocean, I got to feel the ocean
Working hard and trying to achieve something elusive that is deeply desired
Just Get out and don't come back again
A repetitive outer stimulus accompanying the reflection and search for something inner
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: PER ANDREASSON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Joshua Vrooman
Carouselling through this contagious carnival of carnage, wearing a name tag that says artist, holding the harness, controlling the motor, floating the waves looking for that ocean.
stormzsystem
One of the greatest songs
M2M
To me this is Slugs masterpiece. I can't even comprehend.
Michael Smith
more tina and Aretha samples pleeease ant! Love you guys always!!!
Trevor Shelly
when u realize this sample is used in Trouble by Blackalicious. both great songs
Art Espinoza
Reminds me when I lived on Barranca and Arrow Hwy and just started smoking Bomb! Dam Memories. No one really knows about this song.
Semi Colon
626 area code
jesse hatch
LOVE LOVELY LOVE GOTTA LUV IT ::)
Joe Barker
i had a dream last night that this song was playing but slug kept singing the lyrics to big shots by eyedea and abilities :s and i was all like this song is quite similar to big shots! anyways..
Colt Bratcher
You can take the bone out the chicken but you cant take my girl out to lunch without me thinkin prolly somethings up.