Following a few scattered independent releases, done mostly on homemade CDs with hand-drawn art, VanGaalen released Infiniheart in 2004 on Canadian independent label Flemish Eye. Being a collection of songs selected from recordings made in his bedroom/makeshift studio, it was picked up in 2005 by indie label Sub Pop. In late 2005, the album was re-released with a bonus six-song EP entitled Green Beans.
On 22 August 2006, VanGaalen's second album, Skelliconnection, was released in the U.S. on Sub Pop and in Canada on Flemish Eye. The album comprised of new songs as well as tracks previously released on his earlier independent recordings and features exclusive artwork and videos made by VanGaalen. The album was named on the shortlist for the 2007 Polaris Music Prize.
VanGaalen's third studio album, Soft Airplane, was released 9 September 2008.
In 2009, VanGaalen released a full-length album "Snow Blindness is Crystal Antz" under the alias Black Mold.
In 2015, VanGaalen collaborated with Seth Smith of the indie rock band Dog Day on the album Seed of Dorzon.
Chad VanGaalen's Light Information, his sixth record on Sub Pop, was released on 8 September 2017.
As a visual artist, VanGaalen is known for his illustration and animation work. He has animated music videos for folks like J Mascis, Guster, and Holy Fuck.
Liquid + Light
Chad VanGaalen Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Well over top of the oceans of liquid and light
Yeah, we don't fight it
So don't let us grow old
Don't let us grow old
We are too young
We are too young
To follow you
So let's not believe it's true
Let's not believe
Let's not believe it's true
Let's not believe
The lyrics to Chad VanGaalen's song Liquid + Light are poetic and metaphorical, evoking a sense of free-spiritedness and youthful exuberance. The first two lines describe the sense of flight and transcendence that comes with being young and unencumbered, soaring above the clouds and the oceans of liquid and light. The use of the word "croups" is interesting, as it is not a common word and could be interpreted as a deliberate misspelling of "crops," adding to the surreal and dreamlike quality of the song.
The following lines express a desire to stay young and not grow old, a theme that is common in many songs and poems. The repetition of "we are too young" reinforces the idea that the singer is not ready to give in to the pressures and expectations of adult life, and the line "to follow you" suggests a rejection of authority or tradition. The final lines urge the listener to reject cynicism and disbelief, to hold onto the sense of possibility and wonder that comes with being young.
Overall, the lyrics to Liquid + Light are rich in imagery and emotion, conveying a sense of nostalgia for youth and a desire to keep that spirit alive.
Line by Line Meaning
We fly above the clouds and croups
We traverse high above the clouds and mountain ridges
Well over top of the oceans of liquid and light
We soar over vast expanses of shimmering water and radiant beams of light
Yeah, we don't fight it
We don't resist the beauty and wonder we witness
So don't let us grow old
Please don't allow us to succumb to the limitations of aging
We are too young
We are too early in our journey to accept the idea of growing old
Way too young
We are much too young for aging to be considered
We are too young
We are still too young to accept the inevitability of growing old
To follow you
To succumb to the notion that aging is an unavoidable aspect of life
So let's not believe it's true
Let's not accept the idea that growing old is a certainty
Let's not believe
Let's not subscribe to the notion of succumbing to aging
Let's not believe it's true
Let's not accept the idea that aging cannot be avoided
Let's not believe
Let's reject the notion of accepting aging as an inevitable part of life.
Lyrics © OBO APRA/AMCOS
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