The band's founder and singer Craig Minowa has a degree in Environmental Science, and his environmental, political, and social awareness is reflected in much of Cloud Cult's music. (Note: Craig Minowa actually has stated he intentionally doesn't sing about environmental awareness because he lives it...he doesn't need to preach it) The band's self-created non-profit record label, Earthology Records, uses the most environmentally friendly methods available to ensure minimum damage to the environment.
After two solo LP's, The Shade Project (1995), and Who Killed Puck? (2000), Minowa's sudden loss of his two-year-old son and subsequent separation from his wife, Cloud Cult emerged with They Live On The Sun in 2003, combining concepts of Minowa with performances by cellist Sarah Young and drummer Dan Greenwood, who shortly became members of the band. This album was deeply personal and painful album for Cloud Cult and you don't often hear songs from it in concert.
Minowa continued to use music to cope with the loss of his son on the following album Aurora Borealis. This album did begin to branch out more into exploration of pain and loss instead of just feeling it.
Minowa reunited with his wife, and the next album is widely considered their crowning achievement. Advice From The Happy Hippopotamus involved collaboration from a variety of musicians and has garnered praise from critics, even being acclaimed as "a work of insane genius". This album is capped off with the "happy-go-lucky" song, Lucky Today. This album was selected by esurance to be animated into a commercial. This was a contest for the most environmentally sound band because esurance labels themselves as the paperless insurance provider.
On April 10th 2007 Cloud Cult officially released their sixth LP, The Meaning of 8 (although it was available for sale online in late January): the first single was titled "Take Your Medicine." In April 2008, the band followed it with Feel Good Ghosts.
In 2009 band announced a break till 2010, though they released limited re-releases of their albums Lost Songs from the Lost Years, They Live on the Sun and Aurora Borealis (the last two as a double-disc).
Their concerts are certainly a sight to be seen. Along with Minowa on Guitars (and other fun things), they have got bass, drums, violin and cello. There are two official band members who actually do very little music during the shows; Minowa's wife Connie and Scott are painters. They create original works of art during the show (breaking only occasionally to sing or sometimes Scott plays Trumpet). Then, at the end of the show, they silent auction these paintings off to the highest bidder.
Their official website is www.cloudcult.com.
Chemicals Collide
Cloud Cult Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
These days it's hard to tell what's outside from what's in my mind.
But, oh God, it's beautiful and insatiable the way our chemicals collide.
I was out catching up to tomorrow, or was I caught up in the past?
These days it's hard to tell what's out in front from what's behind.
But, oh God, it's unforgettable and unpredictable the way our chemicals collide.
I was sleeping in the lilies, or was I up all night?
These days it's hard to tell what's half asleep from fully alive.
These days it's hard to tell what's right from wrong and wrong from right.
And oh God, it's beautiful and insatiable the way our chemicals collide
And oh God, it's unforgettable and unpredictable the way our chemicals collide.
In "Chemicals Collide," Cloud Cult explores the blurred lines between reality and mental perception, portraying the difficulty of distinguishing between what's real and what's imagined. The lyrics suggest a level of confusion and uncertainty about things that were once clear, expressed through rhetorical questions and vivid imagery. The singer seems to be pondering the nature of existence and the relationships we form, wondering about the motivations and influences behind them. The mantra-like repetition of the chorus highlights the overwhelming power of chemical attraction that can't be entirely understood or controlled.
The song's title and theme of chemical reaction symbolize the complex and often unpredictable nature of human interaction. Chemical reactions can be explosive, transformative, or simply peaceful- much like the range of experiences depicted in the song. The lyrics also suggest a kind of profound connection beyond surface-level interactions, something that occurs on a molecular level. The phrase "it's beautiful and insatiable" perhaps implies the simultaneous craving for and incompleteness of such connections. With lines like "These days it's hard to tell what's half asleep from fully alive," the song could be interpreted to be about being lost in a dreamlike state of being, where the lines between reality and fantasy are blurred.
Line by Line Meaning
I was out paying close attention, or was I lost inside my thoughts?
It is difficult to distinguish between being aware of one's surroundings and being lost in one's own thoughts.
But, oh God, it's beautiful and insatiable the way our chemicals collide.
The singer finds the interaction between two people's 'chemicals' to be both beautiful and unquenchable.
I was out catching up to tomorrow, or was I caught up in the past?
It is difficult to tell whether one is looking to the future or dwelling on the past.
But, oh God, it's unforgettable and unpredictable the way our chemicals collide.
The artist finds the interaction between two people's 'chemicals' to be both unforgettable and unpredictable.
I was sleeping in the lilies, or was I up all night?
It is difficult to tell whether one is sleeping or awake.
We were loving like a landslide, or were we in a fight?
It is difficult to tell whether two people are loving or fighting.
These days it's hard to tell what's half asleep from fully alive.
It is difficult to distinguish between being fully awake and alert and being partially asleep or drowsy.
These days it's hard to tell what's out in front from what's behind.
It is difficult to tell what is ahead and what is behind in life.
Contributed by Mason D. Suggest a correction in the comments below.