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.
Step Forward
Cloud Cult Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You'll be all that's left standing there,
You'll become a baby cumulus,
And fly up to the firmament
And no one gets to know the purpose,
We need to learn to live without knowing,
But all we are saying,
Is step forward, step forward
We can only see a small part of everything and nothing,
When you finally know you can't know,
Step forward, step forward,
And if you don't believe in miracles,
It comes with every single heartbeat,
Another opportunity,
Step forward, step forward
And everybody here is trying so hard
To make things a little better,
I never got a chance to thank you,
Step forward, step forward,
And everybody here is trying so hard
To make things a little better,
All we are saying is step forward, step forward
When your life is finished burning down
You'll be all that's left standing there
You'll become a baby cumulus
And fly up to the firmament
The Cloud Cult's song, Step Forward, speaks to the idea that life is unpredictable and uncertain. The lyrics suggest that each person is capable of persevering through difficult times and that they will emerge whole from the experiences that left them feeling broken. The song begins with the line, "when your life is finished burning down, you'll be all that's left standing there," indicating that when everything falls apart, what's left is a clear sense of identity, a fundamental truth about oneself that cannot be taken away by any external force.
The lyrics then describe what will happen next: "you'll become a baby cumulus and fly up to the firmament." This imagery suggests that people will transform through difficulties and emerge as something more powerful and resilient than before. The song then asserts that no one really knows the purpose of it all and that we must learn to keep moving forward without understanding everything. In the end, the message is that everyone is trying their best to make things better, and we should all encourage each other to keep moving forward.
Line by Line Meaning
When your life is finished burning down,
Once the difficult phase of your life is over,
You'll be all that's left standing there,
You will only have yourself as your primary support system,
You'll become a baby cumulus,
You will start fresh, like a small cloud,
And fly up to the firmament
And ascend to a higher level,
And no one gets to know the purpose,
We cannot fully comprehend the true meaning of life,
We need to learn to live without knowing,
We must learn to accept and live with uncertainty,
But all we are saying,
The message we are trying to convey is,
Is step forward, step forward
To keep moving forward, despite the challenges,
We can only see a small part of everything and nothing,
Our knowledge and understanding of the world is limited,
When you finally know you can't know,
Once you realize that you don't have all the answers,
And if you don't believe in miracles,
Even if you aren't a believer in extraordinary events,
It comes with every single heartbeat,
You can still appreciate the miracle of life with every beat of your heart,
Another opportunity,
A chance for a new beginning,
Step forward, step forward
Keep moving forward towards personal growth,
And everybody here is trying so hard
Everyone is putting in effort and fighting their own battles,
To make things a little better,
Trying to improve their situations,
I never got a chance to thank you,
I haven't had the opportunity to express gratitude,
All we are saying is step forward, step forward
We are encouraging everyone to keep striving for progress,
Contributed by Allison I. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Isaiah Sovereign
Incredible. I love this song so much. They are so good live. It's amazing to me this channel has 1.2 million subs but this video only has 11k views. A lot of people are missing out on one of the great bands of our time. Cloud Cult is so amazing. I can't wait until their next album because they keep getting better with each new release.
Front Row Boston
Beautiful cinematography! Great audio recording. Really nicely work.
Nicholas Ruffer
gave me goosebumps. fantastic.
Shelleigh Boyer
I LOVE this. I am late in finding this music. But I can't get enough of it. I now listen to their songs every day.
Iwannabsedated
Wow. Just gorgeous. Thank you, KEXP
fetermcblues
Nice acoustic and acoustic spirit ... great music !
Tyler K.
Cloud cult is the sound of my early twenties. It so perfectly encapsulates the spirit of that time. Now I’m 30 and going back through their music with nostalgia. So lovely to see the faces behind the sound and to create new memories with them ❤️❤️❤️
Heuning
I fell in love with this song years & years ago but somehow lost it along the way. Never forgot it, but i couldn’t remember much of the lyrics so i couldn’t find it! Finally found it again a few months ago and it’s just as beautiful as I remember. This is my favourite place to listen to it, the video fits the song perfectly. It was the first place I came across the song again and I definitely shed a few tears :-)
QQ
Wasn't expecting that... That was lovely...
the juice is loose
This band has to much energy and power