They are named after the lyrics "The fate of the world is safe in Crystal Castles" and "Crystal Castles, the source of all power" both from the theme song for She-Ra's fortress. They are known for their melancholic lo-fi sound and their explosive live shows. Their debut album was included in NME's "Top 50 Albums of the Decade".
Initially the band was intended to be a solo project started by Ethan Kath in December 2003. Ethan later discovered Alice Glass singing in a noise-punk band, and thought he had found the "missing ingredient" to his music.
In 2004 Kath gave Alice 60 instrumental tracks and in April 2005 she recorded vocals over five instrumentals. The limited vinyl release of the band's first single Alice Practice sold out in only three days.
The track was a microphone test by Glass and she was not aware that the recording existed until London UK's Merok Records asked to release the track on vinyl, according to now ex-bandmate Kath. However, Glass declared over a decade later that this story was not true.
On the 18th March 2008 they released their debut album entitled Crystal Castles. This album reached #47 on UK Albums Chart, #6 on US Top Electronic Albums, #13 on US Top Heatseekers, and #32 on US Independent Albums. Crystal Castles received great reviews and ranked #39 on NME Magazine "Top 50 Albums of the Decade". They issued four singles: Alice Practice (1 June 2006), Crimewave (Crystal Castles vs HEALTH) (13 August 2007), Air War (17 December 2007), and Courtship Dating (31 March 2008).
Crystal Castles are known not only for their own efforts as a band, but also for commissioned remixes for number of groups, including Hunting For Witches by Bloc Party, and Atlantis to Interzone by friends and label mates, Klaxons.
In mid-2008, Crystal Castles were involved in two controversies related to artwork permissions and samples in their earliest unreleased songs. Crystal Castles used Trevor Brown's artwork (depicting singer Madonna with a black eye) without permission.
Furthermore, in one of Kath's earliest, unreleased demos, he incorporated a sample without permission. The track, "Insectica (CC vs Lo-Bat Version)", uses clips chopped out of a song by Lo-bat called "My Little Droid Needs a Hand", released under a Creative Commons license. Another track called "Love and Caring", samples the kick and snare from Covox's "Sunday".
In 23 April 2010 the duo released their second album Crystal Castles (II). This album reached #48 on UK Singles Chart, #8 on UK Dance Albums Chart, #24 on US Digital Albums, #6 on US Top Electronic Albums, and #3 on US Top Heatseekers. Crystal Castles (II) has been met with mostly positive reviews from critics. To date, four singles were issued: Doe Deer, Celestica and Baptism, and a new version of the track Not In Love which featured Robert Smith of The Cure on vocals.
This became their biggest hit to date, charting in a great amount of countries including a #3 in Belgium (Flanders), a #31 in Denmark and various notable placements on official alternative music charts. "Not In Love", which is a cover of a Platinum Blonde song of the same name, was also featured in various television shows (including "Degrassi") and the popular football simulation videogame FIFA 12.
The band toured throughout 2010 in the US and abroad and played the Reading and Leeds Festivals and Glastonbury Festival in the UK and Big Day Out in Australia. In February 2011, the band will perform on the NME Awards Tour
The band's third album, (III) was released on November 21, 2012. The album contains the singles "Plague", "Wrath of God", and "Sad Eyes".
On October 8th 2014 it was announced on then lead singer Alice Glass' Twitter that she was leaving the band, and that the group would end. However, Crystal Castles' manager immediately reported that the band would continue, and on April 15th, 2015, Ethan Kath shared a new track titled Frail on SoundCloud, writing 'this is Edith on vocals', implying that fellow musician Edith Frances was Crystal Castles' new lead vocalist, which was in fact the case.
On 2 July 2015, another new song, Deicide, was released as a single. A new version of Deicide was later released on the album under the title Their Kindness is Charade.
In late November 2015, Edith Frances played her first show as the other half of Crystal Castles in South Africa.
In the last week of June 2016, the track Concrete was leaked on Korean website MNet. The track was later released as a single on July 6 with an accompanying video Video on the same day on YouTube.
On June 29, the band previewed a new track Femen with a teaser of the music Video showing birds caught and struggling in mist nets via Vimeo.
On July 11, the band announced the new record, Amnesty (I) along with its cover art and track list and also premiering Char as Annie Mac's Hottest Record on BBC Radio 1.
The single and pre-order for the album were made available a day later on July 12.
The fourth, and last pre-order single Fleece was made available on August 16 at the band's iTunes page.
Another single titled Sadist was released on August 18, followed by the official release of the album on August 19, 2016. Track Sadist was followed by Edith's message announced on CC official Facebook page.
On their official website CC announced that all band's proceeds from Amnesty (I) album will be donated to Amnesty International. New album Vinyl and CD includes bonus track Kept.
http://www.crystalcastles.com
Various sources have reported that, as of 2018, Crystal Castles remains in a hiatus with no signs of new material coming in the near future.
xxzxcz me
Crystal Castles Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
bugs and insects
useless
leave me for dead
how can you love?
program the head
we get so demonstrated
lie like a dog
now it's just wires
full of promise
robotic love
i'm programmed to rust
AIDS robot is cald in iron bolts
robot grunts have bled each other
they wanna play with my placenta
all we have is dirty weather
someone push the button
i know we're just diesase
a bloody cyst
what will you live,
what will you die for?
protect the cure in me
baby i know
we'll celebrate the f**ing rain
just because we don't feels flesh
doesn't mean we don't fear deaht
The lyrics of Crystal Castles's song "xxzxcz me" present a dystopian view of a world in which humans have become too reliant on technology and lost touch with their humanity. The opening lines, "we can insist on having robots, bugs and insects, useless, leave me for dead," suggest a detachment from living organisms and a preference for technological devices. The line "how can you love? program the head" implies that love and emotions are being controlled and manipulated by technology. The phrase "nuts and bolts for granted" means that people have lost their appreciation for the natural world and are taking it for granted.
"Robot grunts have bled each other, they wanna play with my placenta" is a grisly image of machines attempting to mimic the biological processes of reproduction. The line "all we have is dirty weather, someone push the button" suggests that even the climate has become artificial and controlled. The repeated phrase "robotic love, I'm programmed to rust" reinforces the idea that emotions and relationships have been mechanized and limited by programming. AIDS robot is cald in iron bolts is perhaps a commentary on the prevalence of disease in this imagined society and how it is also being subjected to mechanical treatment.
Despite all of this, the singer of the song still sees value in humanity, and urges someone to "protect the cure in me." The final lines, "just because we don't feel flesh, doesn't mean we don't fear death," suggest that although the people in this world may have lost their connection to nature and their own bodies, they are still subject to the same fundamental fears and mortality.
Line by Line Meaning
we can insist on having robots
We have the power to demand the existence of robots
bugs and insects
Natural beings are deemed inferior compared to machines
useless
Anything and everything besides machines are rendered useless
leave me for dead
Humans are considered dispensable and disposable
how can you love?
Questioning the capacity of machines to understand love
program the head
The head, being the center of human emotion, can be programmed like a machine
we get so demonstrated
Humans are easily replaceable with machines with the constant advancements in technology
nuts and bolts for granted
The basic components of machines are taken for granted while ignoring the complexity of human life
lie like a dog
Humans are capable of dishonesty and deception, while machines are not
now it's just wires
Humans are reduced to being a mere collection of wires and circuits, devoid of any essence
full of promise
Machines hold the promise of a better future, unlike humans who bring about destruction and chaos
robotic love
Love between machines or from a machine is emotionless and artificial
i'm programmed to rust
The existence of machines, just like anything else, is temporary and prone to decay
AIDS robot is cald in iron bolts
Even a robot, devoid of any disease or human condition, can be plagued with flaws and defects
robot grunts have bled each other
The idea of machines inflicting harm on each other highlights the potential danger of their existence
they wanna play with my placenta
Humans see machines as toys, disregarding their significance and complexity
all we have is dirty weather
The world is in a state of disrepair and deterioration, and machines may be the only hope for a better future
someone push the button
A call for action to advance the progress of technology to help alleviate the issues plaguing humanity
i know we're just disease
Humans are merely destructive forces in the world, unlike machines which hold the promise of a better future
a bloody cyst
The world is filled with disease and decay, further highlighting the need for machines to take over
what will you live,
Challenging humans to consider their purpose in the world
what will you die for?
Questioning the nature of human sacrifice and whether it is necessary
protect the cure in me
The machines hold the key to a better future and must be protected and advanced for the sake of humanity
baby i know
An acknowledgement of the inevitability of the rise of machines
we'll celebrate the f**ing rain
A celebration of the machines, even in the face of adversity and chaos
just because we don't feels flesh
Machines may not have the capacity to feel like humans do, but they are still capable of superior rationality
doesn't mean we don't fear death
A recognition that machines may be more advanced and rational than humans, but they are not invincible and still face the same fears as humans do
Contributed by Zachary J. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@becc4333
It's actually the opposite of that. It's prostitutes being "programmed" into a robotic mindset, and the lifestyle that slowly destroys them.
"You said lave me for dead. How can you love? Program the head." A prostitute probably overdosed and is "being left for dead." A well-known tactic in order to keep prostitutes submissive and in the business is to program them to be compliant by getting them addicted to drugs so that they always need to come back for a fix.
"Robotic love. I'm programmed to rust." A very tragic line I've heard from someone who escaped the porn/prostitution industry is that the only difference between rape and consent was the money that they just watched while they did their deed. Prostitutes are programmed to "love" people they do business with. Programmed by drugs and money in order to run a business of sex through their body, which eventually leaves them to rust into an "AIDS robot".
"Robot hunks have one agenda, they wanna play with my placenta." Men who also have a robotic mindset simply want to use the robotic and "emotionless" (emotionally destroyed) prostitutes to fill up their agenda and simply be satisfied.
"Are we now deserving when our cyborg parts are burning?" Asking if the prostitutes deserve to suffer, (cyborg parts are burning refers to their sex they sell and were programmed to feel robotic about, and since they contracted AIDS, or Herpes (which is featured in Alice's other song MOTHER KNOWS BEST), their sex that they sell is now burning with infection. Sex is killing me" also furthers this speculation. Having sex and contracting all these STD's and STI's is killing them, as well as their disconnect and robotic sense of self when they're processing the selling of their sex).
"Just because we don't feel flesh, doesn't mean we don't fear death." Just because people see them as less than human, and "robotic, doesn't mean they are. They still fear death, and fear the day that they overdose on drugs, or when the disease "burning in their cyborg parts" eventually catches up to them, as all humans do.
@payasoinfeliz
sounds like mario is eating a lot of mushrooms
@paparazi_mode
Афиша- Scarlxrd
@paparazi_mode
https://youtu.be/WEgCCvfKMK4
@alstpnv
yeeeeeaa
@anlrs
Nic3
@joakimandersson7769
A good Crystal Castles song is just like when you're high on acid and your nintendo is broken <3
@kimigpx
I love how this song is about robots committing suicide by dancing in the rain.
@cardboardhero2294
+Kimi C: Umm not really...
@StarmanPlays
+Kimi C: lol no
@becc4333
It's actually the opposite of that. It's prostitutes being "programmed" into a robotic mindset, and the lifestyle that slowly destroys them.
"You said lave me for dead. How can you love? Program the head." A prostitute probably overdosed and is "being left for dead." A well-known tactic in order to keep prostitutes submissive and in the business is to program them to be compliant by getting them addicted to drugs so that they always need to come back for a fix.
"Robotic love. I'm programmed to rust." A very tragic line I've heard from someone who escaped the porn/prostitution industry is that the only difference between rape and consent was the money that they just watched while they did their deed. Prostitutes are programmed to "love" people they do business with. Programmed by drugs and money in order to run a business of sex through their body, which eventually leaves them to rust into an "AIDS robot".
"Robot hunks have one agenda, they wanna play with my placenta." Men who also have a robotic mindset simply want to use the robotic and "emotionless" (emotionally destroyed) prostitutes to fill up their agenda and simply be satisfied.
"Are we now deserving when our cyborg parts are burning?" Asking if the prostitutes deserve to suffer, (cyborg parts are burning refers to their sex they sell and were programmed to feel robotic about, and since they contracted AIDS, or Herpes (which is featured in Alice's other song MOTHER KNOWS BEST), their sex that they sell is now burning with infection. Sex is killing me" also furthers this speculation. Having sex and contracting all these STD's and STI's is killing them, as well as their disconnect and robotic sense of self when they're processing the selling of their sex).
"Just because we don't feel flesh, doesn't mean we don't fear death." Just because people see them as less than human, and "robotic, doesn't mean they are. They still fear death, and fear the day that they overdose on drugs, or when the disease "burning in their cyborg parts" eventually catches up to them, as all humans do.