(2) German Trance project of Ralph Fritsch & Detlef Hastik, active throughout the 90s which ended with the double A-side release: "You're My Angel / The Moon Is Shining" in 2003. "You're My Angel" was later covered by the UK duo Styles & Breeze.
(For Final Fantasy videogames, please use 植松伸夫 and other respective composers. More information available on Wikipedia or just use Musicbrainz Picard).
Further information on (1) entry below:
The Canadian musician decided to stop using this moniker in December 18th, 2009 and start using his own name, Owen Pallett, as he planned to release his third album in the Japanese market, where the name 'Final Fantasy' may have conflicted with the famous video game franchise. He also announced that previous albums will be re-released under his name
Owen Pallett is a violinist and singer from Toronto, Ontario, Canada. He is the principal member of the band Final Fantasy, which is essentially a solo group, although Leon Taheny is also credited as drummer and engineer. (This band should not be mistaken with Square Enix's famous game series "Final Fantasy" - its music is mostly composed by 植松伸夫. The name "Final Fantasy" is in fact a tribute to the well-known video game series.) On September 18th 2006, Final Fantasy won the inaugural Polaris Music Prize for the best Canadian album (based solely on artistic merit).
Pallett has been noted for his live performances, wherein he plays the violin into a sampler controlled by foot pedals, which then loops back one or more of the previously played musical phrases as he plays additional parts simultaneously. He has also performed with more traditional string quartets as backing musicians.
He believes his work is somewhat influenced by his sexuality, saying "As far as whether the music I make is gay or queer, yeah, it comes from the fact that I'm gay, but that doesn't mean I'm making music about it." in a recent interview.
"I'm taking a cue from Joel Gibb," he begins. "He and I are very different people, and we're very different in terms of the way we've assessed our sexual identities, but one thing I really respect about him is that his music has less to do with his identity and more to do with the more interesting aspects of himself." He states in an earlier interview in Toronto's NOW Magazine concerning his sexual identity and its use in his music.
On 12 February 2005, his debut album, Final Fantasy Has A Good Home, was released by the recording club Blocks (sometimes referred to as 'BlocksBlocksBlocks'), a cooperative, Toronto-based record label of which he is a member. A second album is entitled "He Poos Clouds", and inspiration for the songs are based on the eight schools of magic used for Dungeons & Dragons and how they relate to modern times. It is released under Tomlab.
His previous projects included a 3-piece Toronto-based band, Les Mouches, now defunct. He is still a member of another Toronto band called Picastro. Owen has also recorded and toured with The Hidden Cameras and The Arcade Fire. One of his songs, "This Is the Dream of Win & Regine", was inspired by the principal members of the latter group, Win Butler and Régine Chassagne, and a Dntel song of a similar name (This is the Dream of Evan & Chan). Owen also co-wrote the orchestral arrangements for both of The Arcade Fire's albums, along with Régine Chassagne.
Spell for a Weak Heart
Final Fantasy Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
She's gonna lay the danger
She's gonna drink to F. A. S.
A weakling heart is in my chest
Hard hard hard hard for a weakling heart!
For a weakling heart
Hard hard hard hard for a weakling heart!
We had our health about a week
But sickness comes to the weak
And we got cancer from our showerheads
And we got cancer from the ground
And cancer put us in the ground
And cancer grew up from our flowerbeds
Hard hard hard hard for a weakling heart!
For a weakling heart
Hard hard hard hard for a weakling heart!
For a weakling heart
The lyrics of Final Fantasy's song Spell for a Weak Heart speak to the experience of having a weak heart, whether it be weak in a metaphorical or literal sense. The singer begins by introducing his mother, who embodies the emotion of anger, and suggests that she will bring danger. The next line, "She's gonna drink to F.A.S.," is enigmatic and ambiguous, but could be interpreted as a reference to fetal alcohol syndrome. This could explain the weak heart that the singer claims to have. The repeated line "Hard hard hard hard for a weakling heart" emphasizes the physical and emotional difficulties that come with having such a vulnerability. The phrase "for a wicked heart to keep a face keep a face on it" speaks to the need to put up a facade, to appear strong even when feeling weak.
The second verse draws attention to the fragility of the human body, how easily illness can creep in and take hold. The imagery of cancer growing from showerheads and flowerbeds is jarring and serves to emphasize the randomness of sickness. The final line, "And cancer grew up from our flowerbeds," is particularly startling, suggesting that even in the beauty of nature there can be danger lurking. The repetition of the chorus highlights the ongoing struggle of living with a weak heart.
Overall, Spell for a Weak Heart offers a poignant and sometimes unsettling meditation on the frailty of the human body and the emotional difficulties that come with such a vulnerability.
Line by Line Meaning
My mother's name is Anger
My anger stems from my upbringing with a mother who was prone to anger
She's gonna lay the danger
My mother will not hesitate to create danger or take risks
She's gonna drink to F. A. S.
My mother may have substance abuse issues
A weakling heart is in my chest
I have a frail and easily overwhelmed heart
Hard hard hard hard for a weakling heart!
It is difficult to survive with such a vulnerable heart
For a weakling heart
Referencing my feeble heart
For a wicked heart to keep a face keep a face on it!
It is necessary to present a facade of strength and resilience despite my inherently wicked heart
We had our health about a week
My health quickly declined
But sickness comes to the weak
The weak are susceptible to sickness
And we got cancer from our showerheads
Our exposure to harmful substances caused cancer
And we got cancer from the ground
Our environment was polluted and caused our cancer
And cancer put us in the ground
Cancer was the cause of our death
And cancer grew up from our flowerbeds
Even our own garden had harmful substances that contributed to our cancer
Contributed by Joshua F. Suggest a correction in the comments below.