(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.
The CN Tower Belongs To The Dead
Final Fantasy Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Country road, lead the dead from our homes to the ground
Keep a book of the maggots our bodies will snare
'Cause the earth is the earth, no need to travel in the air
The CN Tower is built upon our bones!
The CN Tower will always be our home!
Cabbages, ginger root and a crucifix
Never rode on the plains, never thought I couldn't stay
Had a good run anyway, had a good run anyway
I could fill up the lake with all the things I didn't say
Had a good run anyway, had a good run anyway
From the top of the tower
Radio buzz in our ears
We can see your house from here
(x2)
The song "The CN Tower Belongs to the Dead" by Final Fantasy is a melancholic piece that speaks of the dead finding their resting place in the country road. The lyrics describe how the earth is enough for the dead to find their final resting place, and there is no need to travel through the air. The reference to the CN Tower being built on their bones signifies how the present-day landscape has been created on the bones of our forbears. The imagery of decorating around the base with cabbages, ginger root, and a crucifix portrays the idea of graveyard aesthetics, where people pay respect to the dead with flowers, food, and candles.
The chorus of the song emphasizes that the CN Tower is the dead's permanent home and will always be there as a reminder of their existence. The second verse speaks of missed opportunities and how one can never say all the things they wanted to say in their lifetime. The reference to the radio buzz and the view of the house from the tower talks about how communication and memory help us remember the dead and their lives.
Overall, the song speaks of death, remembrance, and the cycle of life. It reminds us of the transient nature of life and how we should value every moment.
Line by Line Meaning
We the dead, we the dead find a country road
As dead souls, we wander aimlessly, searching for a path that leads us to the afterlife.
Country road, lead the dead from our homes to the ground
This path symbolizes our final journey as the dead, from our homes to the graveyard, where our bodies will rest.
Keep a book of the maggots our bodies will snare
We must acknowledge and accept that our bodies, once interred, will become food for maggots and other decomposers.
'Cause the earth is the earth, no need to travel in the air
We don't need to look for an afterlife beyond the physical world - the earth itself is all we have, and it is where we must return.
The CN Tower is built upon our bones!
The towering structure serves as a monument to the dead whose bones were used as its foundation - a reminder of the impermanence and mortality of all things.
The CN Tower will always be our home!
Even in death, the souls of those whose remains support the structure remain tied to the tower - their final resting place and eternal home.
Decorate 'round the base, all the graves of our lost loves
Cabbages, ginger root and a crucifix
The base of the tower is adorned with makeshift graves of the loved ones we've lost, with simple offerings of cabbages, ginger root, and crucifixes to honor their memory.
Never rode on the plains, never thought I couldn't stay
Had a good run anyway, had a good run anyway
I could fill up the lake with all the things I didn't say
Had a good run anyway, had a good run anyway
Reflecting on their life, the artist acknowledges that they never left their hometown or achieved great things, but feels content with the life they lived and the memories they made.
From the top of the tower
Radio buzz in our ears
We can see your house from here
(x2)
The dead gaze down upon the living from the heights of the tower, listening to the sounds that still reach them and watching over the homes and lives they left behind.
Contributed by Colin H. Suggest a correction in the comments below.