Combining elements of both rock and folk music, along with disturbingly personal sentiments, dark humor, and a voice able to channel both the falsetto highs of Neil Young and the wavering raspy low tones of Leonard Cohen, Toronto's Hayden Desser has spent his career creating uniquely affecting music.
The critically-acclaimed musician first appeared in the early '90s armed with only his four-track tape recorder, his unexpectedly low vocal range, and an extremely detuned guitar. Going simply by the name Hayden, he recorded his self-released cassette, In September, in 1994, and much of the material included evolved into his first proper LP, 1995's Everything I Long For. Initially self-released on his own Hardwood Records, the debut disc toed the line between beautiful and horrifying, touching on simple details of human interaction as well as delving into macabre tales that still retained an oddly personal edge. After a year of touring Canada, E.T.I.L.F. was picked up by Outpost Recordings (Geffen) and was released worldwide in early 1996. Tours of the U.S., Europe and Japan took up most of 1996, as well as writing and recording the title track to the Steve Buscemi-directed Tree’s Lounge. Hayden’s second full-length record. The Closer I Get (1998) was recorded in Toronto, Bearsville, N.Y., Seattle and Los Angeles. After another year of touring, Hayden closed the book on chapter one of his musical endeavors.
The next couple of years went by without any performances, but during 2000, Hayden began writing and recording in his Toronto home. The self-produced collection of songs was titled Skyscraper National Park and was released in 2001 to world–wide critical acclaim.
The following year, a live concert double CD was released, Live at Convocation Hall, a glimpse, for the listener, into what makes Hayden’s appearances such a favourite among his ever devoted fan base. His natural rapport with the crowd, along with an honest demeanour, has continued Hayden’s reputation as a unique and charming performer.
In 2004, Hayden released his 4th studio album. Elk-Lake Serenade continued in the direction of Skyscraper with it’s collection of warm and memorable recordings. 2004 also heralded Hayden’s return to the road with several tours that took him as far as Australia and New Zealand.
After a long period of writing and recording, Hayden returned in early 2008 with his 5th full-length studio record. In Field & Town is his most musically diverse and textured record to date. It captures his penchant for self-referential fiction and emotionally heavy songs and laces them with sharp hooks and smart lyrics. After supporting The National in Europe in November of ‘07, Hayden completed a sold-out theatre tour of Canada as well as spring and fall North American tours supporting Feist. In Field & Town was released on Fat Possum in the U.S.A. and November saw the release in Europe via the Affairs of the Heart label, combined with Nov./Dec. dates in the UK, France, Switzerland, Holland, Belgium and Germany.
www.hardwoodrecords.com
www.myspace.com/hayden
I Don't Think We Should Ever Meet
Hayden Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
What makes you smile or ruins your day
All I see is how you make me feel all right
When you're in sight
You're my one relief during these lonely weeks
But I don't think we should ever meet
"I Don't Think We Should Ever Meet" is a song that reflects on the complexity of modern relationships. Hayden, the singer, is lamenting the fact that he is only able to connect with his beloved through brief glimpses of her, through texts, and possibly photos, but never in person. He acknowledges that he doesn't know her favorite things, her mood swings, or how she spends her days, but he finds comfort in the positive effect she has on him. However, the main refrain reiterates the title of the song: despite his infatuation, the singer acknowledges that their relationship should remain limited to a digital connection. By making this decision, the singer is protecting himself from the pain of disappointment and preserving the purity of his fantasy relationship.
The song could be interpreted as a commentary on the way social media affects modern relationships. It's easy to curate an ideal version of oneself on social media, but more difficult to maintain that ideal in real life. The singer is essentially choosing to maintain the fantasy of a perfect relationship rather than risk bringing that illusion crashing down by trying to make it real. The lyrics also highlight the loneliness that can come with modern communication: even though we're more connected through technology than ever before, it's difficult to form meaningful relationships in the absence of physical contact.
Line by Line Meaning
I don't even know your ways,
I'm not familiar with your habits or characteristics.
What makes you smile or ruins your day.
I don't know the things that brighten your mood or upset you.
All I see is how you make me feel all right
Your presence has a positive impact on my emotional well-being.
When you're in sight.
I feel good when I'm around you.
You're my one relief during these lonely weeks,
You are the only source of comfort during times of loneliness.
But I don't think we should ever meet.
However, I don't believe a physical meeting between us would be beneficial or wise.
Lyrics © SC PUBLISHING DBA SECRETLY CANADIAN PUB.
Written by: Paul Hayden Desser
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
TheTsar ofAll
Samuel hayden was one of the most interesting characters that i had seen when doom 2016 came out.
He was the perfect foil for the doomslayer. Where the doomslayer is a god, one of violence made manifest, hayden was a man. Undeniably a extremely smart man, a genius unparalleled, but a man. The two were the opposite sides of the same coin, both wanting whats best for mankind but going about it in the ways they think best.
Until doom eternal came out, and he was revealed as the seraphim. I feel that kind of neutered their relationship for me, it made samuel somewhat less impressive. No longer a man who built himself up to the point he could stand at the shoulders of the godlike, he was just another powerful character like the khan maykr or the dark lord. Powerful by birth, not by work.
I wish they wouldve kept the idea of him being a human. Hell even if he wouldve transferred his mind to the body of the seraphim or been taken over by the seraphim, that wouldve kept that original idea intact.
Sucks, but cant really do anything about it now.
GoldenToparican
"I am not the villian of this story."
Technically he's right. Everyone, if not most people thought Dr. Hayden would be the villian in Doom Eternal. Instead we got Hayden going "Don't do the thing" to Doom Slayer and then Doom Slayer proceeding to do said thing.
I love it.
Sunshine Skystar
@Grimoire he did in the codex. He put his body in UAC facility in the ocean and then transferred history conciousness to a robot after he understands what it means to be a human.
lelouch vi britannia
This is a weapon, not a teleporter
SpicySalad
@Shadow Guardian I thought his whole thing was destroying hell, not everything
mikapuk
Dr. Hayden reminds my high school principal. Sinister and power thirsty
Grimoire
@Alec Manuel just two, I think it’s been stated that Hayden/Samur never had a human body, he just fabricated information stating that he did so he could transfer from his Makyr form with no issues.
Nathan Marcus S. Phua
In my opinion Hayden has one of the best voices in videogames
This_c__t
on par with legate lanius
Jake G
"Buuut you've returned, the only flesh and blood to walk between dimensions. So there may be a way"
The little amused chuckle he throws in there makes it even better. The voice acting in DOOM is top notch
SirAlexander
I liked the slayers testament voice