The group recorded its first release for the label, Livonia, in Defever's home studio. The album features Oliver's shivery vocals along with tape loops, samples, and guitar blasts, for a noise-damaged, ethereal collection of songs about ghosts, reincarnation, and dreams. By 1992's Home Is in Your Head, the band's lineup and scope expanded. New singers Denise James, Karen Neal, Melissa Elliott, and guitarist Jymn Auge added depth and breadth to the band's original lineup. An epic 23 songs long, Home Is in Your Head ranges from folky ballads to electrifying guitar maelstroms and tape collages. That year also saw the release of The Dirt Eaters EP, named for Defever's other, more rock-oriented group, of which Elliot was also a member. In 1993, His Name Is Alive released two albums: King of Sweet, a limited-edition release that mixed tape effects, samples, demos, and unreleased songs, and Mouth by Mouth, which added more pop structure into the group's inherently experimental and dreamy sound, resulting in its most accessible and diverse album to that date. A new drummer, Trey Many, took over Lang's duties.
As Defever's reputation as an innovative producer spread, he lent his skills to bands like Grenadine, a side project of Tsunami's Jenny Toomey and Unrest's Mark Robinson, other 4AD acts like Liquorice (which featured Toomey, Dan Littleton from Ida, and His Name Is Alive's Many) and Tarnation, and other Detroit-area bands like Godzuki and Outrageous Cherry. Defever also worked on other projects, including the folky ESP Summer (with former Pale Saint Ian Masters) and the electronic Robot World and Control Panel, and founded the Time Stereo art collective with a childhood friend, artist/musician Davin Brainard. Some of Time Stereo's projects included films, coloring books, and cassette-only releases from bands like Princess Dragon Mom, the Crash, Godzuki, New Grape, and Noise Camp.
Defever's diverse interests influenced His Name Is Alive's next release, 1996's Stars on ESP. Very little of the group's original ethereal sound remained, augmented instead with touches of dub, folk, gospel, and early- to mid-'60s pop like the Beach Boys' Pet Sounds. At the time of the album's release, Defever claimed that he was so fascinated by the group's "Good Vibrations" that he listened to it for months at a time. The following year's Nice Day EP reached to garage rock and '60s R&B for its inspiration, and featured some of the gospel singers from Stars on ESP, including Lovetta Pippen, whose singing also gave His Name Is Alive's 1998 LP, Fort Lake, an earthy sensuality. Fort Lake also marked the first time the band worked with another producer, recording engineer Steve King. King, another Livonia native, had also worked with Funkadelic and Aretha Franklin, and his touch meshes nicely with the funk, soul, and classic rock allusions His Name Is Alive makes on the album. In preparation for recording Fort Lake -- named after a waterlogged Civil War fort in Michigan -- the group played monthly shows at the Gold Dollar, a tiny Detroit club. At this time, Pippen, bassist Chad Gilchrist, and additional drummer Scott Goldstein debuted as part of the new lineup.
In 1999, His Name Is Alive released a U.S. compilation of tracks from their first five albums called Always Stay Sweet; at the time, those albums were only available as British imports. Like the rest of the band's work, the compilation highlights their mercurial, unique nature. Someday My Blues Will Cover the Earth appeared two years later. Released in 2002, the darkly soulful Last Night ended up being the group's final album for 4AD, but His Name Is Alive found other outlets for their music, and were actually busier than ever. Time Stereo released several CDs, such as 2004's ten-disc Cloud Box set, Leaf Club, Brown Rice, and The Detroit River, as well as many MP3-only works, including the Summer Bird and Something_Nothing EPs and a remastered version of King of Sweet. UFO Catcher was released in 2005 on CD by the German label En/Of and on vinyl by Time Stereo, while Ypsilanti Records issued the full-length Summer Bird that spring. Late in 2005, His Name Is Alive released the Raindrops Rainbow EP via iTunes as a teaser for Detrola, their debut for Reincarnate, also the home of fellow former 4AD artist Lisa Germano and Sing-Sing, the project of former Lush member Emma Anderson.
You And I Have Seizures
His Name Is Alive Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Feelings we have lost since we died
What is underground we can try to understand
I could never mean to bury you
I can't move they think i'm dead
I shall travel when i am asleep
Underground far and deep
There's a place that i can see you i fall into it sometimes
The lyrics of the song "You And I Have Seizures" by His Name Is Alive depict a sense of longing and loss in a dreamlike state. The opening line talks about the search for feelings that seem to have disappeared since death. It describes the desire to understand the underground and find a sense of meaning in it. The singer expresses regret over burying someone, possibly a loved one, and the feeling of being immobile but still alive. The song suggests that there is a way to travel underground, and there is a place where the singer can see the person they buried. It seems to evoke a sense of deep, existential pondering.
The lyrics don't provide any definite answers but leave a lot of room for interpretation. The dreamlike imagery could represent an inner world or a state of consciousness, and the underground could symbolize a realm of the unconscious mind or the afterlife. The line "I could never mean to bury you" could be interpreted as a metaphor for a missed opportunity or a regretted action that cannot be undone. The song is complex and thought-provoking, and it invites the listener to reflect on existential themes.
Line by Line Meaning
Something's got to give us feelings
We need something to make us feel alive again.
Feelings we have lost since we died
We have become numb to our emotions and it feels like we are dead inside.
What is underground we can try to understand
There are hidden parts of ourselves that we can try to explore and understand better.
I could never mean to bury you
I never intended to hurt you or make you feel trapped.
I can't move they think i'm dead
I feel physically paralyzed and unable to move, like I am already dead.
I shall travel when i am asleep
I hope to escape my current reality and explore new worlds in my dreams.
Underground far and deep
There are depths to our consciousness that are difficult to access and explore.
There's a place that i can see you i fall into it sometimes
There is a special place in my mind where I can imagine us together and escape from reality, but it is not always a healthy or sustainable coping mechanism.
Contributed by Muhammad S. Suggest a correction in the comments below.