Hanley was born in Dorchester, Massachusetts. She was a member of Letters to Cleo from 1990 to 2000 (the length of the band's existence). She came up with the band's name (she had a pen pal named Cleo when she was younger). In 1997, she started to work on other projects than the band, starting with a role in the Boston Rock Opera's performance of Jesus Christ Superstar as Mary Magdalene.
In 1999, Hanley made a cameo as herself in the film 10 Things I Hate about You, singing a cover version of Nick Lowe's "Cruel to be Kind" at the movie characters' high school prom. Towards the end of Letters to Cleo's career, she began performing with her husband and fellow Letters to Cleo member Michael Eisenstein outside of the band. Around the same time, she gave birth to their daughter, Zoe.
Starting her own solo career, Hanley started doing music for the cartoon Generation O. She also provided the singing voice for Rachael Leigh Cook's character Josie in the movie Josie and the Pussycats. In 2002, she released her first solo album, Cherry Marmalade. That same year, she appeared on the Dropkick Murphys/Face to Face split cd, providing guest vocals on the original version of the Dropkick Murphys song "The Dirty Glass". She also performed the song "Follow Me" for the video game Sonic Heroes in 2003. In 2004 she released a follow up to Cherry Marmalade, The Babydoll EP. She is very involved with the Boston based charity "Hot Stove, Cool Music." She is currently in the Los Angeles-based girl band, The Dilettantes, with New York native Michelle Lewis. In 2004, she and her husband Michael Eisenstein had their second child, Henry Aaron, the name given in honor of baseball player Hank Aaron and their love for baseball.
In August 2005, Hanley announced on her website's message board that she would be recording a cover of Iggy Pop's "Lust for Life" for the soundtrack of the Reese Witherspoon film Just Like Heaven In September 2005, she appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno as part of a pretaped man-on-the-street segment, singing a song about falling in love at Starbucks.
The internet radio station KGRL featured her as their Flower-Powered Artist for September of 2006. The feature includes an exclusive interview, CD Review of Cherry Marmalade, Review of Babydoll EP, and an on-demand video stream of the whole Hotel Cafe performance last July 2006.
She's also quite popular with fans of the New England Patriots, as every time she has sung the National Anthem for them at Gillette Stadium the Patriots have won. She has sung eight times as of January 2007 with as many wins, including the only home playoff games for the Patriots in 2006 and 2007.
She sings the main theme song for My Friends Tigger and Pooh, a half-hour Disney Channel TV show that premiered on Playhouse Disney on May 12, 2007 and "We Are The Care Bears" from Care Bears: Oopsy Does It!.
On Thanksgiving Day 2007, Hanley sang a song called "Caring Changes The World" in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade on the Care Bears Float. Hanley toured as a back up singer with Miley Cyrus on her Hannah Montana/Miley Cyrus : Best of Both Worlds Tour.
Satellite
Kay Hanley Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
She's shiftless in red maybe some dead
And buried love
Might make a scene
You know what I mean?
For crying out loud
With cosmos pink
They all toasted you bye
Just to look you in the eye
'cause I don't want you to go
I don't want you to go
I miss you already
Satellite
You're blue salt water taffy
So don't ride down to the Vegas strip
Satellite
I want you to be happy
If you'll smile for me
We'll pretend like you never left
I wish I tried to meet you at the airport
I wish that you lied
The west was your last resort
But if I can keep the black coat
You can keep the veuve clicquot
Satellite
The lyrics to Kay Hanley's song "Satellite" are intriguing and open to interpretation. The witness claims that something "extraordinary" has happened, possibly involving a woman dressed in red who may be dead or involved in a buried love affair. The singer acknowledges that this situation could cause a scene and expresses their desire not to lose the person they are speaking to. They state that they miss this person already, referring to them as a "Satellite" who is like blue salt water taffy. The singer then begs this person not to go, expressing a desire to make them happy and pretending like they never left.
The song seems to evoke a sense of loss or separation, with the singer lamenting the departure of the Satellite figure. The lyric "I wish I tried to meet you at the airport" suggests a missed opportunity, a moment when the singer could have said goodbye or attempted to keep the Satellite from leaving. The reference to the black coat and veuve clicquot may be symbolic, implying that the singer would rather hold onto something tangible, like a coat or champagne, than lose the intangible connection they have with Satellite.
Ultimately, the meaning behind "Satellite" may be open to interpretation, as the lyrics leave much to the listener's imagination. However, common themes of loss, missed opportunities, and the desire to hold onto something that is slipping away permeate the song.
Line by Line Meaning
The witness said it's extraordinary
Someone observed something unusual or remarkable
She's shiftless in red maybe some dead And buried love
She is idle and restless, potentially referring to a past love that no longer exists
Might make a scene You know what I mean? For crying out loud
The situation could become dramatic or chaotic and the singer is frustrated about it
With cosmos pink They all toasted you bye But I needed another drink
Others celebrated or said goodbye, but the artist drank more instead
Just to look you in the eye 'cause I don't want you to go I don't want you to go I miss you already
The artist wants the person to stay and already misses them
Satellite You're blue salt water taffy So don't ride down to the Vegas strip
The person is sweet and attractive, but the singer doesn't want them to leave for Las Vegas
Satellite I want you to be happy If you'll smile for me We'll pretend like you never left
The singer wants the person to be happy and if they smile, they can pretend like they never left
I wish I tried to meet you at the airport I wish that you lied The west was your last resort
The artist wishes they tried to meet the person at the airport and wishes they didn't leave, but realizes the west was their only option
But if I can keep the black coat You can keep the veuve clicquot Satellite
The artist is willing to trade possessions with the person as a gesture of friendship
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
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