Exclaim! praises: "Andrews, the āalternative Phil Spectorā, and brainchild behind the much heralded group Failure, who arguably are the genesis of the chromatic processed guitar sound (currently perpetuated by former member Troy Van Leeuwen, who took it to A Perfect Circle and Queens of the Stone Age), and whom also earned accolades worldwide and gained great support by the likes of other left-field dark rockers such as Tool."
Since producing and mixing Fantastic Planet, a new career opened up for Ken, as bands and artists found themselves drawn to his aural sensibilities. Easily segueing into his second calling as a producer/mixer, Ken has worked for numerous actsāincluding Beck, Pete Yorn, Tenacious D, A Perfect Circle, Jimmy Eat World, Mae, and Blink-182.
In 2000, Ken continued as a recording artist with his first solo project, ON (Epic Records), and later with the band Year of the Rabbit (Elektra). āI enjoy making records. Whether Iām helping other artists enhance their vision as a producer or mixer, or writing and recording my own stuff as an artist; I find both worlds to benefit each other, as I invariably pick up skills and techniques from the artists I produce and vice versa. I find wearing both hats equally satisfying creatively.ā
Now, Ken returns to the scene with his first solo release as Ken Andrews. āIām very excited about this album [Secrets of the Lost Satellite]. Iāve had the opportunity to ask various people Iāve worked with over the years to come in and collaborate with me this time. I brought in two of my oldest musical cohorts, Justin Meldal-Johnsen (Beck, IMA Robot) and Jordon Zadorozny (Blinker the Star, Abbey) to co-produce the new album with me. Justinās accomplished career as a top L.A. studio bassist (Tori Amos, Air, Garbage, The Mars Volta) and his experience as Beckās live musical director and bassist has prepared him well for the tasks of producer. His main concept for this record, and the driving force as to why this album is decidedly different from my previous solo work, was to bring in a live band to overdub as a unit, on top of my fairly finished and detailed demos. The band consisted mostly of Beckās current live group, whom I had met when I was hired by Beck to contribute to the Nacho Libre Soundtrack (Brian Lebarton, Matt Mahaffey, Matt Sherrod, and Justin Stanley). We all got together for a two-day recording session, which was one of the most exciting of my life. These guys are so tuned in to each other. Listening to them come up with ideas, and in some cases completely transforming my songsāwas a huge rush for me. While the basic structures and all the vocals stayed the same, the songs became injected with a live, undulating quality, that enhanced the basic feel I was going for, but took it far beyond what I thought was possible.ā
āThe creative process has been very liberating and free flowing. I finally have taken the pressure off of myself, in terms of playing most of the instruments, and really used my skills as the songwriter and overall auteur of the album to my advantage,ā he explains.
āWrite Your Storyā, a track Ken co-wrote with Jordon Zadorozny, strays from what is heard on past Failure, ON, and Rabbit releases. Somewhere in the musical vein of Air and The Doves, the dreamy undertones of the song echo alongside luxuriant vocals.
āJordon and I have worked together a lot in the past, except with the underlying roles reversed (I was producing him in the past). We both, play, sing, engineer, and produce, so we tend to get into the nitty-gritty of things real quick. Jordon is one of the very few people Iām completely comfortable writing with for my own album. He and I share a writing sensibility that we donāt talk about, it just happens. Plus, he completely understands my musical history and what I was trying to achieve on this album. His role was primarily co-producer, but he played quite a few instruments on various songs, and he co-wrote probably my favorite song on the album, āWrite Your Story.ā
āSecret Thingsā, one of the albumās standout tracks, combines tripped-out strings with a synth-bass groove creating a demanding, viscerally appeal. Live instruments (drums, piano, and guitar) mingle with electronic elements. Strong, hooky vocals keep the song on course. āIn Your Wayā, another stylistically dynamic track pulls the listener into an eerie, enticing space/dream world.
Secrets of the Lost Satellite is expected in stores on March 13, 2007 courtesy of Dinosaur Fight Records. āI think people are going to hear things that they are used to hearing from me on this album, but they are also going to hear things that I havenāt really done in the past,ā explains Ken.
A three-week promotional headline tour is slated to coincide with the anticipated release. This tour will be Kenās first return to the live scene since touring with Year of the Rabbit in 2003.
Allergic
Ken Andrews Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
It's burning up like an airline jet (yeah)
Streaking down, out of control
Breaking up, headed for home
All I see is the darkness in your moonlight
Will I watch as your dress is ripped to shreds?
But you like to pretend we're saving you
I've seen you take endless punishment
You're surface-scarred, can't you tell?
All I see is the darkness in your moonlight
Will I watch as your dress is ripped to shreds?
We had our time (we had our time)
We had our fun, now let's go
Back to our father (back to our father)
Back to the place we started out
We set you up, we set you up and
We set you up, we set you up and
We set you up, we set you up and
We set you up, we set you up and
All I see is the darkness in your moonlight
Will I watch as your dress is ripped to shreds?
We had our time
We had our fun, now let's go
Back to our father
Back to the place we started out.
In Ken Andrews's song Allergic, the lyrics seem to revolve around a failing relationship and the feeling of being taken for granted by one's partner. Andrews describes the current state of the world as having very little left, and compares it to a burning airline jet streaking down and out of control. This could be interpreted as a metaphor for the couple's relationship, which is spiraling downward and out of their control. Andrews expresses his frustration with his partner's lack of action to fix things, noting that she could have cut things off much sooner. Instead, she likes to pretend that they are saving her, which seems to indicate that she is in some way reliant on the relationship despite its troubles.
The second verse finds Andrews observing the toll that the relationship has taken on his partner, who he notes has taken endless punishment and is surface-scarred. This could be a reference to emotional or psychological damage, or possibly even to physical harm. Regardless, the imagery is stark and painful. In the chorus, Andrews returns to the metaphor of darkness in his partner's moonlight, symbolizing the negativity and hopelessness that seems to be pervading their interactions. He wonders if he will watch as her dress is ripped to shreds, which could be interpreted in a variety of ways - perhaps as an actual article of clothing, or maybe as a metaphor for his partner's persona or sense of self.
The final lines of the song are somewhat ambiguous. Andrews sings, "We set you up, we set you up," but it's unclear who the "we" might refer to. It could be a reference to external circumstances that have caused the couple's troubles, or it could be an indication that Andrews himself is partly to blame for what has gone wrong. Regardless, the chorus repeats once more, with Andrews longing to go back to the beginning - to return to a simpler time when things were better.
Line by Line Meaning
This century has so little left
The singer feels that the current era is nearing its end, and there is not much time left.
It's burning up like an airline jet (yeah)
The singer compares the rapid collapse of this era to the burning destruction of a crashing airplane.
Streaking down, out of control
The downfall of this era is happening very quickly and chaotically.
Breaking up, headed for home
This era is falling apart and returning to its starting point or origin.
All I see is the darkness in your moonlight
The artist perceives a hidden or negative aspect of the person they are addressing, even in situations where things appear to be positive.
Will I watch as your dress is ripped to shreds?
The singer wonders if they will witness the downfall or destruction of the person they are addressing.
You could have cut it off much sooner
The singer believes that the person they are addressing could have avoided a negative outcome if they had acted earlier.
But you like to pretend we're saving you
The person being addressed is in denial about their situation and does not acknowledge that others are trying to help them.
I've seen you take endless punishment
The artist has witnessed the person being addressed endure many hardships and struggles.
You're surface-scarred, can't you tell?
The struggles and hardships have left visible marks or scars on the person being addressed.
We had our time (we had our time)
The singer recalls a past period of enjoyment or fulfillment.
We had our fun, now let's go
The artist suggests moving on from the past and finding new forms of enjoyment or fulfillment.
Back to our father (back to our father)
The singer wants to return to the place or situation where they first felt fulfilled or happy.
Back to the place we started out
The singer wants to return to a point in time when they were satisfied with their circumstances.
We set you up, we set you up and
The singer suggests that they were partly responsible for the situation the person being addressed is in.
We set you up, we set you up and
The artist repeats the previous idea that they contributed to the negative outcome of the situation.
We set you up, we set you up and
The artist repeats again that they played a role in the negative outcome of the situation.
We set you up, we set you up and
The singer emphasizes that others played a role in the negative outcome of the situation.
Contributed by Liam C. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Seven Nines & Tens Band
Beautiful song! Top 5 in his canon! That chorus is flawless
Tordah90
Didn't know of this man. Amazing discovery. Now let the amazing journey of discovering his music begin.
kaide melloch
Tordah90 LISTEN TO FAILURES FANTASTIC PLANET. HIS MAGNUM OPUS FOR SURE!!!!
cyclopsvideo1
awesome song,saw them in Texas,sounded just as good if not better live.
Darryl Walker
I went to a VERY small bar in Monroe, LA years ago in college. Great show. Also got this cover signed somewhere. I used to do student radio in college and spun A LOT of his material from Failure, On, YOTR, and this album.
Jason Armstrong
this guy is a damn lyrical genius
cyclopsvideo1
Great song.Has THAT classic ken andrews songwriting.If you like this listen to failure,ON,year of the rabbit,replicants covers album,etc.
Jay Sharp
Love ā¤ļø you. This is why i read the comments. I not only LISTEN to all you mentioned, but i bought them all. Here in NYC it was easy to find all the releases on compact disk when they came out (autolux too) however... YEAR OF THE RABBIT š
Im like "ZUHHH!?"
ive never heard of it, but i can imagine it's Ken Andrews so I'm gonna scour a wiki and search here for the music to hear now šµ
Jay Sharp
HELL!! I even really got into that one Paramore album he produced, and i think Paramore usually kinda suck so... Absolutely love the work this man does.
Recently realized he mixed some of the audio for a few nine inch nails performance (like live, in-studio and rehearsal) clips
geoff421
Sounds great! I believe he may have also worked with Starflyer 59 another great yet underrated band