Midlake began in 1999 by a group of jazz students at the University of North Texas. The original lineup consisted of Tim Smith (vocals, guitars, keyboards), McKenzie Smith (drums), Paul Alexander (bass), Eric Nichelson (guitar), and Evan Jacobs (keyboards). Their initial work (under the working name The Cornbread All-Stars) consisted of funk/jazz explorations heavily influenced by Herbie Hancock.
Later the band began to lean more toward an indie rock sound. Tim Smith quit playing saxophone and began writing songs that were heavily influenced by bands such as Jethro Tull, Radiohead, Travis, and Grandaddy. Smith says about that: "We don't want to get called a Radiohead rip-off band. I think Radiohead is a lot closer to my natural tendencies as a songwriter than a band like, um, Jethro Tull. I listen to way more Jethro Tull than I do Radiohead these days, but I could write 10 Radiohead songs before I could write one Jethro Tull song. I want to sound more like Jethro Tull, but I just can't. That's a big struggle."
Jacobs left the band and Eric Nichelson took over on keyboard. Jason Upshaw joined the band as a guitarist. Live recordings from this period, recorded at Denton's Panhandle House studio, were never released as the band felt they had moved beyond the material.
Soon before their debut EP, Milkmaid Grand Army, was recorded, Upshaw was replaced on guitars by Eric Pulido, a longtime friend of drummer Smith, to form the current lineup. Their debut full-length album, 2004's Bamnan and Slivercork, was recorded at home in Denton, Texas and mastered at Abbey Road Studios. It showed a move in the direction of lo-fi psychedelic electronica, embracing influences such as Grandaddy and The Flaming Lips. The album even caught the ear of skateboarder-turned-actor Jason Lee, who produced and directed the music video for the song 'Balloon Maker', and who continues to support and promote the band.
In 2006, after nearly a year and a half of recording and re-recording, they completed their second release for Bella Union – The Trials of Van Occupanther. The album was met with generally positive reviews.
The 3rd album release by the band is called The Courage of Others. It was released on February 1, 2010. The album sleeve pays homage to Andrei Rublev, a 1966 film by Russian writer and director Andrei Tarkovsky.
In this album Smith focusing on the human condition, death, courage (as per the album’s title), and nature. The band put aside the wonderfully corny synthesizers they used on the last record in favor of a 100-percent organic approach that fits their bearded poets of the mountain image. The album received overwhelmingly positive review.
www.midlake.net
Anabel
Midlake Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
One for Anabel and one for me
We walked to see the crowd
That gathered there on town square
A big parade
The flutes got paid
I'm glad they made a dragon stage
The families nest
The children a mess
And the babies rest
The rain is cruel
And it's washing away the things
There in my head
The opening lines of Midlake's "Anabel" paint a picture of two people, the singer and Anabel, heading out to a town square to join in a big parade they've heard about. The singer wants to bring along a photograph machine to capture the moment for posterity, indicating a desire to hold onto things that are fleeting and to keep memories alive. The parade itself sounds like a raucous affair, with flutes playing and a dragon stage making an appearance. The families gather, the bakers test their wares, and the children get into a mess while the babies rest. The singer seems happy to be there, but also melancholy as the rain begins to fall and wash away the sights and sounds that were filling their heads. The final line of the verse is particularly poignant, suggesting that even when memories are captured in photographs, they can still slip away.
Taken as a whole, "Anabel" is a song about memories and the fleeting nature of joy. The singer wants nothing more than to hold onto the happy moment they are experiencing, but knows that rain and time will inevitably wash it away. There is a sense of wistful nostalgia in the lyrics, as if the singer is looking back on a time long gone and trying to hold onto it for just a little while longer. The choice of a parade as the setting for the song is particularly apt, as parades are often associated with joy and celebration, but are also fleeting events that only last for a short time.
Line by Line Meaning
Bring with you a photograph machine
Don't forget to bring a camera to capture memories
One for Anabel and one for me
We both want to remember this moment
We walked to see the crowd
We took a stroll to witness the town's excitement
That gathered there on town square
People were assembling in the public square
A big parade
A grand procession was taking place
The flutes got paid
The musicians were compensated for their performance
I'm glad they made a dragon stage
I appreciate the effort put into making the performance spectacular
The families nest
Families gathered together to watch the show
The bakers test
Bakers assessed their baking skills against each other
The children a mess
Kids were excited and all over the place
And the babies rest
The little ones slept through the excitement
The rain is cruel
The weather was not in our favor
And it's washing away the things
The rain was ruining some of the festivities
There in my head
Despite the weather, I will always remember this experience in my mind
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: ERIC NICHELSON, ERIC PULIDO, MCKENZIE SMITH, PAUL ALEXANDER, TIM SMITH
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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Bring with you a photograph machine
One for Anabel and one for me
I'm having trouble with remebering things
So one for Anabel and one for me
We walked down to see the crowd
That gathered there on town square
The? big parade
The flutes got paid
I'm glad they made
A dragon stage
The families nest
The bakers test
The children a mess
And babies rest
The rain is cruel
And it's washing away
The things
There in my head
Berfin H.
Sadece bize özel kalacaksın.
L Komaromi
the album title says slivercork and not silvercork
Awkadan
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