The group started as a friendship nearly two decades ago in Birmingham, Alabama. “Orenda and I have been friends for 16 years,” Lemoyne offers. “When Remy Zero was just starting and becoming successful in Birmingham, Orenda and her musical partner Maria were a 16-year-old songwriter duo that would just hang around. We quickly recognized a talent in them and knew they would do well.” Many years later, an artist-in-residence program in Omaha would provided them with unusual creative control, resulting in several recordings of experimental pop songs.
Fink had moved to Omaha because of her involvement in Azure Ray and their Omaha-based record company Saddle Creek Records. When the local Bemis Center of Contemporary Arts offered Fink a musical art residency, she accepted, and with no guidelines in place, Fink considered using her collection of field recordings (recorded in, among other places, Omaha, Haiti, and an Alabama church) as source material for loops and pop songs. Fink: “My idea was to go and collect field recordings from all over. Places that inspired me in a kind of atmospheric way”
Fink invited her old friend Lemoyne to participate in the art project and he soon took residence at the Center in Omaha, where their early meetings took place in the basement. Lemoyne explains: “We’d take samples of sounds of Haitian rituals, street noises or whatever, then cut them into loops. We’d arrange them into forms and write songs with them or, she might have started a song and I would take some of these sound materials to create bodies of music around it.”
As the project began to take shape, both recognized its commercial as well as artistic potential. “We didn’t know what would happen and that was afforded by the fact that it was an art residency – we had freedom,” Fink says. “Ultimately, it ended up working really well. We created a cohesive work.”
The result has been compared to the work of Angelo Badalamenti. “We listened to a lot of David Lynch soundtracks and 10cc,” confesses Fink. “I was looking for this balance of light and dark. You don’t know why it is dark because it is actually very light sounding. That is what I was going for,” she adds.
Their debut, produced by Michael Paterson (Beck, Notorious B.I.G., Ladytron) is characterized by drum loops, shifting from acoustic guitar and angelic vocals to plodding piano, tinkling bells and a mixture of unidentifiable voices.
Lonely Ghosts
O+S Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Is better than the one you don't, and so it goes
Like lonely ghosts, at a roadside cross
We stay because we don't know where else to go
The places, our old haunts
Will miss us when we're gone
So like lonely ghosts, at a roadside cross
We stay
The devil that you know
Is better than the one you don't
Like lonely ghosts, at a roadside cross
We stay because we don't know where else to go
We stay because we don't know where else to go
The lyrics to O+S's song "Lonely Ghosts" delve into the concept of staying stuck in a place or situation because it's familiar, rather than taking a chance on the unknown. The repetition of "the devil that you know is better than the one you don't" highlights our tendency as humans to stay in a comfort zone, even if it may not be the best for us.
The metaphor of lonely ghosts at a roadside cross further emphasizes the feeling of being lost and stuck, not knowing where to go next. The old haunts mentioned in the song could refer to physical places or even mental or emotional states we get stuck in. The repetition of "we stay" emphasizes the feeling of being powerless to move on.
Overall, the song highlights the human tendency to cling to what is familiar and safe, even if it's not necessarily the best for us. It encourages us to take bold steps and be willing to venture into the unknown, even if it's scary.
Line by Line Meaning
The devil that you know
Is better than the one you don't, and so it goes
It's better to stick with what you know, even if it's not great, than risk the unknown
Like lonely ghosts, at a roadside cross
We stay because we don't know where else to go
We're lost and stuck in life, unsure where to go next like wandering ghosts
The places, our old haunts
Will miss us when we're gone
We can never move on
Our past holds on to us and makes it hard for us to move forward, even though we know we need to
So like lonely ghosts, at a roadside cross
We stay
We remain stagnant and lost, without any clear direction or purpose in life
The devil that you know
Is better than the one you don't
Reiterating that it's better to stick with what you know than to risk it all on the unknown
Like lonely ghosts, at a roadside cross
We stay because we don't know where else to go
We stay because we don't know where else to go
Our lack of direction and aimlessness keeps us rooted in place, feeling like ghosts wandering aimlessly at a crossroad
Contributed by Elliot F. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
WhitePanties
Who are O + S, who are credited with this wonderful song, and did they do anything else of note?
Like most of those commenting here, I was drawn to this by memories of the memorable scene in the series 'Dollhouse' in which the 'dolls' escape and then don't, while this song is played. I was hoping there would be a video of that on YouTube.
Joss Whedon used to make some really good programmes, although he lost me with his later work and sadly may now be out in the cold in Hollywood after being denounced by many of the actors and actresses who worked for him for his behaviour towards them.
Even so, I strongly recommend the original Toy Story,
Buffy the Vampire Slayer Seasons 1-5 and parts of 6,
Angel Seasons 2-5,
Firefly (after the first couple of episodes) and its film continuation Serenity,
Dollhouse (both Seasons),
Dr Horrible's Singalong Blog
Joss Whedon somehow managed to take actors and actresses who were usually little more than average and get something special out of them.
EnSane Gamer
Out of all the songs throughout the 2 seasons, this one is my favorite and the one that stuck to my head more, and I am not going to lie, I almost teared up on episode 8 at the ending... ! I love this song !
captain whatsit
Dollhouse just had the best music didn't it?
I wish Topher could erase my memory just so I could watch it again (and plus, Topher).
rragnarok
Oh God this song is so wonderful. ♥
Maddie
this song gives me the chills
armyofshadows
I really teared up when Echo, Sierra, Victor and November just deactivated during the song.
Mollie
yeah.. lots of tears. not at all ashamed. worthy tears
Jade Gummi
so much deeper meaning than it seems if you listen
WhitePanties
Who are O + S, who are credited with this wonderful song, and did they do anything else of note?
Like most of those commenting here, I was drawn to this by memories of the memorable scene in the series 'Dollhouse' in which the 'dolls' escape and then don't, while this song is played. I was hoping there would be a video of that on YouTube.
Joss Whedon used to make some really good programmes, although he lost me with his later work and sadly may now be out in the cold in Hollywood after being denounced by many of the actors and actresses who worked for him for his behaviour towards them.
Even so, I strongly recommend the original Toy Story,
Buffy the Vampire Slayer Seasons 1-5 and parts of 6,
Angel Seasons 2-5,
Firefly (after the first couple of episodes) and its film continuation Serenity,
Dollhouse (both Seasons),
Dr Horrible's Singalong Blog
Joss Whedon somehow managed to take actors and actresses who were usually little more than average and get something special out of them.
Brodie Reichel
Friends for 16 years and running, Orenda Fink (Azure Ray, Art in Manila) and Scalpelist (aka Cedric Lemoyne of Remy Zero) teamed up in their hometown of Birmingham, AL, to make music under the name O+S. Inspired equally by art rock veterans 10cc and loop-based beats, they recruited Beck producer Michael Patterson to make their first album, O+S, which was released on Saddle Creek in March of 2009.
MOBROOKS
I love the whistling in the background of this song.