1. A Swedish alternative metal band including members of In
Flames. Now filed under Passenger (SWE).
2. A Brighton (UK) based alternative folk band.
3. A San José, Costa Rica hardcore/screamo band.
4. A Mesa, Arizona based acoustic rock band.
5. A rap artist from Texas.
6. An old alias of DJ Tiësto.
7. A Chicago-based instrumental rock band.
8. A psytrance project of MFG's Guy Zukrel.
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Passenger was formed in 1995 by Sten and Engelin. Both members wanted to do something that was not Thrash metal or Melodic death metal unlike the bands they played in. At its early stages the band was originally called "Cliff". Under the name Cliff they recorded two demos in Studio Fredman that were never released. After a break in the band and after Engelin was hired as a session guitarist for In Flames' Whoracle tour, Anders Fridén, the vocalist of In Flames showed interest in Passenger and joined the band.
In the year 2000 the band came back from its break and went on to record a demo. In 2001 the band recorded another demo in which early versions of the songs "Used", "In My Head", "Circus" and "Drowning City" were recorded. After a third demo the band finally recorded and released their debut album entitled Passenger. A video for "In Reverse" was also released.
Sten noted in February 2004 on their official website that they were in the process of recording their second album. However, since then, Fridén, lead vocalist of both Passenger and In Flames has been noted saying that he has very little time for the project, due to other commitments, and the group is currently on hold. In an interview with Fridén he stated that as soon as he gets a break from In Flames, he wants to get all the group together to record a second album for early 2010. This did however not happen as Anders continued touring with In Flames until October 2010 when they entered their studio to record their next album.
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The brainchild of 26-year-old Brighton born singer/songwriter Mike Rosenberg, Passenger is redefining the troubadour for the 21st century. Formerly a five-piece band, Passenger has now pared back to basics, quite literally bringing music to the streets on a series of lengthy busking journeys across Australia, America and the United Kingdom. A classic journeyman musician, cut from the same mould as Van Morrison, Neil Young and John Prine, Passenger has the unique ability to move from the humorous to heartbreaking with every song.
After a year spent crisscrossing the UK and US with his debut album Wicked Man’s Rest, Passenger’s markedly stripped down and soulful second album Wide Eyes Blind Love was brought to the public as it was created: on the road. Setting up on street corners across the UK and Australia, Passenger halted passers by in their hundreds; all connecting to the mellifluous tones and powerfully hewn lyrics emanating from this lone figure and his guitar. This is music as Passenger means it to be, unvarnished and honest, just pure talent and powerful tunes that tap straight into the heart of the crowd.
Struck by the dynamic freedom of the troubadour life, Passenger developed the grass roots method of Wide Eyes Blind Love into the germ of a new album. Impressively and entirely self funded through busking income, Passenger set about recording a series of collaborations with musical friends met along the way. Flight Of The Crow is the remarkable result of Passenger’s intrepid journey, with Australian artists Lior, Josh Pyke, Katie Noonan, Boy & Bear, Kate Miller Heidke, Philadelphia Grand Jury, Brian Campeau and Elana Stone, Matt Corby, Jess Chalker and Dead Letter Chorus all lending their voices to this serendipitous creative venture. Flight Of The Crow was recorded in Sydney’s famous BJB studios over February and March of 2010, and co-produced by Berkfinger (AKA Simon Berkleman from Philadelphia Grand Jury).
As a second album born of the road, Flight Of The Crow speaks to the compelling quality of Passenger’s music and the striking sincerity of his lyrics, both of which are matched by his dedication to this grass roots style of craftsmanship and collaboration. How utterly remarkable that a lone musician can travel the globe, and literally from the street, connect with some of Australia’s finest musical talents to produce a self-funded album. This is the stuff of legend, with Passenger clearly evoking the humble, hardworking creativity of the troubadours of old.
www.myspace.com/passengerofficial
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Passenger or PSNGR is an active hardcore/screamo band formed in San José, Costa Rica born in 2004. Their EP "Get OFF the Rails!" (tentative title) will be out in 20/01/09. Band members: Alejandro Pacheco (vocals & guitar), Grego Rojas (guitar), Andres Moraga (bass), Jose Vargas (drums). www.myspace.com/passenger
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Passenger the acoustic rock band was formed in late 2000. They have a large archive of both original music and cover songs. They released their first pressed album, entitled "Four Letter Word", in September 2004 on indie label Crop Circle Records.
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Passenger is an Austin, Texas based MC. Born in Massachusetts, he spent most of his younger days growing up in New York and Houston, Tx eventually moving to Austin, Tx in 1996 attending college to try his hand as a sound engineer. During these years, his musical versatility had him playing bass in an alternative rock band, singing in another side project, DJing house, jungle and hip hop music at various venues in Austin. Eventually he became a full time DJ for the reggae/ska/hiphop/punk band, Indofin, which he was a member for years touring the country. His love for hip hop provoked him to purchase an MPC and has been making beats and rhyming ever since. "The Brick In A Glass House", his debut album, contains production from Nozebleed, Lazerbeak (Doomtree), amongst others as well as his own and has guests from Austin's own Emcee, Justin Cook, Weezel, as well as a few others. Currently, you can find him playing shows around the Austin area and will begin to venturing out to other Texas cities. He is also working on putting together a live band to back him at shows and working on new material.
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Passenger is also an old alias of DJ Tiësto. Tiësto only produced 2 tracks under his old Passenger-alias: "Blackspin" and "F.A.H.", both appearing on a record released on Momentum Records in 1996.
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Passenger began winter of 2002 when guitarist dustin covert and bassist/vocalist david mata collaborated on the bands first full length "alive" an 8 song full length about a disoriented and dark but intriguing view of love and romance. the album explored dissonant melodies and agonizingly slow chord progressions with the use of mark sampson on drums and sam billen on piano. in 2003 passenger progressed to a four person line up with michael oberlin on drums and james demis on keyboards and sound and began to play various rock venues in chicago, illinois and used silent film to accompany their live performance. numerous line-up changes took effect during the next year and a half, but in 2005 the concrete line-up of Dustin Covert and David D'Antonio on guitars, David Mata on Bass and Samuel Vincent on drums was achieved. In winter of 2005 Passenger recorded "The Owls are Restless", a 2 hour and 40 minute concept record about an ancient war between owls and rabbits and was recorded and engineered by Steve Whitney in a warehouse in Aurora, Illinois. Shortly after the recording drummer Samuel Vincent tragically passed away. Without his talent and with the grief of losing a dear, dear friend the band decided it was impossible to continue performing the material or anything that involved Passenger. These unfortunate events occurred before "The Owls are Restless" was able to achieve any sort of record label attention, and when it finally did it was too late. The remaining musicians have continued creating in their band White Devil, named after the vintage moog synth/organ that Sam would play in collaboration with his drums in Passenger.
myspace.com/whitedevilchicago
Two Tales
Passenger Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
We've walked for hours and it's getting dark
We left the roadside in search of aid,
Wind-screen shattered and tire marks made
I've never seen someone bleeding like this,
Rip off your sleeve and clench your wrist
Orangey glow light the wintry dark
We kept her bedroom exactly the same,
Winters they followed and Summers they came
He'd bash around, banging down on the floor
I sit alone with an eye on the door
Stop in this clearing, we'll stay here tonight
Press up against me, I'll hold you so tight
I got these matches, we'll let off some smoke
And maybe they'll see up and maybe they won't
Blanket of leaves hide the light from the stars,
I'll lie awake listening out for cars
He stares through curtains when he talks to the night,
I sit and listen for tires on the drive
I keep on waiting and he keep on talking
Just stop him talking, please stop him talking
No, give me silence
Give me silence,
Give me silence
Oh, no...
The song "Two Tales" by Passenger speaks about the singer's journey with someone, possibly a loved one, who has been injured and needs medical attention. The song starts with the singer lighting a lantern to guide them through the darkness as they walk towards an unknown destination. They had to leave the roadside where presumably, they got involved in an accident, and are now searching for help. The scene is quite dark and scary, and the imagery suggests that they are lost, searching for a way out.
As the song progresses, we hear about the singer's memories of his/her loved one. They kept her bedroom the same, and life went on with its ups and downs, summers and winters. Now in this moment of fear, the love between the two is more prominent. As they make a fire to keep themselves warm, we see how committed they are to each other. They press up against each other, and the singer promises to protect them from harm. In the next line, the singer observes how the blanket of leaves is hiding the light from the stars, which emphasizes how lost they are.
In the final moments of the song, the singer expresses their desire to stop the loved one from talking. The loved one has been talking for a while, and the singer prefers silence. The line "give me silence" is repeated for emphasis, and the song ends on a somber note with the loved one still talking.
Line by Line Meaning
Light up my lantern, I'll cut you a path,
Provide me some light and I'll clear the way for you
We've walked for hours and it's getting dark
We have been walking for a long time and it's becoming night time
We left the roadside in search of aid,
We went off the main road to get some help
Wind-screen shattered and tire marks made
The windshield broke and there were tire tracks
I've never seen someone bleeding like this,
I have never seen someone bleeding so badly
Rip off your sleeve and clench your wrist
Tear off your sleeve and hold your wrist tightly
I'll light the stove and sit by the hearth,
I'll turn on the stove and sit by the fireplace
Orangey glow light the wintry dark
The warm orange light is brightening up the dark, cold winter evening
We kept her bedroom exactly the same,
We haven't changed a thing in her bedroom
Winters they followed and Summers they came
Seasons kept changing, winter came after winter and summer after summer
He'd bash around, banging down on the floor
He would move around violently, striking the floor heavily
I sit alone with an eye on the door
I'm sitting by myself, watching for someone to come through the door
Stop in this clearing, we'll stay here tonight
Let's take a break and rest here for tonight
Press up against me, I'll hold you so tight
Come closer to me so I can hold you gently but tightly
I got these matches, we'll let off some smoke
I have some matches, we can create some smoke
And maybe they'll see up and maybe they won't
Maybe someone will notice us or maybe not
Blanket of leaves hide the light from the stars,
The leaves on the ground are blocking the starlight
I'll lie awake listening out for cars
I'll stay awake and listen for any cars passing by
He stares through curtains when he talks to the night,
He gazes through the curtains while he talks to the darkness of the night
I sit and listen for tires on the drive
I sit and listen for the sound of tires on the driveway
I keep on waiting and he keep on talking
I continue to wait while he keeps on talking
Just stop him talking, please stop him talking
Please make him stop talking, I can't take it anymore
No, give me silence
No, I prefer silence
Give me silence,
I want quietness
Give me silence
I need peace and quiet
Oh, no...
Oh, this is distressing
Contributed by Nolan V. Suggest a correction in the comments below.