There are several artists which use this name:
1. A popular indie pop ba… Read Full Bio ↴There are several artists which use this name:
1. A popular indie pop band from Canada
2. A rock band from the United Kingdom featuring Syd Barrett
3. A rock band from Australia
4. A country rock band from Australia
For the Japanese psychedelic group, please see The Stars

1. Stars is a Canadian indie pop band signed to the Arts & Crafts label. Originally formed in Toronto in 1998 by vocalist Torquil Campbell and keyboardist Chris Seligman, the band relocated to New York City and then subsequently to Montreal. The band also includes singer-guitarist Amy Millan and bassist Evan Cranley. Drummer Pat McGee has toured with the band for years, despite not appearing on their albums until the release of Set Yourself On Fire.

The band’s breakthrough single was Ageless Beauty, from their 2004 album Set Yourself on Fire. While released to minimal fanfare in Canada in October of 2004, Set Yourself on Fire slowly gained a strong following and critical praise soon after its 8 March 2005 U.S. release.

Millan, Campbell and Cranley are also members of the indie band Broken Social Scene; Seligman, although uncredited, has contributed to past Broken Social Scene albums. Millan has since embarked on a solo career, releasing a record entitled Honey From the Tombs in July 2006. Campbell has a side-project with friend Chris Dumont entitled Memphis; their latest album, A Little Place In the Wilderness, was released in August 2006.

On their website, they have noted that their name was chosen, by coincidence, without prior knowledge of the short-lived project by Syd Barrett. They have cited a wide variety of musical likes and influences ranging from Berlioz to Outkast, citing among others Barrett, Paddy McAloon, New Order, The Smiths, Brian Wilson and Momus. They covered The Smiths’ This Charming Man on 2001’s Nightsongs and The Pogues’ Fairytale of New York in 2005. Other indie artists have been guest collaborators on many of their tracks, especially for an early period including the release of their first LP.

2. The Stars is a Japanese psychedelic rock band. It consists of ex-members of the legendary band White Heaven including Michio Kurihara (Ghost, Boris, Ai Aso) on guitar and You Ishihara on vocals. For more information see The Stars.

3. Stars, a short-lived British band in 1972. Its members were Syd Barrett on guitar, Twink on drums, and Jack Monck (of Delivery) on bass. They played three live concerts in Cambridge before Barrett left the group, thus (essentially) ending it. Shortly thereafter Syd Barrett left music altogether and began a life in seclusion, and this project is sometimes seen as the so called 'straw that broke the camel's back'. Recordings of their performances remain lost, though it has been attested that all three performances contained early Pink Floyd songs and different versions of tracks from Barrett's 1970 solo album The Madcap Laughs. It has also been stated in multiple accounts that in each show Barrett entered one of his somewhat trademark catatonic trances, the worst coming in their second concert, where Barrett became almost completely frozen and had to be carried off stage. This was not unusual, having happened many times while Syd was still a member of Pink Floyd.

According to Twink, the band ended when Barrett approached him in the street, carrying a scathing review of their third concert. He waved the paper in Twink's face and said, essentially, "That's it."

4. Stars, an Australian country rock band from the late 1970s, most noted for the songs 'Mighty Rock' and 'Look After Yourself'. The band's main songwriter, Andy Durant, died tragically from cancer at age 25, marking the demise of the band. Fellow band members and many other luminaries in the Australian music scene at the time including Jimmy Barnes and Renee Geyer played a memorial concert, the Andy Durant Memorial Concert, to raise money for cancer research in mid-1980.

Back Again
Stars Lyrics

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I have always been a wanderer
Over land and sea
Yet a moonbeam on the water
Casts a spell o'er me
A vision fair I see
Again I seem to be

[Chorus]

Back home again in Indiana
And it seems that I can see
The gleaming candlelight
Still burning bright
Through the sycamores for me
The new-mown hay sends all its fragrance
Through the fields I used to roam
When I dream about the moonlight on the Wabash
How I long for my Indiana home

Fancy paints on memory's canvas
Scenes that we hold dear
We recall them in days after
Clearly they appear
And often times I see
A scene that's dear to me

[Chorus]

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of Stars’ song Back Again speak to the idea of nostalgia and longing for home. The lyrics tell the story of a wanderer who has traveled over land and sea but is brought back to their home in Indiana by the beauty of a moonbeam on the water. The singer describes a vision of home that appears to them, complete with the gleaming candlelight and the fragrance of new-mown hay in the fields they used to roam. The singer speaks of the power of memory and how scenes that we hold dear can stay with us and reappear in our minds.

The chorus of the song serves as a refrain, bringing the singer back to the image of their Indiana home, with the gleaming candlelight and the scent of new-mown hay. The lyrics evoke a sense of homesickness and a desire to return to a simpler time and place. While the song is specific to Indiana, its themes are universal, speaking to the idea of home as a place of comfort and familiarity, and the powerful emotions that can be evoked by memories of home.

Overall, the lyrics of Back Again are a heartfelt expression of nostalgia and a longing for home, evoking powerful emotions in the listener. The song offers a reminder of the importance of our roots and the connection we have to the places that we come from.

Line by Line Meaning

I have always been a wanderer
I have never stayed in one place for too long

Over land and sea
I have traveled far and wide

Yet a moonbeam on the water
Despite my travels, a simple sight like a reflection of the moon on water can still captivate me

Casts a spell o'er me
It has a magical effect on me

A vision fair I see
I see a beautiful vision in my mind's eye

Again I seem to be
It's as if I am transported back to a place in my past

[Chorus]
The refrain of the song

Back home again in Indiana
I have returned to my home state

And it seems that I can see
As I recall my memories, it feels like I'm reliving those moments

The gleaming candlelight
I see the warm glow of a candle

Still burning bright
It's still lit after all this time