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.
Don't Be Afraid to Sing
Stars Lyrics
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Your mouth that never tells lies
You've got one hour
It's time you told your story
Eighteen, alone
In love with the answer phone
And too afraid, you're too afraid to fall for anything
I won't pretend that I can't see the end
But it's far away
It's in the distance
We'll find a place
There is a room for two of us
The minutes drag
Then there's a world between us
And I'm too afraid, much too afraid to fall for anything
And I'm too afraid, much too afraid to sing
To sing
We all come to an end
And we all end together
We all end together
We all come to an end
And we all end together
We all end together
We all end together
We all end together
We all end together
We all end together
The Stars song "Don't Be Afraid to Sing" is a bittersweet ballad about being afraid to take chances and live life to the fullest. The lyrics are about a character who is too scared to put themselves out there and is struggling to find the courage to sing, both literally and figuratively. They seem to be stuck in a pattern of fear and loneliness, in love with someone who doesn't reciprocate their feelings and afraid to take a risk and open up.
The first verse sets the tone for the entire song - the singer is described as having "quiet eyes" and a "mouth that never tells lies", suggesting that they are reserved and not very expressive. They are given an hour to tell their story, to open up and let people in, but they are too afraid to take the leap. The next verse goes on to describe the singer's romantic situation - they are in love with someone who doesn't answer their calls and they are too scared to fall for anything or sing out their feelings.
The chorus is a repetition of the same message, suggesting that we all come to an end eventually and that we should not be too afraid to put ourselves out there and take a chance. The final line, "we all end together", is both a reminder of our shared humanity and a call to action - to live our lives fully and connect with others while we can.
Line by Line Meaning
Your quiet eyes
I see in your eyes the reluctance to express yourself.
Your mouth that never tells lies
You keep your thoughts to yourself, even if it means not being completely honest.
You've got one hour
You only have a limited amount of time to tell your story.
It's time you told your story
It is important that you share your experiences with others.
Eighteen, alone
You are young and isolated from others.
In love with the answer phone
You rely on technology to connect with others.
And too afraid, you're too afraid to fall for anything
You are scared to open up to others and experience new things.
And too afraid, much too afraid to sing
You are hesitant to express yourself creatively or emotionally.
I won't pretend that I can't see the end
I acknowledge that everything in life has a beginning and an end.
But it's far away
The end is still a long way off.
It's in the distance
The end is not something that we can see or know for sure.
We'll find a place
There will always be a space for us, no matter where life takes us.
There is a room for two of us
We can find happiness and companionship even when we feel alone.
The minutes drag
Time seems to move slowly.
Then there's a world between us
We feel disconnected from others and isolated.
And I'm too afraid, much too afraid to fall for anything
I also feel scared to open up and experience new things.
And I'm too afraid, much too afraid to sing
I am hesitant to express myself creatively or emotionally.
We all come to an end
Life is finite and will eventually end.
And we all end together
We are all in this journey of life together, regardless of our differences.
We all end together
We must stick together and support each other through life's ups and downs.
We all end together
No one is alone in facing the end of life.
We all end together
We must find comfort in each other as we inevitably reach life's final destination.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Amy E Millan, Christopher Allen Seligman, Evan Whitney Cranley, Torquil John Campbell
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind