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.
I Died So I Could Haunt You
Stars Lyrics
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Walking through my hometown square
Thousands of faces you touched once
Thousands you lost in the fright
Knock knock on the door of the house that he knew
The air grows cold around me and you, and it's cold
You know that he's there
He's there
Thousands of ghosts in the darkness
Lost in a strange neighborhood
The lights from the warm houses haunt them
They forgot what they lost but they know it was good
I was only a girl when I wore those clothes
I was unfaithful, I lived as I chose
I want only to haunt you, but you're never there
I died so I could have you
I died so I could haunt you
Thousands of ghosts in the daylight
One day we all disappear
We'll walk 'til we get to the harbor
They'll never know we were here
The Stars' song, "I Died So I Could Haunt You," is a haunting track that explores the idea of ghosts and hauntings. The opening two lines paint a vivid picture of a small town that's full of ghosts that wander around during the day, without anyone noticing them. The lines that follow discuss the faces they once touched and those who were lost in the fright. It's heavy with melancholy, sadness, and loss.
The second stanza follows a similar pattern but refers to ghosts lost in a strange neighborhood. They've forgotten what they've lost, but they know it was good. The next two lines hint at the past but also at an unfaithful girl. The final four lines express how the singer wants nothing more than to haunt this person, but they're never around. They died for that reason, so they could always haunt that person, but now they can't even do that.
Overall, the song has a very dreamy, almost surreal quality to it. It's full of rich and powerful lyrics that explore the idea of hauntings and ghosts. The music helps convey this feeling, with its slow and haunting melody that adds to the song's overall atmosphere.
Line by Line Meaning
Thousands of ghosts in the daylight
Many memories of the past linger on in broad daylight
Walking through my hometown square
Those memories are visually experienced in my own town
Thousands of faces you touched once
There are many people who you have encountered and been intimate with during your life
Thousands you lost in the fright
However, a vast number of those people have been lost to tragic events
Knock knock on the door of the house that he knew
Someone familiar is knocking on the door, probably a memory of a deceased person
The air grows cold around me and you, and it's cold
The presence of the ghost is cold and eerie, affecting the temperature around us
You know that he's there
Despite his invisibility, you can feel the ghost's presence
Thousands of ghosts in the darkness
Spirits continue to linger after dark, lost in unfamiliar surroundings
Lost in a strange neighborhood
They are wandering through an unknown place
The lights from the warm houses haunt them
The longing for a warmth that is beyond reach can still be felt
They forgot what they lost but they know it was good
Although they cannot remember what they've lost, they are sure it was something precious
I was only a girl when I wore those clothes
Memories of who you once were; innocent, younger and less experienced
I was unfaithful, I lived as I chose
You lived without consideration for the consequences of your actions
I want only to haunt you, but you're never there
The ghost only wants to be around you, but the feeling is not mutual
I died so I could have you
The ghost died with the intention of being with you forever
I died so I could haunt you
The ghost's current existence is to haunt you
One day we all disappear
Everyone will eventually face death
We'll walk 'til we get to the harbor
Before they disappear, the spirits will continue to wander towards a better place
They'll never know we were here
Despite all of the memories and moments, the world will never know of their existence
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: Amy E Millan, Christopher Allen Seligman, Evan Whitney Cranley, Patrick McGee, Torquil John Campbell
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind