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.
The Five Ghosts
Stars Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
All the light in my life filtered softly through the trees
The shadows in the photographs
Five ghosts who followed me
I was only truly frightened once
They called my name and said they wanted me
Oh, what a beautiful day to try to die
Oh, for one sweet second without the eye
When I grew in age and fame and traveled through the world
All the rives of the city like flags of blue unfurled
Me pressed against the railing
Me taken to a room
Me breaking in the morning
Dark with a sense of coming doom
Oh, what a beautiful day to try to die
Oh, for one sweet second without the eye
Now I have grown old and all my grace and beauty gone
Five ghosts surround my garden, I don't tell them to move on
I walk deeper into shade now
That dappled light again
I see you standing at the gate
My one and only friend
Oh, what a beautiful day to try to die
Oh, for one sweet second without the eye
The song "The Five Ghosts" by Stars is a melancholic reflection on the passage of time and the inevitability of aging. The lyrics convey the idea that as we grow older, we become more aware of the transience of life and the fragility of our existence. The title of the song itself is a metaphor for the haunting memories that linger with us throughout our lives, like ghosts that follow us wherever we go.
The first stanza of the song describes the innocence of childhood and the sense of wonder that comes with it. The filtered light through the trees suggests a sense of comfort and security, and the shadows in the photographs represent the memories that we carry with us. However, the "five ghosts" also suggest a foreboding and otherworldly presence that follows the singer, a sense of impending danger that she only experienced once before.
As the song progresses, we see the singer growing up and experiencing all that life has to offer, both the good and the bad. The "rivers of the city" and the "flags of blue unfurled" suggest a sense of grandeur and possibility, but the darkness and sense of doom that she feels suggest that these experiences are not always positive. The repetition of the line "Oh, what a beautiful day to try to die" suggests a longing for release from the struggles of life, and the desire for "one sweet second without the eye" suggests a desire to escape from the painful realities of existence.
By the end of the song, the singer has grown old and lost her beauty and grace. However, the "five ghosts" are still present, a reminder of the memories and experiences that have shaped her life. She walks deeper into the shade, suggesting a retreat from the harsh realities of the world, and sees her "one and only friend" waiting for her at the gate. The final lines of the song suggest a sense of peaceful acceptance of the inevitability of death, and a recognition that life is, ultimately, fleeting and fragile.
Line by Line Meaning
When I was a little girl the world was small to me
As a child, I had a limited perspective of the world and everything in it.
All the light in my life filtered softly through the trees
Nature was my source of comfort and joy when I was young.
The shadows in the photographs
Memories captured in pictures that evoke emotions and sensations.
Five ghosts who followed me
Haunting memories or unresolved issues in my past that recur and affect me in the present.
I was only truly frightened once
I faced a moment of genuine terror at some point in my life.
They called my name and said they wanted me
Some unknown force or entity that threatens and calls for me.
Oh, what a beautiful day to try to die
An ironic statement to describe that despite everything, there's still beauty in the world even if everything is bleak.
Oh, for one sweet second without the eye
A yearning for a brief moment of respite or escape from the overwhelming feelings and experiences.
When I grew in age and fame and traveled through the world
As I matured, I gained more life experiences and opportunities to explore the world.
All the rives of the city like flags of blue unfurled
The vastness and complexity of the urban environment that unfolds before me.
Me pressed against the railing
A moment of feeling trapped or restricted in my movements.
Me taken to a room
Being brought to an unknown place or situation.
Me breaking in the morning
Starting off a new day with the weight of the world on my shoulders.
Dark with a sense of coming doom
A foreboding feeling that something bad is about to happen.
Now I have grown old and all my grace and beauty gone
As I age, my physical appearance and abilities decline and fade away.
Five ghosts surround my garden, I don't tell them to move on
I've come to terms with my past and accepted its presence in my life.
I walk deeper into shade now
Retreating from the intensity and harshness of reality into a more soothing and calming place.
That dappled light again
Finding moments of joy and beauty in everyday life.
I see you standing at the gate
A moment of recognition or nostalgia in seeing an old friend or loved one again.
My one and only friend
A connection to someone special and significant in my life.
Contributed by Alice Y. Suggest a correction in the comments below.