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 Loose Ends Will Make Knots
Stars Lyrics
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A broken piece of what we used to be
I'm a knot but I'm never alone
I'm a knot that's smiling filled with hope
Emptiness caught the better half of me
Concrete is my memory
My blood turned into a mean streak
Don't say it's all
Don't say it's all been lost
Will you shift everything you thought
Don't say it's all
Don't say it's all been lost
We'll pretend we've got that much
Don't say it's all
Don't say it's all been lost
My throat gets caught
The loose ends will make knots
You're all I've got
I just want your past
I just want you now
Tomorrow I won't know
Until we're underground
Is that too much to ask
A heart suspends then bends it into three
A broken piece of what we used to be
In Stars's song "The Loose Ends Will Make Knots," the first few lines speak to the emotional weight and complexity of a broken heart. The heart is described as "suspended," implying a sense of stillness or holding still, but also as "bending into three," suggesting that it is being pulled in multiple directions. This imagery sets the stage for the theme of the song, which is the aftermath of a broken relationship and the complicated feelings that come with it.
The second verse speaks to the singer's sense of isolation and loss, as they describe themselves as a "knot" without ever truly being alone. The line "concrete is my memory" implies a sense of permanence to the heartbreak, as if it has become a part of the singer's very being. The line "my blood turned into a mean streak" suggests the anger that often accompanies sadness and loss.
The chorus of the song is a plea to not give up on love, not to believe that everything is lost. At the same time, the song acknowledges the difficulty of moving on and the desire to hold onto what was lost. The singer expresses a desire to know their partner entirely, to have their past as well as their present, and asks if that's "too much to ask."
Line by Line Meaning
A heart suspends then bends it into three
Emotions can be complex and confusing, pulling in different directions at once.
A broken piece of what we used to be
We've lost a part of ourselves in whatever event caused this heartache. We're now broken and trying to piece things back together.
I’m a knot but I’m never alone
We're confused and hurting, but we will always have someone to rely on.
I’m a knot that’s smiling filled with hope
Despite our problems, we're hopeful and trying to stay positive about the future.
Emptiness caught the better half of me
We're feeling empty inside due to whatever has happened, and it's taking a big toll on us.
Concrete is my memory
It's difficult to forget events that have caused us pain, and they remain with us like concrete memories.
My blood turned into a mean streak
Our emotions are heightened and taking on a negative turn, making us feel anger and hurt more intensely.
Twisting every part of us
This pain is affecting every aspect of our lives, from our emotions to our relationships.
Don’t say it’s all
We don't want to feel like everything has been lost, despite how hard things may be.
Will you shift everything you thought
We're asking those around us to help change our negative thought patterns and help us see things in a more positive light.
We’ll pretend we’ve got that much
For the sake of hope and optimism, we'll try to pretend that things aren't as bad as they seem.
My throat gets caught
Emotions are overwhelming us, and it's becoming difficult to express ourselves.
The loose ends will make knots
We'll try to make sense of all the loose ends causing us pain and turn them into something beautiful like knots, rather than an entangled mess.
You’re all I’ve got
Despite everything, we'll always have someone to count on.
I just want your past
We're looking for a sense of comfort in the familiar, wanting to hold on to whatever shred of the past we can.
I just want you now
Present company is all we need to feel okay and get through tough times.
Tomorrow I won’t know
We're uncertain of what the future holds and how we'll feel then, but we're trying to take it one day at a time.
Until we’re underground
Only when we've passed on from this life will we truly know what the future holds.
Is that too much to ask
We're holding out hope that our present companions will stick with us through the rough patches, hoping that it's not too much to ask.
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