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 Vanishing
Stars Lyrics
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The sky, a porcelain wall
Landing at Heathrow, a Tuesday in the fall
You are sleeping next to me
I just let go your hand
I hope I can go through with this
I hope you understand
I leave you dreaming in row twelve
At customs I am first in line
You wake now, it's three minutes later
I am gone
I am gone
I am gone
I am gone
M40 night
London, a blur behind me
Leave from Heathrow at the dawn
No one will ever find me
You will look for five more days
You will trawl the city night
Then you'll make yourself forget me
I'll fade into the half-light
I am gone
I am gone
I am gone
I am gone
I am gone
I am gone
I am gone
I am gone
The lyrics of Stars's song "The Vanishing" tell the story of someone leaving someone else at Heathrow airport and disappearing from their life. The song starts with a description of the moment of departure, with the "tremor of light" and the sky "a porcelain wall". The singer is leaving their partner while they sleep next to them, hoping that they will understand why they have to go. They leave them dreaming in row twelve and rush to customs, where they are first in line. The partner wakes up three minutes later, and the singer is gone.
The second verse describes the aftermath of the departure. The singer is driving on the M40, leaving London behind, and nobody will ever find them. The partner will look for them for five more days, trawling the city night, but eventually they will make themselves forget them, and the singer will fade into the half-light.
The song is a haunting portrayal of a sudden and mysterious disappearance, leaving the listener to wonder why the singer had to leave and what happened to them. It captures the feeling of a loved one vanishing without explanation, and the confusion and despair that can come with it.
Line by Line Meaning
Tremor of light
A faint light that shakes or trembles slightly
The sky, a porcelain wall
The sky is like a wall made of white ceramic
Landing at Heathrow, a Tuesday in the fall
The singer arrived at Heathrow airport on a Tuesday in autumn
You are sleeping next to me
The person the artist is addressing is sleeping beside them
I just let go your hand
The artist released the person's hand that they were holding
I hope I can go through with this
The singer is unsure if they can follow through with their plan
I hope you understand
The singer hopes the person they're addressing will comprehend their actions
I leave you dreaming in row twelve
The person the artist is addressing is sleeping in row twelve on the plane
Run quickly down the escalator
The artist is rushing down an escalator
At customs I am first in line
The artist is the first in line at the customs checkpoint
You wake now, it's three minutes later
The person the singer is addressing has woken up three minutes later
I am gone
The artist has left and is no longer present
M40 night
The singer is traveling on the M40 motorway at night
London, a blur behind me
The singer is leaving London and it is disappearing behind them
Leave from Heathrow at the dawn
The singer left Heathrow airport at sunrise
No one will ever find me
The artist believes they will not be found
You will look for five more days
The person the artist is addressing will search for them for five more days
You will trawl the city night
The person the singer is addressing will wander through the city at night looking for them
Then you'll make yourself forget me
The person the singer is addressing will eventually forget about them
I'll fade into the half-light
The artist will slowly disappear into the dim light of the unknown
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