There are several artists which use this name:
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.

We Don
Stars Lyrics

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Knock shop in Oxford Street
One where the vampires meet
Silk purse, pink tie and all of that
Platforms, white teeth, a stupid hat

They really like to see you there
You make them think you really care
But I've watched you take your make-up off

Your face grows hard
Your eyes grow soft

The window blinds are drawn
You flash your trash to turn me on
I sigh and frown and start to cough
Your hunger starts to turn me off

Lie down and try to talk to me
Sleep now and dream of who you'll be
When you finally become someone.

You're tuned into my frequency
That don't mean a thing to me
'Cause I don't want your body
I don't want your body

You sold me some cheap ecstasy
So you could have some sex with me
I don't want your body
I don't want your body

Face down upon the bar
I always said you'd get far
But you're not the kid you used to be
Someone should call your family

White line dead time the chloroform
Flashbulbs which pop to keep you warm
I've watched you slowly fall away
The colours fade, from blue to grey

The window blinds undrawn
You flash some trash to turn us on
Your just a tramp, we're just a trick
Our hunger starts to make us sick

Lie down and try to talk to me
Sleep now and dream of who you'll be
But will you actually be anyone?

You're tuned into my frequency
That don't mean a thing to me
'Cause I don't want your body
I don't want your body

You sold me some cheap ecstasy
so you could have some sex with me
I don't want your body
I don't want your body

You tune into my frequency
That don't mean a thing to me
'Cause I don't want your body
I don't want your body

You sold me some cheap ecstasy
So you could have some sex with me
I don't want your body
I don't want your body

We don't want your body
We don't want your body
We don't want your body
We don't want your body
We don't want your body
We don't want your body

We don't want your body
We don't want your body

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Stars' song "We Don't Want Your Body" are a scathing critique of the superficial and transactional nature of the club and party culture that the band observed in their hometown of Toronto. The song paints a vivid picture of a typical night out at a seedy bar, where patrons clad in flashy outfits and stupid hats come to escape their mundane lives and try to impress others with their appearance and perceived social status.

The song's opening lines describe a knock shop on Oxford Street where vampires meet, immediately setting a dark and seedy tone. The singer observes a woman who goes through the motions of trying to impress others with her looks and flattery, but who ultimately reveals her true self once she takes off her makeup. The chorus emphasizes that the singer doesn't want this woman's body, despite the fact that she sold him cheap ecstasy to have sex with her.

The second verse reveals a more sinister side of the club culture, where drugs and alcohol are plentiful and people are willing to do anything to escape the emptiness of their lives. The singer describes a woman who has fallen from grace and lost her innocence, and urges someone to call her family. The bridge of the song emphasizes the singer's detachment from this world of fake appearances and superficial pleasures, declaring that being tuned into his frequency means nothing to him.

Throughout the song, Stars uses vivid imagery and wordplay to emphasize the superficiality of the club and party culture, while also critiquing the way in which people are reduced to mere objects for others' pleasure. The song ends with a repetition of the chorus, emphasizing the band's rejection of this way of life and their desire to find something more meaningful.

Line by Line Meaning

Knock shop in Oxford Street
Reference to a shop where one can purchase drugs

One where the vampires meet
Slang for people who are out late or do illicit activities

Silk purse, pink tie and all of that
Describing the attire that is fitting for this scene

Platforms, white teeth, a stupid hat
Further elaboration on the specific look that is being described

They really like to see you there
People enjoy being seen in this lifestyle

You make them think you really care
People are willing to put on a facade to fit in and be accepted

But I've watched you take your make-up off
The singer knows that the person is not really who they pretend to be

Your face grows hard
The person becomes less friendly and approachable

Your eyes grow soft
At the same time, the person becomes more vulnerable and real

The window blinds are drawn
A metaphor suggesting that the person is emotional closed off or hiding something

You flash your trash to turn me on
The person tries to be provocative to get attention and approval

I sigh and frown and start to cough
The artist is turned off by these actions and is bothered physically

Your hunger starts to turn me off
The person's desperation and need for attention is unattractive and unpleasant to the singer

Lie down and try to talk to me
A suggestion that intimacy and vulnerability can happen without performing or seeking attention

Sleep now and dream of who you'll be
A call to focus on self-improvement and growth

When you finally become someone.
A hopeful message that the person can improve and become someone they are proud of

You're tuned into my frequency
The person is trying to fit into the artist's world or lifestyle

That don't mean a thing to me
The singer is not impressed by this and does not want to be involved with the person

'Cause I don't want your body
The singer is not interested in the physical aspect of the relationship

You sold me some cheap ecstasy
A reference to the person using drugs to manipulate the artist into doing something

So you could have some sex with me
The person used drugs to get what they wanted from the artist

We don't want your body
A collective message that the artist does not represent the lifestyle or values of the group

Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., BMG RIGHTS MANAGEMENT US, LLC
Written by: Amy E Millan, Christopher Allen Seligman, Evan Whitney Cranley, Patrick McGee, Torquil John Campbell

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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