Prior to forming The Midnight, Tyler Lyle and Tim McEwan were both established musicians. Lyle was an indie-folk singer-songwriter based in the state of Georgia and gained initial notability with several self-released titles, becoming regionally and nationally known. McEwan was a drummer and producer based in Denmark, later becoming a member of the Danish production group Deekay who has written and produced songs for many popular artists.
The pair met for the first time in 2012 at a songwriter’s workshop in North Hollywood organized by Katie Donovan, Lyle’s A&R representative at the time. Prior to meeting, McEwan had listened to some of Lyle’s previous work and liked Lyle’s folk sound. Despite differing musical backgrounds, they bonded over a mutual love of 80s rock and began to write songs together. After initially struggling to define their sound, McEwan suggested that they compose songs in the synthwave style. McEwan had prior exposure to the burgeoning genre and was inspired by the movie Drive. The first song they wrote together as a duo was WeMoveForward, which was included on their debut EP Days of Thunder.
STYLE AND WORKFLOW
For most of their career, The Midnight has created a strong and distinct synthwave sound in their music - Tim McEwan once described the band's early albums “as if Miami Vice had a baby with a John Hughes movie”. However, McEwan has continuously expressed a desire to evolve the synthwave genre and not be confined by it. Tyler Lyle has stated several times that the band's philosophy when composing is “combine, not confine”. Influences of genres such as lo-fi, soft rock, trance, and vaporwave can be heard on Monsters, and Lyle's musical background has brought influences of indie folk and Americana to the band's sound as well. Regarding the merging of their individual talents and styles, Lyle has said:
It’s rock and roll with synthesizers. Tim has a keen ear for production, and I can write songs that fit comfortably within the tradition of 20th century classic pop songwriting. Somewhere in the middle things get interesting.
McEwan employs various digital synths in his production, including Serum, Diva, TAL-U-NO-LX, Spire, and Roland Cloud's Jupiter 8 and Juno 106. In mid-2020, he mentioned that his favorite synth to use at the time was U-He's emulation of Prophet-5, known as Repro 5. McEwan has stated that he commonly begins with presets and then tweaks them to his liking. KONTAKT is used for sampling.
Both McEwan and Lyle use Logic Pro on macOS as their primary Digital Audio Workstation (DAW).Universal Audio interfaces are used to capture their sounds, which are then processed using UAD plugins. Using the same utilities makes it easier for them to share session files as a significant amount of their work is done remotely, due to living in different areas of the US. However, they will usually get together in the same room a few times during a release's production and will often write and record together while on tour. A release's sound and overall direction are generally created by the two bouncing ideas off each other - McEwan will send Lyle a rough track or beat, which Lyle will then think of lyrics and a title that would go good with the beat, after which McEwan will further build and produce the track. McEwan has stated that the production of a typical The Midnight album takes around three to six months, “from the early gestating part to finish”.
Production and drums are handled by McEwan, with Lyle providing guitar, lyrics, and vocals. Lyle has stated that he writes on a daily basis, and many lyrics come from a large number of fragments he keeps stored in Evernote. Most of the remaining instrumentation is digital, but on occasion songs (including most with saxophone and guitar solos) will at first have digital instruments that are then outsourced to other musicians to play live on the track. Thomas Edinger has been the primary saxophone player for The Midnight's releases, and McEwan's brother Oliver has frequently played bass for the band as well.
For live performances, various setups have been used by the band. Lyle stated that the Spring 2019 tour utilized an Ableton rig, with McEwan using an SPD SX sampling pad and MIDI controller. Lyle ran his guitars through a Kemper profiling amp, and he also used an OP1 for certain synth moments and pads.
Ghost in Your Stereo
The Midnight Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
To claim the boredom of the whine of the radiator
To freeze the fates that intertwine
Unresolved and undefined in this echo chamber
Once you’ve given up the ghost
Just like Lazarus you’ll know there’s an operator
Some strange passenger inside
I’m just a ghost in your stereo
The fading memory of a shipwreck in the undertow
You’re just a lost song I wrote
And i’m just a ghost in your stereo
Ghost
You move on a thousand times
New lover’s shadows on the blinds
Your heart’s a mercenary
But like a dancer on the wire
Come the sparks of frayed desire as the fire’s carried
I’m just a ghost in your stereo
The fading memory of a shipwreck in the undertow
You’re just a lost song I wrote
And i’m just a ghost in your stereo
In "Ghost in Your Stereo" by The Midnight, the lyrics convey a sense of longing, unrequited love, and the feeling of being forgotten or left behind. The tombstones climbing up the sky symbolize the weight of past relationships and the boredom that can come from dwelling on them. The whine of the radiator represents the monotony of life, and the desire to freeze the intertwined fates that are unresolved and undefined.
The mention of Lazarus alludes to the biblical story of Lazarus being raised from the dead. By comparing themselves to Lazarus, the singer suggests that they have given up hope and have become resigned to their fate. They feel like a passenger inside themselves, controlled by some strange power, like an iron anchor.
The chorus repeats the idea of being a ghost in the stereo, a fading memory of a shipwreck in the undertow. This highlights the feeling of being forgotten and reduced to a mere song in someone's collection. The singer acknowledges that the person they are singing about has moved on many times, leaving behind new lovers and their heart becoming like a mercenary. They are just a ghost in their stereo, a lost song that the singer wrote.
Overall, "Ghost in Your Stereo" explores themes of abandonment, longing, and the feeling of being left behind emotionally. It captures the bittersweet nostalgia that comes with unrequited love and the realization that one's presence in someone's life has diminished to a mere memory.
Line by Line Meaning
Tombstones climbing up the sky
The burdens and regrets of the past are haunting me and looming large in my mind.
To claim the boredom of the whine of the radiator
Those burdens and regrets are trying to fill the emptiness and monotony of daily life, just like the sound of a radiator.
To freeze the fates that intertwine
These burdens and regrets are trying to halt the uncertain and entangled paths that our lives are taking.
Unresolved and undefined in this echo chamber
These burdens and regrets remain unresolved and unclear, amplifying their presence in the isolation and echo of my mind.
Once you’ve given up the ghost
When you have finally let go of the past and its burdens,
Just like Lazarus you’ll know there’s an operator
Similar to Lazarus being brought back to life by an external force, you'll realize that there's a greater force orchestrating the events in your life.
Some strange passenger inside
There is a mysterious presence or influence within us,
To that strange power I’m resigned like an iron anchor
And I have accepted and surrendered to that mysterious power, like an unyielding anchor.
I’m just a ghost in your stereo
I'm nothing more than a lingering presence in your memories, like a faint echo playing on your stereo.
The fading memory of a shipwreck in the undertow
I represent a fading recollection of a disastrous event submerged beneath the surface of your consciousness.
You’re just a lost song I wrote
And you, in turn, are merely a forgotten composition that I have created.
And I’m just a ghost in your stereo
And I will forever remain a spectral presence, trapped within the confines of your musical nostalgia.
You move on a thousand times
You have moved forward and left behind our past encounters countless times,
New lover’s shadows on the blinds
Engaging in new relationships, their presence cast as fleeting shadows on the window blinds.
Your heart’s a mercenary
Your heart acts as a mercenary, seeking new connections without attachment or loyalty.
But like a dancer on the wire
Yet, just like a performer dancing on a tightrope,
Come the sparks of frayed desire as the fire’s carried
The remnants of desire, worn and torn, ignite as the passion is carried forward.
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: Jeffrey Simpson, Micah Dalton, Tim McEwan, Tyler Lyle
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Ålicent Marveltərra
This band is a relentless lack of disappointment. every album is just as good as the last. The sound is amazing, but the lyrics transport you 🔥
pwoswald
this song is not good
Bálint Markó
@pwoswald opinions dude, i couldnt stop listening to it today
GamingConsciousness
This song is too good for humans to fathom, some might end up disliking it , to the ones who love it , welcome to new level of energies :)
Evan Ho
@pwoswald you’re not good
Firdaus Zainudin
Monster & Heroes sucks, this is better
Harry Timmy
How can the midnight never release a bad song? This will definitely be on repeat on my stereo
Danstora
Actually, their latest releases are a bit disappointing.
Harry Timmy
@Danstora to you maybe. The whole album was lit to me
Ace-End
Careful there might be a ghost in there 😮👻