Ambition was never the Pastels' strong suit, and luck was rarely on their side; as the group's members -- now including bassist Martin Hayward and drummer Bernice Simpson -- devoted their primary focus to their studies, new music appeared only sporadically and to little notice, on a seemingly random series of labels. After 1983's "I Wonder Why" was released on Rough Trade, they moved to Creation, where they hit their stride with the 1984 drone-pop gems "Something's Going On" and "A Million Tears." After one further single, 1985's "I'm Alright with You," the Pastels split with Creation, moving to the tiny Glass label. In 1986, their track "Breaking Lines" appeared on the influential C-86 collection assembled by the New Music Express, transforming the anorak movement into an overnight media sensation quickly accompanied by intense critical backlash.
Regardless of prevailing musical trends, however, the Pastels soldiered on: after recruiting one-time Shop Assistants keyboardist Aggi Wright, they recorded the 1986 single "Truck Train Tractor," followed by Crawl Babies and Comin' Through. Finally, in 1987 the group found time to assemble an LP, Up for a Bit with the Pastels, followed in 1988 by Suck on the Pastels, a collection of unreleased Creation-era material. In 1989, former Vaselines frontman Eugene Kelly and ex-Shop Assistant David Keegan joined the fold for Sittin' Pretty, the final LP to include Superstar, Hayward, and Simpson. The remaining duo of Pastel and Wright expanded to include Katrina Mitchell for the 1991 collaboration Jad Fair and the Pastels, followed by the 1994 EP Olympic World of Pastelism. Their third album, Mobile Safari, was released in 1995 by Domino in the U.K. (which began a long-running alliance) and Up Records in the U.S. It featured a lineup including longtime band associates Norman Blake and Gerald Love (both from Teenage Fanclub) and ex-Shop Assistant guitarist David Keegan, and a guest appearance from Luna's Dean Wareham.
Their next album, 1997's Illumination, was issued by the same configuration of record labels and featured a similar lineup, only with the addition of guitarist Jonathan Kilgour and guest shots from Belle & Sebastian's Isobel Campbell and pianist Bill Wells. A remix album, Illuminati, was released in 1998 and featured reworks of tracks by Kevin Shields, Stereolab, Cornelius, and other A-list indie rockers. This burst of recognition and activity was derailed when Wright decided to leave the band in 1998, throwing Mitchell and Pastel into a spin. Instead of jumping back into making music right away, the band went on hiatus while figuring things out. The duo next formed Geographic Records in 2000 as an offshoot of Domino, and began releasing records by friends (Future Pilot AKA, International Airport) and obscure acts (Nagisa Ni Te, Maher Shalal Hash Baz.) The band reappeared at last in 2003 with the mostly instrumental soundtrack for the film The Last Great Wilderness. The album was produced by the Sea and Cake's John McEntire and featured International Airport's Tom Crossley along with a vocal feature for Jarvis Cocker. A friendship with Japanese band Tenniscoats led to their next release, 2009's collaborative effort Two Sunsets. The core band was expanded to include Crossley and Mitchell's sister Alison, with Love still there, too. With the record label slowing its pace and releasing one album a year, the band turned toward recording an album of their own, and in 2013 their fifth record, Slow Summits, was released. McEntire was again in the producer's chair and guitarist John Hogarty had joined the ranks. Also on board as guests were To Rococo Rot's Stefan Schneider and Robert Lippok, as well as Norman Blake (again), and original bandmember Annabel Wright. (c)Jason Ankeny
2) An American 50s pop group formed by Dee Irwin while he was serving in the military. Consisted of DiFosco "Dee" T. Ervin Jr. himself, Richard Travis, Tony Thomas and Jimmy Willingham. They toured widely until splitting up in 1959.
Summer Rain
The Pastels Lyrics
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I will meet you in the lane
Summer rain on you looks so good
I could touch you through your clothes
Say your name and hold you close
Summer rain, me and you
Summer rain
Looking through
Summer rain
Summer rain
It doesn't always feel the same
Summer rain, I was with you
Trying to remain just by looking through
Summer rain
Me and you
Summer rain
Night won't save us
A broken light won't save us
Nothing will save us
From us
The window is watching us
The tennis courts and leaves, stones, and dust
Nothing will save us
From us
The lyrics to The Pastels' song Summer Rain paint a wistful and nostalgic picture of a romantic encounter during a summer storm. The singer speaks of meeting someone special in a lane, under the rain that looks so good on them. They long to touch them through their clothes, saying their name and holding them close. The summer rain creates a momentary bubble of intimacy for the two of them, as they try to find something new together.
However, the lyrics are tinged with sadness and a sense of unattainability. The singer muses that while summer rain can be magical, it doesn't always feel the same. They were with this person, but they were trying to remain together only by looking through. The imagery of a broken light and the window watching them add to the feeling of vulnerability and uncertainty. Despite all of this, they know that nothing will save them from themselves.
Line by Line Meaning
Summer rain
The singer is describing the setting, which is a summer rainfall.
I will meet you in the lane
The singer has plans to meet someone in a lane during the summer rainfall.
Summer rain on you looks so good
The singer finds the person they are going to meet attractive in the summer rainfall.
I could touch you through your clothes
The artist is expressing a desire to touch the person they are meeting even through the clothing.
Say your name and hold you close
The artist wants to hold the person they are meeting and express their affection.
Summer rain, me and you
The singer and the person they are meeting are experiencing the summer rainfall together.
We were trying to find something new
The singer and the person they are meeting are trying to discover something different and exciting.
Looking through
The artist and the person they are meeting are examining their emotions and thoughts with each other.
Summer rain
The summer rainfall has resumed once again.
It doesn't always feel the same
The summer rainfall doesn't always provide the same emotions or experiences.
Summer rain, I was with you
The singer was with the person they met during the summer rainfall.
Trying to remain just by looking through
The artist is trying to stay connected with the person they met by considering their situation.
Night won't save us
The dark will not enable them to hide their struggles or feelings.
A broken light won't save us
An unsuccessful way of life won't prevent them from confronting their problems.
Nothing will save us
They realize there's nothing they can conceal or hold back anymore.
From us
They're referring to the tumultuous emotions they're experiencing together.
The window is watching us
The environment is paying attention to the feelings they're having during the rainfall.
The tennis courts and leaves, stones, and dust
The singer is suggesting the setting they're in, which involves tennis courts, leaves, rocks, and dirt.
Nothing will save us
No matter how hard they try to hide their thoughts, they know there's nothing that can conceal it.
From us
The feelings that they're having towards each other, they can't run from it.
Writer(s): STEPHEN MCROBBIE
Contributed by Michael J. Suggest a correction in the comments below.