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The Violet Burning - The Story of Our Lives:
Liebe über Alles, Black as Death and The Fantastic Machine
by Jocelyn Aucoin
It's that ache in your heart.
That place inside you where all the stuff collects and collides like junk in a drawer.
Except it's not junk. It's real and it matters and it's the matter that makes you. It’s that ache that makes you want to fight and surrender, scream and sigh. It's decaying and it's beautiful and it's full of these awkward opposites. So full that sometimes you don't understand. You can't understand.
But then someone or something comes along to give it shape, a voice. Someone whose ability to capture this space is so pure, so precise, that it springs hope within us and legs to stand on.
Something like The Violet Burning.
The Violets (affectionately called) have been making music under the direction of creative mainspring, Michael J Pritzl, since 1990. A prolific songwriter, Pritzl's story is one of endurance, endurance manifested in a plethora of albums and relentless touring throughout the US and Europe. Endurance resulting in an absolute rabid
following of fans. Though Pritzl has surrounded himself with different musicians through the years, the music has never been compromised and the fans keep coming back for the powerful, guitar-driven rock The Violets never fail to deliver. This time that rock is enlivened with the drumming virtuosity that is Lenny Beh. A stunningly emotive addition.
Nothing proves The Violets bring the rock better than their latest effort, their 9th full-length studio album, The Story of Our Lives: Liebe über Alles, Black as Death and The Fantastic Machine, an audio triptych of sorts. The album's 34 songs are divided into three parts: Liebe über Alles, Black as Death and The Fantastic Machine. Although asunder, the album rages with rock and drips with beauty, all the while shaking it's figurative fist at a digital age wherein, despite the abundance of material available, artists still feel beholden to the 10-song album format restrictions of the past.
The Violets didn't feel this restriction and because of that, The Story of Our Lives is not just an auditory experience, it is a multi-sensory aesthetic experience. These songs didn't take a week to write or two days to record. The artwork wasn't thrown together in an hour in Photoshop. This is a complete body of work that began as a spark of an idea and has now been seven years in the making. In this way, it defies the unspoken and mediocre standards of today, offering up an incredible sonic experience in addition to a riveting lyrical journey.
And the journey is a familiar one. In fact, it reads like some of the greatest novels ever written. The Fantastic Machine sets the tone for this journey as "Where It All Begins" climbs from a pensive, pretty melody to an all out blur of frantic guitars, over which "my heart and soul are wired in!" it screamed wild and breathy. It's the definition of epic, and songs like “Machine Beat Sabbatha” and “Imminent Collapse” follow suit, allowing the listener in on the chaos that's brewing in the heart of our character. “The Letting” and “Leaving” tell a quieter story, one that will course through your veins with their beautiful sadness. And in the end, our character leaves The Fantastic Machine behind, giving up on a life that has been selling him lies.
Black as Death picks up where this sadness leaves off, descending on ears like a bat out of hell--an almost mindless storm of sound and distortion. “My Name is Night” is case and point of this, heavy and teeming with Sabbath-like drumming. “Maelstorm” expands into this chaos, the entropy of its opening guitars hitting like the explosion of tides. Pritzl's delicate falsetto dancing atop the water. And then there is “Rock Is Dead”, which exists not only as the definition of pop song perfection, but shows our character gaining strength. Shivers run down your spine when he screams, "I'm going on, going on!" "In Ruin" leaves a sweet taste in our mouths with it's swirly delays, rhodes bells and sweeping cello.
Enter Liebe über Alles, The Story of Our Lives' graceful and exquisite counterpart. Our character has chosen death, but now lives to continue his journey home. A beautiful relenting, “Mon Désir” is honest in both melody and lyric as Pritzl’s broken voice sings, "All I want is you." "Arc" has a driving rhythm that climaxes with an explosion of spirited strings. "I am coming home!" The dreamy and romantic ballad, "I Caught Fire", is encased in a haze of fuzz guitar, pulsing drums and the descending piano, "…in all the songs of men and angels, if I have no love, I'm blank." And finally “through a life, blessed and cursed, love and only love goes on and on…” the true rest of “Liebe über Alles” and the final acknowledgement that our character has made it home.
This is not just another album by another band. This is a realization. A realization that this story--the struggle and the heartache, feeling lost and so alone--belongs to each one of us. It’s the way we feel when we are sad and broken and it’s the way we feel when we are so complete and content, at home and at rest within ourselves and with others and with “The Lord of Song.” It’s knowing we’re not alone in this big, messed up machine of a world. It’s the hope of “every corner of our heart and soul” being made for someone who loves us more than we will ever understand.
This is the story of our lives.
The Violet Burning is Michael J. Pritzl, Daryl Dawson and Lenny Beh. THE STORY OF OUR LIVES: Liebe über Alles, Black as Death,and TH3 FANT^5T1C MACH1N3 was written and recorded by Michael Pritzl at Nowhere, CA studios (various closets, garages, entry ways, and bedrooms in Southern California) and features Eleanor Beh on Cello and Jeff Schroeder of Smashing Pumpkins (lead guitar on 3 songs).
The Story Of Our Lives was released digitally at thevioletburning.com March 5, 2011. The triple album will be coming worldwide one part at a time via iTunes, Amazon, and other online digital resellers throughout 2011. The triple album will also be available in it’s physical, beautiful, limited edition, 80-page packaging via thevioletburning.com beginning April 4, 2011. The Violet Burning are now planning US and European tour dates.
-Jocelyn Aucoin – 2011
Gorgeous
The Violet Burning Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And I could barely raise my eyes
You were the rockets
You were the show
You were the colours,
Oh the light the glow
Colour me in rags of light
I see it all the time
You feel so much
The distance in your eyes
Says so much
You're very far away
You won't catch me that way
You won't catch me that way
I don't know where this feeling begins
I shake and slip fall in again I guess
I can tell the way that you look at me now
You are the rockets and the light somehow
Colour me in red or white
Bury me in a rags of light
I see it all the time
You feel so much
The distance in your eyes
Says so much
You're very far away
You won't catch me that way
Song, baby it's your song
Song, baby you're so gorgeous
Baby you're so gorgeous
Song, in July
Like a million July's
Like a million July's
The Violet Burning’s “Gorgeous” is a song about being captivated by someone’s beauty and light. The song opens with the lyrics “I swear it was the Fourth of July / And I could barely raise my eyes / You were the rockets / You were the show / You were the colours, / Oh the light the glow”. Here, the singer is describing a moment that felt like a fireworks display on the Fourth of July. They were so entranced by the other person’s light and energy that they had trouble looking directly at them.
The chorus repeats the idea of being surrounded by light and color. The singer wants to be "colored in rags of light" and "buried in a silver shine." They see the other person as a source of light and beauty, saying "You are the rockets and the light somehow". However, despite the intense attraction, there is a distance between the singer and the other person. The lyrics mention "the distance in your eyes / Says so much / You're very far away."
Overall, “Gorgeous” is a mystical song about the power of attraction and the beauty of light. It captures the way that someone can light up a room with their presence, but also how that light can sometimes be just out of reach.
Line by Line Meaning
I swear it was the Fourth of July
I vividly remember a significant moment, July Fourth, where everything was so bright and booming, but I had trouble opening my eyes to appreciate it.
And I could barely raise my eyes
I found it difficult to absorb the sensory overload of the fireworks display.
You were the rockets
You were like the explosive, dazzling fireworks display that caught my attention on that Fourth of July night.
You were the show
You were the main event that everyone had gathered to witness, and yet you also captivated me in your own unique way.
You were the colours, Oh the light the glow
Your presence was so vibrant and electrifying that it felt like you were emitting all the colours, light and glow of the fireworks yourself.
Colour me in rags of light
I want to be cloaked in the same dazzling light you emit because it is so magical and transformative.
Bury me in a silver shine
I want to be completely enveloped in the glittery and sparkling energy that surrounds you, because it is so alluring and captivating.
I see it all the time
I am always mindful of your presence and how it affects me, even when you're not physically around.
You feel so much
You are very expressive and passionate in everything you do, and I'm drawn to that energy.
The distance in your eyes
Despite your ability to emote strongly, there is also a sense of disconnect or detachment that I perceive in your gaze.
Says so much
Your body language and facial expressions convey a powerful message, that I am attuned to without even needing words.
You're very far away
You feel distant and unattainable, despite our physical proximity or emotional connection.
You won't catch me that way
I refuse to be caught or captured by your emotional distance, I want to break through and connect with you fully.
I don't know where this feeling begins
I'm not sure where my intense attraction and connection to you originated from, but it is very real and tangible.
I shake and slip fall in again I guess
I am overcome with emotion and vulnerability around you and it makes me feel anxious and uncertain, yet I keep coming back to you regardless.
I can tell the way that you look at me now
I can sense the shift in your gaze towards me, as if you're starting to see me in a different light, or notice my own passionate energy.
You are the rockets and the light somehow
Your energy and presence are still as bright and dazzling to me as that Fourth of July night, and I am drawn to it completely.
Colour me in red or white
I want to be infused with the same passion and purity that you embody, because it is so wondrous and inspiring.
Song, baby it's your song
This song is an ode to you, because you have inspired and captured my heart and imagination completely.
Song, baby you're so gorgeous
You are not only beautiful on the outside, but your entire being is absolutely stunning and captivating to me.
Baby you're so gorgeous
You embody and exude a kind of beauty and magic that takes my breath away, and I am drawn to you like a moth to a flame.
Song, in July
And even though that Fourth of July night was a singular moment, I still feel that same magic and passion for you whenever I hear this song or think of you.
Like a million July's
It's not just that one night, but every moment and memory associated with you that feels as bright and explosive as fireworks on July Fourth.
Contributed by Scarlett F. Suggest a correction in the comments below.