The term Various Artists is used in the record industry when numerous singers and musicians collaborate on a song or collection of songs. Most often on Last.fm, compilation album tracks appear under the name of Various Artists erroneously because the individual artist is not listed in the album's ID3 information.
Compilation albums, for example.
Sometimes, single releases may be credited to Various Artists when their profits are going to charity and, usually in high-profile cases, are sometimes known by a group name. Examples include Band Aid with their releases of Do They Know It's Christmas? and USA for Africa with We Are The World.
Various Artists is also an actual performance name for Torsten Pröfrock, who runs the German DIN label. Torsten performs also as Dynamo, Erosion, Resilent, Traktor besides some others. He's a good friend of Robert Henke and since the Fall of 2004, he is a member of Monolake.
Various Artists was also a short-lived Bristol punk band formed by brothers Jonjo and Robin Key (originally from Birmingham). Other members were also simultaneously in Art Objects who went on to become The Blue Aeroplanes, the latter the Key brothers also co-wrote some songs and were involved in. When Various Artists imploded, the Key brothers went on to form Either / Or.
Various Artists also appear on tracks from musical theater soundtracks, due to the nature of having many cast members on one song, as well as an ensemble in some cases.
I Wish I Knew
Various Artists Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Come in
Well, well, well, look who's here
I haven't seen you in many a year
If I knew you were comin' I'd've baked a cake
baked a cake, baked a cake
If I knew you were comin' I'd've baked a cake
Had you dropped me a letter, I'd a-hired a band
Grandest band in the land
Had you dropped me a letter, I'd a-hired a band
And spread the welcome mat for you
Oh, I don't know where you came from
'cause I don't know where you've been
But it really doesn't matter
Grab a chair and fill your platter
And dig, dig, dig right in
If I knew you were comin' I'd've baked a cake
Hired a band, goodness sake
If I knew you were comin' I'd've baked a cake
Howd-ya do, howd-ya do, howd-ya do
[Instrumental Interlude]
If I knew you were comin' I'd've baked a cake
baked a cake, baked a cake
If I knew you were comin' I'd've baked a cake
Howd-ya do, howd-ya do, howd-ya do
Had you dropped me a letter
I'd a-hired a band
Grandest band in the land
Had you dropped me a letter
I'd a-hired a band
Spread the welcome mat for you
Oh, I don't know where you came from
'Cause I don't know where you've been
But it really doesn't matter
Grab a chair and fill your platter
And dig, dig, dig right in
If I knew you were comin' I'd've baked a cake
Hired a band, goodness sake
If I knew you were comin' I'd've baked a cake
Howd-ya do, howd-ya do, howd-ya do
Howd-ya do, howd-ya do, howd-ya do
Howd-ya do-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh
The lyrics to "If I Knew You Were Comin' (I'd've Baked a Cake)" by Eileen Barton are a lighthearted and welcoming greeting to a long-lost friend or acquaintance. The singer says that if they knew the other person was coming, they would have prepared a grand welcome with a cake and the best band in the land. They express excitement at the unexpected visit and invite the visitor to grab a chair and dig in to the food that has been prepared.
Although the lyrics are simple, they convey a warm and hospitable sentiment. The singer seems genuinely happy to see the visitor and is eager to make them feel at home. The use of repetition in parts of the chorus adds a playful and friendly tone to the song. The instrumental interlude adds to the upbeat tone of the song and gives a chance for listeners to enjoy the melody.
Overall, "If I Knew You Were Comin'" is a cheerful and welcoming song that celebrates the joy of unexpected visitors and the importance of hospitality.
Line by Line Meaning
Come in
The singer welcomes the person and invites them to enter the room.
Well, well, well, look who's here
The singer is pleasantly surprised to see the person who has just entered the room.
I haven't seen you in many a year
The singer has not seen the person in a long time.
If I knew you were comin' I'd've baked a cake, baked a cake, baked a cake
The artist would have prepared a dessert in advance to celebrate the person's arrival.
Howd-ya do, howd-ya do, howd-ya do
The artist greets the person with enthusiasm and friendliness.
Had you dropped me a letter, I'd a-hired a band, grandest band in the land
The singer would have hired a very good musical group if they had been notified earlier of the person's visit.
And spread the welcome mat for you
The singer would have prepared a more elaborate welcome if they had known the guest was coming.
Oh, I don't know where you came from 'cause I don't know where you've been
The artist is unsure where the person came from or where they have been since their last meeting.
But it really doesn't matter, grab a chair and fill your platter
The artist is not concerned with the past, and encourages the person to relax, eat and enjoy themselves.
And dig, dig, dig right in
The artist urges the person to begin eating.
If I knew you were comin' I'd've baked a cake, hired a band, goodness sake
The singer reiterates that they would have prepared more for the person's arrival if they had known in advance.
Howd-ya do, howd-ya do, howd-ya do
The artist enthusiastically repeats their greeting to the person.
Lyrics © MUSIC SALES CORPORATION, MUSIC & MEDIA INT'L, INC., Kanjian Music, Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Songtrust Ave, Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd., Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: AL HOFFMAN, BOB MERRILL, ALBERT J TRACE
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Mr. Skydremer
Timeline:
0:43 intro and tip 1 - creative process
5:51 tip 2 (bringing us to shapes): go strong and bold choose, choose easy references, plan better
10:21 tip 3 - form: graphic design is king, simplicity is everything, perfection is bad
13:28 tip 4 - texture: don’t rush, monotony is bad, halftones FTW
16:18 tip 5 - color: hue shifts, temperature, bias the exposure
Such a brilliant guide!
Zazoreal
I normally learn a lot by observing other artists paint while trying to figure out why they are making the choices they are making. I recently started studying Bo chen and Dao le's work. I immediately started seeing major improvements in how I approach art. The point is. Find a artist that has finished artworks that resembles the art you want to create and study their work. Do this with as many artists as you can and develop your own process based on what you learned. It helps understanding your digital art program and all the tools in it.
Ipsey
You have a knack for addressing the stressful and confusing journey of learning art and design. As a total newbie, Im constantly feeling discouraged and overwhelmed with this process. Videos like this are SUCH a breath of fresh air. Its like getting briefly lifted out of the maze Ive been stuck in. Thank you for sharing!
Arson
How’s the progress so far. I just started
Ipsey
@Arson What i have found over my past few years of stubbornly (perhaps foolishly) pursuing my creative passion is this: Progress is immeasurably slow. Then, all at once, you experience something of a leap forward. It's never a "huge" leap forward, or it's never been for me, but its an incredible sensation nonetheless. Ive never woken up and thought "oh ive suddenly mastered environment design and have an effective creative workflow", but the realization of something like "im a lot more comfortable constructing volumes in 3D space and have a decent grasp on perspective now" is an immensely rewarding feeling. I try to think about learning art and design in the same way I think about building a pyramid. I imagine getting that first layer of those heavy stones down feels hopelessly fruitless. The base is so much wider than the rest of the structure and it hardly represents what the end product will look like. I imagine the rest of the structure is still a lot of work, but the stages go by much faster, assuming youve properly laid the foundation that is.
I dont consider myself "naturally gifted" in regards to art. Perhaps, "naturally interested and passionate" but i cant express how clumsy i originally felt with a pencil in my hand. Even though I still dont have much to show for it, I know Ive come a long way. And, while I still have a VERY long way to go, if I can do it so can anybody.
Arson
@Ipsey thank you so much for writing this. Ill continue on my art journey and I hope you do the same
Jo3_ The_Artbot
Something I’ve noticed that gives it a professional touch that I’m still working on myself is the confidence in your strokes. When you lean into the decisions you make(and just trust your brushstrokes), it’s easier to make it look like you intended to make those decisions giving your art a more of a professional confident look. (Getting there but that takes more practice and experience lol) let me know if you have any tips to help with that!
WinterFox
something I recently learned was that once I understand why a certain shape looks good I can draw them with confidence even when they get really abstract.
Jo3_ The_Artbot
@WinterFox exactly!! There’s some crazy magical stuff happening when you give it that extra umph of confidence! Something I guess you can only unlock if you do it often or if you really believe in it haha! That’s super cool though! Keep on drawin!🤘
Fin Downes
Great video! I've noticed you've been putting a lot more into the editing of your videos lately too, everything flows really nicely. I'm sure it's a lot of work but it definitely shows