― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Friday, 8 October 2004 20:44 (nineteen years ago) link
when her voice starts in that first song, you just MELT.
― cutty (mcutt), Friday, 8 October 2004 20:51 (nineteen years ago) link
― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Friday, 8 October 2004 23:26 (nineteen years ago) link
― David R. (popshots75`), Friday, 8 October 2004 23:35 (nineteen years ago) link
― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Friday, 8 October 2004 23:50 (nineteen years ago) link
― Simon H., Saturday, 9 October 2004 00:49 (nineteen years ago) link
― cutty (mcutt), Saturday, 9 October 2004 01:09 (nineteen years ago) link
― cutty (mcutt), Thursday, 4 November 2004 22:11 (nineteen years ago) link
― jaymc (jaymc), Thursday, 4 November 2004 22:15 (nineteen years ago) link
― cutty (mcutt), Thursday, 4 November 2004 22:16 (nineteen years ago) link
http://www.arts-crafts.ca/stars/freedownload/
― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Thursday, 4 November 2004 22:22 (nineteen years ago) link
― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Thursday, 4 November 2004 22:23 (nineteen years ago) link
everything else is perfection. REALLY.
― cutty (mcutt), Thursday, 4 November 2004 22:25 (nineteen years ago) link
― bnw (bnw), Friday, 5 November 2004 01:17 (nineteen years ago) link
I'm hoping to see them live in a week.
― derrick (derrick), Friday, 5 November 2004 08:12 (nineteen years ago) link
― B.A.R.M.S. (Barima), Friday, 5 November 2004 11:28 (nineteen years ago) link
Still don't like 'he lied about death', though.
― derrick (derrick), Friday, 12 November 2004 09:12 (nineteen years ago) link
― BlastsOfStatic (BlastsofStatic), Friday, 12 November 2004 14:18 (nineteen years ago) link
― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Friday, 12 November 2004 17:59 (nineteen years ago) link
― fortunate hazel (f. hazel), Friday, 12 November 2004 18:06 (nineteen years ago) link
― bnw (bnw), Thursday, 18 November 2004 00:51 (nineteen years ago) link
― the surface noise (slight return) (electricsound), Thursday, 18 November 2004 00:59 (nineteen years ago) link
― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Thursday, 18 November 2004 02:21 (nineteen years ago) link
this band is magic.
― cutty (mcutt), Thursday, 18 November 2004 02:22 (nineteen years ago) link
― cutty (mcutt), Thursday, 18 November 2004 02:23 (nineteen years ago) link
― phil-two (phil-two), Thursday, 18 November 2004 02:25 (nineteen years ago) link
― cutty (mcutt), Thursday, 18 November 2004 02:26 (nineteen years ago) link
In other news I just found out there is a video for "Elevator Love Letter" and that MuchMusic has been playing "Ageless Beauty"!
― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Thursday, 18 November 2004 02:33 (nineteen years ago) link
I think "your ex lover is dead" and "reunion" and "the first five times" are my immediate faves. It's definitely more rambunctious then Heart. (I quietly and selfishly hope they never get too political.)
― bnw (bnw), Thursday, 18 November 2004 03:21 (nineteen years ago) link
come on spencer. admittedly, stars is kinda gay
― phil-two (phil-two), Thursday, 18 November 2004 03:28 (nineteen years ago) link
― cutty (mcutt), Thursday, 18 November 2004 05:38 (nineteen years ago) link
― derrick (derrick), Thursday, 18 November 2004 06:26 (nineteen years ago) link
― bnw (bnw), Thursday, 18 November 2004 15:40 (nineteen years ago) link
― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Thursday, 18 November 2004 18:44 (nineteen years ago) link
― earinfections (Nick Twisp), Tuesday, 23 November 2004 22:15 (nineteen years ago) link
― 57 7th (calstars), Tuesday, 23 November 2004 22:21 (nineteen years ago) link
― 57 7th (calstars), Tuesday, 23 November 2004 22:24 (nineteen years ago) link
― Spencer Chow (spencermfi), Tuesday, 23 November 2004 22:26 (nineteen years ago) link
― daavid (daavid), Tuesday, 23 November 2004 22:29 (nineteen years ago) link
― cutty (mcutt), Tuesday, 23 November 2004 22:30 (nineteen years ago) link
anyway, here's a pic of some geek who met Torquil in Montreal last weekend! (photo credit: felicity redwell. Torque said they'd be in the nyc come march.
― bnw (bnw), Wednesday, 22 December 2004 15:00 (nineteen years ago) link
― Stewart Osborne (Stewart Osborne), Wednesday, 22 December 2004 15:30 (nineteen years ago) link
― Stewart Osborne (Stewart Osborne), Wednesday, 22 December 2004 15:32 (nineteen years ago) link
― Simon H. (Simon H.), Wednesday, 22 December 2004 17:33 (nineteen years ago) link
― derrick (derrick), Thursday, 23 December 2004 01:42 (nineteen years ago) link
― cutty (mcutt), Thursday, 23 December 2004 01:54 (nineteen years ago) link
― Bruce S. Urquhart (BanjoMania), Thursday, 23 December 2004 02:11 (nineteen years ago) link
― Bruce S. Urquhart (BanjoMania), Thursday, 23 December 2004 02:12 (nineteen years ago) link
Cheers!Guy Upthread
― Guy Upthread (mcutt), Thursday, 23 December 2004 02:23 (nineteen years ago) link
sounds worth a try!
― Nhex, Monday, 9 May 2011 17:26 (thirteen years ago) link
geez, that's what i said 4 months ago.
― Nhex, Monday, 9 May 2011 17:27 (thirteen years ago) link
their last one, a little place in the wilderness is def worth checking out also; same hit or miss quality but there are some killer, beautiful songs
― johnny crunch, Tuesday, 10 May 2011 00:26 (thirteen years ago) link
new demos album out, mostly songs from in our bedroom after the war & a few from the 5 ghosts - streamable here:
http://www.thebedroomdemos.com/secretshow/streamthealbum/
Moments have their moments.
In the big deep winter of Montreal, 2006, STARS were drunk.
Two years had been spent carousing the globe, with 'Set Yourself On Fire' in their hands. Home again, they drove the van to a neighbourhood studio to play through some songs they were already planning to record again - in the future, all the way across the tundra, months later - in sun-addled British Columbia.
But the snow was still down in Montreal.
As can happen, these first recording sessions for what was to become 'In Our Bedroom After The War' lay claim to a particular beauty that would shift and differ thousands of miles away, months in the future, in Vancouver.
The studio was Breakglass, run by a dear friend named Jace Lasek, of the band The Besnard Lakes. At that time still a shitbox construction site on the north side of Montreal, Breakglass afforded STARS a refuge from the road, and a steady windowsill to pile up wine bottles. The songs came in bursts, were tracked quickly, given working titles like 'Flack' and 'Fuck U I Love You' and stored one by one in the hallway with the other boxes of tapes. Minds were lost, found again; arguments claimed teeth and nails - love got spit and wrangled back. The band once more became a band and pulled verses from the fumes, bridges from beneath their feet.
From the final, west coast version of the album, only one song, 'Midnight Coward' was not demoed in Breakglass. The others spilled forward. Torq sings both his and Amy's parts in 'Personal.' Evan plays guitar solo after guitar solo. Amy finds new lyrics in every next take. Chris holds the throughline, Patty plays the drums of his life.
With chutzpah, the band moved camp to Vancouver and did the whole thing over again, once more into the breach. New sounds and parts were found, the record was made and released, but something remained on those shelves in Montreal on Rue Clark.
In the spring of 2011, much had changed for the band. Parents had been lost and made, homes left behind and built anew. On a break from touring their new record, 'The Five Ghosts' the band reached back and remembered an affinity with the Breakglass sessions – 'Barricade' recorded with one microphone, an epic solo on 'My Favourite Book'. Jace found the tapes, wine lined the windowsill for a weekend, and the demos finally found their way out of the studio.
Here they are, please enjoy.
― johnny crunch, Saturday, 11 June 2011 13:16 (twelve years ago) link
thanks, didn't know about this at all
― Nhex, Saturday, 11 June 2011 13:34 (twelve years ago) link
huh, it's split into an explicit and non-explicit version on itunes? weird
― Nhex, Saturday, 11 June 2011 14:00 (twelve years ago) link
New one The North is slowly burning its way into my goods books, which has been the story of Stars for me every time. Especially love this, such a fantastic performance from Torq.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZxkcH4jTbtM
― that mustardless plate (Bill A), Tuesday, 18 September 2012 20:13 (eleven years ago) link
i have a chance to see them in a week but logistically it'd be a bit of a hassle. kind of on the fence about it.
― phantompenguin, Tuesday, 18 September 2012 20:23 (eleven years ago) link
I loved Set Yourself On Fire and played the hell out of it when I first got it, and still rate it now. I couldn't help but find In Our Bedroom After The War a bit of a disappointment, although its highlights for me are stellar: 'Take Me To The Riot' and 'Midnight Coward' especially. I remember liking The Five Ghosts more, but I haven't played it since it came out. Haven't heard the new one yet.
― The Jupiter 8 (Turrican), Tuesday, 18 September 2012 20:27 (eleven years ago) link
have you seen them before, phantompenguin? unreserved recommendation if not, they've been one of my favourite live bands for ages.
Heart and Set Yourself... are their most consistently great albums, although there's terrific songs on all their releases. I've returned to the last Memphis album a lot more than The Five Ghosts, but Stars never made it to the UK to tour that because of Amy and Evan's baby which was a shame (although not about the babs, obv) - I do find that some of their songs only really stick with me once I've seen them played live.
― that mustardless plate (Bill A), Tuesday, 18 September 2012 21:32 (eleven years ago) link
into 'theory of relativity', need 2 spend more time w/ the rest
― johnny crunch, Wednesday, 19 September 2012 23:32 (eleven years ago) link
Finally getting to the new record. Theory of Relativity, Hold On When You Get Love... and Through The Mines are lovely. Do You Want To Die Together is gross.
― Room 227 (cryptosicko), Monday, 26 November 2012 04:18 (eleven years ago) link
I hate to say it, but that song actually kind of ruined the entire album for me
― Nhex, Monday, 26 November 2012 07:27 (eleven years ago) link
I think I might have given up on this band. Set Yourself On Fire showed a HELL of a lot of promise, and lord knows they've got more than enough talent in that band to deliver the goods - but for some reason or other, they just haven't since.
― The Jupiter 8 (Turrican), Monday, 26 November 2012 14:20 (eleven years ago) link
Personally my favorite was In the Bedroom After the War so I've still got hope that they'll get it together again and make a solid cohesive album. Five Ghosts grew on me, I'm guessing The North will do as long as I remember to skip some of the bad songs (even Bedroom had "Barricade" which I couldn't stand).
― Nhex, Monday, 26 November 2012 17:56 (eleven years ago) link
Yeah, "Do You Want to Die Together" is, by some chalk, the worst song on the new one. Like the rest of it pretty well, and excellent in parts ("Theory of Relativity" is fuckin' amazing). Def. better than The Five Ghosts. Going to see them when they're in Manchester next week, pretty hyped tbh as it's been a good while since they were here.
― that mustardless plate (Bill A), Monday, 26 November 2012 19:08 (eleven years ago) link
Just revisiting upthread, Nhex did you ever get round to the last Memphis album? I still listen to that all the time, it's a real pearl.
― that mustardless plate (Bill A), Monday, 26 November 2012 19:10 (eleven years ago) link
Add "The Loose Ends Will Make Knots" and "The 400" to the list of songs I like; I was only halfway through the album when I posted above. Mercifully, nothing else on the record is as bad as "Die," but that still means that literally half the record goes by without leaving any impression on me. Still, after the disappointment of The Five Ghosts (speaking of icky Stars songs, remember "We Don't Want Your Body?"), this is mildly encouraging.
― Room 227 (cryptosicko), Monday, 26 November 2012 22:05 (eleven years ago) link
Bill: I did eventually get to it... It was all right, but didn't really hook me, it felt maybe a little too laid back? I should give it another listen sometime.
― Nhex, Monday, 26 November 2012 23:34 (eleven years ago) link
It is pretty relaxed in the main, I love Torq's lyrics on it though and some v. strong vocal work. It had an osmotic effect on me, various songs kept popping up on shuffle on my player and it wormed into my affections with repeated listens. Worth a revisit for sure :)
― that mustardless plate (Bill A), Tuesday, 27 November 2012 07:42 (eleven years ago) link
was just a few days ago wondering what these guys were up to
http://www.npr.org/blogs/allsongs/2014/08/11/339428704/song-premiere-stars-from-the-night
― johnny crunch, Thursday, 14 August 2014 00:05 (nine years ago) link
this life is very heartbreaking and sad… so let’s get completely fucking arseholed and listen to some Dionne Warwick.”this life is very heartbreaking and sad… so let’s get completely fucking arseholed and listen to some Dionne Warwick.”this life is very heartbreaking and sad… so let’s get completely fucking arseholed and listen to some Dionne Warwick.”
― johnny crunch, Thursday, 14 August 2014 00:09 (nine years ago) link
I think I'm done getting excited about new Stars records, but I'd be happy if they could surprise me with something great again.
― You know something? He *did* say "well, yeah" a lot. (cryptosicko), Thursday, 14 August 2014 01:01 (nine years ago) link
it took me the better part of ~18 months but i think the north is a p good album tbh
― johnny crunch, Thursday, 14 August 2014 01:14 (nine years ago) link
About half of the album is very good, while the other half is pleasant enough, and only one song (the last one--Stars go techno-rave!) is a gross genre experiment on the level of "We Don't Want Your Body" from The Five Ghosts. All in all, their best since In Our Bedroom After the War.
― MaudAddam (cryptosicko), Thursday, 9 October 2014 00:02 (nine years ago) link
noo don't get my hopes up
― Nhex, Thursday, 9 October 2014 00:20 (nine years ago) link
i'd only heard like one or two songs from this band but devoured their whole discography last week after winning tickets to their show (which was fantastic)
kind of surprised they're not more ILX canon tbh, "no one is lost" is as good as any of my favorite albums from the last few years
― gr8080, Monday, 19 October 2015 20:50 (eight years ago) link
like how is it possible that johnny fever has never posted itt
― gr8080, Monday, 19 October 2015 20:51 (eight years ago) link
Amy's vocal performance on 'Are You Ok? is stunning. I think it's a great record. Steven Hyden had this great line recently that I think applies here-"Sometimes the worst sin a band can commit is doing the same thing really well for an extended period."
― campreverb, Monday, 19 October 2015 21:09 (eight years ago) link
they're kind of my comfort food of music at this point. likely my most played band of the last 10+ years.
― bnw, Monday, 19 October 2015 21:21 (eight years ago) link
Set Yourself On Fire was a very, very good album and I really don't think they've matched it since.
― Turrican, Monday, 19 October 2015 21:24 (eight years ago) link
"no one of lost" sounds like an ilx top 20 album, no one even nominated last year
― gr8080, Monday, 19 October 2015 21:28 (eight years ago) link
"no one *is* lost"
― gr8080, Monday, 19 October 2015 21:35 (eight years ago) link
No One Is Lost definitely their best album since In Our Bedroom After The War imo, though not quite as good as that one and Set Yourself On Fire. still pretty dang good though.
― Nhex, Monday, 19 October 2015 23:59 (eight years ago) link
hah oh yeah, that's why cryptosicko said. i agree!
― Nhex, Tuesday, 20 October 2015 00:00 (eight years ago) link
im glad that gr8080 got into stars
― johnny crunch, Tuesday, 29 December 2015 23:58 (eight years ago) link
me too.
still mystified @ no johnny fever posts itt tbh
― gr8080, Wednesday, 30 December 2015 09:16 (eight years ago) link
http://music.cbc.ca/#!/blogs/2016/1/Stars-plan-to-release-a-cover-song-each-month-in-2016
https://soundcloud.com/youarestars/it-aint-me-babe-cover
― Bitch I'm in the 2112 (cryptosicko), Friday, 15 January 2016 15:28 (eight years ago) link
https://soundcloud.com/youarestars/streetlights-kanye-west-cover
― pitchforkian at best (cryptosicko), Wednesday, 24 February 2016 17:05 (eight years ago) link
This month's:
https://soundcloud.com/youarestars/sets/monthly-cover-series
(I wasn't familiar with the original)
― rhymes with "blondie blast" (cryptosicko), Thursday, 24 March 2016 20:23 (eight years ago) link
Haven't cared abot them in ages but the "Streetlights" cover is really nice. Maybe the only instance of white people covering Kanye without embarrassing themselves/the listener.
― a serious and fascinating fartist (Simon H.), Thursday, 24 March 2016 23:43 (eight years ago) link
They have a new release, "There Is No Love In Fluorescent Light". it's good too.8 albums in they are still churning out some consistently good-to-great albums. I mean "Are you ok?"'s new-orderism's may be one of my favorite songs in their catalogue. (also going through a break-up, so heavy rotation for Stars).
― campreverb, Wednesday, 27 December 2017 20:45 (six years ago) link