The artwork for Stars' Set Yourself on Fire is eye-catching and dramatic, like a protest painting or Keith Haring subway drawing. And that's before you find the inside shot of a woman in a ski mask and little else, contemplating a flaming hand torch. The art direction's boldness complements the maturity in Stars' music, where nothing's just indie pop and string arrangements sound as perfect as the keyboards. Vocalists Torquil Campbell and Amy Millan enunciate every word with careful precision, and they sing of remembered high-school romances, dead ex-lovers, and drunk current ones in basic but powerfully evocative language. It's a twentysomething life, told in short story form. In opener "Your Ex-Lover Is Dead," Campbell and Millan's characters don't rekindle their relationship, but they don't apologize for its end, either. "I'm not sorry I met you," they harmonize. "I'm not sorry it's over/I'm not sorry there's nothing to save," and the song's strings and brass build to a surging outro that's the wordless acknowledgement of everything they had. The title track is augmented by strings of its own, keening dizzily in the background of an undeniable electronic pop pulse, and "What I'm Trying to Say" does the same thing, but replaces the strings with electric guitar. "Reunion"'s near-perfect guitar pop brings to mind Spoon, and mid-album mates "Sleep Tonight" and "First Five Times" have different views on the intent of (and locations for) modern romance. The songs blend trumpet, keyboard effects, acoustic guitar, and electronic and analog percussion for an intelligent pop sound that doesn't need bells and whistles to be unique. Stars rely instead on melody, charisma, and lyrics as sharp as any modern essayist, and it's all they need to sell the quiet grandness of Set Yourself On Fire.
There 's no one on this planet more distant than someone you were once slept with. I got that line from, One of My Baby, Tony Parsons' second novel. The book is softly sweet and quite delicate in its writing style it is probably one of my all time favourite books. Anyway. Is that reasonable? If your relationship could not work out okay, then you can't even be a friend with your Ex-lover.
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this song is one of my favorites. i think that the stars are poised to become a bigger band. i love this whole album.
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Here's another one, compliments of *"iodapromonet":http://promonet.iodalliance.com/* from the "Stars":http://redirect.iodalliance.com/artist.php?id=2E3272610683774DDB18C270AB61321E9EB5B46670E3A63B0EC7A96AA98EE121 upcoming release Do You Trust Your Friends from label "Arts & Crafts":http://redirect.iodalliance.com/label.php?id=4039353938E6E982913F707B8D4B3FEDEB586E1E3B1EC71E44DA459EA4984898.Int...
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So...I am a huge Stars fan and have made a point of picking up everything that they put out. Recently, I have been trying to piece together whether the Stars ever released Reunion as a physical release. I work at a record store and we have an instance of a 7" single that is OOP (of course). However, this is the only instance I can find of a shop, online or not, that has this single in their dat...
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Hey!Had a chance to befriend the band Stars over a series of concert dates! If you haven't already picked up Amy's solo album, do so now! It's pretty fuckin' good!Me and Amy!
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tis a great song from a great album. if you ever get a chance to seem them live, do it! they put out an amazing energy. have seen them 3 times so far, loved each one. their album 'heart' is a classic as well.-c
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Truer words were never spoken. I can't tell you all how liberated I feel. Knowing that in like 2 months I am taking the first real risk of my life. It took me so long to get over the fear of other people's perceptions. I spent far too many years trying to fit into some sort of model that wasn't me. A business casual job, relationshiops that I knew wouldn't make me happy, but I stayed in regard...
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My last post attempt got erased due to an inadvertent browser backtracking attempt. Even so, I felt this commentary was interesting enough to rewrite - in shorter form of course (because of course I was this close to posting it when I lost it ---> i i).I'd like to pose the question of band reunions - when is timing essential for a band to reform? Can you come back after being away for on...
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I miss you MOG , but this bull puckey non-alertness is OOC. i lost two good souls ; (anna & RAWK ) and at least 15 -25 MIA(pis off Waldork). sorry I dont show, but my recent good luck (thanks AJ ) to the world of Extensions {im not a CPU person , but ill punch them!} I had been slowly " borrowing" music ....so , if for some how you miss me ...or wonder where Ive been ; ask Hyman(or is it only f...
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There 's no one on this planet more distant than someone you were once slept with. I got that line from, One of My Baby, Tony Parsons' second novel. The book is softly sweet and quite delicate in its writing style it is probably one of my all time favourite books. Anyway. Is that reasonable? If your relationship could not work out okay, then you can't even be a friend with your Ex-lover.
More >
Here's another one, compliments of *"iodapromonet":http://promonet.iodalliance.com/* from the "Stars":http://redirect.iodalliance.com/artist.php?id=2E3272610683774DDB18C270AB61321E9EB5B46670E3A63B0EC7A96AA98EE121 upcoming release Do You Trust Your Friends from label "Arts & Crafts":http://redirect.iodalliance.com/label.php?id=4039353938E6E982913F707B8D4B3FEDEB586E1E3B1EC71E44DA459EA4984898.Int...
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From Pitchfork...Stars Get Remixed Since everybody and their mom has a remix album these days, why not Stars? According to the group's label, Arts&Crafts, Do You Trust Your Friends, a "track for track interpretation" of Stars' last album, 2004's Set Yourself on Fire, featuring the interpretive skills of Broken Social Scene, Metric, the Dears, the Elected, and Junior Boys, among others, is due o...
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If you listen to Your Ex-Lover is Dead.And you feel that way.It's over.If you don't.It's worth saving.I don't want to feel that way. I am sorry, there is something to save.
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I've been enjoying this terrific album by Stars. The music is at once uplifting and melancholy, my personal favorite of dichotomies. Perhaps it is the refreshing notion of moving positively through whatever crap life hands you. I absolutely love this video as well. And, yes, it is snowing in Chicago.
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tis a great song from a great album. if you ever get a chance to seem them live, do it! they put out an amazing energy. have seen them 3 times so far, loved each one. their album 'heart' is a classic as well.-c
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I haven't been keeping up with Mog lately (school eats up a lot of time), but I've had several music epiphanies in the past couple of weeks, so the day has come to mog again.First of all, so much has been said about the new TV on the Radio album that I probably can't say much of anything original at this point. However, I must interject my opinion. There is no question that it's one of the best...
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So...I am a huge Stars fan and have made a point of picking up everything that they put out. Recently, I have been trying to piece together whether the Stars ever released Reunion as a physical release. I work at a record store and we have an instance of a 7" single that is OOP (of course). However, this is the only instance I can find of a shop, online or not, that has this single in their dat...
More >
Yeah...i haven't posted in a *really* long time. Life as been just kicking my ass lately. Got the new Maroon 5 album a while back, and i *like* it. I like the album and then so much i joined the fan club. Yeah, it's that good. am kinda into "Gym Class Heroes" now, not too much, mind you, but i do think they are good, it's a bit of shock, seeing has how i'm not really into hip-hop all that much,...
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Hey!Had a chance to befriend the band Stars over a series of concert dates! If you haven't already picked up Amy's solo album, do so now! It's pretty fuckin' good!Me and Amy!
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| Title | Lyrics | Buy |
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| 1 Your Ex-Lover Is Dead |
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| 2 Set Yourself On Fire |
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| 3 Ageless Beauty |
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| 4 Reunion |
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| 5 The Big Fight |
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| 6 What I'm Trying to Say |
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| 7 One More Night |
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| 8 Sleep Tonight |
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| 9 The First Five Times |
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| 10 He Lied About Death |
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| 11 Celebration Guns |
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| 12 Soft Revolution |
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| 13 Calendar Girl |
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Click to purchase…
© 2006-2009 Mog Inc. All Rights Reserved
 "Set Yourself on Fire")
