Island (anticipation)

[eamas]

That is such amazing news!! Thank you to whoever cleared the spam!! It really does feel like we have reclaimed these forums from the Wilds! ;o; It means a lot to not lose this forum.

I came to ask if anyone had worked out the lyrics for We Went Criminal! (Or if they'd ever been posted in an official capacity, and I just hadn't seen.) Here's my WIP transcription of the lyrics:

Lean out of the bow, the stars between
And the (bud) upon my neck has left me bleeding
You held my body back from a deadly dream
While (they) ran out after me into the street
And the (sudden) (room) would (cave), would carry
Off the men who would come too wary,
In (the war/before) we went criminal

Color is collected by the sound
Of the bells across the lake, and I felt
A new form of happiness when you are here
And a new form of depression when you disappear
And around and round and round the lake
I wonder how long it will take until I find myself
a dock, a house, a car, a wife
But I’ll never have that kind of life
As long as we stay criminal

(video I'm referring to):
www.youtube.com/watch?v=MiD7O93S_bA&feature=youtu.be

I'm very excited for the song. It's not on the locked Island lyrics thread (or this would be a lot easier) but I sure hope it makes the album or is a bonus release of some sort. It's so lovely and I think the final version will break me.

[Owen from Final Fantasy]

We Went Criminal

Laid out on our backs, the stars between
And the bite upon my neck has left me bleeding
You held my body back from a deadly dream
When you ran out after me into the street
And a sudden hurricane would carry
Off the men we planned to marry
In the year we went criminal

Colour is collected by the sound
Of the bells across the lake, and I have found
A new form of happiness when you are here
And a new form of depression when you disappear
And I run and run around the lake, and
Wonder how long it will take until I find myself
A dog, a house, a car, a wife
But I'll never have that kind of life
As long as we stay criminal

[Owen from Final Fantasy]

Somebody else requested the lyrics to "Cyclops"? Here they are:

Cyclops

words by Owen Pallett and Fan Wu

You!
You!
You come into this hall and you fill it full of bugs.
My artillery is thunder. Lawgivers? they are thugs.
Oh, incompetence! The failures of a judge!

Stand and deliver!
So many lies! You liars! Zero talent!
Suddenly, I cannot read.
I cannot see your numbers.
The cars were sold in China.
The burgers in Japan.
Tremendous generators sold to many honest men.

The johns of Mexico owe us so so very much
For our ruined trade and our ruined hearths!

For I am sprung from gods.
You idiots, you idlers.

Satyr! Give me whey.
Gulping, gaping bowls of whey.
My empire is increasing.
It is growing every day.

Fuel up the car at once.
Heap high the twigs and light them.
Presidents and monarchs,
I would beat them, I would fight them.

Will a whirlwind to move before me
And rip the gore from puny foes.
Of your skull I make a schism.

You there! you are all ninnies.
Nincompoops never touched
By the stars of patriotism.

From whence did you spring?
From new money or old?
What brings you here? by highways?
Are you pirate? Are you rogue?

You come from the other end of nowhere with your vaunting and fine words.
We care not for social justice.
It is a sissy-mead.
We care not for reparations.
The poor insult us with their greed.

Wealth is the god for the wise.
I bow to no other god.
To eat and drink one's fill makes me king of gods and men.

I am quoted by the masses.
I have gotten used to it.
I am hearing great things.
My arms are cedars split.
My eye is cauliflower.
And so I cannot read.
But the cause of it is fish,
The mix of fish and flesh.
The cause of it is taxes
Higher than the moon.

I am a bloody mongrel
And the summit it shall tremble
At my impious feast.
No man shall obey another.

My triumphant Navy and this glorious infantry.
We are the bosses of this earth.
Drudges and whipped serfs.

They all hate me, far and wide
But all the hate is grist
For the mill. I suck up their
Hate and turn it to pride.

Still, you come into this hall and you fill it with your bugs!
I am electorate.
I am the highest high.
I sacrifice the earth, but not to the gods, not I.
The globe, it is not warming.
It is burning, global burning!
Zeus’ sleet it cannot touch me
Cannot cool the fire within me.

Guests at my own hearth!
Suppliants of my halls!
I cleave and tear and serve to my teeth a feast of human flesh!
Hot, human flesh!
It is your honour.
I signed it into law.
Where are you? I will murder you!
I wait not for a carver.

Open wide my gaping throat!
I will catch you squirming puppies.
Innards, flesh, and marrow bone.
I fill my belly with mankind.

I will not cease from devouring thee, receivers of my gifts.
Your lives are juice and heat and organ meat and crunch and crisp.

[eamas]

Oh awesome! Thanks eons, Owen!! Time for some relistening!  

[birdonthewire]

May 13, 2019 18:29:13 GMT -5 Cat said:

It's just been announced that Owen is playing Blue Bird festival in Vienna (on the Saturday) - the first European show since the Elbphilharmonie in 2017!!!! I SO hope I can make it, but at the moment I'm trying to finish my PhD and find a job so I can't plan anything for definite! And Kathryn Joseph is also absolutely amazing - her and Owen together on the same bill is like all my dreams come true <3 www.facebook.com/events/2284538408474691/

Kathryn Joseph is great!! saw her in Aberdeen some years ago   Never been to Finnland!  (So the choices! And if anyone else going and isn't decided and far away from everywhere too needs advice and for the ones going - Vienna... has coffee that is not starbucks!!!)

Good to come across some new music. Just listening to Swan/Koistinen, very intense. Not decided yet which one track I like best. Maybe no 2.    

Bell Orchestre and Stravinsky in Hamburg!    (tickets all sold out! well, what you say about certain concert halls - karma maybe.. )

So good to see that those swamps of spam are gone!     And: so true what Owen said about twitter in general! Can be sooo negative, like a sort of stress amplifier.

[diego4533]

I’d really like to keep the discussion about the new album going but the only question I can think of is “When will it be released?!”
Here’s another one: for those who have heard the live videos or seen Owen play the songs live, which songs do you think will be released as singles / videos? I think I read a while ago there was a video or radio edit for Lewis Gets Fucked Into Space?

[kit]

Jul 8, 2019 23:25:10 GMT -5 diego4533 said:

Here’s another one: for those who have heard the live videos or seen Owen play the songs live, which songs do you think will be released as singles / videos? I think I read a while ago there was a video or radio edit for Lewis Gets Fucked Into Space?

I really have no idea, but Paragon of Order is such a bop I'd imagine it would be well suited for a music video. The repetitive violin and horns just feel cinematic to me.
I can see one immediate issue with Lewis Gets Fucked Into Space being a radio single, but I'm sure a good DJ could find a way around that 

[tangowhiskeyman]

Jul 9, 2019 13:15:41 GMT -5 kit said:

Jul 8, 2019 23:25:10 GMT -5 diego4533 said:

Here’s another one: for those who have heard the live videos or seen Owen play the songs live, which songs do you think will be released as singles / videos? I think I read a while ago there was a video or radio edit for Lewis Gets Fucked Into Space?

I really have no idea, but Paragon of Order is such a bop I'd imagine it would be well suited for a music video. The repetitive violin and horns just feel cinematic to me.
I can see one immediate issue with Lewis Gets Fucked Into Space being a radio single, but I'm sure a good DJ could find a way around that 

I can see that. I've really tried not to listen to the new songs too often, given that I'd rather hear them in final, album form and be able to evaluate that as a whole... but "Paragon of Order" has really stuck in my head in a good, somewhat uplifting if dour way. (Album vibe? --maybe dour if uplifting?) 

"Firemare" is also just one that I love, love, love. I dunno if it's single material, but I really like the way it builds up, the heartbreaking emotion in the whole "Owen, are you there" aspect (which I guess gets resolved as Owen rejoins Lewis??) and also the general metaphor of burning everything that reminds you of someone. Cathartic a f. 

Supposedly, "Perseverance of the Saints" is actually the first single. I think it works really nicely as an encapsulation of where Lewis is now, and has a nice build up. 

I'm extremely excited to eventually hear me some studio recordings of these songs, whenever the world is ready.

[kit]

Jul 10, 2019 17:06:37 GMT -5 tangowhiskeyman said:

Jul 9, 2019 13:15:41 GMT -5 kit said:

I really have no idea, but Paragon of Order is such a bop I'd imagine it would be well suited for a music video. The repetitive violin and horns just feel cinematic to me.
I can see one immediate issue with Lewis Gets Fucked Into Space being a radio single, but I'm sure a good DJ could find a way around that 

I've really tried not to listen to the new songs too often

I'm 100% with you (actually, I heard a few for the first time while "researching" this question!). Fire Mare is so gorgeous. I'd kill for a tab (or one for Lewis Gets Fucked Into Space) but I can totally figure it out with enough listens, and/or buy the sheet music if Owen chooses to put out a book for Island.

I'm just so excited that the release date (or approximate release quarter) is approaching! Heartland is maybe my favorite album ever. I can't even count the number of times I've listened to it all the way through on the ride home from my GF's house. I feel so grateful that there will be an entire new album of material to flesh out the world of Spectrum. 

On an only slightly related note, I just bought a copy of the Spectrum EP on Discogs, and the included Blocks RC releases catalog is hilarious. It describes Plays to Please as "An extremely brutal and insane blend of death/grind that sees the band pushing boundaries to cover material by Eastern Euro-thrash pioneers Deep Dark United. A pinch harmonic lovers dream, Plays to Please is a benchmark in brutality and pure insanity." The CD envelope (or whatever it's called) is really beautiful too. Makes me wanna watch that crazy animated music video for The Butcher again. What a cool album. 

[Cat]

Jul 5, 2019 11:04:17 GMT -5 birdonthewire said:

May 13, 2019 18:29:13 GMT -5 Cat said:

It's just been announced that Owen is playing Blue Bird festival in Vienna (on the Saturday) - the first European show since the Elbphilharmonie in 2017!!!! I SO hope I can make it, but at the moment I'm trying to finish my PhD and find a job so I can't plan anything for definite! And Kathryn Joseph is also absolutely amazing - her and Owen together on the same bill is like all my dreams come true <3 www.facebook.com/events/2284538408474691/

Kathryn Joseph is great!! saw her in Aberdeen some years ago   Never been to Finnland!  (So the choices! And if anyone else going and isn't decided and far away from everywhere too needs advice and for the ones going - Vienna... has coffee that is not starbucks!!!)

Good to come across some new music. Just listening to Swan/Koistinen, very intense. Not decided yet which one track I like best. Maybe no 2.    

Bell Orchestre and Stravinsky in Hamburg!    (tickets all sold out! well, what you say about certain concert halls - karma maybe.. )

So good to see that those swamps of spam are gone!     And: so true what Owen said about twitter in general! Can be sooo negative, like a sort of stress amplifier.

Glad you managed to see Kathryn! She is brilliant and she's the loveliest person as well!!! I only discovered her last year but she plays a lot of shows here so I've already managed to see her 18 times Apparently she's playing on the Friday (the day before Owen) if anyone is interested.

I'm tempted to go to Munich as well but I won't book anything else until I know the full tour schedule, I already have a flight that clashes with the Munich show! Everybody seems to be touring in November - Kathryn Joseph and the Mountain Goats are both doing UK tours earlier in the month and now Kishi Bashi has announced a UK tour the same week as Vienna... more reasons to try and put off starting a job until December

Jul 10, 2019 17:06:37 GMT -5 tangowhiskeyman said:

Jul 9, 2019 13:15:41 GMT -5 kit said:

I really have no idea, but Paragon of Order is such a bop I'd imagine it would be well suited for a music video. The repetitive violin and horns just feel cinematic to me.
I can see one immediate issue with Lewis Gets Fucked Into Space being a radio single, but I'm sure a good DJ could find a way around that 

I can see that. I've really tried not to listen to the new songs too often, given that I'd rather hear them in final, album form and be able to evaluate that as a whole... but "Paragon of Order" has really stuck in my head in a good, somewhat uplifting if dour way. (Album vibe? --maybe dour if uplifting?) 

"Firemare" is also just one that I love, love, love. I dunno if it's single material, but I really like the way it builds up, the heartbreaking emotion in the whole "Owen, are you there" aspect (which I guess gets resolved as Owen rejoins Lewis??) and also the general metaphor of burning everything that reminds you of someone. Cathartic a f. 

Supposedly, "Perseverance of the Saints" is actually the first single. I think it works really nicely as an encapsulation of where Lewis is now, and has a nice build up. 

I'm extremely excited to eventually hear me some studio recordings of these songs, whenever the world is ready.

I'm really not sure... they're all absolutely brilliant!!! My favourite is Polar Vortex but maybe one of the more upbeat ones like Paragon or Lewis Gets Fucked Into Space would be more suited as singles! On the setlist at the first Island show Lewis Gets Fucked Into Space was called The Great White Noise so they could always use that as a radio-friendly alternate title! I thought Owen was kidding when I first heard him call it Lewis Gets Fucked Into Space 

[tangowhiskeyman]

I deeply hope that if "Lewis Gets Fucked Into Space" gets a radio-friendly version, the obscenity replacement is something really... incongruous.

[birdonthewire]

I already loved that version of "Lewis gets fucked into space" with Stargaze that came out ages ago. Listened to that on repeat for a while back then! Good to see also different versions of songs how things can change over time! I think it's going to be one of those records.... For when you think you'll never rise again. And any other time too.

[skuldchan]

OMG the boards are back! I just came back to check because one of my friends wanted the Island lyrics, and here I find that the spam is gone and Owen is back and the album is coming out soon?!

My skin has cleared, my crops have been watered (by my tears), and three years have been added to my life.

Thank you, Owen. We are very much looking forward to your music. Please come to Sweden, I would drive anywhere in the country and the neighboring countries to see you.

[adrestia]

Happy August! According to the rumors floating about earlier, Island is allegedly supposed to come out next month in September. Still no news yet, but hopefully soon! I'm dying for some new information.

In other news, it may interest some people here (as the topic had come up a few pages ago) that I've started running a homebrew Dungeons and Dragons campaign based on Heartland with some friends. It's set post-album and it's been a blast to research lyrics to flesh out the world of Spectrum. It really lends itself well to a campaign setting. Most of my players have listened to Owen's music too, so it's always great to throw a Fire-Mare at them and have one of them go "Hey, I understood that reference!"

Additionally, I've recently discovered the music of Tori Amos, and I accidentally found that Owen actually did a cover of Pretty Good Year that's fantastic. No feeling like discovering a song you love and then stumbling upon an Owen Pallett cover! (same thing happened a few months ago with Game of Pricks by Guided by Voices). 

Hope everyone is doing well!

[kit]

I kind of feel like Straight & Narrow taking down their notice means it /won't/ come out in September. It seems more likely to me that someone mistakenly put up the incorrect date and had to take it down than that they just didn't want to announce it that early, since it really wasn't that early. But here's hoping!