This is a Stars post
Stars to me was the weird Canadian band that I downloaded two early EPs from when I was 16. They just stayed in my music library, unheard of, never listened to, until they came on shuffle after one long, shitty day. I stopped doing whatever I was doing and closed my eyes. I remembered the song - one of their lesser known ones, from before the widely acclaimed ‘Set Yourself on Fire’ record. The song, it was the most beautiful song I’d ever heard.
Soon, they had their own playlist. My entire growing up, teenage phase was littered with memories with their songs and lyrics. They didn’t have music that just made you happy, wanted you to repeat them day and night till you grew so sick of them they went into music library obscurity and eventual deletion…they had music that you grew into, listened, but not on a repeat basis, but music that you actually appreciated for the sound, the lyrics, everything. Their music was like getting to know someone and later falling more in love day after day.
‘In Your Bedroom After the War’ came out and I never heard anything as beautiful. Till this day, that album has remained my favourite album to ever be recorded. They came down to Singapore to perform live and I spent almost half of my entire internship salary just to pay for their ticket, and for another ticket so that someone that didn’t know them (my sister) could go.
Their most recent album - ‘The Five Ghosts’, somehow…has been really, really disappointing :-( For an artist that I have grown to, and have watched grow up, it’s been upsetting listening to some of their new tracks. Somehow, ‘The Five Ghosts’ wasn’t like others - it no longer was beautiful. There was still a hint of it in certain tracks, but they no longer ached..and no longer made me close my eyes. It sounded like music that was made for the sake of mass listening..not for the sake of lyrical conquest or tragedies that ended for good. Dear Stars..why does it seem to me that you’re selling out? Please don’t.. you can’t. All of us can’t bear to watch this happen, and I need your music too much. Please don’t sell out. Love, Rachel.
