Two main versions:
* "Full Version" (1981) - Chemical Playschool 2 (11:27)
* "Edited Version" (1981) - Kleine Krieg (6:40)
The Edited Version ends abruptly after the "Phallus Dei" section but is otherwise identical to the Full Version.
The Full Version is 6 sections mixed together:
1. 0:00 - 3:48 "Stars on Sunday." Discordant keyboard melody, sequenced squeaky synth, and Ka-Spel howling improvised lyrics in the background (something about dancing with a woman in a church, something about heaven). A segment of this appeared in "Break Down."
2. 3:48 - 3:48 The sped-up Russian chanting from the end of Mpnmep Cptaha crossfades between sections 1 and 3.
3. 3:58 - 6:07 A heavily-distorted drum pattern is played with lots of glitches, with a discordant improvised melody played over top and a buzzing-fly synth sound. More incomprehensible vocals; sections 1 and 3 may in fact be from the same recording session, with section 2 inserted to fill a quiet portion. Cuts off suddenly, and after a second of silence:
4. 6:07 - 6:50 A heavily-distorted section from "Phallus Dei" with lots of tremolo. Suddenly replaced by:
5. 6:50 - 9:20 A likewise distorted section from "Before the End," lyrics replaced by more improvised and impossible-to-hear vocals and an insectoid synth melody. The synth crossfades with...
6. 9:20 - 11:27 The Mpnmep Cptaha chanting, quiet vocals (something about "dancing shoes") that are impossible to hear, keyboard booping, and erratic snatches from "Before the End."
Why You Should Care:
Lyrics about a bride and groom being "stars on Sunday" appear in "The Wedding."
Showing posts with label Stars on Sunday. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Stars on Sunday. Show all posts
Tuesday, May 13, 2008
The Wedding
Two main versions:
* "Shoo-be-doo Version" (1981) - Chemical Playschool 2 (3:41)
Fades in, cutting off the first vocals. A slow, churchy song that perfectly matches the lyrics.
Unavailable elsewhere.
Instruments: Keyboard arpeggio; synth bassline; eerie synth melody; two vocal tracks.
* "Intimate Version" (1982) - Brigher Now (4:07)
With even fewer instruments than the original, a real acoustic piano, and relatively few effects, this is a much more intimate version than the original. The lyrics are almost identical, though the "shoo-be-doo" line is only said by the quiet second voice. The song ends suddenly with a glitch as though the tape were physically stopped.
Instruments: Piano arpeggio; single vocal track, sometimes with second far-off vocal repeating key lyrics; ominous "Ohhhh" voice during the final amen.
What It's About:
A groom, in the middle of his wedding ceremony, thinks flippantly about the occasion, planning future sexual conquests and feeling little more than disdain for his trusting bride. He also reflects on the silliness of the solemn occasion, which he considers "obscene" in its meaninglessness but which others take very seriously. We know this wedding is doomed.
Lyrics (adapted from the Cloud-Zero archive):
You asked for nothing.
That's what I gave you, ash for ashes, dust for dust.
Your trust is touching but misguided.
Bride, I'll be yours for one night.
I wonder, wonder really what you saw in me,
I'm not your type at all
And all the angels hold their breath
as my eyes rest upon the pretty girl who leads the choir.
Cry out their disgust for me.
They're crying for my bride
who smiles in white, does not suspect my next move in the game.
Again! "Will honour you and cherish you."
Again. "I'll share my worldly goods."
Again. "'til death, when we're parted."
Only words, don't mean a thing
Think of ways to run,
the sun paints patterns on the stained-glass windows.
Widows in their Sunday best reflect
about when they too were brides!
Can't hide their feelings, stealing seconds from an age
they'll never see again.
Again. "With this ring I pledge myself."
Again. "I do. I do. Shoo be doo doo wah."
Why do we have to be so humble,
mumble words we never mean?
It's obscene, the ultimate obscenity,
serenity on Sundays,
we're stars on Sundays.
Smiles on straight, maybe one day
the rewards will be there
for us. Just for us in heaven, just for us.
Amen. Amen. Amen as we left the church.
Why You Should Care:
This could be logically followed by "The Divorce."
The line "stars on Sunday" is used as the title for another song that is partially related to marriage.
* "Shoo-be-doo Version" (1981) - Chemical Playschool 2 (3:41)
Fades in, cutting off the first vocals. A slow, churchy song that perfectly matches the lyrics.
Unavailable elsewhere.
Instruments: Keyboard arpeggio; synth bassline; eerie synth melody; two vocal tracks.
* "Intimate Version" (1982) - Brigher Now (4:07)
With even fewer instruments than the original, a real acoustic piano, and relatively few effects, this is a much more intimate version than the original. The lyrics are almost identical, though the "shoo-be-doo" line is only said by the quiet second voice. The song ends suddenly with a glitch as though the tape were physically stopped.
Instruments: Piano arpeggio; single vocal track, sometimes with second far-off vocal repeating key lyrics; ominous "Ohhhh" voice during the final amen.
What It's About:
A groom, in the middle of his wedding ceremony, thinks flippantly about the occasion, planning future sexual conquests and feeling little more than disdain for his trusting bride. He also reflects on the silliness of the solemn occasion, which he considers "obscene" in its meaninglessness but which others take very seriously. We know this wedding is doomed.
Lyrics (adapted from the Cloud-Zero archive):
You asked for nothing.
That's what I gave you, ash for ashes, dust for dust.
Your trust is touching but misguided.
Bride, I'll be yours for one night.
I wonder, wonder really what you saw in me,
I'm not your type at all
And all the angels hold their breath
as my eyes rest upon the pretty girl who leads the choir.
Cry out their disgust for me.
They're crying for my bride
who smiles in white, does not suspect my next move in the game.
Again! "Will honour you and cherish you."
Again. "I'll share my worldly goods."
Again. "'til death, when we're parted."
Only words, don't mean a thing
Think of ways to run,
the sun paints patterns on the stained-glass windows.
Widows in their Sunday best reflect
about when they too were brides!
Can't hide their feelings, stealing seconds from an age
they'll never see again.
Again. "With this ring I pledge myself."
Again. "I do. I do. Shoo be doo doo wah."
Why do we have to be so humble,
mumble words we never mean?
It's obscene, the ultimate obscenity,
serenity on Sundays,
we're stars on Sundays.
Smiles on straight, maybe one day
the rewards will be there
for us. Just for us in heaven, just for us.
Amen. Amen. Amen as we left the church.
Why You Should Care:
This could be logically followed by "The Divorce."
The line "stars on Sunday" is used as the title for another song that is partially related to marriage.
Saturday, May 10, 2008
Break Down
Two Main Versions
* "Full Version" (1981) - Chemical Playschool 1 (9:11)
* "Edited Version" (1981) - Prayer for Aradia Bonus Tracks (1:43)
The Edited Version starts in the same way, then fades out slowly. It is incorrectly referred to as "Fin" on the Prayer for Aradia CD.
AKA "Shit, It's Raining." Really two instrumental songs, both similar but with a distinct division between the two.
Unavailable elsewhere.
Instruments: Discordant sequenced keyboard playing repetative pattern. Three sequenced keyboards, one taking the lead and modulating in various ways, another quacking in a way that Ka-Spel uses during "Inferno/Illusion," a third playing a primitive four-note bassline; snatches of indecipherable sped-up vocals; backwards snippets from "Before the End"; the backwards guitar solo from the beginning of the Throbbing Keyboard version of "Thursday Night Fever; snippet from the beginning of "Stars on Sunday."
Why You Should Care:
Seems a bit like a prototypical "Premonition" song, being a long, listenable experiment that stays more-or-less within a single theme and uses elements from previous songs.
* "Full Version" (1981) - Chemical Playschool 1 (9:11)
* "Edited Version" (1981) - Prayer for Aradia Bonus Tracks (1:43)
The Edited Version starts in the same way, then fades out slowly. It is incorrectly referred to as "Fin" on the Prayer for Aradia CD.
AKA "Shit, It's Raining." Really two instrumental songs, both similar but with a distinct division between the two.
Unavailable elsewhere.
Instruments: Discordant sequenced keyboard playing repetative pattern. Three sequenced keyboards, one taking the lead and modulating in various ways, another quacking in a way that Ka-Spel uses during "Inferno/Illusion," a third playing a primitive four-note bassline; snatches of indecipherable sped-up vocals; backwards snippets from "Before the End"; the backwards guitar solo from the beginning of the Throbbing Keyboard version of "Thursday Night Fever; snippet from the beginning of "Stars on Sunday."
Why You Should Care:
Seems a bit like a prototypical "Premonition" song, being a long, listenable experiment that stays more-or-less within a single theme and uses elements from previous songs.
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