Monday, November 7, 2011

Stars: "Your Ex-Lover is Dead"



I'm not a purveyor of slow jams. As a teenager I was bored by any song slower than 160 beats per minute. No love lost for Mariah Carey and Boyz II Men, but it's just not my style. Thankfully I grew out of my generalized misconception -- there is obviously much to be loved in the largo and adagio tempo families -- but nevertheless I was irreversibly cultured to think of slow music as soothing, no matter what the lyrics said or meant. And so, on this manic Monday, I offer my definition of soothing -- a.k.a. Stars performing "Your Ex-Lover is Dead" live in the studio. Enjoy the three minutes and 15 seconds of quiet, almost delicate chords and harmonies. I do miss the cello and horns from the studio recording of the song, but I'll trade that for the sound quality here. The studio version also features an intro with a creepy old man saying, "If there's nothing left to burn, you must set yourself on fire" -- which pretty much counteracts the otherwise pleasant anti-anxiety effects of the music itself. I assume the creepy old man must not tour with the Canadian band, though I cannot confirm as Stars has no tour dates scheduled. Anyone readers seen them live?

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