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Autamata — Skimming Stones
Album: Short Stories
Avg rating:
6.8

Your rating:
Total ratings: 762









Released: 2005
Length: 5:02
Plays (last 30 days): 0
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We would hold a stone aligned with the horizon
And then release
It would skim and ride until it dipped beneath the water-line

We made helicopters from sycamore fruits
Those machines were simple
On their way down, turning

I remember scenes painted in watercolours
The colour of dreams
And then patterns formed and nothing more could stem the rising tide

We broke the surface tension
We broke the surface
Now these stones beneath my clothes will always bear the watermark
Comments (81)add comment
 helgigermany wrote:
Not bad!!
 

But not good!!!
Posted 4 years ago by ace-marc    [ Reply ]
Not much chatter about this one...  7-8 today, I'm a sucker for the vocals...
Posted 5 years ago by dtl    [ Reply ]
I wish I could hear the lyrics properly
Posted 6 years ago by fitmartin    [ Reply ]
This is one piece that has woven itself into the DNA of RP that I perceive as I imagine this Internet resource in totality. Almost done with the 13th year of listening to this musical masterpiece called Radio Paradise.
Posted 7 years ago by petesoper    [ Reply ]
             For those who stands near to hear
         I bare haloed stones beneath my clothes.
Posted 8 years ago by twoplain2sea    [ Reply ]
 westslope wrote:

Well Porc Tree main man Steven Wilson does like Kate Bush. 

Or should I say that he enjoys her music and has much respect for her as an artist.
BTW, I reckon that is one helluva compliment for an artist.  

 
I suppose it would be, but she's been making music a lot longer than he has.  As I'm sure you know, it was David Gilmour who helped with her demos and with getting her signed when she was still a teenager in the late '70s.  Anyhow, this tune is quite likable.
Posted 9 years ago by Proclivities    [ Reply ]
 ckevin63 wrote:
A bit Kate Bush-ish with a little Porc Tree. Like it. 7-ish

 
Well Porc Tree main man Steven Wilson does like Kate Bush. 

Or should I say that he enjoys her music and has much respect for her as an artist.
BTW, I reckon that is one helluva compliment for an artist.  
Posted 9 years ago by westslope    [ Reply ]
 ckevin63 wrote:
A bit Kate Bush-ish with a little Porc Tree. Like it. 7-ish

 
Agree on all counts.
Posted 9 years ago by Webfoot    [ Reply ]
Beautiful voice. 
Posted 10 years ago by FrankDebbieCote    [ Reply ]
A bit Kate Bush-ish with a little Porc Tree. Like it. 7-ish
Posted 10 years ago by ckevin63    [ Reply ]
Like it.
Posted 11 years ago by cormatic    [ Reply ]
 govna wrote:
the song is all about that voice.  never heard it before, but reminds me of shawn colvin on acid or something.
 
You or her?
Posted 11 years ago by bam23    [ Reply ]
 BonyParadise wrote:


It's Carol Keogh from The Plague Monkeys, anyone who likes this should definitely check out TPM!

 
neat.
Posted 12 years ago by govna    [ Reply ]
 govna wrote:
the song is all about that voice.  never heard it before, but reminds me of shawn colvin on acid or something.
 

It's Carol Keogh from The Plague Monkeys, anyone who likes this should definitely check out TPM!

Posted 12 years ago by BonyParadise    [ Reply ]
 DarceySuzanne wrote:
As long as we're comparing women's voices...reminds me of the lead singer of "Sixpence None the Richer".
 
Leigh Nash...


Posted 13 years ago by MiracleDrug    [ Reply ]
As long as we're comparing women's voices...reminds me of the lead singer of "Sixpence None the Richer".
Posted 13 years ago by DarceySuzanne    [ Reply ]
For some reason the link to Amazon is not showing up.  The link, with RP credit, is https://www.amazon.com/Short-Stories/dp/B000T1HGIO/ref=reg_hu-rd_add_1_dp
Posted 13 years ago by Blackfoot    [ Reply ]
 sandpebble wrote:
When I heard the intro I thought this would be a cover of "Words (Between the lines of age)".
 
Came here to say EXACTLY this!

Posted 13 years ago by fingerpin    [ Reply ]
Like it
Posted 13 years ago by valeriogonzalez    [ Reply ]
Not bad!!
Posted 13 years ago by helgigermany    [ Reply ]
the song is all about that voice.  never heard it before, but reminds me of shawn colvin on acid or something.
Posted 14 years ago by govna    [ Reply ]


The artwork...
Posted 14 years ago by DaveInSaoMiguel    [ Reply ]
This is nice!  Say — how come we haven't heard their "Goldilocks" song since 2008?  Love that one too!
Posted 14 years ago by socalhol    [ Reply ]
Thanks for playing this, Bill - beautiful song! {#Hearteyes}
Posted 14 years ago by Bridieboo    [ Reply ]
When I heard the intro I thought this would be a cover of "Words (Between the lines of age)".
Posted 14 years ago by sandpebble    [ Reply ]
Yeah. This is pretty cool. {#Cool}
Posted 14 years ago by TimeWaster    [ Reply ]
I like this more now that I've heard it again...
Posted 14 years ago by DaveInSaoMiguel    [ Reply ]
{#Sunny}It's a dark sunny day  ——

Posted 15 years ago by Giselle62    [ Reply ]
{#Chillpill}{#Sunny}
Posted 15 years ago by Bridieboo    [ Reply ]
I didn't know this artist!  I like her voice and music!
Posted 15 years ago by giselle_baires    [ Reply ]
Carol Keogh has an amazing voice that is all her own.  I don't think she sounds like Kate Bush at all.
Posted 15 years ago by Bridieboo    [ Reply ]
Okay, since there are plenty of comparisons here, she sounds like the lead to "Over The Rhine", Karin Bergquist,  to me.
Posted 16 years ago by passsion8    [ Reply ]
Not a big fan of the floppy fish sound.
Posted 16 years ago by Odyzzeuz    [ Reply ]

to the times a song seems equal to as much others .....-  3 / 4.


Posted 16 years ago by calypsus_1    [ Reply ]
amymich wrote:
This reminds me a bit of Porcupine Tree.
Yeah, kinda. Also has links to Hooverphonic.
Posted 16 years ago by horstman    [ Reply ]
teapot wrote:
Sounds like a cross between Beth from Portishead, Kate Bush, and Bjork.
Posted 16 years ago by maxmox    [ Reply ]
bokey wrote:
I'm not much on drums but I like these for reasons I don't know.
What? That seems an odd thing to say. If you edited all the drums out of everything you'd ever heard, wouldn't the music'd be bland and kind of missing something. And then you like these ones for unknown reasons! What'd you do tonight? Anyway, I really enjoyed your comment.
Posted 16 years ago by inindian    [ Reply ]
ellenaut wrote:
I think she sounds like an angel.
With a diaphanous tremble....
Posted 16 years ago by passsion8    [ Reply ]
i'm mad mardigan and i want ot serve the queen...march and everything
Posted 16 years ago by Mike_S    [ Reply ]
I think she sounds like an angel.
Posted 16 years ago by ellenaut    [ Reply ]
Hello
Posted 16 years ago by Brother_Hum    [ Reply ]
Hm. I had this as a 2. But I'm kindof liking it now. I must have been mad at my ex-wife or something that day. Voice reminds me of Shawn Colvin, who I like a lot.
Posted 17 years ago by Odyzzeuz    [ Reply ]
Sounds like a cross between Beth from Portishead, Kate Bush, and Bjork.
Posted 17 years ago by teapot    [ Reply ]
Haunting ... chilling ... skin crawling ... nearly perfect
Posted 17 years ago by Broken_Ear    [ Reply ]
ethereal ....
Posted 17 years ago by Misterfixit    [ Reply ]
Skimming Stones @ 128 AAC Bliss!
Posted 17 years ago by Mari    [ Reply ]
Frater_Kork wrote:
This sounds quite a bit like the voice of Elizabeth Fraser (of the Cocteau Twins) who sang in Massive Attacks "Teardrop". Could this be her again...? Correct me if I am old confused and hard of hearing...
What?
Posted 17 years ago by jadedragon    [ Reply ]
This sounds quite a bit like the voice of Elizabeth Fraser (of the Cocteau Twins) who sang in Massive Attacks "Teardrop". Could this be her again...? Correct me if I am old confused and hard of hearing...
Posted 17 years ago by Frater_Kork    [ Reply ]
It's Monday morning. This I don't need.
Posted 17 years ago by MojoJojo    [ Reply ]
coentje wrote:
beautiful
so lovely
Posted 17 years ago by Mari    [ Reply ]
I'm not much on drums but I like these for reasons I don't know.
Posted 17 years ago by bokey    [ Reply ]
Whirlpool wrote:
I almost thought this was Kate Bush singing.
I had to look for the same reason
Posted 18 years ago by algrif    [ Reply ]
beautiful
Posted 18 years ago by coentje    [ Reply ]
Whirlpool wrote:
I almost thought this was Kate Bush singing.
I agree. Her voice is pretty close to Kate's early stuff when she was very young.
Posted 18 years ago by Marr    [ Reply ]
I'm in a rockin mood, and this ain't cuttin it. I might like it if I were in another state of mind... Time to try me some Groove Salad
Posted 18 years ago by MojoJojo    [ Reply ]
There's so much new good music out there! Thanks RP.
Posted 18 years ago by Krispian    [ Reply ]
nice track, not at all kate bush sounding. they do seem to have ingested the three Portishead albums morsel by morsel and thrown in a bit of Mono (not the japanese guitar band, the british duo) which in itself is not a bad thing i like this song
Posted 18 years ago by gernick    [ Reply ]
i've heard that rising pitch tremolo synth hook thing in another song, and it's on the tip of my tongue and it's making me quite irritated that i can't place it. who's sampling who, dangit?!
Posted 18 years ago by ziggytrix    [ Reply ]
brandog wrote:
Not Kate Bush - but definitely Bushy! Very nice - I hope I can find one of their albums sometime soon.
Not as annoyingly pretentious as Kate Bush, but with a Kate Bush dash. I like.
Posted 18 years ago by handyrae    [ Reply ]
Odyzzeuz wrote:
This song opens with the sound of tadpoles. It gives me the willies. My neurosis.
Are you afraid of tadpoles? How does one develop a fear of tadpoles? Fear not the pollywog...
Posted 18 years ago by liser    [ Reply ]
I almost thought this was Kate Bush singing.
Posted 18 years ago by Whirlpool    [ Reply ]
evermovingtarget wrote:
Am I the only one hearing some Massive Attack in this? Certainly seems heavily inspired by them. Not a bad source for inspiration though.
I hear it, too, but it's not as good as the real thing. It's as if, maybe when they grow up someday, they might be Massive Attack. Today is not that day.
Posted 18 years ago by Blackjack    [ Reply ]
Am I the only one hearing some Massive Attack in this? Certainly seems heavily inspired by them. Not a bad source for inspiration though.
Posted 18 years ago by evermovingtarget    [ Reply ]
"In looking for a label deal McHugh was told he had too many ideas and had to concentrate on one style. He told them to piss off. Our gain, their loss." Logo Magazine
Posted 18 years ago by Mari    [ Reply ]
ripoff.....it's all been done before. kate bush the 2nd.
Posted 18 years ago by Glockman45    [ Reply ]
sandpebble wrote:
Does anyone else hear Neil Young's Between the lines of age?
Not sure that I would have heard it without the gentle suggestion, but I do hear perhaps a little trace of it from the keys or syth. Nice sound!
Posted 18 years ago by pushkinjim    [ Reply ]
I like it - thanks for introducing me to another band, RP! :)
Posted 18 years ago by gshrieves    [ Reply ]
Reminds me of Delerium.
Posted 18 years ago by Baby_M    [ Reply ]
10 for me...
Posted 18 years ago by coding_to_music    [ Reply ]
This reminds me a bit of Porcupine Tree.
Posted 18 years ago by amymich    [ Reply ]
This song opens with the sound of tadpoles. It gives me the willies. My neurosis.
Posted 18 years ago by Odyzzeuz    [ Reply ]
Does anyone else hear Neil Young's Between the lines of age?
Posted 18 years ago by sandpebble    [ Reply ]
Mari wrote:
... "One day we'll find ourselves free And you will stand next to me Skimming Stones into eternity..." ... ...
cluck, cluck, cluck, cluck
Posted 18 years ago by Pipes    [ Reply ]
paiasoloco wrote:
Not to be confussed with Automata?
true...this is a different band: Review by Katie Moten Autamata - Short Stories Lefthand Records - 2005 The second album from producer-musician Ken McHugh's Autamata incarnation is a mixed bag in terms of style, but also of quality. The introspective ballad 'Great For Us' appears alongside the frenzied 'Bring it On', the almost folksy 'Liberty Bell' and the melodious 'Goldilocks'. There's so much genre-jumping here that you almost become dizzy from it. Openers 'I Spy' and 'Crazy' sound reasonably good, but it's with 'Bring it On' and 'Goldilocks' that you feel the album really comes into its own. The grungy, rock feel gives way to harmonious tinkling sounds nicely and you realise that the album is never going to stick to the same formula from song to song. Perhaps because of the differing styles, you never get the intimacy here that you do with other albums. It's too disjointed a collection to create any kind of momentum. Some individual tracks stand out, but the lack of cohesion here means we don't engage as well as we could with the album. With a few highlights in parts, 'Short Stories' unfortunately feels too disparate a collection to really blend well. Tracklisting: I Spy - Crazy - Bring it On -Goldilocks - Skimming Stones - The Tap - Dirtybird - Liberty Bell - Great For Us - Out to Sea - Summer's Son - A Clear View - All I Need --------------------------------- This is not available at Amazon (as of this comment)but is at napster and Itunes Here is the band's website (click here)
Posted 18 years ago by cptbuz    [ Reply ]
shakitten wrote:
winescout wrote:
Quite painfull, that one. Of course, Tori Amos and all the other high-pitched whiney female vocalists sound just about as bad as that one to me. Like someone scratching their fingernails down the inside of my skull.
Okay...why does EVERY female artist who has a higher range automatically get dumped into the Tori Amos/Kate Bush club here? It's getting irritating, especially when they DON'T sound like either. Just say that you don't like it and move on...
I agree about how it seems a lot of people (or some people, to be more accurate) feel they have to pigeon-hole a lot of female vocalist's style as "whiney" and lump them together with a larger group of "similarly whiney vocalists." On the other hand, I think this vocalist DOES sound a lot like Kate Bush. However I happen to love Kate Bush as an artist, which piqued my interest in THIS artist. So now I am off to hear excerpts from this whole album on Amazon.com to see how the rest of the album sounds and whether or not it may be worth adding to my collection..... (Side note - I tried to find this artist or group and found NOTHING listed on Amazon.com?!?!)
Posted 18 years ago by Steven_G    [ Reply ]
winescout wrote:
Quite painfull, that one. Of course, Tori Amos and all the other high-pitched whiney female vocalists sound just about as bad as that one to me. Like someone scratching their fingernails down the inside of my skull.
Okay...why does EVERY female artist who has a higher range automatically get dumped into the Tori Amos/Kate Bush club here? It's getting irritating, especially when they DON'T sound like either. Just say that you don't like it and move on...
Posted 18 years ago by shakitten    [ Reply ]
I'll just play The Sundays and skip the investment here.
Posted 19 years ago by XXXX    [ Reply ]
I just love this - a gorgeous gem of a song with Carol Keogh's incredible voice
Posted 19 years ago by MrKite    [ Reply ]
Quite painfull, that one. Of course, Tori Amos and all the other high-pitched whiney female vocalists sound just about as bad as that one to me. Like someone scratching their fingernails down the inside of my skull.
Posted 19 years ago by winescout    [ Reply ]
Not to be confussed with Automata?
Posted 19 years ago by paiasoloco    [ Reply ]