"Starseed" is the second single off Our Lady Peace

Our Lady Peace

Our Lady Peace is a Canadian alternative rock band that formed in Toronto, Ontario in 1992. Headed by lead vocalist Raine Maida since its formation, the band additionally consists of Jeremy Taggart on percussion, Duncan Coutts on bass, and Steve Mazur as lead guitarist...

's first album Naveed

Naveed (album)

Naveed is the debut album by Canadian rock band Our Lady Peace. It was produced by Arnold Lanni, and was released on March 22, 1994 by Sony Music Canada. Naveed became a success in Canada, selling over 100,000 copies by the end of the year. There were five singles released for the album,...

, released in 1994. It was remixed and released on the soundtrack to Armageddon. Also, a live version from the 2003 Live

Live (Our Lady Peace album)

Live is Canadian alternative rock band Our Lady Peace's first live album. It was recorded during their cross-Canadian "Fear of the Trailer Park" tour in support of their 5th studio album, Gravity. The dates recorded for this album included January 27, 2003 and January 28, 2003 in Calgary and...

album was released as a single. The song was also planned to be included on the soundtrack for Drew Barrymore

Drew Barrymore

Drew Blyth Barrymore is an American actress, film director, screenwriter, producer and model. She is a member of the Barrymore family of American actors and granddaughter of John Barrymore. She first appeared in an advertisement when she was 11 months old. Barrymore made her film debut in Altered...

's 1995 film Mad Love

Mad Love (1995 film)

Mad Love is a 1995 romantic drama film directed by Antonia Bird and starring Chris O'Donnell, Drew Barrymore and Matthew Lillard. The screenplay was written by Paula Milne. The original music score is composed by Andy Roberts.- Synopsis :...

but was left off. Art model Saul Fox makes a brief appearance in the music video as well as being on the cover of the promotional single.

Origins

According to Maida in an interview with the Winnipeg Free Press

Winnipeg Free Press

The Winnipeg Free Press is a daily broadsheet newspaper in Winnipeg, Manitoba. Founded in 1872, as the Manitoba Free Press, it is the oldest newspaper in western Canada. It is the newspaper with the largest readership in the province....

: "Starseed was written in five minutes. Chris [Eacrett] came up with the bass line and the vibe was so heavy we just wrote it." It only took the band twenty more minutes to record the song.

Versions

The version of "Starseed" released in the United States as well as on the Armageddon soundtrack varies slightly from the version released on Naveed. Raine's famous line, "Yeah, Yeah, Yeahee" following the song's intro was edited out. The ending of the song, which on Naveed ended cold after the last lyric was extended to a fadeout and stretching the song from its original 4 minutes, 7 seconds to 4 minutes and 19 seconds. This version is known as the "Armageddon Remix".

Meaning

"It was based on this book by Ken Carey, The Starseed Transmissions, about a channeling experience he had. The whole chorus is about if you have had a channeling experience and during this experience you find something you believe and trying to convince everybody else is not always an easy task. I'm into a lot of meditating. My dad was Catholic and he tried to school me in that, but I never really agreed with him. I've always been interested in religion and the way it affects society. The Starseed thing is about going on a meditation journey and coming back with something tangible. Something you actually believe in. Something that means something to you. It is hard to convince people of my father's generation of anything other than the religious values instilled in them." - Raine Maida

Music video

The music video was produced by George Vale and is shot mostly in sepia tone. It was filmed at a former Sears

Sears Canada

Sears Canada Inc. is a retailer, headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, that operates in all provinces and territories across Canada with a network of 196 corporate stores, 195 dealer stores, 38 home improvement showrooms, 108 Sears Travel offices and a nationwide home maintenance, repair, and...

 warehouse in Toronto

Toronto

Toronto is the provincial capital of Ontario and the largest city in Canada. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. A relatively modern city, Toronto's history dates back to the late-18th century, when its land was first purchased by the British monarchy from...

. The video has a very middle-eastern theme akin to the rest of the album, showing people levitating and dressed in turbans. Future bassist Duncan Coutts

Duncan Coutts

Robert Duncan Coutts is a Canadian musician, best known for being the bassist for Our Lady Peace since 1995.-Our Lady Peace:...

 makes a brief appearance in the video as an extra. During shooting, a light box that moved up and down fell three floors from the ceiling barely missing several band members. The Starseed video was seen on Beavis and Butt-head

Beavis and Butt-Head

Beavis and Butt-head is an American animated television series created by Mike Judge. The series originated from Frog Baseball, a 1992 short film by Judge. After seeing the short, MTV signed Judge to develop the concept. Beavis and Butt-head originally aired from March 8, 1993 to November 28, 1997...

during the episode "Green Thumbs" in 1995.