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Animal Collective
aww, what a sweet bear!
by Marie Helene
Alice Munro is a Canadian born short story writer. Upon reading one of her stories, let’s say “The Jack Randa Hotel,” the reader is bounced along a line of thought, much like one would expect to be bounced along a goldminer’s ride they used to have at boardwalks. The story unfolds over a course of several turns, which sometimes lead to unexpected landscapes improbably unraveling in front of your new horizon. One realizes at the end of an Alice Munro story that what one believed to be the One True Focus of the story was actually not the focus at all, and the tiny germ at the bottom of the story one dismissed as a speck of dirt on one’s shoe was actually the One True Focus.
This reminds me of Animal Collective.
Let’s take the song “Did you see the Words” on Animal Collective’s most recent album “Feels.” We open with a strumming guitar, reminiscent of “Sung Tongs”, then a little pre-holiday piano, both of which merge into a galloping sound. We are galloping away from “Sung Tongs,” heading into a new territory. If you think you will be galloping the entire song, you’re wrong. The lyrics build, then explode into a clearing. We are able to look around for a moment before being led into some more furious galloping of the drums. The clearing again, then the drums. Then, some rattly multi-voiced declarations, the cymbals, galloping still, here come some lower voiced gentlemen pummeling a word (“men men men men?”). Eventually we are laid down in grass and some tinkly, chandelier-y piano. The pollen from the trees is settling around us. The songs from the forest are getting lower. One voice left. We are asleep.
There’s my attempt to describe Animal Collective. Several other music journalists have similarly tried to pinpoint the experience, and none of us know what to say. In fact, we mostly end up saying just that; words can’t really get you into the experience, you just have to go there. I chatted with Noah Lennox a.k.a Panda Bear from the Collective hoping he could provide a better explanation, but he also seems unable or maybe unwilling to pinpoint what makes them unique, as if they too are just happy accomplices to a greater power. And, just as frustrated when they are not up to the task of performing its wishes. Panda Bear mentions a time during the recording of “Spirit they’re gone, Spirit, they’ve vanished” when he and Dave Porter (Avey Tare) were having trouble getting down a particular song. “It was really hard for us and so we took a break and went outside and threw sticks at a tree because we were mad. Then we went inside and played it right. I like that we try and do things beyond our reach most of the time I should say.”
Some important facts about Animal Collective: Noah Lennox and Josh Dibb (Deakin) met in the second grade in Baltimore County. Presumably, they glanced at each other over tables strewn with pipe cleaners and glitter and there were stars in both of their eyes as they ran toward each other to Stravinsky’s “Rite of Spring.” However it happened, a lifelong musical collaboration began. David Porter (Avey Tare) and Brian Weitz (Geologist) met Josh Dibb at school, everyone met everyone else, nicknames were put forth and accepted, henceforth Animal Collective, an ever changing, evolving group of friends, was born. They all have side projects, music related or otherwise. Panda Bear released a solo venture last year to good reviews. Geologist, who studied conservation, works for environment related causes when not with the other animals. In an interview with Nerve.com he professed to terminating a longtime crush on Christina Ricci after hearing her say in an interview that she was not a fan of the ocean. Each CD features a new combination of friends and musicians, but the spirit of experimentation and adventure is the same.
Some important facts about Panda Bear: He just came back from Japan, where the band played three shows and had a great time. Even as you’re reading this, they could already be in Barcelona or he could still be chilling with his family, taking some time off before hitting the road again. He bought a Carl Hiaasen book for the plane that he hasn’t started reading yet, and tells me that the other members of the band would be better equipped to recommend literature. He is spending most of the summer recording the follow up to his “Young Prayer” record. Animal Collective has no set plans to record again until maybe early 2007, but, he adds, you never know. Yes, he was surprised Madonna played Coachella, a music festival known for normally featuring bands that actually matter, but he didn’t get to see her because he had to leave to be with his family. He visits the online forum every so often but leaves most of the question answering to Brian Weitz (Geologist). This is because he doesn’t want to force his views on anyone, and is respectful about his band’s feelings. Aw.
When it comes to the subject of drugs, the members of Animal Collective experience no ambiguity. No, they do not do drugs and make music. No, they do not make music solely to enhance someone’s trip. Yes, they are tired of the question. I wanted to give Panda Bear a chance to tell me what Animal Collective would like their fans to do while listening; vacuum, dance, entertain guests? He said he didn’t care so long as everyone had a positive experience.
Panda Bear is glad that most of his fans seem uninterested in labeling the band’s sound. “Feels” is another hard to define album, sure to delight the Animal Collective fanatic. Panda Bear says it was recorded at a time when most of the band was in love, and so they liken it as “their love album.” He compares this with “Sung Tongs,” which he calls a more juvenile offering, though he sure to add that he does not think this is a bad thing. The cover art of “Feels” is a collage of whimsical children done by Avey. “He just sent it one day the summer he was living in Paris and said what do you guys think? I think he started with pieces from a children’s book and kind of collaged them together and painted on them.”
That’s where they get images, but where do they get the sounds? The sounds of Animal Collective are the building blocks of what has been stumping amateur and professional music critics alike. Panda Bear says the origins of their songs are everyday experiences. “I get most of mine off the Internet lately. There’s lots of stuff out there. I know Dave used to do a lot of recording just walking around his neighborhood. There have certainly been times though where one of us has heard something and gone back to get the sound later on.” It makes sense from a man who takes out his anger by throwing sticks at trees and doesn’t like imposing his views on his fans. There is something to this ability to hear everyday sounds and think; I hear a song in that. This natural inclination is different than hearing a sound on the street and then going home and reproducing the sound with an instrument or combination of found items. This is saying; the song is the sound on the street, and not the song is inspired by the sound on the street. Maybe somewhere in all that is a definition of what they do, the One True Focus, but that is beside the point. In this way, even more than their professed love of the environment and conservation, Animal Collective is organic
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