Animal Collective
My friend and I were emailing a little bit about the new Animal Collective record. I feel like Bob Lefsetz because as I write I realize there are probably twelve separate strands of thought that involve my feelings around this record. Well, I’m not writing a college paper so I apologize if this is a bit meandering.
Thought #1: I love this record
My friend was saying “clearly those guys are creative and all, but it doesn’t always sound like ‘music’ to me, just noise.” I can’t dismiss that perspective because there’s merit to it and it’s frequently mine on bands or albums hyped by the cognoscenti. But, for me and for this music listener, there is something different here that is perhaps a bit revelatory and also very beautiful. They had remarked that the record was supposed to sound like going to Merriweather Post Pavilion and hearing a concert underwater and that is exactly what it sounds like. I have very good memories of Merriweather so that metaphor really resonates with me.
I love the buried melodies, I love the buoyancy, the energy that catapults throughout the record in this strange carnival-like way and I also love the sentiments that trickle through the lyrics which I boil down to a simple and unfettered celebration of life. A celebration of a spiritual existence creating beauty and caring for and celebratinig with people you love. Unbound by earthly constraints.
If you haven’t listened “My Girls” turned up very loud then you should because it will put a smile on your face. I keep thinking what it would be like to cover this song. I imagine 8-10 people on stage like the Broken Social Scene or something with everybody dancing and shimmying and some woman that looks like Mama Cass playing a tambourine and this incredibly huge energy on stage. I think it’s too early to cover the tune only because it still belongs so much to the guys in the band. But tell me that wouldn’t be amazing.
Thought #2: Back to Bob’s point, and Panos’s point, and everyone’s point about the niche. How does the niche impact the cultural perception of a masterpiece? And/or what is the potential impact of important art given the micro-genre ecosystem?
How does this relate to Animal Collective? Well, I guess I hear people remark every now and then that there is a dearth of the masterpiece in this day and age. That nobody’s making ‘Remain in Light’ or ‘Loaded’ or ‘The White Album’ or any of the great old records of the day. And I guess I disagree and I think that, culturally, there isn’t really space for a masterpiece because there are so few places where everyone is and so many places where people are not. So even though, to my mind, this new Animal Collective record may be viewed in hindsight as one of the great works of our time, it probably doesn’t have the fighting chance it would’ve had if it had been released in thee 70′s on vinyl because of the plethora of choices available to people and the ways that our consciousness jumps from one subject to another while beautiful voices flow by in the river of information.
I’m just not sure it’s possible to create a ‘masterpiece’ in this context that will have the same cultural impact.
Thought #3: But that’s okay. Why are you doing this anyway?
That’s part of the point of the record. What are your needs for creating art or music? Is it to be known and recognized? And by how many people? Does this music need to resonate for the ages or is it just okay for a “tribe”, as Seth Godin would say, to follow you and appreciate what you’re doing.
What’s my answer? Well, I used to think I wanted to be really well known and really famous and, honestly, now I’m kind of scared of it and will settle for a bit more recognition and a bit broader reach for my art. I’ve always said, the goal is 1,000 opens on my emails which implies a mailing list of 5,000 interested music listeners. (ed. note: dude, you sound like such a marketer. beer and lifestyle music, bro)
The bottom of this line is: The Animal Collective is a special thing, wildly creative, wildly new and I think you should take a listen.
