Collected Animals • AC's Cultural Footprint**

Message

Post **Posted:** Mon Sep 22, 2014 3:10 pm

I've heard a few people refer to AC as a hipster band, but most people I know aren't very aware of the band or its cultural influence at all. In reference to this:

scarybaeri wrote:

It would be cool to hear how you guys think we might look back on all of this one day. Do they represent something more than a pitchfork trend? Or are we all just on drugs and gonna have to grow up soon?

I'm sure I'm not the only one who doesn't even do drugs (and would argue that a lot of later AC music barely touches on drug use), so hopefully others will look back on it with some form of clarity and understand that even if we move on, it'll still be seen as a period in which we were positively influenced. I mean, look at all the people making music, finding new music, meeting up, finding meaning in AC lyrics? all influenced directly or indirectly by the band, which is pretty sweet. I don't see that as a trend. I don't see it as childish, either. plenty of us are grown up now in some sense or another, and liking a band a lot isn't a thing that has to end when you enter adulthood.

in terms of broader culture... I guess I couldn't say. I rarely know how my interests or communities are viewed by the general public, half because I don't care and half because that's an abstract thing to evaluate in the present moment. maybe we'll only know when we look back on it. I foresee that if the band stops producing music and the fan community dissolves, it won't be something people as a whole remember in a big way. I'm guessing there will always be sects in places like baltimore, where the fanbase is large, that people will hear the name and remember the days. it's not something to be sad about, though, for me. the feelings are good now and hopefully they'll be remembered fondly.

Post **Posted:** Mon Sep 22, 2014 4:16 pm

Don't have time right now to chime in with a more lengthy post, but this Pitchfork piece on Sung Tongs' 10th anniversary seems relevant http://pitchfork.com/features/secondhan ... ung-tongs/

It may not say as much about as AC's influence on culture as a whole, but for the author, AC was central to the passage into adulthood. Though the band's music is often described as childlike, it's not meant as an escape from adulthood. It's more like a channel for us to reclaim our youth and tap into those simple joys of childhood.

I'd say this is a relevant discussion for culture as a whole—I think the anxiety of growing older is pretty universal

Post **Posted:** Mon Sep 22, 2014 4:41 pm

i think this is a great topic. i don't have time to respond either atm but it reminds me of that epic hipsterrunoff post about how ac was made by/for the internet.... interesting stuff

Post **Posted:** Mon Sep 22, 2014 5:14 pm

the band that did my girls

Post **Posted:** Mon Sep 22, 2014 8:23 pm

cloud909 wrote:

I feel uncomfortable when I see wu-tang shirts in forever 21

racist

Post **Posted:** Mon Sep 22, 2014 9:53 pm

lol wat^

I feel like pre-merriwether AC culturally was sort of this special hidden gem for the people that got into them, and to others around them who didn't like it, AC was "hipster trash" with "terrible vocals" and other nonsense of that nature.

Then Merriwether happened(I got into them a lil over a year before merriwether thanks to ethmin).

I remember people in highschool suddenly jamming my girls at parties when a few months before that I would've been shunned for throwing on Peacebone. People who usually didn't listen to "hipster stuff" were suddenly okay with this kind of thing, because Merriwether really bridged that gap imo.

To call them a hipster band at this point seems dated and inaccurate, but at the same time they still exist in that sort of chill wave hip culture that is slowly changing/dying. It's not cool to be hip anymore, and I think Chz was sort of a reaction to that.(not that AC is or ever was necessarily trying to be hip). To diehard fans, AC are still the prophets of modern music, to middleground fans who dig it but aren't totally obsessed, they are seen as a good band and maybe an influence if that particular fan makes music. To the people who exclusively liked merriwether, AC is probably on the way out of their thought-space unless the next album enters the pop sphere again.

Post **Posted:** Tue Sep 23, 2014 12:07 am

scarybaeri wrote:

if you're going to say this is a stupid conversation pls say it with kindness

this is a stupid conversation i love you

Post **Posted:** Tue Sep 23, 2014 12:24 am

scarybaeri wrote:

aw, you really think so? or just had to be the first to make that joke?

the latter

Post **Posted:** Tue Sep 23, 2014 1:33 am

From an open-ended anthropological and cosmic perspective, it seems to me that the creative work and related dimensions of Animal collective connect with culture in ways similar to Jung's "Red book" (which exists now as a book that is actually very large and red, containing many stories, writings and artwork), and, other instances where people lovingly, in ways that vary, and with some definitely present mysteries, bring a deeply creative "inner" world to the "outer" world in ways that transcend and change the feelings of the outer world in ways that feel very vast and unique, to bring the inside to the outside is like successful time travel or spontaneous generation.
They are very well within the essence of what culture actually is, to put my thoughts on their relevance it in one sentence. They bring forth and then share around very expansive creations that grow and become more and more dynamic with peoples' lives individually and between others, collectively.

in some ways we are very much beings through which the whole and parts of the cosmos pass and interchange, within a giant book (the cosmos) filled with mandalas (galaxies), and we are living deep within one of these huge cosmic creations in the book. Somehow we are at the place in existence where we can form our own types of galaxies within which anything can dwell! The Centipede hz album with video artwork is the best and most recent example of this from them. If you were somewhere else in space and traveled all the way here, and found yourself able to see and hear, and react to it, it would be very clear that it is like its own galaxy existing on the planet. What i am trying to say is that creativity can be as vast as that!

Post **Posted:** Tue Sep 23, 2014 3:24 am

I read that post in this guys voice

your post was a lot better than the speech in the movie

Post **Posted:** Tue Sep 23, 2014 3:39 am

i read it in this guy's voice...

Post **Posted:** Tue Sep 23, 2014 4:31 pm

AC HAS THE BEST FAN BASE EVER ! NUFF SAID !
DRUGS
NO DRUGS
WEIRDOS
NORMIES
OUTCASTS
PEACEMAKERS
MOMS AND DADS

EVERYBODY IS WELCOME AT AN AC SHOW ! AND WOULD NOT TREAT ANYBODY DIFFERENTLY ! THAT'S THE BEST PART ABOUT IT, WE'RE ALL ONE ! : )

Post **Posted:** Tue Sep 23, 2014 5:30 pm

Post **Posted:** Tue Sep 23, 2014 7:55 pm

Anyone who dismisses AC on basis of "hipsterdom" or "drugginess" is not anyone I would ever want to be associated with, much less consider their opinion on anything. Clearly the mark of a dull, lazy person. As far as culture relevance, who knows. That sort of stuff is always so arbitrarily assigned. Groups like Nirvana and The Beatles are anomalies in music, they were never guaranteed a spot in the musical canon.

For me Animal Collective is a creative monolith and their body of work beats anything else there is (movies, books, you name it). I would write a whole page about it, but that would be boring for everyone.

Post **Posted:** Tue Sep 23, 2014 8:59 pm

um i guess 'cultural relevance' is arbitrary but i reckon this band will be popular for a long ass time. like i dont think they've ~crossed over~ properly like a vampire weekend or arcade fire but other than bands like that and radiohead, they seem like they are/were the 'biggest indie band'. think their music connects w/ people on a more visceral level than big anthem bands or than very smart bands or fun pop bands. think they make music that works primarily on the heart but works in all the other ways too. they have a unique sound and i think they are p much inimitable, even tho i think their influence is already pretty distinct and i assume will only become more apparent. think they are one of the first and very much an 'internet band' and also think they would be the first band thought of when talking about the 'brooklyn scene' and i guess 'hipster culture' whether that's good/bad

i personally think person pitch is like 'the album' of the 2000s, because it has such a vast range of disparate influences but coalesces into something new and different. think it works as a representation of how people consume music nowadays. it's probably my favourite album for those reasons and because i think it's shaped me and is tailored to me musically and in subject matter

idk i think they have had a pretty huge effect on my life, and i think they have similar effects on other people's lives and im not sure if many other bands are capable of that

Post **Posted:** Tue Sep 23, 2014 9:04 pm

sorry i've thought about 'ac's cultural relevance' for so long but also not in so long, so a lot of ideas but maybe not a lot of ordered ideas. always the way

Post **Posted:** Thu Sep 25, 2014 6:44 pm

Its impossible to really predict how 'culturally relevant' a band will become while they're still active, but I think they'll always be one of those just-under-the-radar cultish sort of bands with a huge fanbase even long after they call it quits one day. They've been cranking out music pretty regularly for the past 14+ years with no signs of slowing down, that's a long time for some 'hipster fad' to be active and popular no? Maybe they'll surprise us sometime in the future but I don't see them ever breaking into the mainstream 100% ala Arcade Fire or Vampire Weekend or Radiohead, unfortunately to a lot of people AC is still a weird sounding band, even at their least-weird, and they won't give them the time it takes to get into them. To me there are two kinds of people in the world, people who LOVE animal collective, and people who haven't listened to enough animal collective yet, but group 2 is gonna prevent them from reaching Radiohead-level popularity. AC is def well beyond 'hipster fad' at this point but its hard to say how much of a lasting impact their music will have culturally until the time comes.

Its also a hard question for us to answer because AC's music is so personal to most of us, everyone here is gonna be a little bit biased by hoping AC stays around forever and takes over the whole goddamn universe armed with only their samplers, we all want to go from city to city preaching the Gospel of Noah Dave Josh and Brian because to us there is something so special and life-affirming about their music and it needs to be shared with every human on the planet, for if you are human you will find a meaning of life in their message. It's impossible for us here not to answer the question without a personal connection, how 'culturally relevant' they will be someday is practically irrelevant to us, because at least for me and i'm sure lots of others here they will always be 'personally relevant.' Look at everyone elses response in this thread, if you didn't know any better you'd think we were talking about Jesus or somethin'.

Post **Posted:** Thu Sep 25, 2014 6:56 pm

Adjust Your Insides wrote:

there are two kinds of people in the world, people who LOVE animal collective, and people who haven't listened to enough animal collective yet

best bifurcation of humanity ever

Post **Posted:** Thu Sep 25, 2014 10:56 pm

bansheebeaten wrote:

Adjust Your Insides wrote:
there are two kinds of people in the world, people who LOVE animal collective, and people who haven't listened to enough animal collective yet

best bifurcation of humanity ever

ha yea that is awesome

Post **Posted:** Fri Sep 26, 2014 3:13 am

this is refreshing after all that aNUMBall collective thread silliness

Post **Posted:** Fri Oct 10, 2014 4:51 pm

^agreed

Post **Posted:** Sat Oct 11, 2014 7:34 am

scarybaeri wrote:

also agree tht the hipster dig is pretty outdated

hipster digs are so 2010

Post **Posted:** Sat Oct 11, 2014 3:41 pm

scarybaeri wrote:

we all just on drugs and gonna have to grow up soon

My thoughts exactly

Post **Posted:** Sat Oct 11, 2014 4:54 pm

strawberry jam is the furthest rock has ever gone, so far, and it looks like there's not enough interest to make rock music that goes further, so there's that

Post **Posted:** Sat Oct 11, 2014 4:56 pm

but in all seriousness Panda Bear + AC, plus bands like MGMT and Bon Iver, these guys all have elements of an acceptable aesthetic that is now VERY well-known by the mainstream

so while mainstreamers might not always know where that aesthetic came from, it's at the tpoint that if you play feels on the radio, like banshee beat, it would honestly sound like some brand-spanking new nu-'indie' pop song from like 2024 being freebirded early, because they influenced at least a third of that sound that's so popular all voer the radio

even deerhunter's style has really shamelessly been popping up, it's crazy, but these bands did leave their mark even if no one knows they ever happened

Post **Posted:** Sat Oct 11, 2014 6:10 pm

EDIT: this i PRETTY scattered so in advance I am disappointed in myself for not CONTRIBUTING in a more thought out way. ADJUST YOUR INSIDeS said some good stuff.

dang im pretty into this thread tysm SCAREYBEAR for really bringing this up in the best way possible. its not hippy dippy or whatever, i've totally been thinking about this too. idk I listened to AC for years nonstop, and then for about 3 years of being away from a computer and just goin through the motions I just stopped really listening. how theyre music is seen from the outside...yes obviously I am familiar with them being the BUTT of a hipster joke or something...but god damn I was so true in it, and it was weird to be like "oh yeah I loved the shit out of that band/participated in an online forum" but not defending them...maybe its just my STYLE or something, defending music is kinda weird, either you like it and give it a chance or you don't.
honestly now I'm back in it SO HARD i listen almost 24/7 like I used to...my boyfriend who I am also with around the clock is chill about it...like he doesn't listen and I"m not like "oh listen to this song" because there is a weird part of me that is "embarassed" or "shameful/thatimustbleed". because I feel like I know what the music would seem like to someone who isn't totally into it...maybe not. idk I feel like we all have weird "what is cool" politics in our brains. like yeah my girls is catchy and there are other pretty "friendly" songs but really i love them because theyre so far out and I respect anyone who can continually crank out new/interesting stuff. I like revisiting songs like #1 and other scary stuff. there's other "weirdo/bouncy/freaky" music but we all just like this shit and can get down w AC for a truley active listening experience.

I dont live in a big city where there are tons of young people or shows/99% of my friends live in other places so really I just enjoy this stuff for myself which is fulfilling. but shit...I can't shut up about it...anyway I'm happy this place is here.

Post **Posted:** Sat Oct 11, 2014 6:19 pm

Roygbiv u are so right and I'm so with you 100% A+

Post **Posted:** Sun Oct 12, 2014 9:23 am

ROYGBIV wrote:

EDIT: this i PRETTY scattered so in advance I am disappointed in myself for not CONTRIBUTING in a more thought out way. ADJUST YOUR INSIDeS said some good stuff.

dang im pretty into this thread tysm SCAREYBEAR for really bringing this up in the best way possible. its not hippy dippy or whatever, i've totally been thinking about this too. idk I listened to AC for years nonstop, and then for about 3 years of being away from a computer and just goin through the motions I just stopped really listening. how theyre music is seen from the outside...yes obviously I am familiar with them being the BUTT of a hipster joke or something...but god damn I was so true in it, and it was weird to be like "oh yeah I loved the shit out of that band/participated in an online forum" but not defending them...maybe its just my STYLE or something, defending music is kinda weird, either you like it and give it a chance or you don't.
honestly now I'm back in it SO HARD i listen almost 24/7 like I used to...my boyfriend who I am also with around the clock is chill about it...like he doesn't listen and I"m not like "oh listen to this song" because there is a weird part of me that is "embarassed" or "shameful/thatimustbleed". because I feel like I know what the music would seem like to someone who isn't totally into it...maybe not. idk I feel like we all have weird "what is cool" politics in our brains. like yeah my girls is catchy and there are other pretty "friendly" songs but really i love them because theyre so far out and I respect anyone who can continually crank out new/interesting stuff. I like revisiting songs like #1 and other scary stuff. there's other "weirdo/bouncy/freaky" music but we all just like this shit and can get down w AC for a truley active listening experience.

I dont live in a big city where there are tons of young people or shows/99% of my friends live in other places so really I just enjoy this stuff for myself which is fulfilling. but shit...I can't shut up about it...anyway I'm happy this place is here.

a plus post! god damn

Post **Posted:** Mon Oct 13, 2014 6:26 am

Calvin wrote:

strawberry jam is the furthest rock has ever gone, so far, and it looks like there's not enough interest to make rock music that goes further, so there's that

This is just incorrect and condescending towards rock music. What does "the furthest rock has ever gone" mean?

Post **Posted:** Mon Oct 13, 2014 11:28 am

Ahhh how do you know it's incorrect if you don't know what it means!

vesuvius wrote:

this is refreshing after all that aNUMBall collective thread silliness

I'M SORRY OKAY? I'M SORRY

Post **Posted:** Mon Oct 13, 2014 12:09 pm

El Camino wrote:

Calvin wrote:
strawberry jam is the furthest rock has ever gone, so far, and it looks like there's not enough interest to make rock music that goes further, so there's that

This is just incorrect and condescending towards rock music. What does "the furthest rock has ever gone" mean?

it means that imo no one has made rock music (to this date) that's gone as far as strawberry jam without collapsing in upon itself, and still maintaining such control of their chosen aesthetic

Post **Posted:** Mon Oct 13, 2014 1:05 pm

Hashman wrote:

Ahhh how do you know it's incorrect if you don't know what it means!

Every way I tried to interpret it still made it incorrect, so I thought it was a safe bet to say that.

Calvin wrote:

El Camino wrote:
Calvin wrote:
strawberry jam is the furthest rock has ever gone, so far, and it looks like there's not enough interest to make rock music that goes further, so there's that

This is just incorrect and condescending towards rock music. What does "the furthest rock has ever gone" mean?

it means that imo no one has made rock music (to this date) that's gone as far as strawberry jam without collapsing in upon itself, and still maintaining such control of their chosen aesthetic

You could say that Strawberry Jam does something pretty unique with rock music and i'd most likely agree. But rock music has been twisted and reshaped in so many different ways that it seems weird to say that strawberry jam is the furthest it has gone.

Post **Posted:** Mon Oct 13, 2014 1:10 pm

Also I don't mind how AC are remembered culturally, though it is interesting to think about. I'm sure the negative associations with the type of fans they attract will stick around, just like The Grateful Dead and other hippie bands are still remembered for their obnoxious and drug-addled fans. Not saying that I agree with these views necessarily.

I hope people will realise that AC were heaps better than all the bands they unfortunately get lumped together with.

Post **Posted:** Mon Oct 13, 2014 1:28 pm

reduce cultural emissions

Post **Posted:** Mon Oct 13, 2014 2:39 pm

ac's cultural pawprint right

Post **Posted:** Mon Oct 13, 2014 2:49 pm

El Camino wrote:

Also I don't mind how AC are remembered culturally, though it is interesting to think about. I'm sure the negative associations with the type of fans they attract will stick around, just like The Grateful Dead and other hippie bands are still remembered for their obnoxious and drug-addled fans. Not saying that I agree with these views necessarily.

I hope people will realise that AC were heaps better than all the bands they unfortunately get lumped together with.

Do AC fans get a bad rap? Maybe I'm not talking to the same people you are, but I've never heard anybody talk bad about AC fans. I've heard people talk badly about Tool fans, or Insane Clown Posse fans, or, as you mentioned, Deadheads.

But any critique of AC fans seems like it would just be a critique of psychedlia, generally.

Post **Posted:** Mon Oct 13, 2014 3:10 pm

I love all of you. I love that we all have this weird thing in common and y'alls my soup family. let's eat soup together.

Post **Posted:** Mon Oct 13, 2014 7:38 pm

YoYoTaco wrote:

godzillalotus wrote:
El Camino wrote:
Spoiler: show
Also I don't mind how AC are remembered culturally, though it is interesting to think about. I'm sure the negative associations with the type of fans they attract will stick around, just like The Grateful Dead and other hippie bands are still remembered for their obnoxious and drug-addled fans. Not saying that I agree with these views necessarily.

I hope people will realise that AC were heaps better than all the bands they unfortunately get lumped together with.

Do AC fans get a bad rap? Maybe I'm not talking to the same people you are, but I've never heard anybody talk bad about AC fans. I've heard people talk badly about Tool fans, or Insane Clown Posse fans, or, as you mentioned, Deadheads.

But any critique of AC fans seems like it would just be a critique of psychedlia, generally.

I think the criticism sort of arrived in between Strawberry Jam and Merriweather Post Pavilion, and I feel it mostly stemmed from /mu/ culture (which has since gone way down, at least in association with AC). Something to do with overhyping and whatnot, similar to Neutral Milk Hotel. Also, HRO's first big article was on MPP and that's about the time when the word 'hipster' really gained its impact as a derogatory term (a can of worms that should never have been opened). I kinda feel like Centipede Hz imploded AC a little bit and most of the attitude that surrounded the band (""hashtag kings of indie hipster p4k 2k9 chillwave buzzvibes"") disappeared after that.

All in all, it's a load of bollocks that never meant anything in the first place, was unfairly applied to the band + their fans and has since gone away, which I think is really liberating for AC. Maybe I'm wrong tho

i agree with this. being 'hipster' was just sort of a trend that blew up around MPP era and animal collective unfortunately was lumped into this trend. not only lumped into, but was the face of the trend in a way, because pitchfork (the hipster capital of the internet) highly praised animal collective. fortunately for AC and their fans, most trends die and everyone moves onto the next trend while AC continues to release mind blowing music that actual music lovers can enjoy in peace without ridicule.

Post **Posted:** Mon Oct 13, 2014 8:44 pm

Spoiler: show

lol guys this is the farthest rock has ever gone

after that everyone was just imitatin'.

Spoiler: show

Post **Posted:** Mon Oct 13, 2014 9:00 pm

What if AC covered Johnny B Goode....?

*takes puff of joint*