Collected Animals • How do you get your friends into Animal Collective?

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Post **Posted:** Fri Oct 25, 2013 5:31 am

i heard brothersport in a car while stoned and it was turned up all the way and that was how it clicked for me. i heard my girls and in the flowers in the alien workshop video from early 2009 and listened to MPP a few times but it wasnt till early 2011 that i heard it loud and stoned. and MPP is totally an album you have to turn way up.

Post **Posted:** Sat Nov 09, 2013 5:20 am

I had a meeting with my boss today. He won't be my boss too much longer, (his wife is super sick with hyper-thyroidism-- she normally weighs between 140 and 150 -- she's down to 105--) because he's moving to a new department. So our meeting today was basically shooting the breeze, talking about life... you know. And he asked at a certain point, "Hey Tyler, what kind of music are you in to?" "Animal Collective!," I replied. "Interesting, what is that?" So we went to youtube. First I put on that badass Fireworks / Essplode live version, but I decided that was a bit somber, and I wanted something to lift the mood. So we went to The Creators Project Applesauce--- he LOVED it. After a minute he was rubbing his eyes, and he was like, "I feel like I'm tripping out here." After it was over he was talking to me about how he smoked pot in high school, and he totally goes back to it when he hears psychedelic music.... it was cool. He genuinely liked it, which surprised me a bit, because I've had mixed results introducing people to AC.

Post **Posted:** Sat Nov 09, 2013 5:54 am

That's a great story zilla !
My thoughts and prayers go to your boss and family.

That was refreshing to hear though his first experience with Animal Collective. I mean, we all can relate I guess, so that's why were all here

Post **Posted:** Sat Jan 04, 2014 8:43 pm

I can never tell if someone is just listening to AC cuz they like me.

Post **Posted:** Sun Feb 02, 2014 3:25 pm

The other day I played Spirit to two friends, one of them had a funny scared face all along but said he liked it at the end (though I don't believe him) and the other one seemed more interested in the music. I was also explaining the background of the album and the band and the songs, afterwards the one who seemed more interested showed me some old prog music that reminded him of Spirit, it was really cool. I guess he liked it. He's the only person I've successfully collaborated with since he knows how to jam, we recorded an hour long blues session and are thinking about making more "composed" stuff. I showed Feels to a friend at school, but he said it was way too calm. Should I try MPP/SJ? He's into more "normal" rock bands.

Post **Posted:** Sun Feb 02, 2014 6:14 pm

Feels? Calm? There are like what, 3 calm songs on that record, not counting the last third of turn into something.

Post **Posted:** Sun Feb 02, 2014 6:30 pm

yeah but it's not like, heavy.

Post **Posted:** Sun Feb 02, 2014 6:45 pm

Feels has a fair amount of ambient pop floatyness, I can only think of DYSTW, Grass, Purple Bottle and TIS as being upbeat rockers, the rest of the album is a lot of drifty soundscape type jams. When I first got into Feels those tracks I mentioned were the ones I really dug into the most and the rest grew on me.

Post **Posted:** Sun Feb 02, 2014 8:59 pm

the only way i really show Animal Collective to anyone is when i play music through speakers while i clean/play games/whatever. they sometimes tell me to turn it off or change the song, but sometimes i can tell they like it

Post **Posted:** Mon Feb 03, 2014 2:36 pm

Myles_Dunhill wrote:

Feels has a fair amount of ambient pop floatyness, I can only think of DYSTW, Grass, Purple Bottle and TIS as being upbeat rockers, the rest of the album is a lot of drifty soundscape type jams. When I first got into Feels those tracks I mentioned were the ones I really dug into the most and the rest grew on me.

opposite progression for me. didn't get into the floatier jams til later. But when Banshee Beat clicked, it CLICKED

Post **Posted:** Mon Feb 03, 2014 2:41 pm

Everybody wrote:

But when Banshee Beat clicked, it CLICKED

Post **Posted:** Tue Feb 04, 2014 1:06 am

I would get my friends into Animal Collective but I don't think Animal Collective wants my friends inside them.

Post **Posted:** Tue Feb 04, 2014 1:45 am

IkoOvo wrote:

Everybody wrote:
But when Banshee Beat clicked, it CLICKED

Post **Posted:** Tue Feb 04, 2014 3:20 pm

For what it's worth, last week I smoked a J with my friend who'd never listened to AnCo and put on MPP, and he said he was really digging the beats.

By no means do I think that drugs are necessary to enjoy the band but they could, for the right person, be the catalyst that sparks an interest in the band.

A gateway drug, if you will.

Post **Posted:** Tue Feb 04, 2014 4:29 pm

yeah i played MPP to my friend who didn't really like them after we smoked some pot, and he was like "woah" - fan ever since

Post **Posted:** Tue Feb 04, 2014 6:10 pm

I don't think by any means you have to be high to listen to AC. Just think that pot sometime opens your ears to more sounds. Helps a lot with first listens to anything for me. Doesn't have to be "psychedelic music", and it doesn't mean that there are certain artists or bands that I HAVE to listen to stoned. But for me, pot just makes music sound better, and thats one of the reasons why I smoke most of the day

Especially with AC who's sound is so dense, and has so many layers, I might recommend someone who's never heard them, and is a pot smoker, to take a puff, and give them a try. It doesn't mean thats what they are all about.

Post **Posted:** Tue Feb 04, 2014 10:40 pm

I think that this is the same argument people make for listening to Bob Marley. Unfortunately people are just going to assume that you can't have one without the other. And when it comes to 'psychedelic' music people are always going to associate drugs with it, since the two went hand-in-hand in the 60s and 70s. The people that say you have to be 'high' to enjoy anything are either just being ignorant or totally missing the point. I personally would say of course, you don't have to be high to enjoy AC, but you will have a lot of fun.

Post **Posted:** Tue Feb 04, 2014 10:52 pm

Myles_Dunhill wrote:

of course, you don't have to be high to enjoy AC, but you will have a lot of fun.

basically this

Post **Posted:** Wed Feb 05, 2014 1:32 am

P nu wrote:

Myles_Dunhill wrote:
of course, you don't have to be high to enjoy AC, but you will have a lot of fun.

basically this

Yup, couldn't have put it better myself.

I really dug that interview. I found This Heat and Gas through hearing that they influenced AnCo, so the whole "gateway band" thing is definitely true for me.

Post **Posted:** Wed Feb 05, 2014 3:59 am

Man, they have the best influences and it's fun to try and hear those influences crop up in AC's music.
I was reading a thread about them from 2002 and a bunch of people were saying how similar they were to This Heat, which is interesting.

Post **Posted:** Wed Feb 05, 2014 1:41 pm

early AC also vaguely reminds me of Fat Worm of Error. also, feel free to PM me some volcano the bear if you have it. never heard of em and am listening on youtube rn, this is pretty good.

Post **Posted:** Wed Feb 05, 2014 2:11 pm

Yeah I guess they're kinda similar in a way, though Fat Worm of Error seem to be much more chaotic and weird than early AC from what I've heard.

Anyway I got one of my best friends into AC like 2 years ago and he pretty much never listens to them anymore lol. Also put on AC when all my friends were drunk and they all loved it but of course they've never mentioned them since.

Post **Posted:** Wed Feb 05, 2014 11:11 pm

El Camino wrote:

Man, they have the best influences and it's fun to try and hear those influences crop up in AC's music.
I was reading a thread about them from 2002 and a bunch of people were saying how similar they were to This Heat, which is interesting.

wow I had never seen that before! It's like a look into the past, what people thought about AC back then in their very early days, wow, it's like a CA0.

Post **Posted:** Wed Feb 05, 2014 11:29 pm

El Camino wrote:

Man, they have the best influences and it's fun to try and hear those influences crop up in AC's music.
I was reading a thread about them from 2002 and a bunch of people were saying how similar they were to This Heat, which is interesting.

Hearing about all these early shows and im really pining for some of those boots. especially the one thats mentioned that sounds like a solo show that dave did under the AC moniker

e: ah fuck, the campfire songs show too? thatd be too sweet

Post **Posted:** Thu Feb 06, 2014 12:33 am

De Soto on the Crack Box is from one of the Campfire shows at Mercury Lounge! And I think Jungle Heat and Hey Friend are from another live show too. At least we have a little piece of that era

Post **Posted:** Thu Feb 06, 2014 1:19 am

Ooh is mercury lounge the super tiny venue? also the one that was on the "first" AC show leaflet that somebody took a picture of? and definitely, thats why i love crackbox so much. all those super great jams/gems

Post **Posted:** Thu Feb 06, 2014 1:46 am

i'm willing to bet that the Jimmy Raven is from an avey tare and panda bear show.

Post **Posted:** Thu Feb 06, 2014 3:41 am

wrote:

Dreadful dreadful dreadful stuff. Just really really bad.
Don't listen to Other Music. They're "good friends" with the staff at Other Music.

Again. Avoid AT & PB like the plague.

Another case of Other Music trying to plague us all with their staff members' shit music. When will they learn?

Post **Posted:** Thu Feb 06, 2014 4:12 am

that dude obviously got fired from other music

Post **Posted:** Thu Feb 06, 2014 6:02 am

I was actually surprised at the overall lack of dissent in that thread, people on ilm are usually pretty harsh judges.

Post **Posted:** Thu Feb 06, 2014 1:01 pm

StrangeClamsSequel wrote:

i'm willing to bet that the Jimmy Raven is from an avey tare and panda bear show.

It is

Here is the complete listing from ACB

Spoiler: show

Post **Posted:** Thu Feb 06, 2014 1:19 pm

El Camino wrote:

Man, they have the best influences and it's fun to try and hear those influences crop up in AC's music.
I was reading a thread about them from 2002 and a bunch of people were saying how similar they were to This Heat, which is interesting.

Post **Posted:** Thu Feb 06, 2014 9:00 pm

I think a good way to get your friends into AC is to play them covers you make of their songs, that way they will give it their undivided attention and approach the band from your perspective, leading them to want to check out some of AC's music.