Collected Animals

So now that we’ve had the album for a month I’ve been trying to parse the overall meaning of each song and this is what I’ve come up with so far. I’d be very interested to hear anyone else’s opinions or thoughts.

Floridada - Avey has talked about this one a lot in interviews, just about being connected with all of humanity regardless of geography (the everywhere place), and art as a unifier.

Hocus Pocus - marijuana and legalisation

Vertical - how overwhelming the world can be, the limitations of human perspective (make me feel so lowly/cower at their power; often it’s perplexing)

Lying in the Grass - someone posted an incredibly interesting interpretation of this song as a protest against police violence, which really seems to fit the lyrics, even though you’d never guess it without reading them.

The Burglars - possibly about corrupt politicians (ivory men who will steal and sell, has this town really got much better…?) but I’m not sure how well this theory fits the rest of the song

Natural Selection - seems like a critique of someone living without much thought/self-reflection/free will (you’re sure the steering wheel is resting in your hands; the instinct leads you; the path is written before the act)

Bagels in Kiev - pretty self explanatory, and Avey has talked about this one a couple times too

On Delay - I think this really doesn’t have much of a big meaning, and is more just about spending time with someone you love

Spilling Guts - no clue on this one. Political revolution? I can’t really make much out of the lyrics

Summing the Wretch - so, um, I’m pretty sure this is about Panda watching porn (no one round to see the deed/surge so strong it’s tough to tame; don’t get caught watching; things that go up must come down; bubble up from down below)

Golden Gal - again pretty self-explanatory, Avey’s said multiple times that it’s about female empowerment

Recycling - the other one that I have no idea about. Maybe idealism vs. pragmatism (don’t know if a lesson matters less than what’s to eat) but I could be completely wrong.

Thoughts?

Hocus Pocus - marijuana and legalisation

Vertical - how overwhelming the world can be, the limitations of human perspective (make me feel so lowly/cower at their power; often it’s perplexing)

To take it even further I think these two songs might be meditations on the psychedelic experience. Not just mary jane but some of the lyrics hint at deeper trips with entheogens. "Jump into a spot not visible," "to wait behind the lines that border us from them" (dmt entities?), "is it what I'm seeing," "often it's perplexing" (you're tripping balls?), "my imagination reaches to forever," "Nice and breezy spirits easy" (serenity in that dmt "place" and again the friendly elves of dmt land?), "vertical hold tight" (your soul leaves your body and blasts into hyperspace?)…

"I start to wonder does this system matter?" The feeling that reality is an illusion. And yeah I think you're right, the "limitations of human perspective." They seem to be going to some decidedly alien places in these two songs.

Or perhaps it's just me. But I feel like this record is a paradigm shift in how I listen to music, what I appreciate in music, etc. Honestly kind of like a psychedelic experience. A rewiring. Confusion at first followed by new understanding and awe. It's like the music of dreams, the stuff you can't quite grasp, can't quite place. Yet here it is somehow.

love this, yes totally

There was an interview where Avey talked about the meaning behind The Burglars, saying that it's about how weird it is that we have this idea of property and thievery when we can't really own anything, and that burglary is all around us in the natural world (he used an example of a snake robbing a bird's nest for eggs)

sorry this is so not the right place for this but anyone else having trouble loading the page for sounds on minimal home??? or can direct me to the correct place to post this?

on topic tho, I've been really interested in the burglars lyrics and that sounds in keeping with the vibe I get scrambledgreggs. would be nice to get that interview!

After all this time I've come to like the Avey album art the most, even though I bought the geologist one

wow that waving synth in the verses of vertical

golden gal has me going 'HOW THE FUCK DID THEY WRITE THIS.'

also i wanna say on first listen to the album i was disappointed by it, truly, but i'm so amazed by it now. i guess some good things take a little while to digest. it feels alot slower now. i hear it clearer.

do you hear it doubly clear?

on topic tho, I've been really interested in the burglars lyrics and that sounds in keeping with the vibe I get scrambledgreggs. would be nice to get that interview!

It was this TMT interview: http://www.tinymixtapes.com/features/animal-collective

The idea of burglary and theft and possession is just something that has come up a lot over the years, and one of the things I think a lot about. To me a burglar spans the spectrum of specific humans, to natural disasters, such as the hurricanes that have devastated certain parts of the U.S. the last few years (and the world), to simpler things like a snake taking a bird’s eggs. Burglary is everywhere, and I find it interesting that as humans we take it so seriously when it seems like such a natural thing. I think at least in the West it says something about how materialistic we are, and how we define ourselves by what we “own.”

There was an interview where Avey talked about the meaning behind The Burglars, saying that it's about how weird it is that we have this idea of property and thievery when we can't really own anything, and that burglary is all around us in the natural world (he used an example of a snake robbing a bird's nest for eggs)

Must have missed this interview the first time. Thanks for the insight!

There was an interview where Avey talked about the meaning behind The Burglars, saying that it's about how weird it is that we have this idea of property and thievery when we can't really own anything, and that burglary is all around us in the natural world (he used an example of a snake robbing a bird's nest for eggs)

yeah, my take on burglars is artistic property and what you can use for example the use of samples in music

LostWisdom wrote:

Hocus Pocus - marijuana and legalisation

Vertical - how overwhelming the world can be, the limitations of human perspective (make me feel so lowly/cower at their power; often it’s perplexing)

To take it even further I think these two songs might be meditations on the psychedelic experience. Not just mary jane but some of the lyrics hint at deeper trips with entheogens. "Jump into a spot not visible," "to wait behind the lines that border us from them" (dmt entities?), "is it what I'm seeing," "often it's perplexing" (you're tripping balls?), "my imagination reaches to forever," "Nice and breezy spirits easy" (serenity in that dmt "place" and again the friendly elves of dmt land?), "vertical hold tight" (your soul leaves your body and blasts into hyperspace?)…

"I start to wonder does this system matter?" The feeling that reality is an illusion. And yeah I think you're right, the "limitations of human perspective." They seem to be going to some decidedly alien places in these two songs.

Interesting theory. Would also explain why these two songs are the only songs on the album that have a transition between them.

do you hear it doubly clear?

on delay is such a trancey trip of a tune. and so warm and comforting too. the most melancholic song on painting with for me too, in a way. that kind of heart wrenching sad joy, like missing a lover or flowers dieing

Have u guys come up with answers to what they are Painting With? Now that I am noticing that some if not lots of the synths are actual voice samples, or what ever u call that... Is the title...

Painting With Voices

Have u guys come up with answers to what they are Painting With? Now that I am noticing that some if not lots of the synths are actual voice samples, or what ever u call that... Is the title...

Painting With Voices

I think it's Painting with Avey, Painting with Panda, and Painting with Geo. It's why there is 3 covers.

cujo wrote:

Have u guys come up with answers to what they are Painting With? Now that I am noticing that some if not lots of the synths are actual voice samples, or what ever u call that... Is the title...

Painting With Voices

I think it's Painting with Avey, Painting with Panda, and Painting with Geo. It's why there is 3 covers.

well that was easy, yeah that makes perfect sense

hey. what's the wretching/my lady sample from

i like every song on the album but i can't stop thinking about what would've happened if avey took the reigns a bit more... don't get me wrong panda's tracks are good too but floridada, vertical, burglars, bagels, on delay & golden gal are on par with the guys' best imo and im not sure if i believe any of panda's input is... but i definitely would be team avey (if i HAD to pick sides) so i may not be a fair judge

guys... the lyrics for vertical are like fireworks tier... except i wish "hard to gain perspective often is perplexing" was "heartache in perspective often is perplexing" don't know why haha

also bagels/on delay

someone buy that guy that called bagels/on delay being the next reverend/fireworks 1- 2 punch a beer!

guys... the lyrics for vertical are like fireworks tier... except i wish "hard to gain perspective often is perplexing" was "heartache in perspective often is perplexing" don't know why haha

also bagels/on delay

someone buy that guy that called bagels/on delay being the next reverend/fireworks 1- 2 punch a beer!

sup

I don't drink

I'll take dr pepper

i coulda sworn i was that guy

LostWisdom wrote:

Hocus Pocus - marijuana and legalisation

Lying in the Grass - someone posted an incredibly interesting interpretation of this song as a protest against police violence, which really seems to fit the lyrics, even though you’d never guess it without reading them.

Summing the Wretch - so, um, I’m pretty sure this is about Panda watching porn (no one round to see the deed/surge so strong it’s tough to tame; don’t get caught watching; things that go up must come down; bubble up from down below)

I fuck with these interpretations 100%. will never be able to hear Summing The Wretch the same way again.

Panda confessional part 2... but... I can't decide if it's a porn thing or if he's talking about being at the beach and oogling. 90% of the song says porn to me, but then there's the whole "plugged in to a people patch" line, which makes me think of people on a beach looking a bit like a garden growing humans. I can't get that visual out of my mind when I hear that line. And then the "watch as bonds that illustrate, also start to complicate" - just makes me think of bathing suits causing some ... complications...for the guys around.

Either way, it seems really contradictory to have this song about oogling and potentially objectifying the ladies (be it on screen or sand) on the same album as Golden Gal, which is kind of the opposite message. But then again, Panda's big on the whole taming of the impulses and identifying our dark side/tendencies, right - so it kind of fits.

first time i read the lyrics to summing i felt it was 200% about watching the ol' in out in out on screen

sort of really sweet that pb has written two songs that are clearly about wanking bc self pleasure doesn't get the spotlight it deserves most often

FAF wrote:

do you hear it doubly clear?

on delay is such a trancey trip of a tune. and so warm and comforting too. the most melancholic song on painting with for me too, in a way. that kind of heart wrenching sad joy, like missing a lover or flowers dieing

Glad to hear you came around. I have a feeling next year a lot of critics will vastly change their opinions. This is seriously one of their top 3 albums in my opinion. It's amazing.

As far as critic's go, I can't imagine many changing their opinions--music journalism and criticism seems to me to be about tracking the grand overarching music history narratives as they're happening, and I think the consensus within these communities is that Animal Collective already left their mark and their part in the story is over. I actually think this happens with lots of bands that stay together for over 10 years, and is a strange sort of ageist tragedy within the music journalism world. For some reason there doesn't seem to be a critical vocabulary for dealing with aging bands in a way that doesn't strangely patronize them (for example, talking about how great they were when they were all young). It's a major problem in my opinion, and a big reason to not take album reviews too seriously. It's just a part of a bigger culture of that fetishizes youth.

So all that being said, from a fan's perspective I think Painting With is incredible and deserves as much exploration as anything else in Animal Collective's discography. To me it sounds like a missing link between everything from Strawberry Jam to PBVSGR. Lyrically, I think it's some of their most adventurous writing. I know a lot of people talk about Noah's lyrics and the Vertical lyrics, but I was most impressed with Floridada--it's one of my favorite things the band has ever done lyrically.

On the surface, the songs seem to be simpler in terms of meter and form, but their is still a lot of sophisticated work going on. The thing that struck me the most when I first listened to it was how harmonically adventurous they were being. Take Vertical, for example. The verses, the bridges to the chorus, and the chorus all seem to be in different keys from one and other. What's more, the song never actually hits the tonal center for any of these keys long enough to give a strong sense of tonality. All of that harmonic ambiguity gives the music a sense of instability, like a sound painting of the feeling of vertigo. To my ear's that is really smart songwriting.

This sort of harmonic play is all over the album too. Hocus Pocus, Recycling, The Burglars, and Bagels in Kiev all utilize harmonic structures that are uncommon in popular songwriting, all to great effect too. Even the songs with more conventional harmonic structures (i.e. Golden Gal) are so well crafted in their voice leading and melodic lines that I would hesitate to write them off as easy or simple. This is where I think the Tin Pan Alley influence comes into play. To me, this album is the band's most explicit songwriting showcase, a display of the raw chops they have when it comes to dealing with harmony and melody.

I also am so struck by how fun this album is. Don't get me wrong, I really like moody Animal Collective songs. But it is so refreshing to hear a band be so lighthearted while managing to create such dense compositions. It seems to me that it would have been really easy for a lesser band to teeter off into campiness with material. With Animal Collective, it's just pure play.

Anyway, sorry for the rant. I really love this album, and have been wanting to put down exactly why I personally think it's an important album for a while, and to defend it's place in the Animal Collective discography. Hope this isn't too righteous or anything, haha.

Awesome post! I consider myself a pretty musical person but I'm not even going to pretend I understand harmonies, so I really enjoy your insight. Really interesting about vertical too!

great post walkedlikeadog! how can you not love this album after hearing so many cool interpretations and intricacies that were unnoticed at first

helllllll yeaaaaah. thanks for takin the time to write that all out walkedlikeadog

I don't think Summing the Wretch is specifically about one thing. But what you're talking about applies. Sort of reminds me of a similar idea that Avey spoke of with The Burglars. Just from Panda's perspective. It's about mentally wrestling with greed: what urges are worth satisfying? and in doing so, how does in imprint on your moral compass? and how does it alter our reality?

ooh awesome walkedlikeadog! yesss i love musical analysis like what you did with vertical. please feel free to post more. dat shit is bomb. i got so into it after listening to the switched on pop podcast haha.

totally agree with your sentiments regarding the reviews of the album, etc. none really give this album it's own place in the world, just "not as magic as their old stuff".

although, and this may be just me, i found myself thinking last night that this album had truly grown on me, and i enjoy alot of what i didn't initially, and whether or not i would have given it that chance if i wasn't a huge fan of their previous work... just a thought

Dudes, just went trekking this weekend and had some time with Pride and Fight, just wanted to share how this song seems to encompass the whole of their discograph in one song, but @ 7:00 man does it sound so much like PW and hocketing... Or is it too much

http://www.foxvalleyartjournal.com/paintingwith

pretty glowing review ((From yours truly))

i sure hope there's no conclusion to sunshine pop :/

well this is the logical conclusion so it doesn't really matter what you hope does it now franz

lmfao

I bought PW on vinyl yesterday and on the track list, certain letters are in bold. Do these letters mean anything? ACRNSGTOGEENMEEIN

unfortunately I think it's just a stylisation.
unless......................

Avey
Croons
Real
Nice
So
Girls of
Tobago
Only
Got to
Eat
Every
Nnight
Man,
Even
Eucalypts
Ingest
Near constantly

bingo