Animal Collective :: Peacebone
Just as I don’t understand or enjoy modern dance and avant-garde theater, I have a somewhat conservative ear when it comes to music. Until recently, I felt this way about Animal Collective.
That all changed when my friend played Animal Collective’s most recent album, Strawberry Jam for me. Listening to Peacebone, the first track, I could not believe that this was the same band that had scared me off so many times before. Although the song was every bit as unusual and experimental as their other material, it came in a far more accessible package. Having heard this album, I am now able to enjoy AC’s full catalog of material, including the albums I had previously found unlistenable (with the exception of Here Comes the Indian; that album is still too weird for me).
But my inspiring story of the triumph of music over a conservative ear is not why I love the album and song. More important, is that Peacebone makes me gush with happiness at every listen. The playful vocals and lyrics, the uplifting marching beat, and the random noise bursts in the background compel me to feel as bubbly and joyful as the song suggests (for those of you who know me, you understand that this is no small feat).
This song is easily my favorite tune from the last couple of years. I loved it at first listen, and I’ve loved it the many, many times I have listened since. I hope you will too.
Peacebone (6MB MP3)
Animal Collective (homepage)
I went to this all-ages Animal Collective show once, and at first I had a little bit of a bad attitude. There were a lot of teenagers there, hippie-dancing. They had obviously either dropped acid or decided it was cool to look like they had. Anyway. I was kind of just watching them sourly. But then the skinny gangly teenage-looking drummer was standing at his drums and grinning as he drummed on the offbeats. He looked SO much like a jockey bouncing between strides and looked SO pleased by it all that I was just totally, totally charmed. And the charmed feeling spread to the rest of the crowd. Anyway, I feel you. AC gives me a kind of happy bubbles-and-bounces feeling I don’t exactly live in most of the time.