Sometimes a band comes along who reminds you that not all of the good music has already been made. Unfortunately there’s way much more crappy novelty. But when we look back in 10, 15, 20 years on the ground-breaking and lasting music from this era, we will certainly be listening again to Animal Collective.
I just ordered Animal Collective’s new Merriweather Post Pavilion album on 180 gram gatefold vinyl, and all record labels should take note. First of all, it’s a band that are true musical artists with longevity. Huh? Wha? Yeah, remember that crazy notion? And there is really no one else in Animal Collective’s league. They’re not indie, they’re not rock, they’re not electronica, they’re not jam… they’ve created their own thing.
Secondly, the vinyl was released today, January 6th, two weeks before the official release of the CDs and iTunes downloads. How cool is that? And of course, inside the vinyl is a download card which entitles you to download the mp3s or wav files. It costs a bit more, $22.98, but I don’t care because I will pay extra for exactly what I want! That’s what the major labels had forgetten. They just wanted to charge a lot for everything across the boards. No thanks. That’s not what I want.
And lastly, I heard the last track from this album from some music promo site, which was streaming it a few weeks ago, and I knew I had to have this record. Granted, I have been an Animal Collective fan pretty much since the band started in 2000 and was making a lot of very out-there music. And I bought those ‘out-there’ albums because I heard something going on underneath that was truly sublime and original. And now, I feel like Animal Collective are reaching their fully sublime, creative potential. I played the aforementioned promo song, “Brother Sport” (which I recorded into Pro-Tools), when I DJ’d my New Year’s Eve party, and it was just perfect in a roomful of revelers. Since I will respect Domino Records’ policies, I will not post the album version of “Brother Sport” here, but here is a live video of the band performing the song a while back (but keep in mind…the studio version is much better)…
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g3KtS5RWkkI]
Meanwhile, I will wait for my vinyl to arrive, since I ordered it a little on the late side for it to show up today and I’ll see what kind of things you guys have to say about Animal Collective. Is it possible that they are the most innovative band of this era or are they just geeky little knob-twiddlers…or somewhere in between?
Whatever the case, I’m intrigued.
Also…check out the brand new song ‘My Girls’ on AC’s MySpace page
January 7th, 2009 at 3:57 pm
i originally thought animal collective was too trippy for me, but sounds like they’re making music that’s still cool to people like you, but also accessible to regulars like me. go AC
January 9th, 2009 at 6:55 am
Ok, I take back all that Domino Records love. I ordered through their website and they contacted me saying that they were out of stock, the day after I should’ve been receiving it. I’ll be super-disappointed if I don’t get it by the time the regular CD is released (Jan 20th). Note to record companies: meet your demand. Don’t make 100 records for a band that you know you’ll send 500 records for in the first week. K…done venting. I wonder why no one buys music anymore?
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