A couple of folks have already responded, including Zone Styx*, who took Brian Eno to task for his Exlax-smooth glide from art-damaged visionary to Svengali of pastel banality. As boldly progressive as the first decade of his career was, Eno has spent the past twenty-odd years terraforming a plateau upon which the most median hacks have homesteaded. I'm tempted, though, to give Eno a pass because, in that first decade, he did pioneer almost everything interesting about modern pop. The tragedy is that he didn't pull a Barrett/Beefheart to cement his legend.**
Meanwhile, I'm putting my money on Carl for Hater of the Year.
The target of my wrath is not a sacred cow and is often maligned in a strictly anti-fashionable knee-jerk (which, naturally, is its own expression of consensus-culture). But as the record shows, I've had a long history of hatin' on these motherfuckers. So let it be writ in flames ten feet tall...
I Hate Animal Collective
Right off the bat, they're hateable on an obvious, superficial level. Their cringeworthy album & song titles - from the verbosely ersatz to bland single-word monikers - are almost as bad as their first-year community college art-elective album covers. Their hooks are as sharp as a pig's ass. Their stoned, smug permasmirks make me wanna punch 'em in the goddamned face.Their music is... inoffensive. It's a meandering, granola-dude iteration of the Beach Boys' forgettably sunny pop for (and by) sampler-saavy postmodernists. Or, as one friend said, "it's a bunch of cut-rate competent musicians fucking around with delay pedals." Either way, it's hardly the kind of music that invites intense reactions.
Which is precisely why it's so dangerous. Animal Collective are not only a symptom, but an enabler of a contemporary American youth culture that is vapidly hedonist, politically uninterested, and libidinally solipsistic. AC's oeuvre at once reflects and amplifies these revolting traits: their music is kindergarten-teacher chipper, their voices like an animated musical, their subject matter twee and nonsensical. (I'm repeating myself there.) I don't begrudge any band born of the Bush era the urge to retreat from reality (at least a little), but AC have made careers out of a near-psychotic infantile escapism. Following in the footsteps of their forebear Brian Wilson, they're not just offering tuneful respite - they've dropped acid and buried their heads in the sandbox.
But whereas Wilson's contemporaries captured the dynamic & tumultuous zeitgeist in anthemic melodies, a dismaying number of AC's fellow travelers are echoing their chirpy, saccharine nonsense and childish self-indulgence. This could be a result of indie neutering itself of its anger, in an astigmatic move to distance itself from the truly dangerous anger of jingoists & imperialists following 9/11. It could also be that scores of bandwagon-jumpers attempted (and are still attempting) to follow the template for "success" in a Web 2.0 world that AC helped construct.
But either way, we're stuck with this ramshackle sonic sugar-rush by politically glaucomal, narcissistic man-children. If a band is going to drag a whole generation this far up their own ass, they could at least write a memorable tune to whistle as we plough through the shit.
(*) - Zone Styx mentions considering hip-hop as his hate-object du jour. Just the other day, I was having a conversation about how hip-hop could be to blame for the dismally regressive state of music as a whole - but that, clearly, is a big fish better fried at another time. For now, suffice it to say: hip-hop and hauntology share a specific kind of culpability...(**) - I often think that the best move of Kevin Shields' career has been, despite the incessant pleas from his fanbase, not to release the eternally in-progress follow-up to Loveless.
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14 comments:
A part of me says "So What?" in regards to criticisms of Animal Collective. Both my girlfriend and I have a conflicted feelings towards AC, on one hand we're sure if we met them we wouldn't like them, on the other, the moment we fell in love was in singing an Animal Collective song together (Her: "Kitties", Me: "Meeeeyow". Of course, take into account that it had as much to do with her absolute ridiculous love of cats as it did her enjoyment of Animal Collective). But I try and think of a band or musician that actually had a qualitative effect on the political and social climate of their country and I come up with: Bob Marley, Fela Kuti, Gilberto Gil and the Tropicalia people. I'm sure there are others, but most likely they all come from impoverished countries with oppressive military regimes and absurd economic stratification.
I'm not asking that everyone actually do physical battle with corrupt Powers That Be the way Fela did. That's a pretty tall order. All I'm asking is not to be a bunch of atavistic luxury-class bums anesthetising people in the prime of their lives. These assholes are Soma on two feet.
Ugh, blogger cut off the last half of my comment. I can't remember exactly how it went but the crux was that neutered bands don't generate neutered audiences, the neutered audiences gravitate to neutered bands. Music can be a rallying point for people, perhaps a means of organizing even, but they can't push and someone over the edge if that person wasn't there already. They can tap into the zeitgeist but they can't set it on fire.
Fair point about artists as magnets as opposed to generators. And it's not as though the political sloth & selfishness of AC's audience is unique to them. Lord knows you could expect equally little of fans of, say, Pavement, Guns N Roses, Mr. Mister, Depeche Mode, or Foghat.
But that's precisely why I used the term "enabler", and why I usually find it legitimate to criticise acts on the fans they attract. If bands serve as connectors for like-minded people, and reflect & amplify the audience's predilections, why not call out an artist who rewards regressive behaviour? At the very least, such bands distract people from the real shit?
I've read this post a few times, and I still can't see how it's much different that k-punk's attacks on Sonic Youth, which you took substantial issue with.
Anyway, I maintain that Animal Collective are the real shit (that is, their music does inspire intense reactions from me). Obviously you disagree, which is fine, no reason I should care. I'm not going to try to convinced you otherwise. But I do think the comment about "their stoned, smug permasmirks" is gratuitous. What makes you think they're smug? A photo? Really, they're just a bunch of childhood friends making music who have surprisingly developed an audience. (An audience that is frankly no more politically neutered than any other audience currently out there.)
Oh, and they have nothing whatsoever to do with Brian Wilson.
(P.S. I love your blog, which I only discovered during this whole SY debate...)
Well, when the injunction is to fill in the blank in the bumper-sticker sentiment "I Hate ____", expect less-than-well-reasoned arguments.
But in the interest of playing fair, the crux of my distaste for Animal Collective is I hate happy music. Anything dappled with sunshine, bouncy, even vaguely twee makes me want to throw up. By that same token, I can't stand Los Campesinos, Stars, Suckers, and definitely not the fucking Go! Team. My idea of fun is "Deanna" by Nick Cave, not friggin' "Fireworks".
The "smug permasmirk" crack comes from the fact that I've yet to find a photo or video where Dave Portner doesn't sport the same grin as G.W. Bush.
Finally, full disclosure (though I've mentioned this before): three of four Animal Collectivists went to my high school (a time I'm not fond of talking about). I know these guys' roots too well to be convinced of any of their mythos, the same way I wouldn't expect anyone who went to school with Pete Kember or Jason Pierce to buy their aloof narconaut personas.
As for the Beach Boys comparisons, it's as much about their production aesthetic as specific musical motifs, but once someone busts out those wordless falsetto backing vocals, they've lost me. (Unless it's super sarcastic a la Plastic Bertrand.)
And cheers for the kind words. I certainly hope you find reasons to keep tuning back in.
I'm often suspictious about these "I hate" , rant blogs , i think it's more that this person hates the attention this band are receiving more than the music or album itself, and this rant is a little way of garnering back some of that attention.
I always feel that writing like this comes from someone that cannot play an instrument and maybe is not very musical , and is expecting more from the musiciansphere than he or she is getting, and if you did ask them
"well what do you really like " theyd shrug and stare at the shoes like a spoilt brat.
It is just a indie record isn;t after all? f*** sake , if you think you;ve got some new twist on the whole thing =make a record, go on you can do it
get a cheap pc, some delay pedals,
shit keyboard, some mics and old guitar ...
go on then, ,,,oh you cant be bothered ...ok
Uh, hate to disappoint you, chum, but I put out three records last year alone.
I agree and disagree; it's a real conundrum. There's no question that there are aspects of the AC identity that put my teeth on edge, the main one, which you pointed towards, is their near-abject refusal to put together a worthwhile tune. That, and I would put Grizzly Bear and fucking Radiohead in this category, and TV on the Radio, as well, and the near-unanimous critical hosannahs thrust in their direction by all the 'important' music sites. These people allow no divergence of any sort of critical thinking on these bands; it's all for one, and one for all, and if you don't agree, then you must be a philistine. If you posted this on some weak-sister site like Stereogum, where they write about how they 'love them some Fleet Foxes', you'd be torn apart by American Apparell-sporting wolves. It's happened to me. Totally absurd.
On the other hand, there are moments on the new AC album where I think that they've got something special going on. I am a sucker for harmonies, and there's no question that these guys know how to sing together ( or at least give the impression of it )in a glorious mess. So, I takes my small victories, and move on. I also really loved the Panda Bear solo record, for much the same reason. But a lot of the screeching racket they've done on past records? Useless to me. Never understood the fascination.
So, I can't totally agree with you, but I sure as hell don't disagree, either. You can see the bind I'm in.
Anon - "if you think you;ve got some new twist on the whole thing =make a record, go on you can do it
get a cheap pc, some delay pedals,
shit keyboard, some mics and old guitar ...
go on then, ,,,oh you cant be bothered ...ok"
Seb - "Uh, hate to disappoint you, chum, but I put out three records last year alone."
Brilliant.
Best little comment interaction I've read on this internet thing in years.
And (you'll have to take my word on this...
But the word verification is stold..
as in 'that stold him'.
Cheers.
Simon
x
well you got have a pop haven't you,
you can't break someones record open like that and try/make music yourself it's insane ,but a lot of critics won't touch an instrument or program a beat which i find hysterical as they self prescribe themselves this professor of music status.
I mean i quite liked merriwevver shithut for a bit but don't think i;ll be listening to it next year, but Panda Bears last album for sure has lasting qualaties.
I guess we'll never know the identity or genre of The Three Records Made In The Last Year Alone , so the 'get your box' comment is not fully legitimate yet
well you got to have a pop haven't you,
you can't break someones record open like that and *NOT try/make music yourself it's insane ,but a lot of critics won't touch an instrument or program a beat which i find hysterical as they self prescribe themselves this professor of music status.
I mean i quite liked merriwevver shithut for a bit but don't think i;ll be listening to it next year, but Panda Bears last album for sure has lasting qualities.
I guess we'll never know the identity or genre of The Three Records Made In The Last Year Alone , so the 'get your box' comment is not fully legitimate yet ;)
I'll admit, it's always struck me as odd that you can have a career as an entitled expert on film/music/literature without ever having sat behind a camera/mixing desk/typewriter. That being said, opinions are like etc. everyone's got etc.
I will say that the Panda Bear record didn't rub me quite as wrong as anything AC has ever done, but that's mostly because of all the Scott Walker samples. But also, Panda Bear's solo work feels decisively like pop, whereas AC never feel like they're doing whatever they're doing very well. (I'm echoing what F. Leghorn said above.) Not as catchy as most of their Brooklyn brethren, nor as out-and-out weird as others... trying to have it both ways and coming up kinda frothy, foamy, and full of hot air.
As for my music... c'mon, I'm not that much of a dick-swinger to launch into a lengthy, dissective appraisal of my own work. But (as I mention in the June 3rd post) you can get mt three '08 releases right here.
There's another one coming in a couple of weeks, by the way...
Hi I think I'm in love with you, seriously. I also can't stand Animal Collective, although hate is not the word as I have never been able to go past 15 seconds of listen. It's more like, "are you kidding me?" Rambling with a 4-track? No thanks. The voice is also extremely irritating, it;s as if the singer was completely mute and thought he could just ramble/scream to make up for it.
I am also a fan of "Sad" music and Nick Cave and maybe I was too much of a teenage punk/ post-punk fan, but I think music has POWER and it has to address its own time. This business of going inside your head and trippin' is just an easy way out. I completely agree on the generational passivity...although I am the same age as the musicians you mentioned, I do not share the sensibility. I used to live in Brooklyn and in the midst of the thickest granola-ed hipsterism...this sentiment is actually a great thing, it reminds me of the mid-70's before punk and the self-indulgent prog music made then.
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