My iPod #263: Animal Collective - Derek

A very early post today. I will soon be off to visit my friend at his uni for his birthday so in order to prevent myself from having to do three entries when I come back on Sunday, here is the "Derek" - the last track from Animal Collective's 2007 album "Strawberry Jam".

I recently listened to "Strawberry Jam", about a week ago or so. The only other album I had listened to in full was, what is probably considered to be their best, "Merriweather Post Pavilion". That album sounded like it was recorded in another universe, and considering 'Best Ever Albums' had "Jam" rated as their second best I thought I might as well give it a listen. First to see how it sounded, and to figure out whether it was as good.

I can conclude that I do like "Strawberry Jam". I'll have to listen to it again because it normally takes me more than one to really get into any album. But "Peacebone" and "Derek" were ones that left a mark.

"Derek" did because of its time signature changes and innocent melody further accentuated with Panda Bear's lyric where he 'talks' to his child about Derek, the old dog he used to own. He realises that he didn't take care of him that well, and is not prepared to make the same mistake again now that he was a parent. He is ready to take on this great responsibility. A sudden clap begins the triumphant ending where Panda lets his child know that he/she can always count on him when the time comes along with a rampant stomping beat a bit similar to "We Will Rock You".

A very heartwarming way to finish an album.

My iPod #205: Panda Bear - Comfy in Nautica

A very recent addition to my iPod. Maybe one or a couple weeks ago, I took on the experience of listening to "Person Pitch", the third album by Panda Bear. Panda Bear is a cool guy, who performs with a cool band called Animal Collective. He also made an appearance on Daft Punk's new album. Do check out Animal Collective in your spare time though.

Getting back to the subject, "Comfy in Nautica" starts "Person Pitch" off with a sample of some sort of tribal chant which repeats throughout. While this is all happening, Mr. Bear sings a mantra on how to live your life. He doesn't really sing, he changes the pitch of his voice on a new syllable. Which is further accentuated by a large amount of echo. That echo doesn't go away for the rest of the album. It is still very effective, and a very simple melody that you'll never forget.

The only bad thing I about the track is the really long and out of tone note at the end. But that's about it really.