Archive | July, 2011

Animal Collective – Fireworks

3 Jul

With magic fresh on our minds we walk across the war-torn elementary school field. Hues of red in the sky discolored the smoke which blocked our vision and filled our noses with the scent of burnt elements. Flashes in the sky hastened our wavering walk, our destination a celebration of a baby nation.

I felt like this song would be an appropriate one for today purely based on its title. Fireworks, by Animal Collective, is probably the most popular and likable song from one of their more bizarre albums, Strawberry Jam.

The song starts with a beat that could only make sense if you accidentally inhaled a lung full of salvia divinorum while watching an episode of Spongebob Squarepants, consequently forgetting to exhale. The vocals do their part to attempt to cheer you up as you spin hypnotically into a severe feeling of strangeness. You slowly realize that there is nothing to make out of this song, yet you won’t stop listening to it because you like it.

It is something in between the lyrics and that feeling that your insides are being twisted into rope which resembles the bulk of the song. The result is a mind-bending psychedelic horror which Animal Collective is rightfully and most of the time unknowingly known for.  The transitions in this song float as if time were optional and the closer you listen to it the more bizarre and unearthly sounds you will uncover, a dirty pleasure sort of  like philosophically pealing apart the essence of joy. The melodies are cute and friendly, but the way in which they are used can only be reminiscent of a horror house disguised as a sunny beach, waiting for you to fall asleep so that it can reveal its true face when you wake from a peaceful nap. It switches from being mellow and cheerful to intense and upbeat like someone actively splitting their personality so as to only keep you interested in what they have to say slightly longer.

Hopefully you watch some fireworks while listening to this song. The two go very well together. The song really isn’t even about fireworks, but every time that one line mentions fireworks, you will get a fuzzy feeling inside. And fuzzy feelings are sort of what fireworks are all about after all. Too bad my cats don’t agree.

-oko

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Music Trivia – Four for the Fourth

2 Jul

Let’s press the trivia button and embark on a musical journey through thought-provoking music trivia questions. The first edition of music trivia was a success, garnering a good amount of attention from everyone. There is one rule, though, that I want to stress before getting to this week’s questions.

ATTENTION: After answering each question, POST your answers into a comment. Commenting on a post is simple. Click the quote bubble with the number next to the post’s name. It will ask for a name and an e-mail address. Follow those brief directions and post your answers. Therefore, I know who can be crowned the winner and, in the future, be eligible for PRIZES. If you don’t post your answers, I cannot recognize your intelligence.

Get it? Got it? Good. Let’s play!

The entire trivia game will not be patriotic, but since this is the fourth of July weekend we do need at least one germane question.

1.) “O! say can you see.” I am sure most of you can complete the lyric. Heck, you can probably explain to me that Francis Scott Key wrote the “Star-Spangled Banner” while detained on a British ship in September of 1814. But, lyrics aside, can you tell me where the melody of our National Anthem comes from?

2.) Randy California was the stage name of American guitarist Randy Wolfe. His work with his band Spirit was influential. He displayed tremendous technical skill and aplomb up to his untimely drowning death in 1997. If you have heard “Stairway to Heaven” by Led Zeppelin, which I’m pretty sure everyone has heard, the indelible guitar riff is strikingly similar to California’s guitar work on Spirit’s “Taurus.” But I’m not going to ask a question about the controversy. Instead, I want to know what American musician gave Randy California his stage name?

3.) Jimmy Page is often cited as the originator of using a violin bow on a guitar, but this is incorrect information. Who was the true FIRST guitarist to popularize this practice?

4.) Thunderclap Newman was a British band known for their one-hit wonder “Something In The Air.” How they were promoted is more interesting than the song. Newman vocalist/keyboardist John “Speedy” Keen worked as a chauffeur for a famous British band who’s guitarist thanked Keen by creating the band around him to showcase his work. What was that band?

There you have it. Four questions for your fourth of July weekend. Answers will be posted on Thursday of next week. Remember, after you select your choices on the polls, post your answer choices in a comment! I cannot stress this enough. And, hey, after you answer the questions if you cannot wait for the answers, look them up and use these fun questions to stump friends of families at your fourth of July barbecues. Have a great weekend!

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