There was a time before Animal Collective and associated Merriweather Post Pavillion album art was a meme. A time where even the more adventurous indie-leaning alt-rock listener would have felt like they had got lost and ended up in the wrong part of town if they had happened upon one of their albums inadvertently while looking for the new Arcade Fire Album. Admittedly, even I was a little frightened by the sudden interruption of shouts and screams into otherwise peaceful numbers, and I listened to The Get Up Kids in high school. This music was for lack of a less offensive term, tribalistic and I was the outsider, and this tribe was no Akron/Family who just wanted to teach me that love is simple, instead they told me frightening tales of Reverend Green.

Animal Collective – For Reverend Green

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It’s hard to say exactly what’s changed since then. Was it just really good album art? Is there something about Merriweather’s songs that are inherently more accessible and universally appealing? I don’t think so. I think it’s us who have changed; Animal Collective has stayed the same. We live in a world where the alternative, as it gains momentum, eventually gets picked up by the mainstream and repackaged for mass-consumption. We are forced to venture beyond our original level of comfort to find something new, something, I cringe to say, authentic. In that light, I predict Xiu Xiu’s next album will sweep the blogosphere in a way that make Merriweather more like the exploding mentos meme.

But does that mean that you’re going to hear My Girls on the floor of your local disco anytime soon? Yes and No. If you live in Kingston, you are likely to hear it only by request in the basement of your local co-operative housing unit. In a larger metropolis you may chance to hear it at some alternative venue, but the original lacks some features that would lend it to both mixing and dancing, namely a consistent drum-line. Luckily, some others out there in the tubes have already taken care of this for us. So I leave you with as many as I could find.

Happy Valentines!

Animal Collective – My Girls (Straight Up! Remix)

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Animal Collective – My Girls (Dave Wrangler Remix)

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Animal Collective – My Girls (Mexicans with Guns Remix)

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I just noticed this over at p4k this morning, you can’t exactly expect a guy to go digging into the depths of obscurity on his second post can you? Besides, I was just thinking about this band, so it was timely.

Looks like Camera Obscura will be treating us to a new album due out in April on 4AD. For now we can be satisfied with the title track.

Camera Obscura – My Maudlin Career

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You are reading the inaugaral post here at soundunheard, a website that if successful will be a whole lot like a million other websites out there. We will strive to write in a witty, sassy, and most importantly holier-than-thou style. We will attempt to post the hottest tracks that another blog has already posted but since been forced to remove after receiving a DMCA takedown notice. We will subsequently remove these after receiving our own takedown notices. Life will continue as it has for many years in the tubes.