Live at the Electric Ballroom - Opening (You Can Count on Me)

As with Tomboy, Panda Bear opened with 'You Can Count on Me'. However, unlike Tomboy, it sounded like this:

I definitely prefer this to the album version. As I mentioned yesterday, with Sonic Boom in tow, Panda was able to focus on his guitar and vocals. And how! What a start - that voice, the hazy guitar. Worth the price of admission alone.

Oh, and thank you FDFlashDeck for the footage; 'Deck' has uploaded a whole bunch of good footage, which I will continue to share here.

Panda Bear & Sonic Boom

Last week, I got to see Panda Bear play at the Electric Ballroom in Camden. He was not alone!

Boom left, Panda right.

He was joined by Sonic Boom, who helped produce Tomboy. Mr. Boom was a very welcome addition. Pitchfork's review of Panda Bear's (solo) show at last year's Primavera is telling:

Whenever I see a guy starting his set like Panda Bear did tonight, stepping out with a guitar around his neck and making his way to a bank of electronic gear and a single microphone, ready to do a show all by himself, I think: This dude has too much to do up there. Performing and singing are difficult enough without essentially mixing live sound in between guitar strums. Which is to say Panda Bear seemed like he missed the rest of the Collective a little bit during this solo show.

Even when performing with Avey Tare and Geologist, Panda is usually the least animated member, content to work his electronics and sing the sort of heavenly, reverb-drenched vocal lines that are now so often imitated. But tonight, without the visuals that usually accompany his solo performances (trouble with the projection set-up), his low-key stage presence made his set, heavy on unfamiliar new material, a tougher sell.

With Mr. Boom in tow, twiddling and mixing, Noah was free to focus on his (guitar and) vocals - thanks Sonic Boom.

The set just was Tomboy; the encore, Person Pitch. There's some good footage of both on YouTube, and over the next couple of weeks, I'm going to post it here, complete with analysis/gibber, taking you through this lovely gig.

For my girls

Here's a big one.

Studio version:

A nice clean live version:

Another live version of Panda Bear (and the Collective) at Koko in London a few years back. I post this one, as I was lucky enough to be there.

Didn't we have a good time?

I think we'll get this one Thursday.

 

Hey man, what's your problem?

My favourite live clip of Panda Bear. Here's hoping he plays this next Thursday.

Surely, there's no substitute for company.

I think this is now my favourite (Panda Bear) tune.

I'll try to remember always

So, Panda Bear's coming to London in two weeks.

Due to a fruitful combination of eager anticipation and my lack of attention span in seminars, I've drawn some (crude) panda bears singing lines. As always, I'm on about Person Pitch, and begin with Comfy in Nautica.

The Fruits of My Labour

I recently sent Tjalling the following interview:

1. Did you "make" your own Comfy in Nautica?
2. What is your favourite Panda Bear song?
3. Which Panda Bear song do you find least objectionable?
4. Surely you must like Winter's Love, or ... er ... Bros.
5. Can you guess what you're getting for your birthday?

I was expecting similar responses to last time. Initially, this appeared to be the case. His e-mail began:

my 'i wish' responses 

1. No
2. the answer to number 3
3. the answer to number 2
4. No
5. Yes

Aside from the paradoxical responses to questions 2 and 3, I guess this is what I expected. After all, who can really hope to convince their friend of the beauty of some music through a blog, especially one as poorly ... hang on ... what's this ... his e-mail continued.

suppose i'll try for you, but only because it is you....

1. No 
2. its actually an Analmal collective song....i'm sure you'll allow me this because it is the very first positive response... 'Hey Light' is pretty damn good.
   good live
3. ummmm 
4. technically winters love is ok... for the first 20 seconds... then the next 20 seconds of the next bit... best youtube comment for this song:

this was on a film called "short bus" during which homosexuals were having hot anal intercourse.>animal collective fans confirmed for non-straight atheists.  mmmmmhmmmm yup theryare

'no homo'

WooooOOOoooohOOOOOooo! Technically, Winters Love is ok. Tjalling (kind of) likes Panda Bear! 

Technically, this song is ok.

Wow, I guess I can now let this blog rest, and get started on my PhD: Reasons you should love Kant.

No More Runnin

About a week ago, I woke up with this song firmly stuck in my head. I have not been able to shake it. From Merriweather:

What a song. As with Kids on Holiday, Avey Tare takes the lead, whilst Panda Bear Panda Bear's in the background. Surely Tjalling will love this.

YouTube's top comment?

 I lost my virginity to this song.

You Can Count On Me (Live)

The first track from Tomboy, live on TV.

 

Kids on Holiday

One of my favourite Animal Collective songs.

Avey Tare takes the lead, whilst Panda drums and harmonises in the background.

I have 3 versions of this that I'd like to share. 

1) Studio

2) Live. A lengthy melodic rendition.

3) Live in Paris (2005). 1 minute of chaos and energy.

I love this last version. I enjoy how the band lets go, and Panda just remains in the background harmonising.

Comfy in Nautica Samples

Ah, YouTube. How I love thee. From a YouTube comment:

The sample he uses for Comfy in Nautica is found in the song Jisas Holem ya Holem Hand Blom from The Thin Red Line soundtrack... it's the last note of the verse looped countinuously, as well as the claps... Unfortunately, I discovered this by trying to do the same thing :( it was weird, because it wasn't like i made the connection before hand or anything, I just really enjoyed the song in the movie and thought it sounded sample-able... but alas, it was already being used in my favorite song..

flibberjar 2 months ago 

Thanks flibberjar.

Others seem to think that he also samples from Akira (from about 4 minutes in).

Amateur Hour: If you start playing the first video and sync it with the second (again, starting around the 4 minute mark), you get something like a proto-version of 'Comfy In Nautica'. 

When you're done with amateur hour:

Bros (live)

Bros live in London (2005).

 

 Probably my favourite live clip of Panda Bear.

Talent Borrows, Genius Steals.

The following is a video of (some of) the samples used in Person Pitch:

I have already shared this: On this site; On Facebook; In person.

I am glad to do this. I would hate to fetishise novelty. Re-discovery can be just as rewarding as discovery.

Right, enough of my attempt to ward off fetishising the novel. What exactly have I re-discovered here? The same thing as last time - how Panda Bear makes every one of these tunes his own. To steal(!) a line from Oscar Wilde: "Talent borrows, genius steals".

Yoink!

Slow Motion (and Robert Breer)

After a rainy, grey, but enjoyable English weekend, I thought I'd post Panda Bear's (relatively) new single. 

 

Can you feel the cavernous reveberant echoes? After the video, there is also a short interview. 

On a semi-related note, I've just (re)visited the excellent Robert Breer exhibition at the Baltic. The following animation serves as a nice visual accompaniment to 'Slow Motion':

YouTube's Top Comments

I mentioned yesterday that I love YouTube's 'Top Comments' feature. Here's what YouTube has to say about Panda Bear:

Boneless

THIS SOUNDS JUST LIKE BRIAN WILSON TRAPPED IN THE FOREST TEMPLE IN OCARINA OF TIME

This is exactly what it sounds like. Hence the caps, I guess. 

Comfy In Nautica

I explained person pitch to a friend as sounding like what would happen if the beach boys scored the lion king. Accurate I think.

Another Brian Wilson comparison. Damn accurate though.

Take Pills: 

im high as shit...lol this musics tight

54 thumbs up. <3 the internet.

Red Roses and a Sky of Blue (Tornadoes song that Panda Bear samples for Bros):

can someone tell me how the FUCK you pick out a two second interval in an old ass song and make a mind blowing 13 minute song out of it?

I'd like to, but I'd probably end up just blathering on about warmth.

p.s. Not Panda Bear, but one of my favourite things on YouTube:

Top Commment: 

This would be the best video game ever! Fleet Foxes travels through enchanted forests escaping the grasps of evil tone deaf woodland creatures by hitting the perfect harmonies to turn them into new band mates!

Anna

'Anna', by the Swedish band Taken by Trees.

Panda Bear performs the harmonies. He starts softly (at around the two minute mark), then slowly 'Anna's' his way to the fore.

 

Top YouTube comment (I love that feature): 

yo panda you know how to harmonize a bitch

As nice as this song is however, there is another (much) better 'Anna'.

YouTube's top comment:

"Anna"....."girl before you go now" ........give me back all my shit

Song for Ariel/Guys Eyes.

A beautiful early version of Guys Eyes. Recorded live in Portugal in 2007:

Lisbon (again)

Earlier on, I mentioned that music critics often make note of how Panda Bear lives in Lisbon. There seems to be something to his sound that invokes the colours and warmth of such a city.

A piece from NPR notes another feature of Lisbon that seems to feature in his ouevre:

Tomboy also sports another trademark of Lennox's catalog: a cavernous sound heavy with reverberant echoes, much like those that occur naturally in the churches of Lisbon. Lennox says he's always been attracted to those big, hollow tones.

"These stone buildings that have really high ceilings ... it's always been a type of sound I've been drawn to," he says. "I kind of slap it on everything, unfortunately. Music just sounds really good to me in that kind of space."

Me too.

Tomboy.

Carrots (with Mitch Hedberg)

From Person Pitch,

I (like to) think the first line is a reference to Mitch Hedberg.

I was walking down the street with my friend and he said, "I hear music", as if there is any other way you can take it in. You're not special, that's how I receive it too. I tried to taste it but it did not work.

I was walking by a dry cleaner at 3 a.m., and it said "Sorry, we're closed." You don't have to be sorry. It's 3 a.m., and you're a dry cleaner. It would be ridiculous for me to expect you to be open. I'm not gonna walk by at ten a.m. and say, "Hey, I walked by at three, you guys were closed. Someone owes me an apology. This jacket would be halfway done!"

More Mitch:

 

Oh yeah, Panda Bear. Er,

Listen in between your notes,
There's something been going on while you were busy taking notes,
And look in between your moments,
There's something good happening,
It's good to sometimes slow it down.

Interview (4 questions and candy).

Joe: So what do you think of Panda Bear?

Tjalling: Panda bear makes my ears bleed candy coloured blood.

Joe: What do you make of this blog?
 
Tjalling: This blog is definitely not working the way it is intended to. It is however making me laugh at its absurdity and my fondness for Joe only grows.

Joe: Is Joe insane?

Tjalling: Yes.

Joe: Are you warming (!) to Panda Bear?

Tjalling: No. Cold.

Hmmm ... so I've managed to increase his "fondness" for me. If fondness was my intention, I would have created a photo-blog of myself in various fondness-inducing poses(watch this space!).

I do wonder though if TJ is (perhaps unconsciously)warming to Panda Bear. His ears bleed "candy coloured blood".

Surely these aren't bad colours.

Gummy (Panda?) Bears.

Feel the warmth!

Skateboards

Now, I'm no skater. But, Tjalling is.

Joe: Fightin' dirty!

 http://theskateboardmag.com/blogs/templeton-elliott/2011/04/25/alien-workshop-x-panda-bear/

If you're after a tune, I'm going to cheat and (re-)recommend 'Comfy in Nautica'

Why the repeat? 1) It might well be my favourite Panda Bear tune. 2) The accompanying video is of skateboarding.

Boy can dance!

Enough with the Samples!

"All right Joe, I accept that Panda Bear has some skill as a sampler, and that's fine, but I prefer music where it's just 4 guys in masks wailing, strumming and drumming".

Well ...

And the studio version:

Reason 10 (Boneless)

10 reasons already!

Well, they're not really reasons, rather 10 miscellaneous - but often related - posts on Panda Bear. From now on, they'll be named accordingly.

Anyway, something nice for #10:

Boneless 

 

Panda Bear's cover of The Notwist

Again, the original is a good tune. But oh, how he Panda Bears it.

Reason 9 (Last Night at the Jetty)

'Last Night at the Jetty'

I find this the stand out track from Tomboy (2011). It all comes together for me with the "I know" refrain.

I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know, I know ... I don't want to describe something that I'm not. I don't want to hide the hopes that I have. I want to enjoy what's meant to enjoy. Not try to find slights and slurs to employ

Reason 8 (2009's Sweetest Moment of Musical Bromance)

Enough with the warmth!

Let's have a song. I feel like something poppy today. As such, I've opted for Atlas Sound's 'Walkabout', featuring none other than our very own Panda Bear.

Enjoy "2009's sweetest moment of musical bromance" (Pitchfork); it's hard not to. 

Reason 7 (Warmth)

Palatable warmth continued:

As mentioned in the last two posts, I find that one of the ways in which Panda Bear (especially in Person Pitch) makes samples/tunes his own involves infusing them with warmth.

The following is a brief YouTube clip that shows the various samples that he uses in Person Pitch:

The music he samples is by itself great, but you can really feel the difference when you hear his versions.

Take 'Bros' for example (1:00 into the clip). He takes a great lick from The Tornadoes' 'Red Roses and a Sky of Blue', and whirls all sorts of noise and effects around it for the first 7 or so minutes of the song. This creates an atmosphere of warmth that renders the lick (if you'll allow me), 'Red Roses [, an Orange Haze, Gold Sun] and a Sky of Blue'.

Reason 6 (Lisbon)

Yesterday, I used the (somewhat cringe inducing) phrase "palatable warmth" to describe how Panda Bear makes Bach's tune his own.

Instead of shying away from this (again, fairly cringe-worthy) metaphor, I plan to dig deeper!

Warmth. Person Pitch was recorded in Lisbon, and (as reviewers have pointed out) the album evokes the reds, golds, and oranges of such a city.


To be continued ...

Reason 5 (Track 3)

Today, we step away from Person Pitch to look at (the untitled) 'Track 3' from Young Prayer:

A beautiful short instrumental piece. It's definitely reminiscent of Bach's 1076 Canon Triple Ex.

But, as always, Panda Bear makes it his own, adding (amongst other things) a palatable warmth to the tune.

Reason 4 (Bros)

Now that we've had a (lovely) facial interlude, it's time to return to Person Pitch.

Track 3, Bros:

I like Pitchfork's write up:

Freed from the strategic abrasions of Animal Collective, the solo Panda Bear quickly succumbs to pure loveliness. The epic "Bros" drifts through several movements, all vying to outdo the last with voluptuous prettiness. From sighing multi-tracked vocals to jewel-box loops to caramelized guitar riffs, each layer adds hypnotic depth to a song whose gorgeousness seems dangerously excessive from the start, a sugar-rush that might end in psychosis. Doubled-over with luscious detail, the swelling arrangement shimmers like the air above the pavement on a hot day, its hazy swirl achieving a completeness not likely to be recaptured by next year's inevitable throngs of imitators. --Tim Finney

Reason 3 (His Face)

His Face:

Reason 2 (Take Pills)

Still Person Pitch.

Take Pills: 

Like "The Beach Boys in a spaceship" (Jayne).

And so it begins ...

Person Pitch (2007).

Reason 1:

Comfy in Nautica: