Of Montreal - The Past is a Grotesque Animal

[ssNeutralsss]

But at least I author my own disaster........

[Blanketeyes]

Kevin Barnes wrote this song when his girlfriend left (due to Kevins drug parade) back to norway with his child. It is about his experience of that, along with the song "Heimsdalgate like a primethean curse" too.

[hippygroovster]

this song is so beautiful and intense

[Mythicalmonstre]

Pretty much the only song that truley gets into my head and matches my psyche.

[howsit]

lollipop

[dorukguralp]

My funeral song.



[kaleidoscopeeyes9896]

I want to float through the words and leave this universe behind

[videodrug]

ouuuhouuuuhouuuuu ouhouuuu houuuuuuu houuuuhouuuuuu

[lesouder2222]

If you re-upload now, you can put up the full version. Please do!!!!

[zappaNRW]

Somehow you've red-rovered the gestapo circling my heart

[AnimalsSuperCute]

Love your video.

[Eggnogg583]

The buildup on this song is amazing.

[koolkillax]

The start is so epic as it builds up! XD

[banana1337kivi]

i've read the book that is mentioned in the lyrics. its a book about a very passionate, but twisted exibitionist couple which enjoys pissing on each other. its a very sexually explicit book, haven't ever read anything like it.

[pulsarcolosal]

@banana1337kivi you mean "story of the eye"?



[banana1337kivi]

@pulsarcolosal yes

[TheKickasskatie]

ok, if i had to make a top 5 list of my all time favorite songs, this would be one of the top 2. it has everything! the sound, the mood, the length, and the LYRICS! THE LYRICS! i find some wonderful new part everytime i listen to it <3

[imgaston]

@TheKickasskatie I hope you don't mind me asking, what would be the other one in your Top 2?

[WHOTHAFUCK]

wtf is this shit?

[lucasglucasg]

WOW!!!! How is it possible that a song can make you feel like this?

So good when it can feel so bad!?!?!

F*cken incredible tune!!!!! I dont think these lyrics + tune can ever be beaten.

So glad many people share this view.

[subversiv]

why is the 11 minute long song only 10 minutes long in your version ;-)

[HaydenGuerry]

MY ALL TIME FAVORITE SONG

[TheGiantRabbit]

ohh the start is intense

[zetterburger]

This song flows so well

[antidoteco]

intense and dark ...LOVE IT !

[angrymurmurs]

I think these are the same lyrics for another of Montreal song, but I can't remember the name for the life of me.

[tishima100]

fucking love Bataille and the story of the eye and of Montreal and this song omfggg

[cassandrasmodernlife]

we are here witness of all the things that can surprise us become atrocious or scare us, there is always simple beauty in the world, and in all of us. i hope for real love simple love to bathe the earth. i vision daily that touching the ground sends a light through everyones feet on this planet turning them blue and transparent. this is my gift for the earth to connect the grid, to give everyone a chance. fuck it if im going to be subject to view it and hold still any longer.

[zabant11]

this is poetry !

[Bahaspoontown1]

god damn this cinnamon toast is blowing my mind

[senameba]

not healthy, loved the description

[Ares207]

@graham6419 Ha, yeah that line always got me, too. Yet, I think it adds to the narrative of the song because it's in past tense and honest. We can all reflect upon a time in our lives where we were assholes.

[graham6419]

it is quite pretentious

"I fell in love with the first cute girl that I met

who could appreciate Georges Bataille"

I think the only person he is in love with is himself

[hyperspaceboy20]

@graham6419 "Other people's vanity offends us only when it offends our vanity" - Nietzsche

[Japantiem]

@graham6419

Goerges Bataille is a really fucked up author... it's not classical literature. It's not really that pretentious.

[TheKickasskatie]

this brings back painful memories of a recent breakup, but i wont let that fucker take away my favorite band!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!­!!!

[ineedyourclothes]

@TheKickasskatie Fuck yeah!

[intohysterics]

I fucking love this song so much..

[offfify]

" It's so embarrassing to need someone like I do you How can I explain, I need you here and not here too ..... I'm flunking out, I'm flunking out, I'm gone, I'm just gone But at least I author my own disaster .... Performance breakdown and I don't want to hear it I'm just not available Things could be different but they're not ... Though our love project has so much potential But it's like we weren't made for this world (Though I wouldn't really want to meet someone who was) ..."

[Betwixtego]

@offfify Sooo good: "But at least I author my own disaster" 

[Fluttershyz]

I'm here ;s

[ItsAxeI]

makes me cry but gives me joy in a bitter way

[loosemeatbeef]

could have ended it properly, eh. Geez.

[chazaq101]

I'm diging the theremin. Check out a band called The Octupus Project. Good Stuff Also!

[Bidjje]

@chazaq101 a very cool keyboard sound but not a theremin.

[lablakelydress]

This song is being reissued as a 12" for Record Store Day this year :) Just thought I should let some of you folks who are also enjoying it know

[SinisterSquirl]

The most ingenious, powerful and meaningful lyrics ever written or sung.

[hkristofer]

oooh oooh oooh

[MindlessFan2012]

Me: Kevin, have you ever wanted to be anything other than a musician?

Kevin Barnes: I wanted to be a fisherman but i can't because i'm a f**king genius.

[4zion4life]

Please recommend some more similar songs! Enough for at least an hour of listening (the rest of this album is nothing compared to this song)

[TyphoidExcel]

Musical Crack?

[mestupkid185]

i was crying by about the 5 minute mark. this is just fantastic and i feel like i can relate to every lyric. really reached deep into my soul and made me realize some shit about myself, that frankly, i didn't want to realize.

[comeonboeltsy]

fastest and best twelve minutes of my day. wow.

[yquemasdas]

i need u here, and not here too!!!!

[veddoo84]

i've listened to this song, over and over and over again for 4 days now... can't help myself!

[intohysterics]

Sometimes I like to come out of the shower naked in my towl sitting back in my chair with my feet up and sing this song with my eyes closed.

[o0FallingSnow0o]

@intohysterics Marry me?

[Khristian3500]

I fell in love with the first cute girl that I met :/

[EWITSLIZLOL]

@Khristian3500 Just as I read this, I heard it in the song at the same time, and I was like "o.o"

[cinder1fk4n3ella]

this is crazy brilliant ♥

[murgaferd]

this song explains so much of a time period in my life...o mr. barnes....o my goodness of montreal...this SONG it hurts SO GOOD!

[Domino014]

If you like the song, you should read the book.

[silversundash]

@Domino014 what book? sorry for the ignorance

[gingerbreaddice]

@silversundash == "story of the eye" in the third stanza.

[pulsarcolosal]

@Domino014 yeah, what book?

[Domino014]

@pulsarcolosal Sorry. "The story of the eye" by Georges Bataille

[TheEliseisonfire]

@Domino014 What book?

[purifyz]

over and over and over again, can't stop, somebody help me!

[cunz06]

LETS TEAR OUR FUCKING BODIES APART!!!

[limanfl09]

@PierLucGagnon it was good for me, too

[PierLucGagnon]

EJACULATION

[antidoteco]

love this song !

[ScarletttCat]

To imagine how he does actally feel when playing this song gives me the creeps.

[EonBlueThirdEye]

wow this were better 10 minutes of my day

[sirmacbain]

I have literally ran several hundred miles listening to this song. Energetic, uplifting, but smooth ... its zen energy you can channel with the click of a button.

[pillorylike]

who the fuck disliked this?

[Anon7771]

@pillorylike 14 faggots?

[TheMrPindarus]

@pillorylike 21 Grotesque Animals

[HimynameisKegan]

@pillorylike Someone who doesn't read descriptions

[hemorrhoidprime]

career definer

[luter82]

anybody knows and can tell me if this song is about the famous girl "of Montreal"?

[6MolarSarahtonin]

@luter82 It's not. It's about Kevin's wife. Or rather, their relationship. It was falling apart at the time of writing this song, hence the regret of the past and whatnot.

[SaintJimmey]

@luter82 Gemini Tactics :3

[TeflonFelon]

those 12 dislikes are probably from justin bieber fans.

[Informatisse]

@TeflonFelon

Or probably they became mad when at 10:00 the music sudently stopped -_-

This is INSANE to ruin a monster-piece like that.

[pencildives]

@TeflonFelon Shut the fuck up about Justin Bieber.

[Drcman95]

@TeflonFelon Probably not, you're a fucking hipster by the way.

[coolguynuked]

I fell in love with the first cute girl that I met.... who could appreciate of montreal....

[bergbryce]

Holy chit this song is so amazing

[JahVision1]

Nice

[PimpMasterZ]

its like a tour de force through the human experience that, as any great work does, makes you question the foundations of everything we are and everything we know, and you shit your pants, and you despair, and you cry because its so awful that it is true beauty

[robinheil]

Youtube totally pulled a "I Want You (She's so Heavy)" with the ten-minute limit.

BEATLES REFERENCE

[lovingthebabyj6]

@robinheil hahah i like the refrence <3

[NothingCant]

but no matter where we are, we're always touching by underground wires.

[dramataes]

this is "to-cry-for" beautiful or beyond... damn, i want to make love now

[beccajs]

amazing song!

[Gurufail]

this is pretty god

[AnonCount]

Greatest song by them

[emiepie15]

Kevin Barnes smashed his guitar at the end of this song in their show in Montreal. Made my life. Most beautiful moment of the whole concert.

[DiscardedHarmony]

*hits replay* -song ends- *hits replay again*

[CMBlue]

What a candidly fucked up and raw lyrical performance. It's beautiful almost to see him spiral into every mistake and detail of how he feels and just spill it all on the canvas for all to see.

[tnayem]

@akropiss actually, they're called of Montreal because kevin barnes once dated a girl of Montreal

[batrachoid]

The lyrics are obnoxious, but what excellent musicmaking.

[murilopolla]

@batrachoid what's obnoxious about it??

[littlepinkniki]

this is one of the best songs ever written - hands down. *love*

[coolguynuked]

this is the most powerfully written song I've ever listened to

[andinoble]

This is fantastic. I has heard it once a party but the party host had no idea who sang it because it was just a random track on a copied compilation CD. Then I was talking to a friend about "The Story of the Eye" novel by Georges Bataille and she said she knows a song that mentions the book and now I know who has done this. Relief, now I can listen to this all day...

[FractalZero]

First and only song i've heard by this band and i am blown away.

[sleepingkoalaify]

this song expresses so many emotions in such a haunting way, once you get into it there is no way out. absolutely mindblowing, thank you for creating this unbelievable masterpiece. an all time classic among very few!

[zukuzukuzukuzuku]

You know, one of my friends tried really hard to get me into Of Montreal, and they used this song as a goad. I still don't really like Of Montreal per se, but I admit this song is OFF THE FUCKING CHAIN! I try to listen to it once every month or so.

[neverpickitup]

I hate them because I always wanted to make music like this and they did it first...

[papercutvideo]

hey guys! If you guys are into new music, please check out our channel and take a listen to our tracks. We're a PopSynth duo from Houston, Texas. thanks! :)

[wganswgg]

10 minutes of musical bliss

[ofwhatilove]

so true this song has seemed to taken over my life and then creeped on over to all my friends.

[tuhuguito]

Fresh sound!!!!! Great lyrics!!!!!!!!!

[stuffwithfluff]

this song, and dozens of his, are genius. kevin barnes is my hope for some good modern music

[snorpan]

I've made this song a must listen, whenever I'm drunk. It just let's all the emotion out of me, somehow. Can't explain it.

Fantastic song, though.

[justateardropaway]

o my god. memories. thats hard. but well, best song <3 very deep lyrics. if you hear it to the right time ... unbelievably. yeah, it made me a little bit confused^^

[agenera10]

I love that this song is ten minutes. Ten minutes well spent

[omgitscait]

And I don't wanna hear it... I'm just not available!

[vfebm]

like every piece of lyrics from this song is absolutly brilliant. " no matter where we are, We're always touching by underground wires", "Sometimes I wonder if you're mythologizing me like I do you", "It's so embarrassing to need someone like I do you

How can I explain, I need you here and not here too". its fucking amazing.

[mikelostre]

one of the best songs of the 00's..

[agenera10]

@mikelostre very much agreed. if not the best

[heroesytumbas]

this song is so beautiful and energetic

[carla1754]

Absoloute genius. Ten minutes of brilliance.

[tatanosmusic1125]

i think this was one of the best 10 minutes of my life.

[electriclimits]

the cruelty is so predictable it makes you sad on the stage.

[HollywoodHit]

most amazing song i've ever heard.

[marinerx10]

Bloody Brilliant!

[fknfade]

fucking genius indeed.

[Nemmet]

every single line from this song is quotable. the lyrics and music are absolutely fucking genius. how kevin barnes can put out such consistently great records as fucking dense as satanic panic and hissing fauna is beyond me.

[insneruberduk28]

@Nemmet

I completely agree

[biancaangel]

ayy yoo ayy ooO!

[HeidiLoveUall]

The lyrics of this song is cutting like a sharp knife through all the blurred thick mixed up stuff that is our world.

[ApplePickingAaron]

i fucking love of montreal

[Grete02]

aaah, perfect!

[Snarlez]

Is me or does does this tune reminds you Of Zelda 64's Dadongos Dungeon level? Of course I mean the music but wow. Listen to this song and play the Level and Mind blown. the guitar skreech Is just like the music In Dadongos cave. The odd thing Is im playing a game from the past...

[spoonradar]

yeah, cuz u can totally play a game from the future. that definitely is quite ironic.

[chente142]

lol

[godzillainmyshoebox]

haha dude i wish i could play that game i dont even know where to buy one of those anymore. that game is amazing listening to of montreal while playing it would be a treat too haha

[StanLozengcock]

some songs should be 11 minutes long

[StephenGBrown]

Let's tear this shit apart. Let's tear the fuckin house apart.

[PhengisKahn]

lets tear our fucking bodies apart

[BigWednesdayBurger]

utter shit

[Cameron1501]

your utter shit

[BigWednesdayBurger]

how dare you. do you know who the fuck ur talking to punk. i'll punch ur neck so hard it'll snap in half. nigga

[HarmonicSquire]

I'm sorry but I can't respect, acknowledge, or attempt to validate anything written by someone who voluntarily goes by the handle "wcwnitroguy"

[subduedsuperdude]

"handle"? lol.

Even Radio Shack doesn't sell CB radios anymore, welcome to the 21st century HarmonicSquire!

[deadbeat44]

Lyrical genius...

[ScarletttCat]

this is absolutly hypnotic. and yes, every single sentence is brilliant...

[sciamano899]

never tires me...the slow crescendo is so worth its 10 minutes. plus, each sentence is unique, brilliant and dark.

[Michellici0uz]

Lovinn' it!! <3

Bravo0!

[Snarlez]

can I marry you?

[Michellici0uz]

haha well, c'mon!! marry me xD

[confuciuscubed]

It's not bad, but it doesn't have enough variety for how long it is. The guitar and drum loop drives me crazy after about 5 minutes.

[Questpeace]

Shhh, you speaking as if your opinion is fact.

[confuciuscubed]

I don't see the part where I said my opinion was fact. In fact, I said that it drives ME crazy, which I would think indicates that it is my opinion. You are all welcome to love this song without me joining the circle jerk.

I know this is the internet, so everyone feels they need a disclaimer on everything but you folks are smart enough to know that when it comes to music, nobody speaks for everyone.

I said it's not bad. Call off the opinion police; I know my opinions are not fact!

[chente142]

it's funny you mention that, kevin barnes songs are usually CRAZY in how intricate and unique the arrangements and chord progressions are. which makes this song stick out: it's one long krautrock drone.

you should try listening to this whole album. give it a chance.

[jonkre]

Chills. :]

[BossNuggz]

at first, i thought "things could be different, but theyre not" sounded so redundant, but wow it really actually makes a point

[arbereagle666]

magnifique! j'adore les paroles de cette chanson.

[valgehiir]

massive, massive tune