I’m afraid you’re never satisfied
Song of 7/02/10: Animal by Neon Trees. So many things to say that I don’t even know where to begin. First of all: What are the changes of two cute female drummers in two days? Is it too late for me to have a future as a drummer? They make it look so much fun, seriously different from male drummers. It might be the boobs. Regardless, kind of cool. Second of all: I first heard this song through, and this is kind of embarrassing, the iphone game tap tap. It’s really hard to take the songs on that game seriously but this song is actually really good. I keep listening to it (and it’s my favorite song to play on the game) and I like the fluidity of the song, everything seems to mesh really well. It’s not separate pieces of a simple song, it’s a blend of complex beats and riffs and a nice voice.
Let’s just talk for a moment about the idea of being featured in an iPhone game that’s a mix of Dance Dance Revolution and Guitar Hero. I think that it’s really easy to think that it’s weird or a cop out to actually advertising yourself (although it seems like Neon Trees had no problem with that) but I really think it’s genius. They are able to reach an entire audience, the iPhone, game playing, music loving, nerd. I may not have heard about this song and when I finally did I probably would have passed it up because I didn’t know about it or hadn’t heard it or a million of others excuses I would have made not to listen to the song. But, playing it on Tap Tap I actually had to listen carefully to it and get into the beat and examine what I thought about the song. It’s bouncy in a subtle way (definite patterns and beats but nothing too obviously over the top) and I think that’s pretty cool. It’s probably why it’s so catchy and I can dig it. Plus, then I already have good memories associated with the song (playing it while sitting on the sidewalk on Santa Monica Blvd waiting for Aurora’s car to be fixed, alternating between giggling hysterically and being really serious at the cars passing by or just taking the waiting really seriously. We’re kind of nerds like that). So it’s fun to listen to and it makes me smile.
Now for a more cosmetic look at the band and the music video. I didn’t know what Neon Trees looked like and I have to say I’m kind of surprised. They have more of a rockabilly look to them with the outfits and the hair but the song is very not. To me the song is more indie alternative and their look actually kind of confused me. Plus, they’re good at indie alternative, which I think is cool but definitely not what I was expecting. I do, however, think their wild side come more out in the music video. I love the fact that they began trashing the art show. I know that I wouldn’t like it if it were a real art show with real art and such but knowing it’s a music video, it’s kind of fun to watch the bad asses be bad asses.
Regardless of cosmetics or anything, this is a fun video and a fun song. I approve.
Tags: 365 Project, Animal, Neon Trees, song of the day