Derek and the Guilt of Neglect
Strawberry Jam by Animal Collective has become one of my new favorite albums, making the group among one of my favorite bands. It serves a perfect prelude into Merriwether and their newer material that can be heard in their shows: it retains the edge that their earlier, more experimental albums had while becoming clearer in musical aspects such as lyrics, vocalization, and idea. While Merriwether (as beautiful as it was) did serve as their pure pop album, their new material points to a return to the mystique that Strawberry Jam and earlier albums executed so well.
Much of Strawberry Jam is incredibly haunting to me: The ominous imagery of "Peacebone" which paints mental images of monsters, explosions, death, and, strangely enough, food, a consistent theme throughout the song (on an album titled after a common breakfast item); "Unsolved Mystery"'s allusion to Jack the Ripper; the tragic tale Avey Tare spins of his self-alienation from those he loves due to (my guess) mind altering drugs (but possibly from the constant stresses of his musical career) in "Cuckoo Cuckoo". Yet one of the most haunting songs to me is often perceived as a sweet ode to loving those you care for (which could make a good contrast as "Cuckoo" precedes it): "Derek."
I find Derek so haunting because of the chosen sonic atmosphere to accompany Panda Bear's vocals (which always reminded me of Scotland or Ireland), which begins with a consistent rattle and some psychedelic washy melody things (that's what i'll call them); the rattle is also slightly washy, possibly underwater. When the vocals kick in, there are these sounds that make me think of something rushing by, or dropping. As the song progresses, there is this urgent sound that comes into play, like the wind from a storm raging outside. It grows louder until the rattle accompanies a stomping bass rhythm, and the narrator inquires the child “What do you see when you see inside of me?” and promising safety with “You can count on me.”
Originally, my ladyfriend first proposed this theory by bringing up the regret at the core of the question for the child whom probably cannot speak, and also with the consistent rattle in the background. I expanded on this with the idea that the rattle and accompanying sounds have such a washed sound to symbolize drowning out the needs and presence of the child; the sound of raging wind could also symbolize the narrator’s inner shelter from the harsh weather outside (or cold reality he wishes to ignore/avoid).
The stomping of the second section could also liken to the subconscious knocking in Shakespeare’s Macbeth, in the sense that it is a hallucinated sound spawned by his own guilt and anxiety, which would force the narrator to the door leading him to reality, and to reflect upon himself through his child’s eyes.
A final subtle detail that I find lyrically supports our thesis is that the narrator begins the song with a short reminiscence of a dog he had as a child:
We had a white and blackish sheltie had a name when we first got him
I wish I had taken better care of him but he had it ok
Now I’ll admit, I misinterpreted a few of the lyrics upon early listenings; in this certain section, I mistook “had a name” for “ran away”; but the greater idea holds up. The fact that the narrator brings up a dog, whose name he has since forgotten, whom he quite possibly mistreated (that seconds line ends in an apathetic tone to me) in a song about a child he is now raising raises intrigue as to what the finer print could entail or hidden meaning could be (such as comparing the child to a dog); especially when coupled with the sonic atmosphere previously explained.
Tl; Dr: Take Panda Bear’s children away from him.
I’d like to dedicate this passage to my aforementioned ladyfrand, Valerie, whom acts as the greatest inspiration in how I think and write. You can thank her for anything written here, she is my muse.