Wide Eyed

Album: Centipede Hz (2012)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • This sprawling slice of electronic raga features all four members of the band in the same room, playing together at the same time. "We haven't done something so aggressive for some time, Noah "Panda Bear" Lennox told NME. "We were all crammed into a small room with the amps pointed at us. I was playing drums in the middle prompting people to crank it up. It definitely felt more like a unified expression rather than something that was pierced together from four individual characters."
  • Centipede Hz saw the return of Josh 'Deakin' Dibb to Animal Collective, after he sat out of the recording and touring of Merriweather Post Pavilion. This psychedelic tune finds him dispensing cryptic observations as he reflects on both the difficulties of living and his attempts at getting past them. "Though I'm overwhelmed at times. I find I'm less afraid of change," he sings. It marks the first Animal Collective song where Deakin sings lead vocals.
  • Deakin admitted to eMusic that it "felt challenging" being the principal songwriter on an Animal Collective cut. "These guys were really psyched about it," he said. "When I brought it up to them, they were like, 'Do it.' I was already working on the song. It was one of the first songs we actually worked on, and they were all psyched on it, so I felt really easy and safe just to try it. It's definitely a new thing, in a good way. I'd always experienced, like, Dave having a song and Noah having a song. It was interesting to be the one who wrote the song, and have someone like Dave being like, 'I think this sounds really good,' and me being like, 'I know, but it's not quite right.' It's a good perspective."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Does Jimmy Page Worship The Devil? A Look at Satanism in Rock

Does Jimmy Page Worship The Devil? A Look at Satanism in RockSong Writing

We ring the Hell's Bells to see what songs and rockers are sincere in their Satanism, and how much of it is an act.

Julian Lennon

Julian LennonSongwriter Interviews

Julian tells the stories behind his hits "Valotte" and "Too Late for Goodbyes," and fills us in on his many non-musical pursuits. Also: what MTV meant to his career.

Leslie West of Mountain

Leslie West of MountainSongwriter Interviews

From the cowbell on "Mississippi Queen" to recording with The Who when they got the wrong Felix, stories from one of rock's master craftsmen.

Country Song Titles

Country Song TitlesFact or Fiction

Country songs with titles so bizarre they can't possibly be real... or can they?

Mick Jones of Foreigner

Mick Jones of ForeignerSongwriter Interviews

Foreigner's songwriter/guitarist tells the stories behind the songs "Juke Box Hero," "I Want To Know What Love Is," and many more.

The Girl in That Song

The Girl in That SongFact or Fiction

Billie Jean, Delilah, Sara, Laura and Sharona - do you know who the girls in the songs really are?