They were among the second wave of groups to emerge from The Elephant 6 Recording Company and the group has a style that is typical of many Elephant 6 bands due to their interest in combining musical experimentation with the basic tenets of pop i.e. catchy melodies and sing-along choruses. The band’s style has been influenced by conventional indie pop, psychedelic music, vaudeville and music hall on their earlier releases and by afrobeat, funk, krautrock and reggae on their recent releases.
The band’s style has been known to change between albums. At first, the band embraced a more simple, quirky, lo-fi indie pop sound, which occasionally bordered on twee pop. The band was created by Kevin Barnes and named after a failed romance with a woman from Montreal, though the story changes in various interviews. Barnes was the only member of the “group” prior to his relocation to Athens, Georgia. There, he met Derek Almstead, later of Circulatory System, M Coast, Elf Power etc., and Bryan Poole, who also performs as The Late B.P. Helium.
Together, they recorded their first album, Cherry Peel, as well as The Bird Who Continues to Eat the Rabbit’s Flower and The Bedside Drama: A Petite Tragedy.
A number of singles and a re-release of The Bird Who Continues to Eat the Rabbit’s Flower occurred before the release of the band’s third album, The Gay Parade in 1999. With contributions from several members of the Elephant Six collective at the time, it also featured artwork from Kevin’s brother David Barnes, who would continue to do artwork for future albums.
This album marked that the band had moved to a fuller sound, which is also found on its follow-up, Coquelicot Asleep in the Poppies: A Variety of Whimsical Verse. These two albums contain more narrative lyrics, as opposed to the rather personal lyrical matter of those preceding it, and often imitating the style of old 1950s radio plays.
After production on The Gay Parade began in 1998, Poole left the band to focus on his duties with Elf Power, another Elephant Six band from Athens. Barnes also recruited Jamey Huggins and Dottie Alexander, who had been performing together as Lightning Bug vs. Firefly, to play various instruments. Derek moved from drums to bass. The band was joined soon after by Marshmallow Coast’s Andy Gonzales.
Following the release of The Gay Parade, the band signed with Kindercore Records, who would release a number of singles and compilations. It wasn’t until 2001 that Coquelicot Asleep in the Poppies: A Variety of Whimsical Verse would be released as a new album with original material. The album again featured contributions from across the Elephant 6 spectrum.
In 2002, Aldhils Arboretum was released, with a slightly different sound than its predecessors, as the songs were more directly structured. This album marks the beginning of the change in of Montreal’s sound, with more danceable rhythms than ever before, especially on the album’s closer, “Death Dance Of The Omipapas and Sons For You”. A successful tour ensued, including of Montreal’s first trip to the UK, along with a tour-only EP.
Kindercore Records would fold shortly after the release of Arboretum, and of Montreal’s status was also threatened. Kevin got married, and Andy and Derek left the band. Barnes, being uncomfortable with the unrest, as well as some divisions within the band, took to writing and performing their 2004 album Satanic Panic in the Attic mostly by himself. Released by Polyvinyl Records, it became one of their more successful efforts to that point. The 2004 tour saw The Late B.P. Helium (Bryan Poole) rejoin the band, with some bass played by Kevin’s partner Nina Barnes. The album marked a shift to something more electronic with traditional structures, to be further advanced in later albums and new songs. In their most recent releases and concerts, the band has fully embraced a sort of techno-pop glam image, with little of their previous incarnations surfacing. This style is featured in singles such as Disconnect the Dots. The style would continue to evolve into 2005’s The Sunlandic Twins, which was even more a Barnes solo effort. Recorded in Athens, with the exception of one track recorded in Norway, it was a much more pronounced electronic album. The album became a success, mostly due to the singles “So Begins Our Alabee” and the MTV clip for “Wraith Pinned to the Mist (and Other Games)”.
The band released several collections of singles in early 2006. Barnes recorded most of the band’s 2007 release, Hissing Fauna, Are You The Destroyer?, by himself while living in Norway and Athens, Georgia. The switch to autobiographical themes of suicide, depression and isolation of the album was a direct product of his troubled personal life during that period.
of Montreal released Skeletal Lamping on October 21, 2008 followed by False Priest on September 14, 2010, Paralytic Stalks on February 7, 2012, and Lousy with Sylvianbriar on October 8, 2013. Aureate Gloom is scheduled for release by Polyvinyl Records on March 3, 2015.
Lyrically, their style has changed dramatically throughout the years. In the beginning, many songs were narratives of personal or humorous situations, such as “Tim, I Wish You Were Born A Girl”, from Cherry Peel. This style, however, changed with The Gay Parade, where many songs involve small narratives surrounding invented characters (in songs such as “Jacques Lamure”, “The Autobiographical Grandpa”, “Mimi Merlot” and “Rose Robert”). Others act as extracts from fictional conversations (“Advice From a Divorced Gentleman to His Bachelor Friend Considering Marriage” and “Good Morning Mr. Edminton” as examples). With Aldhils Arboretum came a slight return to the previous writing style, except following more poppy, classical lyrical structures (such as the use of choruses, which are generally absent in the Gay Parade/Coquelicot years). This style continued throughout Satanic Panic and The Sunlandic Twins to some extent. On the album Hissing Fauna: Are You The Destroyer? the lyrics are much more personal than previously used, with songs detailing emotions within the speaker.
Another unique quality of the band is the fusion of ostensibly gloomy lyrics with bouncy, upbeat melodies and hooks. On Aldhils Arboretum, for example, the lyrics for tracks like “Doing Nothing” and “Old People in the Cemetery” focus on apathy, loneliness or death while being contrasted with cheerful instrumentation. Another example of this tendency is shown in their choice of covers; for example, Yoko Ono’s “I Felt Like Smashing my Head Through a Clear Glass Window” from The Bird Who Continues to Eat the Rabbit’s Flower.
True to the style of most Elephant 6 recording artists, of Montreal’s members have been in a variety of side projects and other bands:
The band itself has performed as the backing band for Marshmallow Coast on record and on tour.
My First Keyboard was the pseudonym used by Dottie Alexander to release the song “The You I Created” on the Kindercore singles club. of Montreal acted as her backing band.
Friends of Mine
of Montreal Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And you catch her eye
And then you both smile
I feel so good inside
And when I'm with her
She talks about you
The things that you say
The things that you do
It feels so good to know two people
So in love
So in love
They are friends of mine
They are friends of mine
And they've got something
It's so hard to find
They are friends of mine
They are friends of mine
And they've got something
You don't often find
She takes your hand
When the world stays outside
That's something to see
That's nothing to hide
And when I feel bad
When people disappoint me
That's when I need you two
To help me believe
It feels so good to know two people
So in love
So in love
They are friends of mine
They are friends of mine
And they've got something
It's so hard to find
They are friends of mine
They are friends of mine
And they've got something
You don't often find
It feels so good to know two people
So in love
So in love
They are friends of mine
They are friends of mine
And they've got something
It's so hard to find
They are friends of mine
They are friends of mine
And they've got something
You don't often find
Will and Laura
Jeff and Laura
Bill and Amy
Eric and Barbara
Janie and Kristie
Julian and Robbie
Bill and Miranda
Roxanne and Dave
Ah
, Friends of Mine by of Montreal is a song about the joy the singer feels when they witness two of their friends in love. The singer speaks about the moments when they catch the couple exchanging smiles or when they catch the woman talking about her partner. The singer acknowledges that it feels great to see two people in love and even more fantastic to know them both personally. The singer speaks about the bond that they share with the couple and how they turn to them for comfort when they are feeling low or when they are experiencing disappointment. The singer speaks in admiration of the love between two individuals that can be witnessed through simple gestures such as holding hands, and they remind the listener that these are the things that make life worth it.
The song seems to be an ode to love, but it goes beyond the experience of love that the singer is perhaps observing. It speaks about the importance of friendship in human life, and how it is something that we all yearn for. By witnessing the love of two friends, the singer is reminded of the beauty in life and love, which is something that they can hold onto when things are tough. The message of the song seems to be that love, in whatever form, is a precious thing, and we should all hope to have it in our lives.
Line by Line Meaning
When we're all in a crowd
In a social gathering where we all are.
And you catch her eye
When she looks at you with interest.
And then you both smile
You both exchange a happy smile.
I feel so good inside
I am overjoyed by this sight.
And when I'm with her
When I am in her company.
She talks about you
She shares things about you with me.
The things that you say
The words that come out of your mouth.
The things that you do
The actions that you take.
It feels so good to know two people
It is a wonderful thing to observe two people.
So in love
So deeply in love with each other.
They are friends of mine
I have the privilege of knowing them.
And they've got something
They possess something.
It's so hard to find
It is not often found.
She takes your hand
She holds your hand.
When the world stays outside
When everything else fades away.
That's something to see
It is a sight to behold.
That's nothing to hide
It is not something to keep secret.
And when I feel bad
When I am feeling down.
When people disappoint me
When people let me down.
That's when I need you two
That is when I require your presence.
To help me believe
To restore my faith.
Will and Laura
The names of two people.
Jeff and Laura
The names of two people.
Bill and Amy
The names of two people.
Eric and Barbara
The names of two people.
Janie and Kristie
The names of two people.
Julian and Robbie
The names of two people.
Bill and Miranda
The names of two people.
Roxanne and Dave
The names of two people.
Ah
Expression of satisfaction or joy.
Lyrics © OBO APRA/AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Belch
this is a wicked cover
Rika Y
nice. sounding alike and yet unique.
Mox A
Great Zombies cover!!!
Dylan Falk
Jaeden Anderson I never knew it was a cover. Thanks for sharing
Obed Ojeda
Awsome
Gal Beeri
great :]
Andrea
This is the MLG song
station shelter
hey wikipedia said of montreal also covered Care of Cell 44? does anyone know where to find that?
Whippledip96
pretty sure it was just a live thing, there is a take away show version of it
shaolin_shaman
sethraptor Lmao came here looking for the same thing!!