of Montreal is an indie pop band which formed in Athens, Georgia, United St… Read Full Bio ↴of Montreal is an indie pop band which formed in Athens, Georgia, United States in 1997. The band is fronted by Kevin Barnes, who writes, composes, and plays most of the music for his albums.

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.

Georgie's Lament
of Montreal Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

I can only get it up for you
It doesn't work for any other girl
I can only get it up for you

Introduce a demonic symbol
A bayonet to the ear, yes that's perfect
Make me over meta human
You asymmetrical editors to fantasies of slave uprisings

I'll try to match your enthusiasm for Franco-diversions

I put down my book at a disturbing chapter
It put the feather in my mind but it's not what I'm after
I'm just looking for some mystic inspiration

Caution flag, accident ahead

The tank in my visionaries blocked out half the sound
We are blind to our pillars until they lift our independence
Caution me if I'm going back to the minor keys
Still I await your long exposure

I had you pricks in mind when I was having this dream
If you really cared about me
You wouldn't flirt with my parole officer
No, you wouldn't scratch my Isaac Hayes
Now my cock is so torn up about it
Yeah my cock is so torn up about it
And I had you pricks in mind when I was having this dream

If you really cared about me
You wouldn't hide my stash
You wouldn't flush my Billy Gee Williams

And my cock is so torn up about it
Yeah my cock is so torn up about it
Now my cock is so torn up about it
Yeah my cock is so torn up about it
And I had you pricks in mind when I was having this dream

Sold my favourite kid into slavery
Sold my most beloved child to the street
Everybody hated me for it but they don't even count
Why should I care how they feel
When they're not even cool to me

It's a party
It's a party
There ain't nobody here but me
There ain't nobody here but me
It's a party
Yeah, It's a party
There ain't nobody here but me
All my friends are sick at home watching tv

It's a party
Yeah, yeah, it's a party

Overall Meaning

The song Georgie's Lament by of Montreal is a complicated and multi-layered piece of art. The lyrics seem to be a mix of self-reflection, self-destruction, and self-sabotage. The repetitive line "I can only get it up for you" is both an admission of sexual desire and a reference to the idea that the singer can only create art when focused on one person, someone who is likely not present. The first verse is followed by a set of dark and cryptic lines, introducing a demonic symbol and the concept of being edited into a fantasy slave uprising. The lyric "caution flag, accident ahead" suggests that something dangerous or destructive is about to occur.

The second part of the song seems to focus on the singer's concerns with their creative process and the people in their life who are either holding them back or dragging them down. The lyric "I put down my book at a disturbing chapter, it put the feather in my mind but it's not what I'm after, I'm just looking for some mystic inspiration" suggests that the singer is struggling to find inspiration in their current reality and is instead chasing a mystical, unreachable muse. The final lines, "It's a party, There ain't nobody here but me, All my friends are sick at home watching TV" are a bleak depiction of loneliness and isolation, suggesting that the singer's artistic pursuits have isolated them from the people in their life.

Line by Line Meaning

I can only get it up for you
I am sexually attracted to only you and not any other woman.

Introduce a demonic symbol
Bring forth darkness and evil.

A bayonet to the ear, yes that's perfect
Violently harm myself aurally, as a form of pleasure and perfection.

Make me over meta human
Transform me into a powerful entity beyond human capabilities.

You asymmetrical editors to fantasies of slave uprisings
You who control and manipulate images and stories, fueling my imagination of slave revolts.

I'll try to match your enthusiasm for Franco-diversions
I will attempt to keep up with your energy and dedication to distractions from reality as Franco's Spain.

I put down my book at a disturbing chapter
I paused reading as I reached an upsetting part of the book.

It put the feather in my mind but it's not what I'm after
It sparked some inspiration, but not what I was looking for.

I'm just looking for some mystic inspiration
I seek something spiritually enchanting to inspire me.

Caution flag, accident ahead
Warning of upcoming danger or negative occurrences.

The tank in my visionaries blocked out half the sound
The armor I created to protect my imagination has limited my access to reality.

We are blind to our pillars until they lift our independence
We are unaware of our own sources of strength until they are threatened.

Caution me if I'm going back to the minor keys
Alert me if I'm returning to depressing or negative thoughts.

Still I await your long exposure
Despite this, I am still eagerly anticipating your extended company and influence.

I had you pricks in mind when I was having this dream
I imagined and included you as characters in my dream,

If you really cared about me
If you truly had concern for my well-being,

You wouldn't flirt with my parole officer
You would not engage in romantic or sexual advances towards my parole officer, as an act of disrespect towards me.

No, you wouldn't scratch my Isaac Hayes
You would not damage or sabotage my belongings, specifically my Isaac Hayes record, which holds value to me.

Now my cock is so torn up about it
Now I feel deeply troubled and upset by this.

Sold my favourite kid into slavery
I metaphorically betrayed something dear to me by subjecting it to oppressive forces.

Sold my most beloved child to the street
I carelessly abandoned something I held in high regard to dangers on the streets.

Everybody hated me for it but they don't even count
I received criticism for my actions, but it is disregarded by me as it comes from unimportant people.

Why should I care how they feel
I have no reason or inclination to empathize with their emotions or opinions.

When they're not even cool to me
They do not meet my standards of worthiness to be given attention.

There ain't nobody here but me
I am alone at this gathering.

All my friends are sick at home watching tv
My peers are uninterested or too ill to participate in this event.

It's a party
I am trying to force the idea of celebrating and having fun.

Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: KEVIN BARNES

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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