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.
Tim
of Montreal Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
So I could've been your boyfriend
I know it's not possible now
I just never met a girl I like half as much as you
And we could lay around in bed, stay there all day
Or at least until the afternoon
And I could make you spaghetti with tomato sauce
And then when you got sick
I could take the day off work
I could've made you chicken soup
And we could watch soap operas
Oh, those TV dramas
I could catch your cold
And you could take care of me
If I could've met you at school, or met you at work
It would have changed everything
Those years of losing, confusion and insecurity
They would have been shared
They would have been easier
Tim, wish you were born a girl
So I could've been your fiance
I'm not saying you can't be all these things for me
But it's just not the same because you're a man
And so am I
The lyrics of of Montreal's song Tim talk about a yearning for a love that could have been, if only the person being addressed had been born a girl instead of a boy. The singer expresses their attraction towards Tim, convinced that they have never liked a girl as much as they like them. They imagine a life they could have had together, spending lazy days in bed or taking care of each other when sick. The idea of being able to change the difficulties and hardships in their life through love is prevalent throughout the song.
However, the singer becomes aware that their love for Tim may never come to fruition since both of them are men. Despite the fact that Tim could be all the things they want for themselves, it's just not the same since they are both men. The song, in its somewhat melancholic tone, laments the limitations that society imposes on love based on gender.
Overall, the song Tim is reflective of the reality of love, wherein we cannot always have what we want, and our desires are sometimes limited by societal expectations. It creates a thoughtful and poignant image of love that is deeply evocative and resonates with people in different ways.
Line by Line Meaning
Tim, wish you were born a girl
I wish you had a different gender identity so I could have been your romantic partner
So I could've been your boyfriend
I want to have a relationship with you, but because we have the same gender identity, I cannot be your boyfriend
I know it's not possible now
I understand that it is not possible for us to have a romantic relationship due to our gender identities
I just never met a girl I like half as much as you
You are the person I have been most attracted to, and I have not found anyone else who I feel the same way about
And we could lay around in bed, stay there all day
We could spend time together and be intimate without any other distractions or obligations
Or at least until the afternoon
We could spend a relaxed, lazy morning together without having to worry about any other responsibilities
And I could make you spaghetti with tomato sauce
I would enjoy cooking for you and taking care of you in this way
With just a touch of oregano and a parsley stem
I appreciate the small details in making a meal that would make it special for you
And then when you got sick
If you were ever not feeling well or needed help, I would want to be there for you
I could take the day off work
I would prioritize taking care of you over my other responsibilities
I could've made you chicken soup
I would want to make you feel better and help you recover from any illness or discomfort
And we could watch soap operas
We could spend time together and enjoy something that we both find entertaining or amusing
Oh, those TV dramas
We could make light of TV dramas and have a good time together
I could catch your cold
I would not shy away from getting sick if it meant that I could take care of you
And you could take care of me
You would also be there for me and take care of me when I needed it
If I could've met you at school, or met you at work
If we had met in a different context, perhaps at school or work, things might have been different
It would have changed everything
Our meeting in a different context could have a significant impact on our relationship and the course of our lives
Those years of losing, confusion and insecurity
I have had difficulties and struggles in my life, particularly with my romantic relationships, that meeting you could have alleviated
They would have been shared
We could have shared our struggles and supported each other through difficult times
They would have been easier
Having each other to rely on could have made our past struggles less difficult
Tim, wish you were born a girl
I am still struggling with my attraction to you and wishing that we could be in a different kind of relationship
So I could've been your fiance
If we could have a romantic relationship, I would want to take it further and become engaged to you
I'm not saying you can't be all these things for me
Even though we cannot be in a romantic relationship, I still value our friendship and connection
But it's just not the same because you're a man
I am struggling with my sexuality and feeling guilty about my attraction to you because of our gender identity, which is preventing me from being fully happy in our friendship
Lyrics © Kobalt Music Publishing Ltd.
Written by: KEVIN BARNES
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind