Of Monsters And Men's My Head Is An Animal

This article also appears on Ground Control


For Iceland’s Of Monsters And Men, there was a very small amount of time between winning a battle of the bands competition (Iceland’s Músiktilraunir) and capturing international attention. First formed in 2010 as a duo between Nanna Bryndís Hilmarsdóttir and Ragnar “Raggi” Þórhallsson, the band had expanded to include four other members and produced a number one hit in their home country within a year. That hit, “Little Talks,” became the lead single on the Reykjavík band’s full-length stateside debut, My Head Is An Animal.

With the resurgence of pop-folk led by the likes of Mumford & Sons, Edward Sharpe And The Magnetic Zeroes, and The Head And The Heart, it seems Of Monsters And Men’s success is owed to being in the right place at the right time – at least in some part. My Head Is An Animal trades on folk elements, but gives off a pop sheen; it’s full of whimsical and earthy lyrics delivered by traded male/female vocals, acoustic guitar, and tambourine-backed shouts of “hey!” 

The album’s opening track, “Dirty Paws” plays like a fable from Aesop, it’s lyrics mentioning forests, queen bees, and furry friends, backed by the chanting of “lalala”s. Natural elements – waterfalls, seagulls, mountains – pop up in much of the first half of the album, while the second half seems to focus on songs of love and romance. 

The album may be at its most exciting when its pace is turned up. On “Mountain Sound” the vocals are rousing – all the band’s members chime in – and the tone upbeat, making it feel a little like Givers’ “Saw You First.” “Six Weeks” opens with a chant and a marching beat, its pace quickens half-way through to strongly echo Arcade Fire’s “Wake Up.” With its oddly melancholy lyrics – “alone / I fight these animals / alone / until I get home” – and different song structure, “Six Weeks” may be the most interesting track on the album. 

But of course, there’s “Little Talks.” Its forlorn, nostalgic quality, punctuated by notes from a happy trumpet makes the song stand out, and singers Hilmarsdóttir and Þórhallsson are at their best when singing together in the song’s bridge. Their harmonies together are more noticeable here than in any other place on the album, though they share some nice moments on the tinkly and hypnotic “Yellow Light” and the alternately subdued and exuberant “Lakehouse.” Þórhallsson can sometimes sound like Colin Meloy, which he does most notably on “Sloom” and, when he's singing story-driven lyrics, it’s easy to see the case for The Decembrists comparisons. 

My Head Is An Animal is not an undeniably exceptional record, but it does give Of Monsters And Men a nice entrance into the scene. Looking ahead, the challenge for the band seems like it will lie in creating songs which don’t just sound like Arcade Fire/Decembrists/Edward Sharpe songs, but songs that truly sound like Of Monsters And Men. 

Liking Things On Facebook Is An Inaccurate Representation Of How I Truly Feel

There’s a lot of pressure to “like” things on Facebook.  But sometimes, “liking” stuff doesn’t correctly convey the way I feel.  (Despite the first line of this article.)  

Sure, it’s easy to “like” stuff like “These kitties are adorable!” [picture of kitties] because, yeah, those kitties are adorable.  Everybody knows that.

But other times, it’s like, you clearly posted an inside joke that only a couple of people would get, so I feel compelled to “like” it to validate the joke you are making.  Maybe you write something like, “Sea bass anybody?” and then I feel like I have to “like” that because that’s some joke between us.  But to the outside world it looks like “Sea bass anybody?”… Nicole Beckley likes this.  Which just makes it seem like I’m into sea bass.  Which is not an accurate portrayal of how I feel. 

Then, there’s the other kind of “like” I feel compelled to make.  The acknowledgment like.  This happens whenever my name is tagged.  You wanted me to see something, so I’m just letting you know I did.  I saw it.  “Right, Nicole?”… Nicole Beckley likes this.

But sometimes, things get more complicated.  For instance, maybe I have a friend who is a journalist and they wrote a great article and I’m proud of them and I want to “like” it.  And maybe I do.  Then, to the outside world it looks like, “Mexican Tourism Declines As Drug Violence Escalates”… Nicole Beckley likes this. 

Wait, what?!  That’s, no, that’s not why I like this.  Its just cause, my friend, wait… no, I’m not, like, taking pleasure in the success of the drug cartels.  This is an inaccurate representation of how I truly feel!

Other types of confusing “likes”:

Ironic likes – there’s no way more than 12,000 people genuinely like Milli Vanilli’s Facebook page

Unintended Sarcasm likes – when your lactose-intolerant friend keep posting about how great ice cream is, but you don’t know about their lactose thing and think they’re being sincere

Potentially Devious likes – when you “like” something just so you can get updates on it in your newsfeed

Unicorn likes – when you exclusively like things that involve unicorns

Un-likes – when you like something and then un-like it immediately afterward

Misery Loves Company likes – when you like people’s posts about how they’re having a terrible time, cause you are too

Stalker? likes – when there’s somebody who, no matter what time it is, always immediately likes a post you’ve made

Fake Letters To Fake People

Aunt Sara,

Look, we need to talk. 

First of all, I’m sorry about what happened between you and Uncle Royce.  You were together for 14 years, and it’s sad when things come to an end.  And yes, it’s highly possible that Anna Lynne is, to use your words, a gold digger.

But let’s get to the matter at hand, your “getting back out there.”

You’ve still got it, as evidenced by the events of last Thursday evening. 

At 9:25PM, two men came over to where we were standing at Harringer’s Bar, and appeared to be waiting for a pause in our conversation.  You turned and looked at the taller of the two gentlemen and said, “Take a picture, it’ll last longer.”  And what happened?  He took a picture.  He pulled out his iPhone and snapped a pic before abruptly leaving.  Now who knows where your face is going to turn up.

At 10:17PM a mustached gentleman approached and attempted to introduce himself, to which you said, “Here’s a quarter, call someone who cares.”  And you tried to hand him twenty-five cents.  Twenty-five cents!  Like he was going to use a payphone?  Where does one even find a payphone – I mean, outside of the set of a creepy movie about serial killers, because those are likely the only people using payphones. 

At 11:09PM a guy in a navy blazer walked up and quizzically asked, “Have I seen you someplace before?”  To which you responded, “Haven’t I seen you someplace before?  Oh that’s right, on America’s Most Wanted.”  It turned out that he was talking to me, and we had met at a UN Foundation meeting.  And here you were sarcastically suggesting he was a wanted criminal whose face you’d seen on a tawdry television program.

Aunt Sara, I know it’s been a while since you’ve been on the dating scene, but you can’t be using these insults from the 1990s.  They don’t make any sense.

Listen, I mean, I get it, the last time you were on a date, you thought it was cool to play hard to get.  You were reading The Rules.  It was the late ‘90s.  But it’s not like that now.  Men want to talk to you, so give them a chance.  And then, if you feel like insulting people, do it in a sophisticated way – on the internet.  Like everybody else.

Sincerely,

   Your niece, Cassie

To The Big Screen

Guys, I’m worried… that the movie Battleship isn’t going to stay true to the source material.

When I first heard that the classic kids game was being made into a feature film, I thought, “Great, yes, finally – they’re going to make a movie about cheating, deception, and sibling rivalry!”  But I’ve seen the trailers, and it doesn’t look like any ships get stacked on top of other ships in order to trick your younger brother. 

And Liam Neeson’s in the film?  How much do I want to hear Liam Neeson call out “You sunk my battleship!” as he struggles to get his crew into lifeboats.  So badly.  And yet, I just know I’m going to leave the theater going, “yeah, it was okay, but the game was way better.”

 

Since this board game-to-film craze shows no signs of letting up, here are some movies I’d like to see:

Robert Rodriguez’s Go To Texas – Oil barons, decrepit ranchers, and tawdry saloon patrons butt heads in a Texas town under a post-apocalyptic backdrop.  Based on a little-known board game that’s excruciatingly similar to “Monopoly,” but takes place in Texas.  (Get on this San Antonio tourism board!)

Pedro Almodovar’s Sequence – An aging soap opera actress and her young protégé host a dinner party attended by a drag queen, a once funny but now melancholy comedian, and a poet having a midlife crisis.  But what happens when one of them is suddenly taken hostage?

J.J. Abrams’ Settlers of Catan – A desolate island nation lies in peril under the harsh dictatorship of the land’s ruler, who is stockpiling resources and treating his countrymen as slaves.  When a small band of peasants bonds together, an uprising begins.  Can the peasants stay together, or does the luster of power mean it’s every man for himself?  (So many sequel possibilities!)

Guillermo Del Toro’s Candyland – A young girl loses her way home and winds up in a fluorescent forest, but something dark and menacing lurks beneath the saccharine sheen.  She quickly finds herself battling for her life against the monsters of the woods.  Alas, nothing is quite as sweet as it seems.


Sofia Coppola’s Don’t Break The Ice – An alcoholic figure skater returns to their hometown after an unsuccessful Olympics bid and reconnects with their past on the road to sobriety.  When a young child gets caught in a patch of thin ice, there may be only one person who can save them.  Gin, love, and a skating career are all on the rocks.