Listen to "Grass" and write your own metaphor for it.
Friday, September 11, 2015
R.R. 9/11
ICA: Laurie Anderson describes the song "Grass" as "A huge football game that goes haywire. The
players suddenly running in circles, insanely chirping cartoon birds,
clouds billowing, the marching band spelling out arcane words in quickly
shifting formations, the scoreboard in fast forward, the crowd going
'Rah! Rah! Rah! Rah! Rah! Rah!'"
Listen to "Grass" and write your own metaphor for it.
Listen to "Grass" and write your own metaphor for it.
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It’s a late night car drive with a full car of friends blaring music. It’s a memorable night, where everyone’s hair is blowing in the wind of the open windows. And they howl into the night, letting the world know they’re out there. Grass represents that feeling of being weightless for a moment while knowing the moment won’t last but not being willing to give up this feeling.
ReplyDeleteTo me, this song felt like going for a run and doing interval training. You start off at a slow steady pace, slowly building speed and gaining momentum. Suddenly you break into a sprint ("Rah! Rah! Rah! Rah!"), and then just as suddenly, you go back to a slower, more manageable pace. It's like frequently switching between a light jog and a heavy sprint with little transition time between the two.
ReplyDeleteA roller coaster filled with an excited crowd. It rises and falls but the whole time there is the constant "thump thump, thump thump, thump thump" of the roller coaster going along the tracks. The ride comes to a drop and the crowd screams. There is chaos... then a few moments of calm with just the "thump thump, thump thump" of the roller coaster. More chaos as the ride swirls about and then the crowd calms once again but you never lose the constant noise of the roller coaster in the background.
ReplyDeleteThis song reminds me of waking up in the morning. Slightly after dawn, the terrible noise coming form the alarm clock startles you. Opening your eyes slowly, you begin to think about today's events: a math exam, grocery shopping, a workout. Then "Rah! Rah! Rah! Rah!" a garbage truck is picking up garbage. The garbage truck slams the trashcan into the truck to ensure they get every last piece of trash, "Rah! Rah! Rah!" Then its gone and peace is restored. Now officially awake, you can happily go about your day until the truck begins to pick up trash from the next house...
ReplyDeleteI would describe "Grass" as a baby that is having mood swings. One minute the baby is calm and then the next it's screaming "Wah,wah,wah,wah,wah" at the top of it's lungs. One little thing sets the baby off and everything gets hectic. The parents takes away the bottle and the baby looses control but as soon as the bottle is given back the baby is content. Just like a baby the song is irrational and unpredictable.
ReplyDeleteThe song "Grass" reminds me of one of those old, wind up, monkey with cymbals toy. I picture an angry little boy furiously winding up the toy over and over again trying to get it to work, getting more and more frustrated with each wind, and then all of a sudden it goes haywire and starts banging its cymbals like crazy and the monkey starts moving all over the place because its banging the cymbals so forcefully.
ReplyDeleteThe song "Grass" by Animal Collective seems to me like a small child walking to class on the first day of school, or perhaps setting out on some sort of adventure. The underlying beat is a steady beat for walking. He's happy and his smile is too big. This child walks in a world where the colors are extra vivid, and the creatures are unreal. That kind of world that is supposed to be real but just doesn't feel right. The screaming parts in the song would be the child fending off creatures so he can continue his walk. He then goes about his walk happy as can be, as if nothing happened. The child seems a little young to be walking by himself, yet he is anyway. As I write, I now realize I'm describing Dora the Explorer. So there we have it. "Grass" should be the new theme to Dora the Explorer.
ReplyDeleteWhen I heard the song "Grass" I thought of it as a road trip across the country. When the music is calmer you're driving across country roads and rural areas and then when you drive through a city the music gets crazy and loud. You get into the city and are overwhelmed by all the sounds and over-the-top people that flood the streets. Then you drive through it and go back into a rural area where everything is more calm and relaxed. As you keep driving you're going from the city to the country and the atmosphere drastically changes.
ReplyDelete"Grass"is cheerful chaos. People in a parade that stop to dance instead of walk. The youth gets a little wild and start screaming at the top of their lungs "Rah! Rah!" They continue to dance down the street. Viewers of the parade join the chaos by cheering and dancing with the crazy youth making the streets wild.
ReplyDelete"Grass" tells of a sleazy boy and a jealous girlfriend. They're both at a party and everyone is having a great time dancing, talking, drinking on a beautiful night. From across the room the girlfriend spots her boyfriend talking a little too closely to a random girl and he starts kissing her. She stomps across the dance floor to them and makes a scene by shouting at him: "rah! rah! rah!" instead of the more explicit words she actually was saying.
ReplyDeleteFor me, "Grass" is like being at a NASCAR race. The anticipation builds up as the cars come flying closer to where you are sitting and the noise gets louder and louder. When they cars finally get to you, the noise is deafening as the sound of their motors is all you can process. As soon as they are in front of you, they're gone again, already halfway around the track. But sure enough, the anticipation build again and the race cars are back in front of you with their loud sound. Eventually the race ends and the noise dies down for good.
ReplyDeleteTo me the song seems like a party that has gotten out of control and has turned into a hardcore rave. People are all over the place, on tables and couches, and singing along to all kinds of different songs at once. Things are being knocked down and messes are made. Parents return and stand gawking at the scene in front of them. Everything is happening at once and causes the lines to blur between the normal and abnormal.
ReplyDeleteA roller derby game that starts off slow, players skating around smoothly, weaving in and out, when the music escalates and violent collisions and wipe-outs suddenly happen in quick succession. The crowd begins roaring at the excitement as players drop.
ReplyDeleteThe song Grass is a sonic protest or demonstration, with people yelling and rallying around the simple background track and vocals that vary from quieter verses that escalate into the chorus. The "rahs" are the cries of the masses, raising their support for this cause that the lead vocalist is presenting. The clash of the cymbal in the back ground that plays in tandem with the Rahs adds to the clashing nature of the protests.
ReplyDeleteTo me "Grass" is a crazy carnival at night. There are people spinning around and around on a ferris wheel, other more-daring individuals seeking exhilaration on the greater thrill rides. There is a never-ending funhouse that is more like a maze with actors in costumes jumping out behind mirrors. Performers of the freak show are hollering at people passing by, trying to get them to come pay for the entertainment. Sounds of all the rip-off games swirl around the swarms of the people, from bottles clinking at the ring toss to basketballs bouncing off the rim of a hoop.
ReplyDeleteAnimal Collective's "Grass" is a unique purgatory of sorts, an even mixture of heaven and hell. A purgatory in which one was a sinner that didn't quite understand the harshness of doing, and did sin in such gleeful and naive way. The naivety and innocence is shown and uncovered but the punishment is still harsh, fires still blaring full depth, gavels still hammering down, sky still billowing and dark. God understands what one did and understands the intention was pure; however is unhappy with the action itself and must keep what is just by giving hell, giving an earful of disapproval, hence the "Rah! Rah! Rah!".
ReplyDeleteGrass starts out as a flowing river, with a smooth and strong beat. As the vocals are added, the river begins to pick up speed until it takes a sudden drop off the waterfall when the "Rah, rah, rah, rah" begins. This river is on a constant and ever-changing path with some parts flowing along nicely, and others turbulent and disconnected. The listener is riding on a kayak with no idea of what is to come around the next turn. At some points there are birds chirping in the background, and then you are suddenly being yelled at. Grass sends you on an unexpected journey.
ReplyDeleteI would describe the song "Grass" as a story of two people who are in love and have a "Noah and Ally" relationship where they mostly get along but then also have these "love fights." Even though they fight and yell and scream at each other, it always reverts back to the happy times they have together. It is a fairy tale relationship with the occasional lovers spats.
ReplyDeleteI think a metaphor for this song could be the craziness of someone's first concert. When they are there, they see that there are so many things going on and it is hard to focus on one thing. They hear the singing of the band and try to focus on them, but are distracted by the cymbals symbolizing the overwhelmingly loud music, the chirping of birds as the individual people conversing or singing along to themselves, along with the screams of "rah! rah!" symbolizing the crowd screaming.
ReplyDeleteStudents flock out of the school, pushing and shoving each other to get to the turf. Everyone runs to the bleachers to try to get a front spot for the days festivities. Freshman, sophomores, juniors, and seniors alike try to hold back their rally cries for the homecoming pep rally. Banners, towels, and hands excitedly fly in the air as they prepare for the opening chant. Murmurs can be heard throughout the complex, then, all of a sudden a roar erupts out of the crowd and students scream, "RAH! RAH! RAH! RAH! RAH! RAH!"
ReplyDeleteIt's a casual stroll through the country when the warning bell from the next town can be heard ringing loudly and obnoxiously interrupting the stroll. I imagine that this person is on the outskirts of the town and can hear birds chirping on the hill and something has happened on the inside of the town that he/she is not aware of.
ReplyDelete