I struggled with a heroin and crack addiction. And it affected my relationship with the girl I love the most in this world. And she stood by through all the times we couldn't be together. All the lost hopes and pain. This was our song. Every single line. When I played it for her we both just cried.
Now I really understand this great song, when the album came out I was 13 years old and didn't care about the sense of the lyrics on the album, I was just amazed of the sounds on it. Now I feel like a melancholy boy, always looking backwards though I know that "The Past Is a Grotesque Animal" and I realize how completely wrong I can be most of the time, but I'm still obsessed with the past and obsessed with "Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?"
He's shy. He's wonderful. I saw him before a show, he was dreadful in his eyes. Uncommon for an artist. I love him, he's able to explore every single passion or feeling of human beings.
"I need you here and not here, too" explains how I feel about a lot of people. This song is beautiful on acoustic, even if it is a very different sound then the album version.
“No matter where we are, we’re always touching by underground wires. Now.” You have no idea how much this has saved me. And, therefore, others. Thank you.
I am in LOVE with him. "Our love has so much potential but it's like we weren't made for this world. Though I wouldn't really want to meet someone who was."
I listen to this song in two ways..... sometimes I listen to it to hear the words and the story other times I listen to it just to hear how beautiful Kevin Barne's voice dances along the vibrations of the guitar
This one reminds me of his earlier work you know the album with the song that sounded like this one that was released a specific amount of time ago.Well its either the music or the lyrics that are exactly like that one.
Who else here has actually sent this song to the person who this song is about for them well after the fact . :) this song articulated what I felt more than I was ever able to.
this is brilliant in my opinion. I love how slow and peaceful it is, even though what he's singing about isn't peaceful at all. I didn't use to be a fan of long acoustic sets until I came across bands like of Montreal. I really like the original version too, but I think this is probably the best I've heard.
Absolutely LOVE this version. I think the acoustic version makes you realise how sad/touching the lyrics are. I just think the lyrics fit the mood of the acoustic version better! Love these guys....
Wow... I can't make up my mind weather I like this version more than the original! Just brilliant, really makes you appreciate the lyrics when done acoustic.
I love the album version of this, but the lyrics seem so much stronger without the layers of other musical elements. Parts of the song that I thought were decent before just hit me right in the heart now. "Because we're both so mean/ And it's my favorite scene/ But the cruelty is so predictable/ it makes you sad on the stage" And "I've been dodging lamps and vegetables/Throw them all in my face/ I don't care." Beautiful!
I'm pretty new to of Montreal and this is like only the third or something video i've seen of them. I am in awe, quite simply. I didn't move once through this, it's so beautiful. Y'know when you get that lump in your throat? Yeah, i got that. Amazing :)
haven't listened to this song in ages, but theres a short film by spike jonze out at the minute called "i'm here"... it's pretty incredible, but there's a scene where this is being played at a concert in it. watched it earlier and thought, fuck i need to listen to that again. i'd thoroughly recommend "i'm here" to people who enjoyed lost in translation... 30minutes long. enjoy.
The past is a grotesque animal- And in its eyes you see- How completely wrong you can be- How completely wrong you can be- The sun is out, it melts the snow that fell yesterday- Makes you wonder why it bothered-I fell in love with the first cute girl that I met- Who could appreciate Georges Bataille- Standing at Swedish festival discussing "Story of the Eye"- It's so embarrassing to need someone like I do you- How can I explain, I need you here and not here too
I thought the album version was brutal, but this tops it. Not just in the way its fantastically depressing tone somehow screams volumes louder, but the few places where the lyrics differ send this version to a whole different level. "I'd give anything to have fun again." "Sometimes I wonder if you're mythologizing me like I do you. It's better if we do. I don't want to know the real you." This album is perhaps the best album of the last decade, with this song as its crown jewel, in my opinion.
They used to, idk if they still do. A number of songs off of Hissing Fauna are about Kevin Barnes's struggle with addiction, namely "Heimsdalgate Like A Promethean Curse."
i have this exact guitar..and i've always cursed it because the fret board is rather large while my fingers remain squished and wide. i'm going to stop blaming it on the guitar....haha i love of montreal. what inventive lyrics.
I am glad that Kevin Barnes exists. I would go gay for him. This is pure poetry, so simple but yet I felt like none of it has ever been said. "Things could be different, but they're not." See what I mean?? Not to mention there is no chorus, no verses, no bridge, but yet it never gets repetitive. Well not to me at least.
Kevin Barnes is a genius and one of the most talented musicians/artists of the modern day. People can say otherwise but music is rather saturated now with only the majority in mind, its nice to have something as pure as his music around. FOK THE HATERS.
who was TheBathroomWindow talking to? I don't see who he/she is aiming that comment at.. anyway, still a great song. love the other guy who comes in one "Heimdalsgate...", his voice is so cool!
well if you understood their music it would make sense for him to be saying hereto, since even in this song alone he sings such lines as you managed to red rover the gestapo circling my heart. HOWEVER, hereto and here too, in regards to the subject of the song ( a transformation from kevin barnes to georgie fruit) mean very similar, if not the same thing.
jesus the song was already depressing but this version is just... heart shattering. It's amazing. I like the original version better, but still awesome.
@KonzoleKing I think it's fairly obvious that you're trolling. At the same time, if there's the slightest chance that you are completely cereal, you owe it to yourself to check out the album version of this song. I feel like its really hard for anyone to not like it. Yeah, "things could be different but they're not" isn't really that deep taken out of context, but this song really is pretty lyrically sound. If you just read the lyrics, you'll probably get it. It's def a different style tho.
I don't know any other song with so many amazing quotes.
I struggled with a heroin and crack addiction. And it affected my relationship with the girl I love the most in this world. And she stood by through all the times we couldn't be together. All the lost hopes and pain.
This was our song. Every single line. When I played it for her we both just cried.
So different than the original, much less intense, but really conveys the sorrow. He's a beautiful man, mind and body.
It’s been 15 years and still in love with this version.
"sometimes I wonder if you're mythologizing me like I do you".
For me, it'll be hard to top that line.
His lyrics blow my mind. "You've red-rovered the gestapo circling my heart". I wish he'd write a book...
His songs are chapters in a beautiful book of the secrets hidden in our hearts... Kevin Barnes... you are amazing good sir!
I'm officially addicted to this song: this version, especially. I think oM should do an acoustic album.
Now I really understand this great song, when the album came out I was 13 years old and didn't care about the sense of the lyrics on the album, I was just amazed of the sounds on it. Now I feel like a melancholy boy, always looking backwards though I know that "The Past Is a Grotesque Animal" and I realize how completely wrong I can be most of the time, but I'm still obsessed with the past and obsessed with "Hissing Fauna, Are You the Destroyer?"
16 years later and it is still so beautiful
He's shy. He's wonderful.
I saw him before a show, he was dreadful in his eyes. Uncommon for an artist.
I love him, he's able to explore every single passion or feeling of human beings.
I love that we have 22 minutes of great music just from two versions of this song
My favouritr song, 10 years ago, now.. and probs ever.
I love of Montreal's sound, but I have to admit that this solo acoustic version is absolutely amazing!
Beautiful. He is truly a poet and a genius.
This song is amazing.
Every single line is quotable and so real.
This song is killing & reviving body/soul cells. This version's chords: Cm / Eb / Fm / Ab.
I’m so touched by your goodness You make me feel so criminal How do you keep it together? I’m all, all unraveled........... I just love it.!
"I need you here and not here, too" explains how I feel about a lot of people.
This song is beautiful on acoustic, even if it is a very different sound then the album version.
“No matter where we are, we’re always touching by underground wires. Now.” You have no idea how much this has saved me. And, therefore, others. Thank you.
You can just feel the power in this song, even within this acoustic version. Kevin is a genuis.
I miss my Doberman
I am in LOVE with him.
"Our love has so much potential but it's like we weren't made for this world. Though I wouldn't really want to meet someone who was."
this is far better than the original, i think it sounds much more organic live, not to mention haunting. its so beautiful it gives me goosebumps.
'chapters' for this vid is a nicely poetic miniature version
This really is one of my favorite of Montreal songs, I really like this version because of the way it highlights the lyrics, which...well are amazing
"You've Red-Rovered the Gestapo Circling My Heart" - One of the coolest lines I've ever heard.
I listen to this song in two ways.....
sometimes I listen to it to hear the words and the story
other times I listen to it just to hear how beautiful Kevin Barne's voice dances along the vibrations of the guitar
Fuck... this song. It hits me sometimes.
This one reminds me of his earlier work you know the album with the song that sounded like this one that was released a specific amount of time ago.Well its either the music or the lyrics that are exactly like that one.
I'd never realised the patience of this song
These words pierce my heart... amazing version of this song.
Who else here has actually sent this song to the person who this song is about for them well after the fact . :) this song articulated what I felt more than I was ever able to.
this is brilliant in my opinion. I love how slow and peaceful it is, even though what he's singing about isn't peaceful at all.
I didn't use to be a fan of long acoustic sets until I came across bands like of Montreal. I really like the original version too, but I think this is probably the best I've heard.
i luv this. i come here often
Absolutely LOVE this version. I think the acoustic version makes you realise how sad/touching the lyrics are. I just think the lyrics fit the mood of the acoustic version better! Love these guys....
What an amazing song.
Wow... I can't make up my mind weather I like this version more than the original! Just brilliant, really makes you appreciate the lyrics when done acoustic.
Still my favorite arrangement of perfection. Thank you.
you've lived so brightly.. you've altered everything
this is my number one favorite song ever!!
i really love the direction he is going in with his music..i hope the next album is more epic dark songs like this.
acoustic version gets 5* also
Absolute Love and Worship.
This is it!
I love the album version of this, but the lyrics seem so much stronger without the layers of other musical elements. Parts of the song that I thought were decent before just hit me right in the heart now.
"Because we're both so mean/ And it's my favorite scene/ But the cruelty is so predictable/ it makes you sad on the stage"
And
"I've been dodging lamps and vegetables/Throw them all in my face/ I don't care."
Beautiful!
i saw them live last night from the front row in atlanta...truly magical!!!
i love to close my eyes and listen to this song
i saw them front row last night in atlanta...truly magical!!
I'm pretty new to of Montreal and this is like only the third or something video i've seen of them.
I am in awe, quite simply.
I didn't move once through this, it's so beautiful. Y'know when you get that lump in your throat? Yeah, i got that.
Amazing :)
Oh, I like this a lot better than the original version. It's just so peaceful and calming.
i truly love this song
Oh my god, I don't know how you can say you like Of Montreal and not like this version! It suits the lyrics so much more than the electro version.
also, if you take time to really understand the lyrics, i think theyre the best lyrics ive ever heard.
haven't listened to this song in ages, but theres a short film by spike jonze out at the minute called "i'm here"... it's pretty incredible, but there's a scene where this is being played at a concert in it. watched it earlier and thought, fuck i need to listen to that again. i'd thoroughly recommend "i'm here" to people who enjoyed lost in translation... 30minutes long. enjoy.
The past is a grotesque animal- And in its eyes you see- How completely wrong you can be- How completely wrong you can be- The sun is out, it melts the snow that fell yesterday- Makes you wonder why it bothered-I fell in love with the first cute girl that I met- Who could appreciate Georges Bataille- Standing at Swedish festival discussing "Story of the Eye"- It's so embarrassing to need someone like I do you- How can I explain, I need you here and not here too
I thought the album version was brutal, but this tops it. Not just in the way its fantastically depressing tone somehow screams volumes louder, but the few places where the lyrics differ send this version to a whole different level. "I'd give anything to have fun again." "Sometimes I wonder if you're mythologizing me like I do you. It's better if we do. I don't want to know the real you." This album is perhaps the best album of the last decade, with this song as its crown jewel, in my opinion.
Just beautifully riveting.
im flunking out im flunking out im gone im just gone
i love this version better than the album version. so touching. so sensitive. so beautiful. :)
They used to, idk if they still do. A number of songs off of Hissing Fauna are about Kevin Barnes's struggle with addiction, namely "Heimsdalgate Like A Promethean Curse."
i have this exact guitar..and i've always cursed it because the fret board is rather large while my fingers remain squished and wide. i'm going to stop blaming it on the guitar....haha
i love of montreal. what inventive lyrics.
This is so awesome in so many levels...
Both versions are great in their own ways absolutely brilliant like a laser to the heart
i remembered them all... and that was before i was a big of Montreal fan
Great song!
Such a sad song...
But none the less, very beautiful.
I am glad that Kevin Barnes exists. I would go gay for him. This is pure poetry, so simple but yet I felt like none of it has ever been said. "Things could be different, but they're not." See what I mean?? Not to mention there is no chorus, no verses, no bridge, but yet it never gets repetitive. Well not to me at least.
Ah! I'm torn between which one is better!
COMPLETELY different feel than the album version, but it's so good!
I love this version, it makes it seem a lot more thoughtfull.
That was so beautiful.
their best song by far.
I'm glad I gave it a chance, The album version is amazing so I thought this couldn't live up to it. But I was wrong. Almost better live!
I think I know what you mean. Almost as if part of him didn't want to be in the spotlight, but he knew he had to. Amazing show!
absolutely beautiful.
So would I! If you come across it, let me know.... It's absolutely magical.
This is such a great song either way Kevin Barnes does it. PERIOD
i appreciate georges bataille. and of montreal.
beautiful,nearly crying-beautiful
@thecsanm I think it's "author my own disaster" not "offer my own disaster" .... I used to think it's "offer" too! :-)
Kevin Barnes is a genius and one of the most talented musicians/artists of the modern day. People can say otherwise but music is rather saturated now with only the majority in mind, its nice to have something as pure as his music around. FOK THE HATERS.
oh my god... how much can you feel his pain?!
quite the poet.
deep as the abyss.
love, love . . . thanks kevin
Its like if bob dylan was coherent. Beautiful song
who was TheBathroomWindow talking to?
I don't see who he/she is aiming that comment at..
anyway, still a great song. love the other guy who comes in one "Heimdalsgate...", his voice is so cool!
amazing
his voice is amazing
Wow, I like this version even more than the CD version.
The past is a grotesque animal... And in its eyes you see, how completely wrong you can be...
(all I have are 666 million regrets)
@OfMaunTreeAll google youtube to mp3, you can copy the url and it will convert it into a downloadable mp3!!
It starts of good, but never goes anywhere...
well if you understood their music it would make sense for him to be saying hereto, since even in this song alone he sings such lines as you managed to red rover the gestapo circling my heart. HOWEVER, hereto and here too, in regards to the subject of the song ( a transformation from kevin barnes to georgie fruit) mean very similar, if not the same thing.
jesus the song was already depressing but this version is just... heart shattering. It's amazing. I like the original version better, but still awesome.
this performance really makes you feel the lyrics.
i still think the album version is better tho, you cant beat it.
@robinheil It's just a cardoid mic (looks like a km184). Kind of usual to do that.
Hm, I see what you mean by saying its more cathartic, now. :]
And I agree. Barnes sure is a creative one.
Oh, it's a million times better with all the instruments.
@FrostieDragon They are jealous of the unadulterated divinity of Kevin's voice that parts the very heavens.
I think it's kind of odd that they put a shotgun microphone near the end of the guitar, just to capture the "screech" you hear when he changes chords.
I have to admit, his acne scars make me smile
I loved Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolfe:)
I love this version. It's a break from the original.
theres 3 mikes; one on his mouth, one infront of the soundhole, and a third after the nut at the top
This is really a cool version of the song. Which is the original, I wonder? (Because album versions aren't always the first version.)
@KonzoleKing I think it's fairly obvious that you're trolling. At the same time, if there's the slightest chance that you are completely cereal, you owe it to yourself to check out the album version of this song. I feel like its really hard for anyone to not like it. Yeah, "things could be different but they're not" isn't really that deep taken out of context, but this song really is pretty lyrically sound. If you just read the lyrics, you'll probably get it. It's def a different style tho.
both this version and the album version are fantastic but they are completely different