mpp21

Animal Collective respond to Web Sheriff/song leak

Merriweather Post Pavillion

State Magazine: What do you make of the whole album leakage scenario with Web Sheriff policing your album?
Avey Tare of Animal Collective: I obviously think it’s a bummer for the fact that [the French magazine who first leaked the track ‘Brother Sport’] would leak one of our tracks or do that kind of thing because I feel like more often than not, we’re so willing to comply with certain requirements that magazines have, doing things that are almost a little bit hard for us to organise like special photoshoots and stuff like that. It feels like you’re kinda being taken advantage of when you put all this work into something and you’re doing this for somebody else and they go behind your back almost and do that kind of thing. It doesn’t bother to me that’s its out on the web.

Have you met Ed from Grizzly Bear? It was quite a silly situation he was in a few weeks back?
I’ve met Ed a couple of times and he’s a really nice guy. None of that stuff came from us personally.

But it is a representation of your band..
Totally and to look like we have no idea what’s going on is a little bit unfortunate. To attack people that just kind of enjoy the music. I think that’s kind of a shame but at the same time, the [French] magazine was also reprimanded. Once it’s out there there’s not a lot you can do. I find it a little intense and almost tabloid-esque that it becomes so newsworthy at this point. I think that blogs or websites like Pitchfork have to take it to that level where it becomes this like they have nothing better to write about. I think it’s a little unfortunate.

I can try to be funny here and point out that I just wrote about it again, or I can be serious and say I think this is actually interesting and indie-rock-silly-web-sheriff-anticipated-album-leaks-blogs-Brooklyn-bands-with-animal-names-etc newsworthy.

In related news, Ed Droste picked his top 10 albums of 2008 and Animal Collective added a show at Bowery Ballroom and are playing ATP NY.